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I do think you are overreacting. There's nothing wrong with Ohio, I'm a big fan of Cincinnati. But I think moving to an expensive place with traffic, high priced homes, and all the other things that come with it is what is really freaking you out. I think you'd feel the same way about anywhere else that is more expensive than Ohio or where you currently live.
I also have a young relative living in CA's Bay Area. Both they & spouse have postgraduate college degrees & both make 6-figure incomes. Yet, they have given up on buying a house as they can't afford to...the reason being that even a ratty, 1960's tract house on a tiny lot in a crappy neighborhood is now over $1 million, with crazy bidding wars.
That's a bit of an exaggeration.
We have a 1980's tract house, nicely remodeled, on an average-sized lot, in a good Northgate (Fremont) neighborhood that if we listed it now would sell for $900,000. No bidding wars. Houses are on the market there an average of 14 days.
People buy these homes for the future appreciation and hopefully short commute to work. Ours is a straight shot across the Dumbarton Bridge to Facebook.
I still advise against the OP moving to California.
My girlfriend and I (both 27) live in Austin, Texas. She’s from California & I am from Ohio. We love it here but we both agreed that we would like to settle down closer to family or at least try living in another area before settling down. (We briefly talked about Colorado, Oregon and Sacramento/N. Cali)
In short, she doesn’t like the idea of Ohio because she grew up in Socal and now lives in Texas so she’s never experienced a real winter. She’s also concerned that it might be harder to find a good job and make good money in Ohio. With Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton and Cincinnati all as options I think we’d be fine. As for the harsh winters I can’t really help her out there. I love snow but it does get COLD.
On the flip side, I am terrified of California. The cost of living, the taxes, the politics, the welfare, the pollution, the traffic etc. I love the geography and the natural beauty but I just don’t see us ever being able to afford a house in a halfway decent area as our combined income won't climb above 100K in the foreseeable future. I do not want to be stuck in San Bernardino or Bakersfield.
After discussing the pros and cons of each state we have decided to start applying for jobs in Socal…specifically the SD area.
As for being terrified, am I over-reacting? Should I be worried? We’ve discussed these things in depth but I still have my doubts. I guess it’s not a huge risk since we don’t have any children yet. We could re-locate back to Texas or Ohio in order to buy a house if we really wanted to.
I can only give you my personal experience when we did exactly what you are contemplating. I grew up in the 50's-60's and dreamed all my life of living in California.........hot rods, warm weather, cool lifestyle, etc. In 1979 I was offered a very good position in industrial credit in Southern California and we moved there.
A year later, I came home from work, and said to my wife, " Would you mind if we moved back to Pennsylvania" ? She said "How soon can we leave ?" We both hated it for so many reasons. The cost of living was ridiculous (even though we both had very good jobs) , the traffic was insane (I would sit in 5 lanes of traffic every morning), I found the people there to be a little disconnected with others and not super friendly, all our friends wanted to do was go to clubs and leave the kids with sitters (My wife and I were family people and included our kids in almost everything we did).
Now, there are a lot of really great people living there, and I am sure they love it, but it was not for us. Moving away was the best decision we made.
(My wife and I were family people and included our kids in almost everything we did).
This is a also a great selling point of the Midwest in general. There is a higher percentage of family people here. For the most part, couples with children are more likely to attend family-friendly activities when they go out, saving leaving the kids with the sitter for a special occasion, like their wedding anniversary.
My girlfriend and I (both 27) live in Austin, Texas. She’s from California & I am from Ohio. We love it here but we both agreed that we would like to settle down closer to family or at least try living in another area before settling down. (We briefly talked about Colorado, Oregon and Sacramento/N. Cali)
In short, she doesn’t like the idea of Ohio because she grew up in Socal and now lives in Texas so she’s never experienced a real winter. She’s also concerned that it might be harder to find a good job and make good money in Ohio. With Columbus, Cleveland, Dayton and Cincinnati all as options I think we’d be fine. As for the harsh winters I can’t really help her out there. I love snow but it does get COLD.
On the flip side, I am terrified of California. The cost of living, the taxes, the politics, the welfare, the pollution, the traffic etc. I love the geography and the natural beauty but I just don’t see us ever being able to afford a house in a halfway decent area as our combined income won't climb above 100K in the foreseeable future. I do not want to be stuck in San Bernardino or Bakersfield.
