My fellow Californians..Are you struggling with the possibility of leaving? (Sacramento: sales, real estate market)

[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

[jguillot]

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

My wife and I will likely leave California when we retire for many of the same reasons you stated. We live in Citrus Heights. We have found the cost of living in Tennessee to be even less than in Texas. We can reduce our cost of living by 51% if we move to Tennessee now. It's a "no brainer" for us especially since my wife's brother and my cousin live in Tennessee. We will be able to live much more comfortably on our retirement incomes in Tennessee. My recommendation is that you first visit San Antonio (several times) before you move. Look around the area, visit stores, restaurants, and talk to people. Do comparisons between Sacramento and San Antonio on things such as cost of living, crime, weather, etc. There are places on the internet that will allow you to do this. If you are a native Californian, you might experience "culture shock" if you move to Texas. That is why it is so important to visit the area first so that you know what you are getting into. My wife and I will be visiting Tennessee for the second time in August. Hopefully, we will return as Tennessee property owners on which we can build our retirement home in a few years.

Good luck in making the right decision. I hope this helps.

[bblondee]

We are leaving Califonia after driving ourselves crazy trying to decide what to do. My husband is retiring and we just can't afford to live in California any more. We are researching Arkansas in the North West area....Fayetteville, Rogers, Springdale. I have read so much about Arkansas and my husband and I love mountains and trees. We have not looked around Texas but, from what I've read, Arkansas is prettier and property is very reasonable. It seems to be a little higher where we are looking at, but it is mostly retired people. You might want to check it out for yourself.

We live in El Dorado Hills. We will miss the ocean and dungeness crab and all the beauty of the Sierra's and the great California weather,k but I think we will enjoy life more because we will be able to pay cash for our home and live comfortably.

Good luck with your decision.

Bblondee

[CityGirl72]

i am kinda in your boat

I left Calif and moved to Washington 3 years ago. I thought it would be better financially and schools for the kids - which it has! But it's SO COLD here all year long.

I want to move back - but it looks like we can't afford Calif anymore. And makes me sad. Very sad. My whole family are in Calif - my mom say s to just rent - which is an option but a hard decision after owning a home now for a few years.

[Ultrarunner]

If I left it would only be because of the politics and never ending burden being placed on citizens. Once again... we don't have a budget and once again there is a host of new legislation working through through the legislature that would require more of my time and energy...

California seems to have every type of tax imaginable... compared to it's neighboring states. Oregon... no Sales Tax, Washington... no State Income Tax, Arizona... very Car Friendly.... no smog check beauocracy for collector cars 15 years and older.

A friend sold his California home just so he could die in Nevada because of Nevada's favorable tax climate. He was diagnosed with terminal cancer and passed away within the year... in Nevada. Many Police and Fire Fighters choose to retire out of state solely for economic reasons... and the cost of housing is not one of them.

[KidBlue]

Gal, you might also experience humidity shock if you haven't lived outside CA. I personally can't think of a worse place to live than TX, but it's because of the weather and lack of hills/mountains.

We are in the same boat with bblonde (and about 10 miles south of you too! in beautiful downtown Latrobe). We want to retire soon and don't want to keep the huge house with the huge maintenance bills. We are hoping to buy something outright and end up with no morgage--at least that's the plan. Can't do it in CA.

We are deciding between three towns in western WA, but haven't visited yet in the winter (this will determine whether we also have a small winter place in Amador Co!!). We are the opposite of CityGirl--can't stand the dry heat that never lets up. Actually get depressed when it stops raining--weirdos.

CityGirl, maybe you can find somewhere that you can rent to own. That way your rent payments wouldn't be lost. There are about a bizillion forclosures in the Sac area right now (they've been showing home auctions on the news), owners may be flexible. You are in one of the few real estate markets in the country (Seattle) that is still strong.

[Fearless Kid]

I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying put, right here in California. For those who want to make it work, they'll find a way. I'm not leaving this beautiful state for anything.

[NewToCA]

Originally Posted by nonibiz

I'm not going anywhere. I'm staying put, right here in California. For those who want to make it work, they'll find a way. I'm not leaving this beautiful state for anything.

Agreed, we came out to California last year to retire and absolutely love it. After living back east and in the mid-west all of these years, it is great to be in a place with such a massive variety of things to see and do.

I understand the folks who want to leave, and have the financial considerations to take into account. But if you can comfortably afford it, I can't think of a better place to live.

[Victor912]

I have made the decision to leave CA and am moving to NE Arkansas. I am am Executive Assistant to a President & CEO and make a fairly good salary, even for CA. However, that doesn't mean my quality of life is as good as I think it can be. My reasons are pretty much the same and those already posted.

1. I want to retire early (I'm 57) and enjoy what is left of my life after working since Jr. High (my mom was a single parent and there were 4 of us) I started working in the school cafeteria to ensure a hot lunch every day) to this day.

If I stay in CA, even with a decent pension and SS benefits, I will never be able to retire and live comfortably because the cost of living is too high.

2. I want to live in a slower less stressfull environment, where people are judged more by their values honesty and character than what they own or drive.

I honestly believe I will be happier with less stuff and more time to stop and smell the magnolias or whatever , or SLOWLy take in a beautiful sunrise/sunset or maybe a deer darting across my back yard. No more daily 2 hour commutes.

3. I want to be able to live comfortably without spending a fortune on the day to day basics. Goods and services are too expensive here.

I may have to eat more fiber (beans, corn, cabbage, rice etc. etc.) and less meat or order a favorite or two online rather than driving to the mall... but I'll be one relaxed, rested, happy camper

4. The condition of our infrastructure is deteriorating fast and repair/upgrades and maintenance aren't keeping up. Ultimately means higher taxes etc. etc.

Thats only a small sample of my reasoning.... but I think you get the picture.

Mind you... I have done a lot of research in determining the best place for me. Everyone who considers a move like this must (in my humble opinion) do the same. But I am happy with my decision and looking forward to my final exodus from the golden state! Because in my opinion it's quite tarnished right now and I don't see it getting any better.

Good luck with your decision!

[EscapeCalifornia]

I'm 34, married, and want to start a family some day pretty soon. I don't see ever being able to afford that here unless I resign myself to life-long renting and driving 15 year old cars. I just got back from my second scouting trip to Denver. Its enough like Orange County that I won't be a total fish out of water, but different enough to not be exactly what I'm leaving. Pending a trip in winter, we're outtahere!