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Would be a pretty long drive still around 7 hours from Vegas and 10 from Phoenix. Long but doable. Oregon not sure.
If you can do it in a day, it's doable. We have family 10 hr away in Nebraska. Lots easier to get to than the family in Pittsburgh. Can also be a bit more spontaneous.
California is excellently insulated from any threat of people crossing the state line to find lower taxes or looser regulations because the major cities (Bay Area, LA) are far from neighboring states. From San Jose, the Nevada border is a four-hour drive, Oregon is six, Arizona is eight—and that’s just to the border itself. In addition, you also have to consider the absolutely soul-crushing traffic of urban California. You might get within a dozen miles of your brother’s house in seven hours—then spend another hour inching through bumper-to-bumper Bay Area congestion.
There’s also the question of what you (and possibly your significant other) would be doing, professionally speaking, after relocating. Would you be looking for a job...or can you take an existing telecommutable position with you? If you’ll be looking for work locally, you’ll have to contend with the fact that home prices often correlate with wages and the availability of work. So if you decide to hold your nose and settle for living in Merced because homes are relatively cheap (at $231K, not exactly a bargain), you may have a difficult time finding a well-paying job.
But why should you be forced to “hold your nose” and “settle” when it comes to selecting a place to live? You should live where you wish, where you feel happy, and where you think will best for your family. If that’s in Pittsburgh, great. If it’s in Albuquerque, splendid. Perhaps I’m reading the situation incorrectly, but I get the impression that you’re ready to jump through all sorts of hoops while your brother stays put where he pleases, and that doesn’t seem like a very balanced relationship to me.
And if what I’ve written seems “down” on the notion of getting out and seeing new vistas, that’s certainly not the case. Moving to California was one of the most exciting times of my life, and I made personal and professional connections there that altered the course of my future incredibly. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. But then again, I was 25 at the time and unmarried (no children), and I was happy to live in a studio apartment with my girlfriend (later wife). From your original post, I gather that you’re in a very different position: Currently settled in a nice neighborhood, nice schools, nice job—and you’re hoping to make kind of lateral shift, getting all of the same attributes and be similarly happy, but closer to San Jose. I think it’s safe to say you’re not going to get that within driving distance.
And once you start talking about cheaper flights from closer cities, the move becomes more of a strictly financial calculation, and I don’t think you’d save much in the end unless you’re visiting your brother every month. But on the other hand, if you say that it’s always been your dream to live in another part of the country—or if you think you could make a lot of money in your profession in California to the point that you could afford to live there—it’s worth considering for that reason. But not because you’re going to save money on airfare.
California is excellently insulated from any threat of people crossing the state line to find lower taxes or looser regulations because the major cities (Bay Area, LA) are far from neighboring states. From San Jose, the Nevada border is a four-hour drive, Oregon is six, Arizona is eight—and that’s just to the border itself. In addition, you also have to consider the absolutely soul-crushing traffic of urban California. You might get within a dozen miles of your brother’s house in seven hours—then spend another hour inching through bumper-to-bumper Bay Area congestion.
There’s also the question of what you (and possibly your significant other) would be doing, professionally speaking, after relocating. Would you be looking for a job...or can you take an existing telecommutable position with you? If you’ll be looking for work locally, you’ll have to contend with the fact that home prices often correlate with wages and the availability of work. So if you decide to hold your nose and settle for living in Merced because homes are relatively cheap (at $231K, not exactly a bargain), you may have a difficult time finding a well-paying job.
But why should you be forced to “hold your nose” and “settle” when it comes to selecting a place to live? You should live where you wish, where you feel happy, and where you think will best for your family. If that’s in Pittsburgh, great. If it’s in Albuquerque, splendid. Perhaps I’m reading the situation incorrectly, but I get the impression that you’re ready to jump through all sorts of hoops while your brother stays put where he pleases, and that doesn’t seem like a very balanced relationship to me.
And if what I’ve written seems “down” on the notion of getting out and seeing new vistas, that’s certainly not the case. Moving to California was one of the most exciting times of my life, and I made personal and professional connections there that altered the course of my future incredibly. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. But then again, I was 25 at the time and unmarried (no children), and I was happy to live in a studio apartment with my girlfriend (later wife). From your original post, I gather that you’re in a very different position: Currently settled in a nice neighborhood, nice schools, nice job—and you’re hoping to make kind of lateral shift, getting all of the same attributes and be similarly happy, but closer to San Jose. I think it’s safe to say you’re not going to get that within driving distance.
And once you start talking about cheaper flights from closer cities, the move becomes more of a strictly financial calculation, and I don’t think you’d save much in the end unless you’re visiting your brother every month. But on the other hand, if you say that it’s always been your dream to live in another part of the country—or if you think you could make a lot of money in your profession in California to the point that you could afford to live there—it’s worth considering for that reason. But not because you’re going to save money on airfare.
I'm reading this as the OP has moved away from family, not the other way around.
