How many of you are fleeing OC and where are you going? (Sacramento: condos, neighborhood)

[AKgirlinCA]

I think your views of SoCal tend to be on the rosy side as you grew up here folks that were born and raised here tend to think this is the best place in the entire country. It's different when you're from somewhere else....IMO of course.

[Hannican]

Originally Posted by AKgirlinCA

I think your views of SoCal tend to be on the rosy side as you grew up here folks that were born and raised here tend to think this is the best place in the entire country. It's different when you're from somewhere else....IMO of course.

The more you get out of the Southern CA bubble, the more you come to despise it. Try traveling to another country, especially one where you can come into contact with REAL poverty... and I don't mean people with only 20 inch rims (rather than 22s), and 45" tv screens (rather than 60"), I'm talking about kids with nothing to eat and families that have to make all of their own food.

Kinda makes you a bit sick to look around SoCal afterward and see all the waste that's constantly going on around here. (And not just SoCal in general, but California and the United States are all full of this kind of waste... but it's especially bad here).

*EDIT*

Forgot to add- I was actually born in Alaska too AKgirlinCA, but unfortunately I have no memory of the place. Two summers ago though, I did get to the see the house I was apparently conceived in, and the one where I lived until I was almost 3 years old. That was pretty cool! I loved Anchorage when I was in town, but they had record-breaking amazing weather while we were there, so I can't really judge it properly based on those couple days alone.

[cybergoogle]

Originally from San Jose / San Francisco area ... after 2 yrs in OC ... can NOT wait to MOVE OUT from here. Traffic is very BAD and worse public trans. then SF Bay Area ( i think). If i cna get job somewhere else .. I WILL MOVE and not back to OC period ....

[antibes]

Originally Posted by Dirk Bonner

Lots of sheep...not many women.

According to some men, women are little else but sheep... meaning the area has lots of women.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by oc2nyc

I am just curious as to how many others are packing up and moving to another state to a better life. And where are you going?

One place people are moving to and why:

How One City is Thriving - Video - FOXBusiness.com

Watch Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle interviewed on Fox about "bulletproof" economy - Breaking News from The Huntsville Times - al.com

[Sarilas]

I was born in Huntington Beach, grew up in Westminster and Chino Hills and then moved to northern Nevada, eastern North Carolina, southern Oregon, southern Arizona and currently reside in middle Tennessee. I used to be one of those people who said that California was a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there, the cost of living was too much, it just wasn't worthwhile, etc.

However, at this stage of the game I cannot wait to get back. Whenever anyone asked me where I came from I always say California. Of course there are drawbacks to every state and community, but after experiencing my fare share of climates, ethnicity and economic status, I'm ready to admit defeat.

Sometimes you really can go home again.

Best of luck to all in their search for wherever home may be.

[slowbill]

I just bought a brand new house in another state and will pay it in full with the profits from my 2007 sale of a Fountain Valley residence. Orange County is my opinion has lost it's community feel it had previous to 1980. While I love the various foods, I do not like that I cannot speak to many of my neighbors because they do not understand nor speak English. Also the ranch houses that were meant for a single family with 3 to 5 people, are not suited for multi-families with 5 + cars out front. There is no space left for kids to play and the state is broke. Services will be cut and taxes are on the rise. The schools rank 48th out of 50 in academics and have to teach at a basic level due to the fact many students do not understand the English language.

[Justabystander]

Left OC for suburban Chicago. Like it here. Clean suburbs with green lawns, a variety in the choice of lifestyles, commuter trains into a great city on a lake, beaches next to high rises, change of seasons. Last two winters were tough, admittedly, but there are trees and rivers here, not solid concrete viaducts and the crowded feeling each day. No block walls separating neighbors. Beautiful homes near storybook downtowns.

We also had Rod Blagovich as our governor and have Roland Burris as our senator, hugely embarrassing. There are tradeoffs everywhere, but despite our politics, its just so much more liveable here than what Orange County has become. To each his own, god bless the OC.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Justabystander

god bless the OC.

Is that a question, a statement, a status, a request? What?

[Brea171]

Is it possible that it is a mindset issue? We are considering departing Brea, CA for Northern NV, but darned if the give and take isn't starting to point back to CA. Why? The weather - it is so consistently nice and therefore possible to bike, hike, run here almost 365. The Santa Ana rivertrail - we bike to H.B. for breakfast and back about 1x a month and feel lucky to be able to do so. My neighborhood - ethnically diverse but economically stable. The public schools - my daughters left BOHS with acceptance letters in hand from every UC school save Berkley; they just couldn't achieve the SAT standards on that one, the amenities in our town, including the public ones, the access to mountains and beach, the cultural opportunites, and well, back to the weather. It's crowded yes, but you do learn the patterns and how to work around them. My friends and neighbors emulate our beliefs and lifestyle - that would be why we were drawn to them right? It seems this would be the same if we relocate. So . . . is it possibly the "grass is greener" theory? I just don't know - but making a decision to leave is turning out to be much harder than I anticipated, that is for sure.