[Carolinemoveswhere?]

Hello all. As I've posted many times before, we are thinking of moving to OK. I've recently noticed quite a few discusssions regarding moves to/from California/Oklahoma.

I'd love to pick your brains a bit. For those former Californians who moved to OK, why? What were your reasons, if you don't mind sharing? How are you doing in OK? What were some of the lessons that you wished you knew? What would you change? What do you think you did right? How did you/family adjust? Any surprises? What was the easiest part of moving? What has been the most difficult? What do you miss the most? What about your future? Will you stay, go back to CA, move somewhere else?

Please, don't bash Oklahoma or California. Please be thoughtful in your comments. I certainly appreciate it.

[Mattie Jo]

Why?
I have always loved the Ozark mountains. I wanted to live where it was green and where it rained in the summer. I was told by a friend that OK was friendly. The price of homes were right. I came and checked it out and liked it.

We are doing great in OK. Really love the people and made a lot of friends. Love the weather but not some of the bugs.

Can't think of anything I would change. Wish I knew more about bugs before moving here because I could have prevented bites and disease.

Waiting to move was the hardest part.

What do I miss? A few good restaurants where I loved eating. We have good ones here to replace them, but I wish I could have some Greek food. I also miss my best friend. I miss having a nice place to shop that isn't an hour away. But I have adjusted to that and don't think of it much. I miss the Buddhist people at the Vietnamese monastery where I attended. I miss Costco and Trader Joe's.

We have retired in OK and have no plans to return to CA unless we have to do so for some reason. We have no plans to ever move anywhere else.

[techienomad]

Why?

We found ourselves disagreeing with most everything around us in CA. Everything from schools, politics, people, and just about everything you can think of. Quality of life has disappeared for the middle class and has become a state of the haves versus the have nots. I'm sure can find others that would disagree with my assessment, but that comes down to philosophy and standards.

It's funny what people say about CA. Most common things are the weather, mountains, and beach. While having nice weather is good, it really doesn't matter if you're surrounded by things you have no control over.

Why OK?

In-laws live in Mizzou, had many friends attend OU, still have a couple attending OU, less people, less headaches, more commonalities with the people of OK, ideology, philosophy, standard of living, lower cost of living, and much more. Not many people want to make their way to OK, which is a good thing in my mind.

Perfect Example

Since moving in last Saturday, we've met more people in this neighborhood than we did living 3 1/2 years in our previous neighborhood in CA. People walking by say hi and even stop to welcome us. They offer their help and tell us to come knocking if we need anything. We're very happy here and are never looking back.

[mkfarnam]

Why?
(1) The cost of living in CA. is out of control.
(2) overcrowding of Illegal Immigrants.
(3) My business was taking a turn for the worse due to Illegals taking over the area.
(4) Job offer.
(5) The people on this forum talked me into it Actually, they helped me make up my mind with their inspiration.

Why OK?
(1) The new Immigration Law.
(2) I was born and raised around rednecks, excuse me, country people, and wanted to get back to it before...........
(3) The cost of liviing in OK, is less than 1/2 of what is in CA.
(4) Life is more laid back. I'm tired of the fast lane.
(5) The people here are wonderful.

Any surprises?
(1) When I first got here, the people scared the h*ll out of me with their politness, greetings every where I went, waving to me as they drove by.
I got paranoid, I thought there was some conspiracy

What was the easiest part of moving?
(1) There was nothing hard about it.


What do you miss the most?
(1) The Mountains.
(2) long time friends

How are you doing in OK?
(1) I'm doing fine, things could be and will be better, but that's no fault of OK. or my decision to move here.

There's no looking back.
------------------------------------------------

[Taboo2]

Bugs?? What Kind Of Bugs??

[LadyRobyn]

why? I knew when we came back to visit 15 years ago that this is where I was MEANT to be...the feeling was so overwhelming that I can't describe it. For the first time in my life I was HOME.

How are you doing in OK? Fandamtastic!

What were some of the lessons that you wished you knew? How to pack an ABF trailer a little better.

What would you change? Would have made the move MANY years ago!!

What do you think you did right? Picked Duncan as our new home.

How did you/family adjust? The daughter was the only one who needed to adjust a little, but she did just fine.

Any surprises? The kids here... They have MANNERS!!

