Left CA, but plan to return or did return? (Sacramento: sales, houses)

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by Ludachris

Hey Derek, you probably figured I'd be replying to this at some point...

We're part of the group that is planning to move back here at some point. We also moved to CO, and as much as we love it, we're still missing the people back home in CA. And ever since I made the decision internally, I've found that I'm looking forward to being in CA again. However, like Derek, we're not wanting to go back to the same region (which was the Bay Area). We'd like to try something different and have settled on the Sacramento suburbs, near Lake Folsom - a couple hours from the beach and also the mountains/snow, and even closer to wine country. I can't wait!

The main draw for us is the people we left behind. Turns out we miss family and friends a lot more than we thought - it's been bigger for me than my wife. After we had kids we realized we wanted them to grow up and form relationships with the people we were closest with, but they're almost all in CA. We've made some friends out here, but we just haven't been able to replace those meaningful relationships we have with the people we grew up with. Unfortunately, my mother-in-law and her boyfriend followed us out here, but I'm sure they'll follow us back at some point. She can't stay away from her granddaughters.

Besides the people, I'm really looking forward to being near the coast again and all of the great things CA has to offer. It's still a little more expensive than I'd like, and you do have to sacrifice a good deal compared to living in places like CO (at least in our opinion), but I think in the end it will be worth it for us. You take the good with the bad. I realized that CA just feels like home to me and it likely always will. Every day I'm away I just feel like something is missing for me and my family. We've enjoyed our time here in CO, and my wife is still not completely sold on leaving, but we know we'll be happy when we finally make it back. I would recommend CO to anyone looking for a great place to live. I have no complaints. It just so happens my soul belongs in CA.

Hey Ludachris,

I thought you mentioned that someday you may return. Of course I can relate to your experience. There is an inner awareness which occurs over time and after a while the decision becomes clear. You just know it in your knower. Once you realize CA is truly home, it's simply a matter of working out the finer details (where, when, etc...).

CO is a great state and fun place to live. So I'm glad you guys are enjoying your time while there. It took my wife a little longer as well to realize we would be returning, especially since her sister lives in CO. But once we made the move back we knew it was the right decision. Family proximity was a major factor for us. And having access to the coast and High Sierra was icing on the cake.

We've got friends who live in Penryn which is between Rocklin and Auburn. They seem to really like it out there.

Derek

[temporarytexan]

We left California for Texas - affordability and a "normal" life is what we told ourselves. The "normalcy" of Texas is insane! I've never met so many people who have the knack for being rude with a smile on their face. Being here for five years (after living in CA my whole life) made me realize that CA is wild, wacky, weird and that's why I fit in. There are so many options to choose from in the State; we plan to focus on Central California. We're good citizens who want to contribute to the beauty and joy of a place. We plan to put our efforts into a place that has always been home. After being in a small town in Texas I know what "unwelcome" feels like. The good part about California is that it's a melting pot and if someone doesn't like you they're at least going to be upfront and honest about it ... I really can't wait to go back. Yes, there's traffic, broken budget and smog, but I really think enough of us can reverse the reputation of CA now that we've been away and turn it back into the best state in the Union!

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

Hey Ludachris,

I thought you mentioned that someday you may return. Of course I can relate to your experience. There is an inner awareness which occurs over time and after a while the decision becomes clear. You just know it in your knower. Once you realize CA is truly home, it's simply a matter of working out the finer details (where, when, etc...).

CO is a great state and fun place to live. So I'm glad you guys are enjoying your time while there. It took my wife a little longer as well to realize we would be returning, especially since her sister lives in CO. But once we made the move back we knew it was the right decision. Family proximity was a major factor for us. And having access to the coast and High Sierra was icing on the cake.

We've got friends who live in Penryn which is between Rocklin and Auburn. They seem to really like it out there.

Derek

And as of today, I think we have all the details worked out finally. Everything is now in place. Let's hope it all works out like it should over the next 6-8 months.

[agnt.starling]

Originally Posted by temporarytexan

We left California for Texas - affordability and a "normal" life is what we told ourselves. The "normalcy" of Texas is insane! I've never met so many people who have the knack for being rude with a smile on their face. Being here for five years (after living in CA my whole life) made me realize that CA is wild, wacky, weird and that's why I fit in. There are so many options to choose from in the State; we plan to focus on Central California. We're good citizens who want to contribute to the beauty and joy of a place. We plan to put our efforts into a place that has always been home. After being in a small town in Texas I know what "unwelcome" feels like. The good part about California is that it's a melting pot and if someone doesn't like you they're at least going to be upfront and honest about it ... I really can't wait to go back. Yes, there's traffic, broken budget and smog, but I really think enough of us can reverse the reputation of CA now that we've been away and turn it back into the best state in the Union!

It was sorta the same experience w/us, (this being almost 20 yrs ago), left pretty much for the same reasons as all (exception: job situation), to Indiana. Samething, people would smirk w/rudeness, I really felt out of place & so did my hubby at that time (& he's from there).

I was glad when we finally came back, and also am thinking about moving up north in the future (or dancing w/the idea)...for now I'm ok w/being where I'm at.

[.highnlite]

We left California for Texas - affordability and a "normal" life is what we told ourselves.

If you have kids, be prepared, I have friends who moved here from an upscale suburb of Dallas with one of the best elementary schools in the Dallas area, they were concerned about the "poor" schools their kids would have to attend here. They, to their shock, found their kids struggling to keep up and in danger of failing, the Texas school was so far behind the small town public school their kids attend here.

[Surftown831]

I've left CA three times, once to go to college, another time for a job and the last time it was for a girl who lived in Florida. I moved out there to be with her but I told her from the beginning, "when we get married and start a family we are moving back to California." We got married, had a kid and now we are back in CA, for good.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

If you have kids, be prepared, I have friends who moved here from an upscale suburb of Dallas with one of the best elementary schools in the Dallas area, they were concerned about the "poor" schools their kids would have to attend here. They, to their shock, found their kids struggling to keep up and in danger of failing, the Texas school was so far behind the small town public school their kids attend here.

May or may not be representative of the states' school quality. Too many variables: that particular kid, the Texas school, the CA school, the kids (peers) in each school, etc.

[.highnlite]

true, but, they moved from an upscale Dallas suburb, that was rated as a top school in the Dallas area, to just a normal town, normal people, normal California demographic.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

true, but, they moved from an upscale Dallas suburb, that was rated as a top school in the Dallas area, to just a normal town, normal people, normal California demographic.

We'd just have to look for a normalizing metric like SAT or ACT scores together with %kids taking it, %attending college, etc.

Still, few people look at an individual state's academic data when looking for a place to live. Usually, they have more practical reasons to chose a state - like that's where they found a job.

School performance data helps decide what neighborhood within a city to live in.

[jaynetarzana]

Derek,

Well you know our story, we keep trying to leave California and keep realizing it is the only place that has ever been home. We will be coming home as soon as we possibly can.