Wow!! I'm in the Seattle Times (Pacific: real estate, rent, house)

[CityGirl72]

All I did was email her for some professional advice - I didn't expect it to be in print!

The Real Estate Deal | Real-estate and relocation: Is now a good time to move? | Seattle Times Newspaper Blog

[jenlion]

Cool!

I know you want to go back to Sacramento, but I wonder: Does it need to be there? Maybe there are other places that are also warm and sunny that might be more stable?

Heck, you might even like moving to Texas. You could hook up with Jenbar and move to Austin. Their economy, I think, is doing a little better. And honestly, if you went there (assuming jobs) and bought a house and EVERYTHING tanked, the WORST that would happen is you'd lose a house... a house costing around 250k, maybe. Bad news, but if you've got that in equity already, it wouldn't break you. You could still pick up and start again. But that's WORST case. More likely it'd be fine, and if Austin didn't suit you, you could keep on a-movin'. I'm thankful every day I see temps at 107 in Dallas that I'm NOT in Texas anymore, but I know some people like it just fine.

If you love Sacramento that much then you really can't go wrong going where you'll be happy. You only get one life, right? But just thought -- maybe there are some other options you haven't looked entirely into yet. Stay in seattle. Move back to sacto. Or do something completely different!

[Ira500]

CityGirl72,
Congratulations, and I think you asked some very good, clearly written questions.
Being that you live in a part of the Seattle area that's considered desirable, you shouldn't have much trouble selling your house here, and if finding a job in Sacramento is something you feel reasonably confident about, it seems like you should do it. Sacramento is much further along in their housing decline, so maybe they're closer to the bottom?
Plus, if you sell your house here, you'll be sitting on some equity, so you could rent in Sacramento and take your time finding a place you really love.
It sounds like you really want to be there and not here, and it seems to me like you're in a pretty good position to make that happen. It's a good thing to be in a place where you're happy.

[CityGirl72]

Well, being that my husband and I are both from So Cal, we lookeda around there too. And also my parents are still down there.

But I moved away from So Cal because I really didn't like it. As did my sister and her family. It was a good choice. I'm sure my husband would prefer to live in So Cal instead of Nor Cal, but here's the key issue: I have a son from a previous marriage and his dad is in Sac. And although he's not opposed to us moving in California anywhere - he might turn it into a legal battle if say we move farther away (he was not thrilled about Seattle)

We have discussed moving to Georgia or Virginia or North Carolina, once the kids are grown and gone...but California because of families and visitations, is the easiest option right now...and I won't complain about going back to Sac.

[Pittgal]

Great article, congrats on being published! BTW~ Virginia is a beautiful State!

[Topaz]

Could you and your husband start putting out some leads for Sacramento jobs and see if some company might be willing to hire one of you and pay for relocation?

Long distance job hunts are tough but you never know. My family desperately wanted to move to Texas before our children started elementary school and my husband landed a job with a company that moved us from the Pacific Northwest to Texas. It made all the difference having their assistance because the relocation bill would have been daunting otherwise.

[la_fuerza]

Your name is Laura? I had you pegged for a Jennifer or a Brittany!