San Diego to West Chester. (Philadelphia, Doylestown: fit in, sale, real estate)

[Bass9]

Hi everyone,

My family and I are moving from north San Diego pending the sale of our home. We have one daughter and plan more but were running out of room with our 1500 sf town home! My wife is from Doylestown area and most of her family is in the Philadelphia area as well so it makes sense to us in order to be around them and improve our quality of life.
Most people that I tell about our plans think we are crazy for moving out of So Cal as the "weather" is so nice. I will admit it is convenient to wear shorts on Christmas, but the monotony of it gets a little boring. I'm originally from Nor Cal so I'm used to some fluctuation in weather but I know it's nothing compared to your neck of the woods. I have spent time in the Pa. area during all parts of the year and I think it's beautiful. Plus, I've always been an Eagles fan and hated the Cowbows so I'm good there!
Anyways, I'm really looking forward to some open space and some sort of decent education for my children, which if you follow the news out here in Ca., you know is terrible. I've heard mostly positive aspects of living in the West Chester area from all of the posts I've browsed through and I really feel good about our move.
I am curious though for anyone's impressions of the culture in your area compared to So Cal. I will tell you this: We have lived here now for nearly 10 years and have yet to find a true friend. The definition of a friend out here is someone you meet in relation to some activity you are both interested in and hanging out doing only that thing for a while until they all of the sudden fall of the face of the earth! Either that or until they can't find anything that you can help them out with anymore.
The problem is that people here are so guarded about their lives in order to protect their "perfect, I'm in full control image", they never talk about their problems, which is where true friendship is forged as far as I'm concerned.
I'm really curious to hear your opinions!
Thanks.

[DITC]

Originally Posted by Bass9

Hi everyone,

My family and I are moving from north San Diego pending the sale of our home. We have one daughter and plan more but were running out of room with our 1500 sf town home! My wife is from Doylestown area and most of her family is in the Philadelphia area as well so it makes sense to us in order to be around them and improve our quality of life.
Most people that I tell about our plans think we are crazy for moving out of So Cal as the "weather" is so nice. I will admit it is convenient to wear shorts on Christmas, but the monotony of it gets a little boring. I'm originally from Nor Cal so I'm used to some fluctuation in weather but I know it's nothing compared to your neck of the woods. I have spent time in the Pa. area during all parts of the year and I think it's beautiful. Plus, I've always been an Eagles fan and hated the Cowbows so I'm good there!
Anyways, I'm really looking forward to some open space and some sort of decent education for my children, which if you follow the news out here in Ca., you know is terrible. I've heard mostly positive aspects of living in the West Chester area from all of the posts I've browsed through and I really feel good about our move.
I am curious though for anyone's impressions of the culture in your area compared to So Cal. I will tell you this: We have lived here now for nearly 10 years and have yet to find a true friend. The definition of a friend out here is someone you meet in relation to some activity you are both interested in and hanging out doing only that thing for a while until they all of the sudden fall of the face of the earth! Either that or until they can't find anything that you can help them out with anymore.
The problem is that people here are so guarded about their lives in order to protect their "perfect, I'm in full control image", they never talk about their problems, which is where true friendship is forged as far as I'm concerned.
I'm really curious to hear your opinions!
Thanks.

So the stereotype of Californians is true? You get the same type of attitudes often in McMansion suburbia in many metro areas. However, there are a lot of great people in the Northeast who would give you the shirt off their back.

Moving out here in general, you'll probably miss easy access to beach year round. Here we only get 4-5 months, about 3 of which are suitable for swimming. It will take you over an hour from West Chester. However, outside of that we have so much going on. You are between DC, Baltimore, Philly, NY, Boston, so you can keep very busy.

[Bass9]

The beach will be missed for sure, but you would be surprised just how many people who live in such close proximity to it rarely go. That's the funny thing about the climate here: it's so nice everyday that it gets boring and you don't take advantage of it knowing it will be the same tommorow!
The only people that I know that frequent the beach on a regular basis are those who surf or live out of the area. That's another thing. If you plan on meeting people out here, surfing is a pretty good way to do it. Just be ready for it to take over your priorities as it has for almost everyone I know!
As for the stereotype it is true for the most part in Southern California, not so much in the Bay Area where I come from. Even locals will admit it! I keep telling my wife that San Diego is going to be the next Florida. It's a great place to retire and not have anyone bother you as you enjoy your sunny, non-humid days golfing and going to the lame restaraunts that abound the area! With the way real estate is out here, retiring baby boomers and old money are going to the majority of population living here on the coast in the future.

[rainrock]

Welcome.Good luck with your move. You may be able to trade in your 1500 sq.ft. SD townhouse for a 3000 house in Pa. depending on the area you choose to live.

