My fellow Californians..Are you struggling with the possibility of leaving? (San Jose: mortgage, lender)

[ironsteel]

We have been CA residents recently (1 year). We moved from Boston, MA last Dec (2006) due to being tired of the cold and always needing to update our older New England home.

We wanted a warm state and initially looked at Atlanta. That was too humid although you could definitely afford a nice house there. Then we decided on CA and the only place we could really afford after selling our house in Boston is the Sacramento area.

So far it's ok but there are nights when my wife and I discuss the possibility of moving back. Without other relatives/family in the area, it gets pretty isolating. And the social lifestyle in Sacramento is definitely not as exciting as Boston. All our friends in Boston are just starting to have their first child and it would be great for our son to start interacting with them as kids grow up together. We've been here a year and have been trying hard to make friends with neighbors who have kids. It's not the same and probably won't be for a while. Some days, they were depressing.

I think the only thing we look forward to is the sunshine rather than gloomy sub freezing temps in Boston. Oh, and the cost of a new house is much lower.

For now, we're staying but we don't plan to retire here. Just been reading Money magazine that folks are leaving the US all together and retiring in Costa Rica and other similar places where you get so much more overall quality of retirement life.

FWIW, we'll be looking into moving to the Roseville (Fiddyment Farm) area where hopefully gen X home owners are starting to show up.

my 2 cents.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by thetalentedmisterdiamonte

Set yourself up with a rented mailbox at The UPS Store. For around $30, 40, or 50 per month, you can have a real address with a a unit number as if you wer eliving in a condominium or an apartment. It provides the impression that you'relocal as opposed to living in Michigan. Why they frown when they find out you're in Michigan and not in their backyard? The chances of someone picking up and moving all of a sudden for a job is are and if you don't like your new surroundings you'l most likely quit and move back.

Not sure if someone has posted this information already..But I've heard you can get a Vonage phone number with the area code of your choice...meaning if you live in Detroit and want to work in San Jose you can get a San Jose prefix....not sure about the workaround on the address...maybe keep your address off your resume? I am not totally clear on this but it is something I have heard on other posts, maybe someone can add more info.

[Kerby W-R]

I grew up in San Antonio and there is not enough money on the planet to make me go back there !
Boise or Spokane would be good choices.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by NewToCA

You're right, and let me add higher paying jobs, jobs, jobs.

But not commensurately. Systems Engineers in a major aerospace company for example, only make 6.8% more in Los Angeles than they do in Denver, Colorado Springs, Houston, and Huntsville, AL. I checked.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by goodbyehollywood

How you balance that with the undesirables (cost, traffic, congestion, noise) depends a lot on your stage of life. If you're young, you don't care. If you're rich, you can insulate yourself somewhat and costs don't apply. If you're middle class, raising a family, re-evaluating at midlife or retired, CA's negatives may outweight the positives and you may find a better quality of life elsewhere.

This makes perfect sense. Very logical.

[NewToCA]

Originally Posted by ironsteel

So far it's ok but there are nights when my wife and I discuss the possibility of moving back. Without other relatives/family in the area, it gets pretty isolating. And the social lifestyle in Sacramento is definitely not as exciting as Boston. All our friends in Boston are just starting to have their first child and it would be great for our son to start interacting with them as kids grow up together. We've been here a year and have been trying hard to make friends with neighbors who have kids. It's not the same and probably won't be for a while. Some days, they were depressing.

I think the only thing we look forward to is the sunshine rather than gloomy sub freezing temps in Boston. Oh, and the cost of a new house is much lower.

For now, we're staying but we don't plan to retire here. Just been reading Money magazine that folks are leaving the US all together and retiring in Costa Rica and other similar places where you get so much more overall quality of retirement life.

FWIW, we'll be looking into moving to the Roseville (Fiddyment Farm) area where hopefully gen X home owners are starting to show up.

my 2 cents.

I understand your struggles, we moved a few times between states when our kids were growing up. It is tough to leave behind the people you knew, and many folks underestimate how much they will miss their old associations when they make a major move.

I have found that these moves work out much better when you move into a new housing area, and become a "newbie" with everyone else. It seems that the kids the have easier time making new friends, and cliques haven't yet formed. We've also found it easier to make new friends ourselves when an area is not yet established, you are more of an outsider when moving to an established neighborhood.

Though it is far away from you I wouldn't be so fast with retirement plans only based on finances. Moving away will again mean separating from those you know and have become comfortable with, and potentially kids and grandkids too.

[ironsteel]

NewToCA:

Thanks for the advice. It makes sense regarding your suggestion on moving into a new neighborhood. That's because everyone is more or less "new".

