How many of you are fleeing OC and where are you going? (Los Angeles: apartment, to rent)

[TSO2.0]

Leaving to Spokane WA in 10 days. I'm out!

[aggrofish]

Moving to Vegas, signed the lease already and giving my 30 day notice to the current landlord this week.

[gdcon]

Originally Posted by c_larosa22

We cannot leave for a few years due to my husband's pending retirement (although I am 10 yrs younger and will continue working). We are just starting our search for the best place to raise our two toddlers. Although I would love to move back east, my husband is wary of moving too far east. We are currently considering... Austin, TX; Houston, TX; Colorado Springs, CO; Denver (suburbs), CO. We may even look north to Oregon and Washington... but the rain may be a bit too gloomy for us.

Don't know if you are still following this thread almost a month later, but I left OC for Colorado Springs back in '92 and love it. Good luck to you in your search.

[denverian]

We left OC in 2005 and moved to Denver. We sold our condo at a record high, and now those same condos have lost over 50% of their value! We love Denver, our nice house, neighbors, etc. We were sick of the traffic, overcrowding, nutty people, drunks and drug addicts, etc.

[smilinpretty]

I Left and I regret it. I am so homesick for California but can't afford to move back. In 1993, we sold our house in La Mirada and moved to Arizona. I currently live in the Prescott area and although it is beautiful here and it has more positives than negatives, I still miss my California. Number 1) WEATHER Number 2) diversity 3) ocean

What I do not miss is the traffic.

[CSG]

Just got back from OC (Tustin) where my mom still lives. We moved to Idaho in 1994 (but were in Sacramento at that time). There are many things I miss about California but not enough to bring me back.

Moving from a place you've lived your whole life is tough and if you're not involved socially or with a church or synagogue in your new location it can be hard to make new friends. I live in Twin Falls and am contemplating, after 15 years, a move to Boise to be in a more urban environment with more things to do. But as we all learn in life, you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.

[jkanderson521]

Originally Posted by 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.

Brea, it is very much a mindset issue and it really depends on the person as to if the move is actually worth it. We left South OC almost 2 years ago for south Denver, which is very much like South OC. So for us, it was an excellent move. However, Northern NV is nothing like Brea. So if you are looking to replicate the things you like about Brea (which is a wonderful city, I grew up there ) I am not sure you'll find it in Northern NV. If you are looking for a new experience, then the sky's the limit.

My family and I really loved certain aspects about OC and searched for a community that had many of the things we were looking for, beyond it just being "more affordable". We were looking for a community, a place, a home; price is far from being the primary factor.

We found what we were looking for, it was a give and take, but the positives outnumbered the negatives.

Part of this thread makes me sad, as I really do love OC, and seeking the flight of so many creative and caring people from its environs means much of what I knew growing up will be lost. All things change, but it does not seem as though OC or SoCal in general is changing for the better, it seems to be evolving into a place that people don't feel that opportunity is unlimited, and possibilities boundless. A place where the best and brightest from every location flock and built a flourishing community where innovation is boundlesss. Instead, the creative class is fleeing and the social and economic ramifications wont fully be felt for many years to come. Very sad and is not a picture of future prosperity.

[slowbill]

Less crime, lower cost of living, few gangs, neighbors who speak English, little to no traffic, lower state taxes, no smog problem, local restaurants that are not all franchises, communities that help raise the children, ...versus great weather and smog, great beaches but polluted and crowded with a curfew, broken schools, gasoline 30 cents per gallon higher, old ranch homes for $400,000 ...I choose escape California

[flo2900]

OC is a compromise, if you like slower pace, rural America is the answer!

[leonard]

For those of us who were born and raised in So Cal, I grew up in OC, the changes are the problem. In the 60's, when I was in HS, there was no better place to be. The weather, beaches, mountains, desert, Hollywood and PLENTY of space was great. BUT it has changed dramatically. For those who are young the pace and crowding is not as big an issue as it is for those of us who knew it when it was better. Now that I am older Calif has lost it's appeal. Yep the weather is still the best and you can even see the mountains from the beach now, but the crowding, taxes, crime, and congestion makes it far less appealing. I am living in an area with 4 seasons and 8 hours to the nearest ocean and I don't care. Friendly people, who talk to you not yell at you. Mountains to visit that are not crowded, Low taxes, creeks, streams and rivers that actually are not solid concrete. It is very much like OC was long ago.

I will not go back as you can't "go back".

I chose to go forward.