Did anyone move out of Cali for a lower cost of living state and then moved back to Cali? (San Francisco: to rent, house)

[JohnSoCal]

I moved from San Jose CA to Florida and then moved back to San Diego CA. We liked San Jose but just wanted to try something different. We lived for 8 years in Coral Springs Florida which is an upscale city in the metro Ft. Lauderdale area. One of my happiest days was when we moved back to California.

I have lived in Victoria Canada, Vancouver Canada, Seattle, Spokane WA, Portland OR, Phoenix AZ, San Jose, San Diego, Los Angeles, Culiacan Mexico, and Caracas Venezuela.

When I retired it was very easy to pick where we wanted to live. We have lived very happily here in Murrieta CA for 17 years now. We wouldn't consider living anywhere else.

We don't like the liberal politics of California but when it is all said and done. it hasn't really affected our life. The good things about living here far outweigh the bad. Off and on, we have lived 45+ years in California and have no desire to leave again.

[Finper]

Originally Posted by JohnSoCal

I moved from San Jose CA to Florida and then moved back to San Diego CA. We liked San Jose but just wanted to try something different. We lived for 8 years in Coral Springs Florida which is an upscale city in the metro Ft. Lauderdale area. One of my happiest days was when we moved back to California.

I have lived in Victoria Canada, Vancouver Canada, Seattle, Spokane WA, Portland OR, Phoenix AZ, San Jose, San Diego, Los Angeles, Culiacan Mexico, and Caracas Venezuela.

When I retired it was very easy to pick where we wanted to live. We have lived very happily here in Murrieta CA for 17 years now. We wouldn't consider living anywhere else.

We don't like the liberal politics of California but when it is all said and done. it hasn't really affected our life. The good things about living here far outweigh the bad. Off and on, we have lived 45+ years in California and have no desire to leave again.

Temecula area is very nice I wouldn't mind living there. Liberals have effected your life by your wallet. You just must have enough money that you don't question it too much. Good for you but a lot of middle class are showing their dislike of our politics by their feet leaving Ca.

[JohnSoCal]

Originally Posted by Finper

Temecula area is very nice I wouldn't mind living there. Liberals have effected your life by your wallet. You just must have enough money that you don't question it too much. Good for you but a lot of middle class are showing their dislike of our politics by their feet leaving Ca.

Actually we really aren't affected. We are middle class but we do not pay any state income tax so that is not an issue. The gas tax is very high but we don't drive that much so that is not an issue. Property tax is protected by Prop 13. Sales tax is not much different. Don't get me wrong, we have considered moving to Arizona because of the California liberal politics but the negatives there outweigh the positives here. We have also considered Green Valley in Henderson Nevada. Actually Murrieta/Temecula is fairly conservative but we are outnumbered by the coastal areas.

I did a very in depth comparison between living here vs Texas a couple years ago because our son and his family lived in Wichita Falls TX. It turned out that it was cheaper for us to live here because the high property tax in Texas more than offset the CA state income tax. The difference in the cost of housing was minimal if you compared the cost per sq. ft. Our only reason for considering Texas was family, We don't care too much for the state.

Things could change in the future, especially if the liberals mess with our healthcare which is excellent.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by JohnSoCal

Things could change in the future, especially if the liberals mess with our healthcare which is excellent.

It has been--and will be--Trump messing with your health care, but that's another topic.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

It has been--and will be--Trump messing with your health care, but that's another topic.

Oh. Huh ...

[luv4horses]

JohnSoCal how do you avoid state income tax? And when you returned did you have to pay regular property tax on your new home?

[KimNChicago]

Originally Posted by Surfertx

... But then again our lifestyle and I even would say happiness has not been the same since we moved.

I feel your pain. I moved to Houston burbs six years ago from Chicago burbs.

The real downside for me here is happiness. So many things I don't like, but I won't go into all that because you probably know coming from Cali.

Sure, we pay no income tax here, but money isn't everything if you can still make it somewhere else.

I'd say if you can live in a smaller place there, your happiness in that type of community is what matters. House size and amenities aren't that important when you're miserable, if you can make it in an area more compatible with your lifestyle.

Go for it

P.S. I'm also moving!

[JohnSoCal]

Originally Posted by luv4horses

JohnSoCal how do you avoid state income tax? And when you returned did you have to pay regular property tax on your new home?

To begin with, Social Security is exempt from state income tax so that exempts $41,000 of my income. I have other income that is exempt. My itemized deductions takes care of the rest.

When we returned, we bought a new house in San Diego. It makes no difference to the property tax that I returned or not. We then bought another new home in the SF Bay area. When we retired, we bought our present home. Basically the property tax is 1% + fees of the assessed value. The assessed base value is the purchase price of the home. Our total tax rate is 1.12%. Under Prop 13 the assessed value cannot increase more than 2% annually and the rate is fixed. This protects you from being taxed out of your home. There are a lot of other variables that can affect the property tax.

[JohnSoCal]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

It has been--and will be--Trump messing with your health care, but that's another topic.

I am not worried about Trump at all.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by JohnSoCal

I am not worried about Trump at all.

Well that’s great. But truth remains: the state is not the entity “messing with” your existing health care you say you like now. The Trump administration is. So if he, and his administration don’t concern you then you can remove health are from your list of concerns.