What was the easiest part of moving? Watching CA get smaller and smaller in our rearview mirror.

What has been the most difficult? When it gets difficult I'll let you know.

What do you miss the most? Gallo Salami and Tri-Tip Roasts.

What about your future? Will you stay, go back to CA, move somewhere else? This IS our future...Hubby said we would go back to CA for only one reason...when his Mom passed away. We did that last year.

I have set foot on CA dirt for the LAST time in my life. The soft red clay of my back-yard is where my feet will stay!

CA in our rear-view mirror...not my best photograph but definitely my FAVORITE!

[Synopsis]

These are some FANTASTIC posts MK, LR, Techie, and jessaka; I really love reading them. And for Carolinemoveswhere, reps to you for starting such a great thread!

[Chickrae]

Originally Posted by mkfarnam

Why?
(1) The cost of living in CA. is out of control.
(2) overcrowding of Illegal Immigrants.
(3) My business was taking a turn for the worse due to Illegals taking over the area.
(4) Job offer.
(5) The people on this forum talked me into it Actually, they helped me make up my mind with their inspiration.

Why OK?
(1) The new Immigration Law.
(2) I was born and raised around rednecks, excuse me, country people, and wanted to get back to it before...........
(3) The cost of liviing in OK, is less than 1/2 of what is in CA.
(4) Life is more laid back. I'm tired of the fast lane.
(5) The people here are wonderful.

Any surprises?
(1) When I first got here, the people scared the h*ll out of me with their politness, greetings every where I went, waving to me as they drove by.
I got paranoid, I thought there was some conspiracy

What was the easiest part of moving?
(1) There was nothing hard about it.


What do you miss the most?
(1) The Mountains.
(2) long time friends

How are you doing in OK?
(1) I'm doing fine, things could be and will be better, but that's no fault of OK. or my decision to move here.

There's no looking back.
------------------------------------------------

Amen to all of what you said. I moved from Calfornia to Utah to Oklahoma...this is by far the best

[_redbird_]

The weekend homocide report in Los Angeles, CA.

The Homicide Report | Weekend homicides | Los Angeles Times

The last year I lived there in 87 there was just so much senseless violence, it was pathetic. You couldn't walk in our neighborhood in SE Los Angeles nowadays without getting shot at or robbed. To think my family lived in South Central Los Angeles in the early 60's is beyond belief. I remember the Watts riots in 64-65 as a child.

We were NEVER cali's though, and I have never considered myself to be a Cali. All my siblings were born here, my parents and grandparents ...tribe, etc are here. Like I said before at one time, our church in L.A. had over 100 tribes represented, and it was really a great place to live. I still have cousins who live in East L.A.

My family lived in Oklahoma at least 4 times in my life, and as boys growing up, we spent every summer, the entire summer!, with our grandparents here in Oklahoma. My grandpa had horses and my grandma had chickens and guineas. It was great.
Our parents were trying to keep us out of the gangs by sending us away. I have tons of stories of Los Angeles, but prefer to keep them tucked away.

As a Native American I always felt like L.A. was a microcosm of the modern world and Oklahoma was Indian Country.

The Indian Relocation was just another pathetic attempt by the US Govt to "white out" the Indian culture. And another failure.

[mrs_moby73]

I grew up in Oklahoma, but currently live in California. My husband is in the military so we have lived in lots of places. I haven't ever considered myself a Californian or anything but an Oklahoman.

We are working our way back to Oklahoma though for a very simple reason...it's home. It's been 13 years since I have lived in Oklahoma. During that time I have lived in four different states and had nine addresses. I have joined clubs and churches, made friends, had children, tried new things, visited wonderful places, and, most importantly, enjoyed the experience no matter what my zip code was--but I have never felt "at home". There is so much about Oklahoma that I find comforting: a sky that is a blue I can't even begin to describe to my children, being able to see the horizon no matter which direction you look, seeing the sunset blaze nearly every evening, waving to strangers as they pass, having someone hold a door open for you even when they are in a hurry, watching lightning bugs and hearing cicadas at night.

Will we have to adjust to living somewhere for more than 3 years at a time? Yes. Will there be bumps and complications along the way? Probably. Will we move anywhere else? I hope not. Because we will finally be home.