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Is there anyone living in this area that is from Southern California? My wife and I are trying to get an idea of the atmosphere of the area. How do you like it? Any dislikes? How has your income difference affected you? (I know that you make less here, but the cost of living is a lot better than SoCal) Plenty of amenities? Everyone welcoming? Anyone hostile?
However, it's on the east coast and that brings terrible summers and also occasional tornadoes.
this is merely to be corrective -
You have as much chance of encountering a tornado here as you do an earthquake in CA.
Terrible summers is a relative term. Yes, you'll use air conditioning a lot.
Now, LOTS of people have moved here from all parts of CA. From what I hear, southern CA has the country's best climate - never cold nor hot, but also ... almost no rain. But a traffic jam here is generally turning a half-hour commute into an hour, maybe 1:20 if it's crazy.
I will take a stab- I moved here from Northern CA 2 years ago.
Summers are even cooler in the Bay Area, but really the summers aren't THAT BAD here I have found. It is really only end of June to Labor Day is the worst- and yes, it can be quite humid and oppressive and no it won't cool off at night and you don't have the ocean to go to for cooler temps- even if you go, it is still the same humid and hot.
However, Sacramento/Fresno and I'd assume Inland Empire have longer summers- though they are dry.
Winters also may be an adjustment, just be aware we can have stretches with below freezing nights for a week or so- this doesn't happen in Bay Area and I assume never in LA.
People are very welcoming, no one cares you are from CA. Lots of outdoor stuff( lakes, biking, hiking, boating).
I grew up in Orange County Ca and then moved to Northern California (San Francisco Bay Area) and then to this area. We were lucky that my husband was able to make the same salary as he did in California. I was able to quit working since the cost of living was much less here. So depending upon what field you and/or your wife are in you may make the same here.
You will definitely experience 4 seasons here along with a lot of bugs, snakes and wildlife. I had a hard time adapting to the humidity but after so many years I am slowly accepting it. Luckily all places have AC so during those really bad hot and humid days you can stay indoors. However it is hard at first especially if you are like me and loved being outdoors all the time.
The area has changed a lot over the past decade especially in terms of demographics. So you will no doubt be around others that have recently moved here. Transplants come from all over including other countries. Most people in general are very friendly and welcoming however just like any place else you can encounter some unfriendly/rude people (most of the time this will be on the roads IMO).
Housing prices have gone up since we moved here but it is still so much better than California. I still think you can easily find a home where your mortgage would be less than what rent would be in California. I don't think you will build equity as fast as you would though like in California. Rents have really gone up here. For instance my daughter has paid between $1200-$1300 for studio/1 bedroom here. But again that is still much better than California.
Overall though quality of life is so much better, especially if you are raising a family, even with some of the negatives. I don't think you could pay me to move back to California now.
Don't live in the Triangle (am in Charlotte), but wanted to chime in and say the move from California to North Carolina was great for us. The quality of life is great and if you don't live right by the beach and are coming from Inland California (like Riverside, Pasadena, etc...) the summers will be just as hot here, but add in humidity. It is more uncomfortable, but summer in Inland So Cal isn't exactly great weather and you pay a huge premium to live in 90 degree heat vs. the more affordable housing here. I feel like the cost benefit equation makes more sense. In Inland So Cal you pay a ton to live in hot summers versus here you pay a lot less to live in hot and humid summer.
Fall and spring are beautiful, winter will be colder, but there is a chance of snow which can be fun.
People are great, housing is more affordable, TREES TREES TREES are everywhere. The disposable income we have here versus all the money we had in rent in So Cal means we do way more activities. We save more, give more to church, dine out a little more, do mini trips to see others towns in the Southeast, go hiking, etc...
I got a raise moving here, but I went from our regional office in So Cal to our headquarters in Charlotte. There are many companies headquartered in North Carolina vs. all the companies moving their headquarters offices out of So Cal like Northrup Grumman's departure for Virginia and Toyota's departure for Texas.
We moved from Northern California 9 years ago. The first year we lived here, it snowed before Thanksgiving and was very very cold all Winter. Since then, we have had some mild winters (which I love). The summer temps do get a little unbearable but just stay in the A/C. 2011 was a crazy year for tornadoes but we may never see that here again (one touched down a mile from my house). I LOVE it here! I love all the trees and everyone (mostly) is very friendly and I actually make more money here than I did in California. And the traffic...lol I have yet to see any kind of traffic jam that gets close to what we dealt with back in California. We have never looked back!
We just moved here from Southern California in May and are loving it so far . The humidity was a little uncomfortable for about two months during the summer, but otherwise the weather has been great. Definitely rains more here, but I enjoy the rain. It's actually fun to sit and watch the lightening storms on a summer night when it's comfortably warm out. The lightening is really cool here. Traffic is nowhere near SoCal levels and is really only an issue during rush hour. People are generally friendly and lots of great places to eat. Only food I miss is an abundance of quality Mexican food. There are some genuinely good options here, but there are lots of junky Tex-Mex imposters to watch out for.
What part of SoCal are you coming from? I can be more specific with comparing areas if you let us know.
I love seeing all of the Californians talking about how cold it gets here in contrast with how the majority of transplants from the NE talk about the weather.
The NYers are all "oh muy gawwd I love how theya's no winta heeya" when the highs are in the 40s/50s and the lows are in the 20s.
Meanwhile the Californians are like "zomg brah it's hella cold I'm gonna like...freeze to death walking to my car before driving on the 40".
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