My fellow Californians..Are you struggling with the possibility of leaving? (for sale, houses)

[Victor912]

I don't belive I have criticized anyone down for choosing to stay in California. I have spent all of my adult life here in Southern California and for the most part it has been a wonderful experience. However life is an ongoing thing and our needs/wants change. NOTHING stays the same. I attempted to outline my reasons as objectively as possible. I belive my age has EVERYTHING to do with my decision. I'm no longer willing to put up with the stress and !@#$% to maintain a decent lifestyle per the cost of living CA requires to live comfortably. I have a baby sister who is 32. She wouldn't dream of leaving LA! :>)

Bottoml line is my needs and wants have changed and they are not attainable in CA at this point in time. Or at least they are not at an affordable price. It would be crazy for me to stay at this point in my life; especially knowing what I need/want can be attained in a beautiful area at a much lower cost to me.

For anyone who chooses to stay I say God Bless you and enjoy it while you can and for as long as you can.

For those who are considering leaving I say PLEASE do your homework. We are spoiled in CA... but we have also lost a lot here that we previously had which enhanced the quality of our lives overall. Some things we took for granted are no longer here.

It's a matter of choice and I firmly belive everyone has the right to make their own! Life is far to short to live somewhere you aren't happy and enjoing!

Be happy and live well!

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Victor912

I don't belive I have criticized anyone down for choosing to stay in California. I have spent all of my adult life here in Southern California and for the most part it has been a wonderful experience. However life is an ongoing thing and our needs/wants change. NOTHING stays the same. I attempted to outline my reasons as objectively as possible. I belive my age has EVERYTHING to do with my decision. I'm no longer willing to put up with the stress and !@#$% to maintain a decent lifestyle per the cost of living CA requires to live comfortably. I have a baby sister who is 32. She wouldn't dream of leaving LA! :>)

Bottoml line is my needs and wants have changed and they are not attainable in CA at this point in time. Or at least they are not at an affordable price. It would be crazy for me to stay at this point in my life; especially knowing what I need/want can be attained in a beautiful area at a much lower cost to me.

For anyone who chooses to stay I say God Bless you and enjoy it while you can and for as long as you can.

For those who are considering leaving I say PLEASE do your homework. We are spoiled in CA... but we have also lost a lot here that we previously had which enhanced the quality of our lives overall. Some things we took for granted are no longer here.

It's a matter of choice and I firmly belive everyone has the right to make their own! Life is far to short to live somewhere you aren't happy and enjoing!

Be happy and live well!

Well said. How far along are you in the search for a new home? Where are you headed?

[NewToCA]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

So what makes LA such a great place to raise a family? Is it the beautiful, spacious, safe, affordable housing? The wonderful public schools? The efficient transportation system? The clean, well maintained streets? The illegal alien, drug dealer, and hooker free parks?

Like any city, it has better and worse areas, and LA is a huge metropolitan area. It has much to do, and see, and you grow up exposed to a lot of varied personalities.

I grew up in Philly, and have raised kids in Ohio and Virginia. You can dream all you want about how great everyplace else is compared to California cities and metro areas, you can only be right for yourself. Many other folks are fortunate to grow up in California, and there is more to life than transportation systems (many kids in the suburbs of other places are just as car dependent).

The schools are OK if you move into a decent area, and you always have the choice of alternative educational arrangements, as frequently done by folks living in Cleveland, Columbus, Kansas City, Washington DC and Philly (all of which I am very familiar with).

Again, I respect the opinions of those who wish to leave, and their reasoning behind it. It doesn't make California a bad place to raise kids.

[landrover06]

I've thought about moving for quite some time, at least 17 years. But where to go? The grass is always greener. I've excluded all Red States indentified in the last election. Any area, county, or state where the majority of the people voted for the most inept man to reside in the oval office in the history of the country, is certainly not where I want to be. New England and New York remain possibilities.

We already own a home. My wife has a very good job and I will be a patent attorney in a few years. San Fran works for me and is the only place in the country outside of my birthplace, where I feel comfortable and at home.

It's always tempting to leave because of the cost of living, but we have expensive tastes and would want to live in the most desirable parts of any city. We're an interracial family, so anywhere rural and backwards is out of the question. No sticks for us. I also don't believe in moving just to get a bigger house.

[City Boy]

No offense but the idea of people moving to Arkansas , Texas or Montana just to afford a huge house makes me shutter. You couldn't pay me to live in one of those states. I've heard that from so many people who just end up hating their decision and end up doing anything to get back to CA after they realize how those places are to live in for few months. You can visit and say oh this is nice I could live here but try living there first then see. My sister moved to Atlanta 5 years ago and has hated it the past 3 years. She's in the process of selling her home to get back here.

Also California is the largest state, why does everybody lump it together and think its one huge crime infested area with 100% terrible schools? Some of the most educated and wealthy people are from here. Everywhere has good and bad area's and school districts.

[jguillot]

Originally Posted by City Boy

No offense but the idea of people moving to Arkansas , Texas or Montana just to afford a huge house makes me shutter. You couldn't pay me to live in one of those states. I've heard that from so many people who just end up hating their decision and end up doing anything to get back to CA after they realize how those places are to live in for few months. You can visit and say oh this is nice I could live here but try living there first then see. My sister moved to Atlanta 5 years ago and has hated it the past 3 years. She's in the process of selling her home to get back here.

Also California is the largest state, why does everybody lump it together and think its one huge crime infested area with 100% terrible schools? Some of the most educated and wealthy people are from here. Everywhere has good and bad area's and school districts.

Life can be very different in other states, especially in the south. Native Californians who are considering a move to another state should visit the area in which they are considering several times just to be sure that they will not make a mistake that they will later regret. They should talk to people, visit stores and restaurants, learn about the area and its history, learn about the people and the laws in that state over several trips before they move. Without doing this, you could be in for a "culture shock."

[Victor912]

Perhaps I missed it, but I don't recall seeing any posts that indicated they were moving out of state to get a bigger house.... I certainly am not. I think the comments regarding property were in reference to the cost of living for housing vs. CA and what one get for their money.....

Also please don't forget the fact that most of the people in my age group (over 50) living in California ARE historically from somewhere else...and a lot of them are from the south.

So, it might not be as much of a culture shock and you may think, depending on where they move to and where their family roots are. And it could be the culture shock is what they might be looking for..... It is in my case.

[jguillot]

Originally Posted by Victor912

Perhaps I missed it, but I don't recall seeing any posts that indicated they were moving out of state to get a bigger house.... I certainly am not. I think the comments regarding property were in reference to the cost of living for housing vs. CA and what one get for their money.....

Also please don't forget the fact that most of the people in my age group (over 50) living in California ARE historically from somewhere else...and a lot of them are from the south.

So, it might not be as much of a culture shock and you may think, depending on where they move to and where their family roots are. And it could be the culture shock is what they might be looking for..... It is in my case.

I'm originally from the south so that "culture shock" will be a welcome change for me!

[Victor912]

That is exactly what I'm talking about!

Many many people in CA have friends and family in other states, especially the south. They haven't lost contact with them or stopped interacting with them! It's not like they have no idea about the culture etc. etc.

Whenever I hear someone say they are a native Californian.... I ask my self yeah with relatives who came here from where....??? The only TRUE native californians are the Californian mexicans and indians who were already here.... talk about culture shock.

[Ultrarunner]

Webster's Dictionary defines 'NATIVE" as being of or the place of one's birth...