If You Moved Away Due to Cost, Where Did You Go? (Orange: renter, health insurance)

[HB2HSV]

Originally Posted by Grune D

Great story I think. It doesn’t work for people who are able to afford it here. I would never even remotely consider any place in the South unless it was to go and watch a college football game that’s all.

That's the culture stereotypes playing games in your head. You'd be surprised how welcoming and how much more your money is working for you in the South. Big cities in the South including Atlanta, Nashville (I've been to both) are great and still with affordable prices for California. Other places I've heard good things about include NC, SC, FL, TX and VA (yes, it's the South!).

This thread is about the high COL in California and for people trying to move to get a financial relief. If you don't want to move, you're in a wrong thread.

[Finper]

I moved to Idaho not for the cost of things but for the stupid cost of things. 15 bucks to park my car at the beach. 20 to get in a club then 15 for a drink. Sky high gas prices. The only place in Idaho I’ve paid to pay to park is in parking structures and then it’s 3.00. I also didn’t like where my tax money was going to.

Btw are they still working on the 5 fwy??

[saibot]

Originally Posted by Finper

I moved to Idaho not for the cost of things but for the stupid cost of things. 15 bucks to park my car at the beach. 20 to get in a club then 15 for a drink. Sky high gas prices. The only place in Idaho I’ve paid to pay to park is in parking structures and then it’s 3.00. I also didn’t like where my tax money was going to.

How much does it cost to park at the beach in Idaho?

Oh, wait...

[Finper]

Originally Posted by saibot

How much does it cost to park at the beach in Idaho?

Oh, wait...

No Ocean here but there’s rivers, ponds, and lakes. I hung out at the Boise River today. As long as there’s water I’m fine. No need for a Ocean …….and the parkings free

[Racer46]

Originally Posted by Finper

No Ocean here but there’s rivers, ponds, and lakes. I hung out at the Boise River today. As long as there’s water I’m fine. No need for a Ocean …….and the parkings free

Enjoyed renting a little paddle boat there and watching everyone in inner tubes on the river.

[cowboyxjon]

I moved to Colorado about 15 years ago, before it became as expensive as it is now. In a lot of ways, Metro Denver is sort of like a Mini California when it comes to cost of living. When I lived in California in my 20s, a lot of my friends still lived at home with their parents and it seemed like the only reason why they were eventually able to get their own houses is when grandparents or parents passed away and they inherited property and I feel like that trend is starting to happen here now. Metro Denver is still cheaper than Southern California in some ways (like taxes in general, cost of fuel, cost of electricity, etc) but housing has become very expensive to the point where my neighborhood, which used to be affordable, is now like Southern California in terms of prices. So I’m not sure it’s great option anymore for folks who are conscious about cost of living.

I lived a mile from the beach and I actually don’t miss it at all. It’s one of those things I thought I would miss and figured “flights are cheap, I can visit it” but honestly, I’ve only gone back a couple times primarily to visit friends, and each time I’m there, I always feel like I made the right choice (for me) by moving. I also don’t miss the weather — like, sunny and 70 near the beach is fine, but I like having seasons and the variation in weather here.

So yeah, not sure I’d recommend Denver anymore, but just wanted to add a +1 to the list of folks who moved primarily because of jobs and COL and have no regrets.

[Veritas Vincit]

Originally Posted by cowboyxjon

I moved to Colorado about 15 years ago, before it became as expensive as it is now. In a lot of ways, Metro Denver is sort of like a Mini California when it comes to cost of living. When I lived in California in my 20s, a lot of my friends still lived at home with their parents and it seemed like the only reason why they were eventually able to get their own houses is when grandparents or parents passed away and they inherited property and I feel like that trend is starting to happen here now. Metro Denver is still cheaper than Southern California in some ways (like taxes in general, cost of fuel, cost of electricity, etc) but housing has become very expensive to the point where my neighborhood, which used to be affordable, is now like Southern California in terms of prices. So I’m not sure it’s great option anymore for folks who are conscious about cost of living.

I lived a mile from the beach and I actually don’t miss it at all. It’s one of those things I thought I would miss and figured “flights are cheap, I can visit it” but honestly, I’ve only gone back a couple times primarily to visit friends, and each time I’m there, I always feel like I made the right choice (for me) by moving. I also don’t miss the weather — like, sunny and 70 near the beach is fine, but I like having seasons and the variation in weather here.

So yeah, not sure I’d recommend Denver anymore, but just wanted to add a +1 to the list of folks who moved primarily because of jobs and COL and have no regrets.

Any area popular with Californians will see brutal housing cost increases over time, which is probably as big as or maybe even a bigger factor than politics for the resentment Californians face among many natives of those destination states. A retired middle-class person from L.A. or the Bay Area who sold their house there will be a massive price escalator in just about any market outside the big East Coast metros.

[recycled]

I retired at the end of 2017 after working most of my career in the SF East Bay area and Orange County. I was a renter most of the time. Since retirement, I've split my time between renting an apartment in Tucson, AZ and in Germany. A few months ago, I got fed up with the apartment in Tucson due to noise and moved the handful of stuff I had to a storage unit, and sold my car. I moved back to an apartment in Chemnitz, Germany where I lived previously from mid 2020 to Sept. 2021.

My apartment in Germany is fully furnished and equipped, so all I brought here were a couple of suitcases of mostly clothes. It is very nice, comfortable and very quiet - cost including all utilities, cable TV and internet wifi is less than $700 per month. That is a fraction of what it would cost me to rent in the SF Bay area, Orange County or most other nice places in CA. It is even less than cost of living in Tucson (for me)! I don't need a car here, so I walk, bike ride or use public transit and trains, which are very good.

I'll probably stay here in Germany a few years - there are a lot of places in Europe I'd like visit and my home base here is almost in the middle of Europe. It is certainly easier than the dreadful thought of trying to take a long trans-Atlantic trip.

[Finper]

Originally Posted by Racer46

Enjoyed renting a little paddle boat there and watching everyone in inner tubes on the river.

Water was too cold for inner tubes but there were a lot of rafts and paddle boards

[Grune D]

Originally Posted by HB2HSV

That's the culture stereotypes playing games in your head. You'd be surprised how welcoming and how much more your money is working for you in the South. Big cities in the South including Atlanta, Nashville (I've been to both) are great and still with affordable prices for California. Other places I've heard good things about include NC, SC, FL, TX and VA (yes, it's the South!).

This thread is about the high COL in California and for people trying to move to get a financial relief. If you don't want to move, you're in a wrong thread.

I own five properties here in CA don’t need to go anywhere. Like I said your post was great.