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Thank you everyone for your input so far. Some of the answers I have received have confused me even more in our choice of leaving vs. staying.
My husband and I, and our two little girls have been considering moving out of Riverside CA area for Sandy UT. We were trying to just look at the pros and cons of each place and compare them to find what would be best. We have been asking current residents of both places for their opinions.
But we are getting such mixed reviews. Some people say UT has high crime, low wages, bad air, bad water. Other people say that UT is safe, affordable, and a great place to raise a family. With where we live now its the same thing. Some people say to stay in CA while others say the unemployment is high and the rent is outrageous and the traffic and smog is awful. We are more confused now then when we started this.
I know not everyone will have the same opinions and the places that one person likes another person may hate. But I just want to get the honest (no bashing) 411. This is a big choice for us.
My husband and I like the CA warm weather and sunshine, being close to the beach, and lots of stores/things to do (zoo, seaworld, disneyland). But we are having a problem with the high unemployment, high cost of living, expensive rent (an apartment here in CA can cost between $300 and $900 more than in UT!). Also there is a lot of cursing and smoking in our area and things you dont want around your children on a daily basis.
With UT we like how affordable the rent is, the lower cost of living and taxes, how family friendly/conservative the people/area seem to be, the big mountains and beautiful views, bigger yards and more open spaces. The downsides being having to learn to drive in snow and possibly low wages (from what people have told me).
Can you honestly tell me if you think Riverside CA is a good place to live/raise a family? Do you think the pros of the area over ride the cons? Do you think its worth it to stay here waiting for the job situation/high unemployment to get better then leave for some where with lower unemployment? I have seen homes in Temecula for sale for only $300,000 which is affordable. Is there anything wrong with this city/area that the homes are so much more affordable than other cities where the homes are $600,000? Is Temecula any better than Riverside in your opinion?
I live in Temecula and love it. Nothing wrong with the city, some complain about the traffic, not me. We moved here because we didnt want to be house broke and wanted a home to start a family in. Its a beautiful area and I love it more and more each day. I am not sure if I would say that if I had to commute to work. I work from home. My wife still commutes to Mira mesa area and she doesn't complain about it.
Looking at your pros and cons list, you have more pros listed for Utah and for the cons you have 4 listed for Ca and 2 listed for Utah one of which is learning to drive in the snow (its easy to learn).
Going by that it looks like you should move to Utah.
I live in Temecula also and went to grad school in Riverside (I spent a good amount of time driving around different parts of the city). I love Temecula so far but I think Riverside is a great city as well. There are some not-so-nice areas of Riverside but there are some really beautiful, safe areas as well.
As far as Temecula is concerned, I've lived in several different types of environments (big city, suburbs, inner city) and I don't think I've ever felt safer than I do in Temecula. My $.02
I find wages in the IE to be extremely low. I would think wages in UT would either be the same, or possibly a bit higher. I would say GO. You can always come back.
Thank you everyone for your input so far. Some of the answers I have received have confused me even more in our choice of leaving vs. staying.
My husband and I, and our two little girls have been considering moving out of Riverside CA area for Sandy UT. We were trying to just look at the pros and cons of each place and compare them to find what would be best. We have been asking current residents of both places for their opinions.
But we are getting such mixed reviews. Some people say UT has high crime, low wages, bad air, bad water. Other people say that UT is safe, affordable, and a great place to raise a family. With where we live now its the same thing. Some people say to stay in CA while others say the unemployment is high and the rent is outrageous and the traffic and smog is awful. We are more confused now then when we started this.
I know not everyone will have the same opinions and the places that one person likes another person may hate. But I just want to get the honest (no bashing) 411. This is a big choice for us.
My husband and I like the CA warm weather and sunshine, being close to the beach, and lots of stores/things to do (zoo, seaworld, disneyland). But we are having a problem with the high unemployment, high cost of living, expensive rent (an apartment here in CA can cost between $300 and $900 more than in UT!). Also there is a lot of cursing and smoking in our area and things you dont want around your children on a daily basis.
With UT we like how affordable the rent is, the lower cost of living and taxes, how family friendly/conservative the people/area seem to be, the big mountains and beautiful views, bigger yards and more open spaces. The downsides being having to learn to drive in snow and possibly low wages (from what people have told me).
Can you honestly tell me if you think Riverside CA is a good place to live/raise a family? Do you think the pros of the area over ride the cons? Do you think its worth it to stay here waiting for the job situation/high unemployment to get better then leave for some where with lower unemployment? I have seen homes in Temecula for sale for only $300,000 which is affordable. Is there anything wrong with this city/area that the homes are so much more affordable than other cities where the homes are $600,000? Is Temecula any better than Riverside in your opinion?
Why is this your last post? You aren't bothering anybody. How are we all going to converse if you won't write back?
Why is a suburb of Salt Lake City the destination? Will you consider other parts of SLC metro or is Sandy it? (I've never understood why particular suburbs are exact destinations for some out-of-staters ).
IMO UT doesn't have high crime. If you've managed to live in Riverside for any period of time, even the worst, most disgusting parts won't look (or be) as bad as Casa Blanca or the area around University between the 91 and UCR.
IMO UT does have an imbalance between housing costs and salaries. That's because all of YOU CALIFORNIANS () have been moving there en masse after cashing out of your homes during the bubble. [Disclaimer, I'm a native-Californian who grew up in Corona and Riverside and is now Californicating UT's neighbor, CO].
Smog in Riverside sucks. SLC's air can stagnate during the winter I hear. Oh yeah, they have a winter. The Great Salt Lake itself is bad water if you ask me. Those darn gnats took half of my leg fat when I was a boy.
