Anyone out there from CA who has made the move to MO (St. Louis: appointed, renting)

[lhermey]

Hello, has anyone actually made the move from CA to MO, and if so how are you dealing with the summers? Have you adjusted to the humidity? For me the winter and the snow would not be a problem, but boy those hot humid days are going to be tough. I remember the summer when I lived in NJ many years ago. Guess you can always stay in air conditioning.

If there is anybody from MO who once lived in CA please let me know your thoughts.

[da jammer]

We moved here recently from so CA. I have worked out of doors in Orange County and the Inland Empire for nearly 30 years so weather does not affect me one way or the other. We had plenty of humidity where we moved from and the summers were hot! Everyone's tolerance level will be different but I used to always convince myself that no matter how ugly the weather in about six months I will be wishing to have some of it back

[bls5555]

Moved from Morgan Hill, CA (up by San Jose) to outside of St. Louis. For me I have NEVER gotten used to the summers here. Not that it is a bad thing as I love St. Louis and absolutely hated California. Just expect lots and lots of humidity. There are days where I just don't feel like going outside because the instant you step out your clothes are clinging to you. I don't think you ever really get used to it but you will really like it in Missouri.

[lhermey]

Thanks for both of you letting me know how you feel about the summers in MO. I'm not far from Morgan Hill. I reside in Burlingame a little south of SF. Very difficult to buy a house here for less then $1,000,000!

[GumbyGirl]

I'll be moving from CA to MO in a few weeks. The high cost of living here is the main reason we're going, and also the crowded freeways. It seems like most people who make the move enjoy it in the midwest, other than the weather. Hopefully the transition will be an easy one, and I won't feel as isolated and lonely there as I think I'll be.

[lhermey]

Hi GumbyGirl,

Please do me a favor, let me know how you like it after you move. Are you, or did you buy a house, or will you be renting? Will you be taking Rt. 80? I reside in Northern CA and when the time comes I think Rt. 80 will be my best choice unless there's a better way that I don't know about.

Linda

[da jammer]

the weather here has been milder than I expected but I'm a northern Ohio native and I recall some pretty nasty weather from when I was a lil feller. We had another "light up the sky" storm last night/early this am. It didn't seem to rain that much but was the thunder and lightning ever impressive!

[designer]

I moved from missouri to california when I graduated from high school in
about 1962 and I never really got used to the hot humid weather while
growing up in southern mo. I lived in southern california for about 16
years and then in sacramento for 10 years. I now live in southern NM
with little or no humidity but lots of wind and dust and few trees. I must
be crazy because now I am considering returning back to missouri for retirement. I guess I liked it because of KCMO and St Louis are fairly
cosmo and not really all that far apart. I will say the springs and falls
in southern missouri were quite nice and I was in Joplin, Mo last october
and I didn't really notice the humidity very much. I think fall was just
starting and it seemed fine so watch out for June, July and august
and part of september. Lots of pretty places in Missouri but I really did
love california but now I'm sure I would never move back to calif. To
many people and to expensive but I love the ocean breezes and San Francisco.

[mrsgenealogy]

Originally Posted by lhermey

Hello, has anyone actually made the move from CA to MO, and if so how are you dealing with the summers? Have you adjusted to the humidity? For me the winter and the snow would not be a problem, but boy those hot humid days are going to be tough. I remember the summer when I lived in NJ many years ago. Guess you can always stay in air conditioning.

If there is anybody from MO who once lived in CA please let me know your thoughts.

The question that you ask is a valid one and while I am usually not one to focus on the negative, I know that to be a good "friend", I must be honest with you. The heat and humidity can be oppressive...but it's temporary.

First of all, let me say that I even hated the heat in California so I knew before coming here that I was going to have a hard time with it. I'm not a person who does a lot of things outside so that helps. We were here last summer for the first time and the heat and humidity was "off the charts" for a couple of months so I am not looking forward to this summer's heat.

Having said that, I have to say that I am still glad I moved here and have no intentions of ever moving back to CA, where my husband and I were both born. (We lived in southern CA in the San Gabriel Valley and Inland Empire.)

If it wasn't for air conditioning, I don't know what I'd do! The funny thing is that I lived for about 10 years in Arkansas years ago, as a young adult, and don't remember having such a hard time with the heat. My husband hates heat, too, but he is a painting contractor and when the heat gets to be too much, he just uses the hose to get wet and that cools him off. He did that in CA, too, so it's nothing new. Maybe he has to do it more often but it's do-able. ; )

I hope we get more used to it as we go along but even if we don't, we will make do and just be grateful that we are here in this beautiful, peaceful...and affordable place!

[mrsgenealogy]

Originally Posted by GumbyGirl

I'll be moving from CA to MO in a few weeks. The high cost of living here is the main reason we're going, and also the crowded freeways. It seems like most people who make the move enjoy it in the midwest, other than the weather. Hopefully the transition will be an easy one, and I won't feel as isolated and lonely there as I think I'll be.

Hey, GumbyGirl!
I'm sorry, but I don't remember seeing your earlier posts and wonder where you are moving to. By the way, I am one of those people you describe...exactly.

I already spoke to the humidity question from lhermey but I thought I'd talk about your comment about feeling "isolated and lonely".

It partly depends on where you move to and how willing and able you are to get involved. I haven't found this Ozark/Springfield area to be very friendly on the surface. People don't seem to smile back as I pass them in the stores. I smile a lot and am used to people smiling back so on the surface, I think Californians are much friendlier.

Having said that, people seem to respond very well once I have reason to speak to them so I think that if you get involved in either church or some other group of people with like interests, you should be fine.

Depending on your age or interests, you or others in your family can join a sports group, or a mom's group, boy/girl scouts, civic groups...or if you can volunteer, you will find friends in others with like interests. There are so many opportunities for clubs like writing groups, genealogy, friends of the library...so many! It may take awhile to learn about them but once you get situated, you'll be hearing about them. At any rate, I'm pretty sure that you will have to make the effort to keep from feeling isolated and lonely...but then again, I think that might be true wherever you go.

This leads me back to my first question. Where are you moving and is it in the country?

We live on a short street out in the country where all of the lots are about 2 1/2 acres. We have waved to the neighbors from our yard to theirs or when passing them on the street. We've spoken to one neighbor twice when we were at our mailboxes at the same time. The houses are set back on the properties and you can't have a conversation without making a point of going to each other's homes.

Still, we are surprised that in the 9 months we've been here, not one neighbor has come to say, "Hi!" or "Welcome!" or anything. We have had problems with our neighbors in CA over the years so we aren't as disappointed as you might imagine. We are focusing on finding a church and know that friendships will come through work or volunteering or even school, like I suggested to you.

Just remember that friendships are forged by people with similar interests...and then go out and find them! Then, at least you'll be doing something that you are passionate about and spending time with people who care about the same things. That will help while you are waiting for a friendship to develop, which usually takes time.