Californians - What $/sq ft would make you want to go back?

[warpedhybrid232]

no, i wouln't move back to ca b.c. my income isn't enough for monterey (city id like to live in although i'm from the sac and san jose areas). but if i did have the financial means to move to a place like monterey, ii'd rather live in maui w/ that $.

[changeofpace]

I have never purchased a home where the sq. ft cost was even a consideration. The cost per square foot can vary tremendously due to quality, materials used, cost of the lot, etc. etc. A house on a golf course, with stone on the front, a paver driveway, solid mahogony doors and cabinets, thermal windows, top of the line light fixtures, top of the line kitchen built in appliances, tile showers, granite counters in kitchen, bathrooms and laundry room, stone fireplace (floor to ceiling), inground sprinkler system for entire yard will be more per square foot than a home on an average lot, no landscaping or sprinkler, all stucco, inexpensive kitchen appliances, prefab shower enclosures, formica counter tops, inexpensive light fixtures, oak cabinets, carpeted floors and poor quality construction. The houses can be the exact same size and style but with the above variables can vary by as much as $90,000 and vary as much as $50 a square foot.
Like statistics, square footage costs can be very deceiving.

[Pololo]

This is my first post and it's funny we were just discussing this with my wife last night. We moved to Austin last year and it definitely takes "quite a bit" to adjust to this part of the country. I kept my house in the Bay Area, CA as I am renting it out but in a year or two, I'll make a decision.

If it was up to me, I will move back to CA in a heartbeat! but as someone pointed out, the state issues, house pricing, education and prop 13 have taken the beauty of living there.

By the way, living in the Bay Area is VERY different than living in Southhern CA... I don't think there is enough money to make me move to SoCA except for San Diego.

My house in CA is currently ~ $450/Sq ft and the house we bought here in NW Austin is ~ $111/Sq ft

There is a saying..."If you leave CA(sell your house) you'll never go back to CA" and I miss it waaaay too much.

My 2 cents,
P