Back in Texas, but still thinking about Sacramento (Rancho Cordova, Woodland: how much, house)

[Tex N Cal]

My family and I relocated to the bay area for work for a few years, but we returned to Texas last year. It was nice, but I wouldn't want to live there again as it's way too expensive. However, I did make a few trips to Sacramento and literally loved the area. We're a suburb kind of family, so the areas out 50 and 80 really stood out. I think I just loved the area due to the weather, the proximity to the mountains and bay area, the outdoor activities and the cheaper (at least in CA) cost of living. Honestly, I haven't stopped thinking about moving to Sacramento since we left California. Although we have more disposable income here in Texas, my wife and I (and our son too) feel that we were all much happier in California. It pains me as a Texan to say that. I'm in Houston now and although there are nice places around town, my wife and I find ourselves hating it a little more each day. Anyhow, housing prices scare us and just the general cost of living in California scares us, but I would very seriously consider a move back. I do have an office that I can transfer to in Sacramento at some point, so that's a start. One of the drawbacks though is leaving family who are getting older and get to see the kids more often being so close. I'm not sure if I am asking anything in particular in this post, but if anyone has any advice, please feel free to share.

[Chimérique]

Tex N Cal,
It is mighty nice of you to express how much you like Sacramento.
If you move here, you can always bring one or two sets of grandparents with you, or visit each other often.
If that doesn't work, and you stay in Texas, you can visit Sacramento often.

[xenxes]

We relocated here from Florida, similar geopolitical feel to Texas I would say (no income tax, business friendly), just more humid. We love Bay Area too but not only is it too expensive, it's also too crowded. That being said, we just moved to Sac over the summer, and are now planning to move our parents down here too.

Cost of living is higher comparatively, but people just seem generally healthier and happier compared to where we were. Sure, downside is being taxed on everything, but so what, our spending power is down by about 10-15%. If you are pinching pennies to get by that's one thing, but being able to buy a few less shiny gadgets and dinners out will not destroy your life style. Moreover, money won't buy happiness if you feel you will be happier living here.

Also, what I think about FL and TX --



Case and point --

http://online.wsj.com/articles/discl...xas-1408123143

[Bonez765]

Originally Posted by xenxes

Cost of living is higher comparatively, but people just seem generally healthier and happier compared to where we were.

are you talking about sacramento?

[NinaN]

I made the move from Texas to Sacramento area 6 years ago and I love it out here. We chose El Dorado Hills based on schools, distance to my husband's work, and quite frankly what homes were available when we moved. I couldn't be happier with our choice. We moved from the DFW area, but I grew up in The Woodlands near Houston and I can appreciate how hard it is to live in that weather. Going back is even harder after being out here a while.

Housing is much more expensive here, especially now that the market has come back up. But to us it's worth every penny. We love being outdoors and the weather here makes it so much more enjoyable year round. We also buy ski passes every year because even on low snow years it only takes 3-4 days of skiing to make up for the cost.

Good luck with your decision. Let me know if you have any questions about the area.

[xenxes]

Originally Posted by Bonez765

are you talking about sacramento?

Sacramento is higher than Miami, mostly due to state income tax.

Housing is probably similar.

Then there's all these other weird "taxes" I'm learning about, or "regulatory fees" that aren't taxes (i.e. CRV). If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck... whatever.

As for the healthier and happier, it's all relative.

[Tex N Cal]

Thank you for all of the replies. Today, in Houston, the good weather has finally arrived. It's clear, cool and windy, which reminds me of being on my back porch in California taking in the beautiful scenery. As NinaN could attest, for anyone that complains about hot weather in Sacramento, just take a trip to Houston in the Summer where it doesn't even cool down at night. As for now, it's exciting to think of returning to California, although when we left, I said I wouldn't ever come back except for vacation. We are considering other areas of the country too, but with what we know and love about the Sacramento area and due to the limited locations that I am able to transfer to within my company, Sacramento is #1 on our list.

[Curmudgeon]

Having lived in both places I'd be thinking of Sacramento too.

One thing about moving or staying close to one's children. in these days of a very mobile society and multiple job changes, they're likely to move not once but several times. And there you are, stuck in a place that is nowhere near any of them and not where you wish to be. Just a thought!

[shelato]

One of the things to think about with respect to taxes in California is that California has prop 13 and Texas doesn't. What that means is that the longer you live in California your property tax burden becomes a smaller share of your income as property taxes in California fail to keep up with inflation. I agree that initially California seems like a really high tax state and in some respects it is. But the longer you live here the less that is the case. So if you think you want to live in Sacramento, long term then the sooner you make that decision the better off you will be. My neighbor bought his house in 1972 for 16,000 dollars, its worth about $650-700K today but his assessed basis for property tax purposes is about $100K dollars today because of prop 13. For him, California is a low cost tax state.

[ElectroPlumber]

We moved to Sacramento (Rancho Cordova) eight years ago (after a detour through NC). However, we are from Houston, most recently having lived in Clear Lake. I grew up in Oak Forest. My wife grew up in Sharpstown. We lived in Texas for 45 years (primarily in Houston and the surrounding area).

We don't ever see ourselves moving back to Texas. Quite frankly, California turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to us and our children. My wife works for the state and has benefits that we never dreamed of having in our lifetime. Every year, we like living here more and more. Of course, it gets hot and humid in Texas and hot in Sacramento too. At least it does cool down at night here.

We took a trip back to Texas to see family in May and did some grocery shopping at Randall's in Galveston. I was really surprised to see how high the prices were on grocery items--about comparable to shopping at Raley's here. Gas was cheaper of course and housing is cheaper although property taxes are unbelievably high in Texas compared to California. We don't make enough money for the CA state income tax to be an issue for us.

I quite frankly don't understand the knocking of CA by so many people especially people in Texas. Maybe they have never actually visited the state or maybe the listen too much to talk radio. If you don't like the politics in CA, just do what we do--ignore them. Day to day living is great here, at least for us. If it wasn't, we would have been be outta here by now.