After discussing the pros and cons of each state we have decided to start applying for jobs in Socal…specifically the SD area.
As for being terrified, am I over-reacting? Should I be worried? We’ve discussed these things in depth but I still have my doubts. I guess it’s not a huge risk since we don’t have any children yet. We could re-locate back to Texas or Ohio in order to buy a house if we really wanted to.
Hello Jame22 and Welcome to Sacramento
1. Don't ever listen to coastal Californians (SF, SD, OC, LA) about Sacramento they know nothing. lol, tongue and cheek, seriously, most know only stereotypes and bad stereotypes at that:
2. I'll start posting things you will never hear from coastal Californias about Sacramento
3. I'll compare Sacramento to Austin, San Antonio, Phoenix, Denver, Salt Lake, Portland
I generally hate to do exact comparison but if you know little of Sacramento know this:
1. A summer Sacramento is much much more comfortable than an Austin, San Antonio or Phoenix summer.
2. Sacramento has the feel, vibe, and pace of Portland, but looks more like Austin and San Antonio, but with the added bonus of having Big Mountains 1-2 hour drive like Denver and Salt Lake. Yes, Sacramento has world class ski resorts under 2hours drive like Denver. Sacramento is also within 1 hour from SF Bay, under 2hrs to ocean beaches and beautiful coastline.
3. Despite what they say; it does rain in California. Sacramento averages 18-22 inches/yr vs. San Diego's 8-10 inches/yr.
4. Like Austin, Sacramento has water recreation, actually more, there are two large rivers(the Sacramento River and the American River) that flow through Sac, both excellent recreation for different uses; also we have a large lake, Folsom Lake and Nimbus Lake, both excellent recreation.
5. Sacramento has hill country, not only hill country but within 30minutes much larger hills than Austin, go another 45 minutes and the mountains are 8,000 - 10,000 feet around Lake Tahoe. In 30-45 minutes drive you can be in towns with 2-5 feet of snow on the ground. Sacramentans are very outdoorsy, camping, fishing, hunting, skiing (both snow and water), hiking, climbing.
6. The University of California, Davis is 15 minutes form Downtown Sacramento. It's rated academically higher than UT Austin, and many other "more well-known" universities.
6. Sacramento is in Northern California, always has been and we have always have identified ourselves as Northern Californias. Yes, we are in the Sacraemnto Valley not on the Coast, and no, we are not way up toward the Oregon Border, but like San Franciscans we identify has being Northern Californias. (Sacramento is 80 miles North of SF). Don't let anyone try to tell you that Sacramento is not in NorCal.
Last edited by Chimérique; 01-21-2017 at 10:13 AM..
We have a 1980's tract house, nicely remodeled, on an average-sized lot, in a good Northgate (Fremont) neighborhood that if we listed it now would sell for $900,000. No bidding wars. Houses are on the market there an average of 14 days.
People buy these homes for the future appreciation and hopefully short commute to work. Ours is a straight shot across the Dumbarton Bridge to Facebook.
I still advise against the OP moving to California.
Very interesting. My relative just moved out of Fremont after living there 2 years, househunting there extensively, & getting rent on their 1 bedroom apartment (that management never maintained) jacked to $2800/month. Even 2 bedroom "condos" (1970s apartments) were on the market for $700k, with $400/mo. "HOA" (for what?). Also, her 17-mile commute to work in Mountain View was taking up to l hr., 45 min., one way.
Her spouse's co-worker bought a house in Fremont (he grew up there) just this last summer...1960's house, no updates, bidding war, final price, $950,000.
Your house is not on the market, so your comment is not relevant.
BTW, the people buying in your area & artificially inflating the prices are "overseas" investors, who do not even live in those houses...you and I know that. Bay Area greed.
Last edited by MarciaMarshaMarcia; 01-21-2017 at 11:43 AM..
I would follow the money. Whatever city presents you with the best economic opportunities over the next 10 years so you can build wealth. I share your concerns about California. I tried to live there and it was just too big/busy/crowded/rule-laden for me. I wouldn't live in Ohio either, though. If you are approaching 30, I assume your parents are nearing retirement age and maybe you could consider staying in Texas and having your parents relocate when they retire. In general, I think you should pick the place that works best for you/yourwife/your job, then worry about family proximity second.
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