My fellow Californians..Are you struggling with the possibility of leaving? (Folsom: 2010, high crime)

[Rob98LS1]

As much as I hate how expensive it is to live here, I love it having grown up here and have grown with the area, seeing it expand over time. There are too many things about this area that I love that I don't want to lose just because of a dollar bill. This just means I have to make more money than I used to, which is feasible, and worth it to me.
- Rob

[gypsy77]

I've left CA a few times, and always seem to come back. We all may think the grass is greener somewhere else, but it's not! The cost of living is going up everywhere and it's getting crowded everywhere. I've lived in the midwest and the southwest desert, I've tried to find "home" elsewhere. Never worked out. Now I'm back, with new baby in tow, and couldn't be happier, so what if we're broke and live in a rental house. Just need to get better jobs! And there are plenty of jobs around here. I love it in CA. I won't make the mistake of leaving again. Did I mention the weather in the midwest is HORRIBLE?

[MOviaCA]

DW and I plan on moving out of CA when retirement comes. Cost of living is getting a bit too much for us and our dollar will go along way in other states. The weather sure is great but not at a reduction in living.

[Howest2008]

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

If the financial pressures are beginning to build up like a pressure cooker you indeed need to move away to a less stressful location. I came out to California from Tulsa Oklaoma in 1976 and have lived in Los Angeles/Long Beach...San Francisco..Oakland..Vallejo CA and feel the pressure that California can place on a individual and a marriage and a family. San Antonio is one of the best places that you can go to get more "Bang For Your Buck" other places are"Northwest Arkansas" WalMartVille....Austin Texas is close to San Antonio and Austin Texas is beautiful...Also consider Tulsa Oklahoma and Oklahoma City Oklahoma.However don't make the leap without scheduling a 10 thur 14 days On-The-Spot-Stay in the location or locations that you are seriously considering moving to.Order the local newspapers 6 thur 8 Months before you move to any out of state locations to sort of get a feel for the area , this is very important to back up the vibes that you get during your 2 week visits and good luck on your move if you do indeed decide to make that move.

[mtalatala]

My wife and I studied Texas for a while before deciding to move here from San Pedro, Ca. Since we have a 4 year old, the school district was important to us. Likewise important to us is a slower pace and suburban setting. Our first consideration was Austin in the Westlake area in the Eanes school district. However, since I have family in Dallas, we ended up in a lovely suburb, called Southlake. It is a smaller community (roughly 25k population), with Exemplary schools.

Of course, depending on your needs, $300k will buy you a very nice house, within a good school district. Check out these cities: Highland Village, Keller, Colleyville and Coppell.

[Jazee]

Most Californians who have been born here refer to themselves as "second generation" or "third generation"...etc vs native

Im 5th generation and have never lived any where else..though a move to NC may be in the cards...which is a little intimidating for me.

[murphykatt]

Jazee, we recently moved from Sacramento to Raleigh, North Carolina. We still own a home in the Sacramento area and didn't burn any bridges with employers, just in case. We will give NC three years and go from there. Yes, it's intimidating, but you only live once. We didn't want to say coulda-shoulda when we had the chance. Go for it!!

[Judy & Randy]

Growing up I was an Air Force brat, I've seen a lot of this USA(among other places). But overall I've lived in Kalifornia more than any other State. 6 months ago I was considering moving to the Tri-cities, Washington area because houses are really cheap there. But the more I thought about how I'm going to lose out on the weather and trees here(Yuba City), well I'm staying here for a while longer. I'm retired and theoretically can live anywhere I want. My house is paid for so that helps. The last couple years house prices sky rocketed, but now are finally coming down to earth more each month. The State government(Democrats) have piled on as many taxes, giveaways they can, but now the State is into the RED and whether they like it or not their free $ is drying up. There are a lot of empty houses here now(foreclosures) and I am just going to see where it all ends. Can't sell my house now anyway w/o losing a lot of paper equity. This will lower my property taxes, so I'm just going to wait and see the final outcome. If a lot of people leave the State for whatever reason, fine with me. It's been getting busier here than I like. But I already know where ever else you go there are going to be +s and -s. It get's hot here in the summer, but it cools down at night. I can go to the ocean or mountains in a few hours. We live right on the edge of country and bird refuges. We have 3 rivers close by. In other words, we have about everything you could want(nature wise) with little humidity. When ever I leave(often) the State I always feel like I'm back home at the border. 8^ )

[gloriad]

Retired here from MI last year..love the California sun!
We are renting a lovely home in the mountains..I am still in awe of the scenery and National Parks all around me.
Financially, we are doing fine..we are living on a small pension and social security with no problems..
Our car insurance is half of Michigan..utilities are cheaper
I just watch where we dine out and shop..taxes are a little higher, but you watch your budget...
Our living quality had doubled..we are very happy with our move!

[SSIwillbebrokeby2010]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948

no i am not
but the soothsayers say the coasts will disappear 2012 oct,
im takin swimming lessons and buyin swim fins.

Huckleberry, I believe I know why the soothsayers say that about the coast in 2012 Oct.
It is based on the Mayan Calendar. Check it out online, a quick search will tell you about the Mayan date for the catastrophic event.
I visited Yucatan, Mexico with my family, as I am Mayan and saw the very information that this date is based on.
It is all whether you believe in it or not. But, you know the scientists, geologists are telling us, so it could very well be.