UT is such a big state that it's safe to say that most of it is safe. I've never heard of an entire state that is dangerous. Except for the state of utter confusion. It's affordable if you can afford its higher-than-national-average housing costs. Anywhere you can raise your family comfortably will be somewhere good to raise your family.
I take it you're getting your advice from Californians who have never been outside of CA. Don't listen to them, they'd think hell is paradise.
Riverside/San Bernardino's unemployment is high: 14.2%. Compare that with Salt Lake City's 6.8%.
Riverside's median listing price (city-limits only) has dropped all the way down to $199,900 (ROFL ). Salt Lake County's is $225,000. They do have lower property taxes though.
-The average urban Riverside resident commutes for 29.5 minutes each way. 41.6% commute for more than 30 minutes each way. 13.3% commute for more than an hour each way. Insanity.
-The average urban Salt Lake City resident commutes for 21.7 minutes each way. 26.5% commute for more than 30 minutes each way. 3.4% commute for more than an hour each way. Much more sane.
In UT you'll have warm weather and sunshine, just not all year long. You'll be a Southwest flight away from the beach, Sea World, and Disneyland. I'm sure they have a zoo, and/or other things that can stand in for the beach and the theme parks. They have some of the best mountains/snow/skiing/snow activities in the world. If struggling to get by is worth being 40 minutes from Disneyland, an hour from the beach and 1.5 from Sea World, then that's your call. BTW, UT has stores, but you'll see cursing and smoking on a daily basis, as is the case everywhere.
Learning how to drive in the snow is not hard. It's like riding a bike. No it's not. You have to learn all over again every winter, or after every break between storms. Just keep space between yourself and the vehicles around you (in front of you, most importantly), break gently and about an hour earlier than you normally would, and whatever you do, don't lose focus. If you brake too hard, you won't be able to stop until you hit something. 4WD/AWD helps you get going but it doesn't help you stop. FWD cars are fine too. But in all seriousness, driving in snow is a learned skill that anybody with a driver's license should be able to learn.
Again, I grew up in Riverside, and I look back on some of it fondly. The rest of it I'd like to forget. That's why I'm not raising my family there. I don't live in SLC, but I think it's better than Riverside. I wouldn't wait around for Riverside to get better, life's too short. If you have jobs in Riverside, and like the life you're living now, then stay. If you have jobs in hand in SLC (or tons of cash reserves, like several $K), then take the plunge if the fancy tickles you. Leaving CA was the best decision I ever made. Perhaps it will be yours....
P.S. I don't like Temecula. It's one of them homogenized "paradise cities" marketed only towards young families who love identical newer tract homes, (perhaps as a symbol of "status"), and old farts who like to golf. 21.7% of its workers think it's worth driving more than 60 minutes each way to work for. I think they are insane (but to each their own ).
Last edited by Count David; 06-24-2010 at 10:14 AM..
In Utah on the other hand, opportunities abound in the companies moving from California to UT's business-friendly tax code and less stringent enviro-wacko laws. CA businesses are bailing out of this sinking ship to states like Utah, Arizona, Nevada, Oregon, and on and on, because there--- they can afford to stay in business. Staying in business (and expanding) means jobs for more people, more opprotunity to advance, and overall, better chances of staying employed in the long run.
Sorry to burst your bubble... that would be great if your theory was true, but unfortunately it is not. Name which companies are moving from CA to those states? Yeah, California is indeed in the toilet right now, no argument there, but so is NV, AZ, and OR. Nevada is one of the few states which is actually worse off than California right now. Utah is not the kind of place someone unemployed who is not LDS and knows no one can just show up to town and expect to find a good job.
Personally I find the OP a little strange. She appears to have never been out of the state of California. A few weeks ago she had it "narrowed down" to Salt Lake City, "Bolder" (sic), and Austin. Me and a bunch of other people took the time to respond to her on the Boulder forum, with no response or acknowledgment of our time. Very rude. Now all of a sudden Salt Lake City is THE place, and Sandy in particular, and even though it's certainly driveable from Riverside in one day, the OP appears unwilling to visit, seems like she wants to quit her job and move there sight unseen. One thing is doing that as a single, another thing is when you have children to support.
Sorry to burst your bubble... that would be great if your theory was true, but unfortunately it is not. Name which companies are moving from CA to those states? ...
As with most states, UT is more of a small biz state. Its economy is more self-contained than a lot of other states. Small biz is more of a job creator than large biz according to many studies. I just came back from Park City & the economy there seems to be doing fine.
Interesting. Thanks for the link. Out of curiosity, I just did a search on all the finance jobs currently open at Intel and almost all of them are in China, Russia, Malysia, Vietnam, and Costa Rica. I wonder if these were positions that were originally in the US and got outsourced? A few positions were in Oregon.
I just don't see any large scale relocations of companies moving from CA to nearby western states.
Quote:
As with most states, UT is more of a small biz state. Its economy is more self-contained than a lot of other states. Small biz is more of a job creator than large biz according to many studies. I just came back from Park City & the economy there seems to be doing fine.
Very true. If I owned a small business I would certainly want to be located in a lower tax, lower cost of living environment. Although California has a huge small business presence too.
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).
) have been moving there en masse after cashing out of your homes during the bubble. [Disclaimer, I'm a native-Californian who grew up in Corona and Riverside and is now Californicating UT's neighbor, CO].
It's affordable if you can afford its higher-than-national-average housing costs. Anywhere you can raise your family comfortably will be somewhere good to raise your family.
