Did anyone move out of Cali for a lower cost of living state and then moved back to Cali? (Nice: sales, real estate)

[Surfertx]

I moved out of OC about 4 years ago to Houston, TX for financial reasons (open a business and buy a house) and now that the business is sold we're looking into moving back. I admit it is scary being out of Cali and looking at the high cost of living from Texas. But then again our lifestyle and I even would say happiness has not been the same since we moved.

Just wondering if anyone had similar experiences.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by Surfertx

I moved out of OC about 4 years ago to Houston, TX for financial reasons (open a business and buy a house) and now that the business is sold we're looking into moving back. I admit it is scary being out of Cali and looking at the high cost of living from Texas. But then again our lifestyle and I even would say happiness has not been the same since we moved.

Just wondering if anyone had similar experiences.

Moved out 3 times and back twice. Could move back again and pay cash for a home in Coastal OC, but it would not be as nice as what I have now and my wife would NOT be happy.

[waltchan]

My former neighbor moved out of California in 1998 to a conservative small town, and LOST over $1 million of net-worth after all the home prices went up quick, plus all the missing wages today that don't pay well as before. Moving to Republican is not always better, because you can easily LOSE a lot of money and ruin your life.

[ysr_racer]

I lost 535 million by not picking the correct Power Ball numbers.

[JJonesIII]

Originally Posted by waltchan

My former neighbor moved out of California in 1998 to a conservative small town, and LOST over $1 million of net-worth after all the home prices went up quick, plus all the missing wages today that don't pay well as before. Moving to Republican is not always better, because you can easily LOSE a lot of money and ruin your life.

Actually, I just saw your neighbor last week and he said had he stayed, his house would have been foreclosed on because they couldn't afford to live there with the high COL (claimed they were going bankrupt). He said he's happy to have a house in his conservative small town and to be able to put food on his table (something that was tough for him in California). He also said that even though he took a salary cut, it was like he got a raise because the COL was 1/3 as much as where he came from and now he's able to save for retirement. So much for that.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by JJonesIII

Actually, I just saw your neighbor last week and he said had he stayed, his house would have been foreclosed on because they couldn't afford to live there with the high COL (claimed they were going bankrupt). He said he's happy to have a house in his conservative small town and to be able to put food on his table (something that was tough for him in California). He also said that even though he took a salary cut, it was like he got a raise because the COL was 1/3 as much as where he came from and now he's able to save for retirement. So much for that.

I’m curious as to what COL is high other than housing? (Which costs, if “neighbor” had stayed in house he was buying, would have remained stable, not rising.)

Gas? Yes. Maybe $80 a month higher than a cheap gas state.

Food? Um, no.

Taxes? Maybe. Depending on where, but overall tax burden differences aren’t generally high except for the very wealthy.

Clothing and general household items? Um, no.

Discretionary luxury items? Health care? Insurance? No, not really different.

And then there’s the cost of moving / uprooting / reestablishing residency to factor in ... cheaper to stay than move if you already have a mortgage in process.


Rents and new housing purchases are the huge challenges. Of course, but not if you bought previously on a budget you could afford.

So what else drives up the COL so much that the costs of moving are worth it?


Don’t get me wrong, I LIKE people moving away. As many as possible as soon as possible.

[V8 Vega]

Higher cost in Calif.
Car insurance, car registration, smog check. House fire insurance.

[Finper]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

I’m curious as to what COL is high other than housing? (Which costs, if “neighbor” had stayed in house he was buying, would have remained stable, not rising.)

Gas? Yes. Maybe $80 a month higher than a cheap gas state.

Food? Um, no.

Taxes? Maybe. Depending on where, but overall tax burden differences aren’t generally high except for the very wealthy.

Clothing and general household items? Um, no.

Discretionary luxury items? Health care? Insurance? No, not really different.

And then there’s the cost of moving / uprooting / reestablishing residency to factor in ... cheaper to stay than move if you already have a mortgage in process.


Rents and new housing purchases are the huge challenges. Of course, but not if you bought previously on a budget you could afford.

So what else drives up the COL so much that the costs of moving are worth it?


Don’t get me wrong, I LIKE people moving away. As many as possible as soon as possible.

Food ... um yes. Food is getting very expensive here both groceries and eating out.

Car ins, registration, gas, maintenance, all very high priced

Health ins, very high. I pay 500.00 a month and I'm healthy

Taxes through the roof and they keep adding more

On COL calculators it's 50% cheaper to live in Az then Ca

Nice try

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by Finper

Food ... um yes. Food is getting very expensive here both groceries and eating out.

Car ins, registration, gas, maintenance, all very high priced

Health ins, very high. I pay 500.00 a month and I'm healthy

Taxes through the roof and they keep adding more

On COL calculators it's 50% cheaper to live in Az then Ca

Nice try

Those COL calculators average in housing, Finper.

Car insurance in California is in the top 1/3d of all states, but not the highest. Some low cost states like Mich. and Louisiana are higher by 50%.

Gas is high ... average family difference runs $50 - $100 a month range.

Maintenance? Of what? Cars? Depends on where in California and where else in the US you compare to. Overall not much if any difference.

Health insurance? Quite average. Here are comparison charts: https://howmuch.net/articles/health-...rates-by-state

Taxes? Covered ad nauseam in these forums ... the state income tax is tiered to be entirely reasonable to the average worker compared to other states. Sales tax is high-ish but not the worst. Gas tax has been covered, yes, high.

Car registration can be high if you drive newer expensive vehicles.

Lots of states have emissions requirements.

So, yeah, not a cheap place to live ... but so bad as to drive a person out of an established mortgage ... to pay relocation expenses, and then forgo the real estate appreciation rates here?

Hmmm ....

[JJonesIII]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

I’m curious as to what COL is high other than housing? (Which costs, if “neighbor” had stayed in house he was buying, would have remained stable, not rising.)

Can't pull housing out of the COL. His neighbor couldn't afford his CA home so it's irrelevant how much it appreciated or whether the cost remained stable. Got a job offer in Harlingen, Texas, and the rest is history. Easy Peasy.