Compared to what it used to be like 10-20 years ago the winters around here are not that uncomfortable.More dreary than anything. We've had 3 very mild uneventful winters in a row. By mild expect high temps in the upper 30's low 40's. back in the day it was upper 20's low 30's all winter long. Rivers streams,lakes would all freeze over from Christmas to March but thats not been the case lately.

As far as culture, there is plenty of it in center city and the closer inner ring suburbs but not so much in the newer suburbs. Typical american suburbia. Good schools + athletic programs, no crime,people tend to keep to themselves,high quality of life but a little low on cultural amenities unless you like the outdoors,malls and chain restaurants.

We also dont take the beach season for granted here. Its a great 3 months as the entire region heads "down the shore" for a week or a weekend, to places like Ocean City,Stone Harbor,Cape May,Wildwood,Sea Isle.

[leighland]

I moved here 10 moths ago from La Mesa. You have family here so maybe it'll be different for you but I would do everything I can not to move here. I don't want my kids to become the rude, aggressive, judgmental fast talking East Coast types.
Schools in SD are not bad, unless you are determined to have your child graduate an Ivy League at 10 years old, which seems to be the norm here.
Why don't you just move to Poway? Schools are excellent, none of that status driven private school crap. SD is great for families while Philly is geared towards retired left leaning museum regulars. If you can afford SD there's no better place to live. I mean are you really spending time at the SD Trolley stop near Petco missing that urban family life?

Oh and you may want to check out this link in the SD forums.
http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-d...on-so-far.html

NorCal is much different from SoCal but I gotta admit, I did not have any problems making great close friends in SD, that I still have. I'm having a very difficult time making friends here because I am a transplant with no family here. It seems its all about spending time with extended family here in Philly. In SD on the other hand, I always had lots to do, even tho' we were pretty poor.

[rainrock]

Originally Posted by leighland

I moved here 10 moths ago from La Mesa. You have family here so maybe it'll be different for you but I would do everything I can not to move here. I don't want my kids to become the rude, aggressive, judgmental fast talking East Coast types.
Schools in SD are not bad, unless you are determined to have your child graduate an Ivy League at 10 years old, which seems to be the norm here.
Why don't you just move to Poway? Schools are excellent, none of that status driven private school crap. SD is great for families while Philly is geared towards retired left leaning museum regulars. If you can afford SD there's no better place to live.

Sounds like his wife wants to move back home to Pa.. Surely you can understand that right? Perhaps she feels the same way about So. Cal as you do about Pa.. Perhaps its just a bad fit for her as Bryn Mawr is for you.

Leighland is constantly painting the entire Philadelphia metro region with the "Mainline" stereotype which is silly. Go west of the Blue route, north of the Pa turnpike and its a completely different world. More typical of what you would find around the country, typical american suburbia.

[Bass9]

Hey Leighland,

Thanks for the input. There is no way I would move to Poway. Besides the traffic, distance from work, threat of fire every year and the fact that I own a house and probably wouldn't get what I have now there, I have no desire to be any closer to the desert than I already am. Besides, I don't have a 4 wheel truck and sand toys so I wouldn't fit in!
I didn't catch whether you are from here or just lived here for an extended period of time. If you were born here then I could see your view torwards your hometown as most people view where they grow up as normal or comfortable.

[leighland]

Originally Posted by Bass9

Hey Leighland,
Besides, I don't have a 4 wheel truck and sand toys so I wouldn't fit in!
.

I have friends who live in Poway, one is a tenured prof at UCSD. I could see you making the redneck comment about El Cajon or Lakeside but Poway?! Maybe you need to spend more time East of the 5, at a good church...

[Bass9]

No, I was actually kidding. I know people who live out there and they like it. I just don't feel the same with living in scrub brush and rocks the same as I do about hills and trees. Besides, for what I would get in Poway for the market I'm in, it would not make sense. What do you mean by "good church"?

[Bass9]

I am Bass9's wife and I am insulted by the comments Leighland has made about the Philadelphia area. I grew up in that area and I don't consider myself to be rude or obnoxious. All of my family is from that area and they are not like that either. I admit I love Northern California. It was an area that was easy to adapt too and also very easy to make friends. I have lived in San Diego for over 10 years and I have barely made friends that are the same caliber of people in Philly or the Bay area. In SD I have generally found people to be flaky. No one knows the concept of keeping their word. In addition I think this area lacks the type of culture that you can find in a metro area. I am not saying I don't love certain things like the weather and living near the beach. I just think there is more to life than that. Besides I don't like the "church" comment. I do not know what that has to do with anything.