Hmm...I suppose when retirement comes, my family will have a lot to chat about before deciding on the final outcome. In some ways, we want to retire in South East Asia where we were originally from. Have a beach house there and the beaches are great. Oh, except for the possibility of a Tsunami. We'll figure it out when that time comes. Maybe we'll retire in on Mars. Isn't there a mission to MARS that got announced recently, it's going to take them 3 years to get to Mars.

[deuterdu]

Originally Posted by Gal On The Move

Fellow Californians,

Just wanted to hear from those of you in my situation.

My husband and I are considering leaving magnificant California. Though we love it to death, we don't know if it's smart to stay. We live in Sac, which I consider to be California's greatest deal (financially speaking). We want to buy a home but we haven't seen anything we could be happy with for less then $300G's.

We've been thinking about moving to San Anotonio because you can get a great house for much less then $300G's. We've also heard it's a great place to raise the family we want to start.

But, I'm so in love with California!! Has anyone had this debate with themselves, and if so what did you decide? Move and have more financial security, a great home, a nice car without the yearly super high registration cost? Or, stay and do well, live in a smaller home, enjoy Cali's beauty?

I think we are leaning more towards moving. Especially since we have no family here. But it hurts!

Conflicted people please share!

Thanks

I moved in Sept 2006 to Cary North Carolina (Raleigh suburb) and we will never go back to Cali to live. We were also hesitant at first. I will always visit my friends in California but wouldn't want to live there. So many people are moving to the south and south east because it is affordable, plenty of jobs, friendly people, strong family values. Raleigh NC has one of the top school districts in the nation and you have everything here. Mountains, rivers, lakes ocean (warm water oceans!) It is different than Cali but once you settle in you will wonder why you stayed in Cali so long!
There will always be things you will miss but there will be so much more you can discover.
I used to live in Texas and have spent a lot of time in Austin and San Antonio. It is pretty nice but in my opinion I think this plce is nicer and has more job potential. A lot of people are moving here from Cali, NY and Florida so if you do decide that you like it here you will meet others from Cali who decided to live a nicer lifestyle. Not having financial woes does wonders for your mental health, marriage and general well being.
Here are a few links to check out below. Chamber of commerce is a great way to get good info on an area and of course these forums. Click into the Raleigh forum and check it out. Look on a map. Do you want to be closer to the beach or in the mountains? If you like the mountains then perhaps Asheville is for you. That is where HGTV gave away a dream home in the blue ridge mountains.
Bottom line, Cali is beautiful but the cost of living and crime are making it unattractive (in my opinion).

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/money...PL3710740.html

http://ncsu.edu/enitiative/community/

Check out Cary or Raleigh NC, I think you will be impressed.
Good luck!

[goodbyehollywood]

California is a state for the rich, the entitled, the very young and the very poor.

If you're rich, you can live the California dream in the best areas. Fortune has smiled upon you, and you can enjoy all that California has to offer.

If you're entitled, rent control, Prop 13 or Section 8 is subsidizing your lifestyle. People who live in rent control apartments often pay less than half of market value. I have friends in Santa Monica who pay $1100/mo. for a bright, spacious apartment that would cost about $3500 if it weren't rent control. Prop 13 entitles people who bought property when it was more reasonable to pay property taxes that are only a fraction of what those who bought later pay. It enables many to live in homes they couldn't otherwise afford. If you're Section 8, you get to live in some of the safest, nicest sections of town on the government's dime. All of these entitlement programs enable people to live much more affordably than many of their neighbors, who receive no entitlement and are struggling to make ends meet. You should be profusely grateful. You're getting a break others would love to have, to live in a place many of your peers cannot.

If you're very young, you can enjoy the California lifestyle by living like a college student and not caring. Crowding into an overpriced, undersized apartment with two or three roommates doesn't bother you. Soon enough, you'll get tired of the no frills, starving student lifestyle and want something more. If you don't become rich or entitled, you're in for a tough road and you will likely find yourself at the same fork in the road that so many others have. Stay and settle for less... or move and have more.

If you're dirt poor, you make do. You live two, three or four families to a house in the least desirable parts of town. You have very little and few prospects of getting more. Your California dream is not one many aspire to. If you're legal, you probably receive government assistance. If you're not, you make it work, because your options are limited.

People say that living in California is possible for anyone. I agree-- as long as money is not an object, you benefit from an entitlement program, you're young or undemanding enough to tolerate a spartan, bare bones lifestyle or you have low expectations and will settle for whatever you can get. The middle class in California is increasingly being forced to move up or move down in order to survive. The people who're fighting to stay in the middle-- they're the ones in debt up to their eyeballs. All too soon, they will reach their tipping point.

California is like a giant social experiment. Will it lead America into reverting to a European two-class society or will the free market system return to an equilibrium where costs and income are once again (more or less) in line? Too bad we can't fast forward and find out.

[bibit612]

Well said goodbyehollywood. Rep to you!