Yes, moving costs money, and you can sometimes take a tax deduction, if you moved for a new job. It's also a one time expense. This guy has kids. Have you any idea how much airfare for four people is to SF from Pittsburgh? Take the price of this flight ($178) and multiply X 8; $1424. A couple of trips out could pay for a self-move, easy. Maybe the OP doesn't want to see his bro monthly, but maybe he'd like to see him 3-4X a year.
California is excellently insulated from any threat of people crossing the state line to find lower taxes or looser regulations because the major cities (Bay Area, LA) are far from neighboring states.
You have some good points. My perspective is just being close to family so I can see them more often. Now posting here made me realize that maybe all I'm talking about is just the financial in terms of airfare, maybe I need is to stay here in the community we like and just save to go there more often.
I've lived in 3 different cities throughout my life - Pittsburgh the longest. A part of me is curious/excited about living in a new place. But again moving with kids means making sure the new place would be safe, affordable, with good schools etc. like we have here!
Maybe we just need to go on vacations to fun places more often!
I'm reading this as the OP has moved away from family, not the other way around.
Yes, moving costs money, and you can sometimes take a tax deduction, if you moved for a new job. It's also a one time expense. This guy has kids. Have you any idea how much airfare for four people is to SF from Pittsburgh? Take the price of this flight ($178) and multiply X 8; $1424. A couple of trips out could pay for a self-move, easy. Maybe the OP doesn't want to see his bro monthly, but maybe he'd like to see him 3-4X a year.
To clarify - I am a working mommy
We haven't been to CA in 4 years. So my point was to see them a few times a year if possible, maybe it just means staying here and saving to visit a few times a year, instead of settling somewhere else. So, considering options.
Total costs would probably end being upwards of $15,000 -- if you include selling and buying a house. So in that case you'd need to save 1,000 a year on trip costs for 15 years for it to just break even. Depending on where you'd move to, it sounds like you might not even save that much a year. If you're renting and plan to keep renting that makes it a lot less expensive to move usually, of course. But also factor in cost of living comparisons and it can be tough to know what your earnings would be in your target city if you don't already have a job offer, but maybe you can get a good idea.
We haven't been to CA in 4 years. So my point was to see them a few times a year if possible, maybe it just means staying here and saving to visit a few times a year, instead of settling somewhere else. So, considering options.
Thanks for the clarification. Do you have basically $4500 in spare cash to visit 3X a year? In two years, that's close to 10 grand on travel!
Is your bro willing to go to Pittsburgh say, once a year to visit you?
Re: not having visited CA in 4 years, it's easy to get into that kind of rut. My mom was from Wisconsin, and occasionally it would be that long between visits for her, too (from Pittsburgh). She told me she could always think of a reason not to go, mostly money although it wasn't particularly an issue with my family. In later years, she made it a point to go yearly, usually leaving us kids at home. She'd go in the fall when we were in school, so we weren't entirely at loose ends.
We kind of worked out an "every other year" deal with my parents (unwritten, unspoken). One year they'd come out here (Denver area) and one year we'd go back there (Pittsburgh area). That works as long as everyone is well and able to travel. Once the kids get into high school, it does get harder, too, to find the time as they are busy with sports, jobs, etc.
Thanks for the clarification. Do you have basically $4500 in spare cash to visit 3X a year? In two years, that's close to 10 grand on travel!
Is your bro willing to go to Pittsburgh say, once a year to visit you?
Re: not having visited CA in 4 years, it's easy to get into that kind of rut. My mom was from Wisconsin, and occasionally it would be that long between visits for her, too (from Pittsburgh). She told me she could always think of a reason not to go, mostly money although it wasn't particularly an issue with my family. In later years, she made it a point to go yearly, usually leaving us kids at home. She'd go in the fall when we were in school, so we weren't entirely at loose ends.
We kind of worked out an "every other year" deal with my parents (unwritten, unspoken). One year they'd come out here (Denver area) and one year we'd go back there (Pittsburgh area). That works as long as everyone is well and able to travel. Once the kids get into high school, it does get harder, too, to find the time as they are busy with sports, jobs, etc.
Just sharing some things from my experience.
It does become a rut. Sounds like you guys had a good deal.
We grew up far from here but both came to Pgh for college. He left in 2000 and visited me a few times after - he was single. I also visited CA yearly or more before having my kids. But we all know kids come and things change. Also, his wife is a proud CA girl and has hardly any interest in coming - she thought Allison Park was very rural and prefers visiting her family in LA and other cool CA cities :-) !
They've also unfortunately faced some family illnesses and haven't come since 2011. We have been there about 6 times since. I want my kids to know their cousins though, maybe we can plan to spend special holidays like Christmas there and make it work out that way.
I am not from Pittsburgh originally but have lived here for 20+ years - 10 in the university area and 10 in Allison Park. Needless to say, Pittsburgh is my home. I love my neighborhood here, the people, commute, and amenities. There is so much to do with kids.
However, with my kids growing away from family, I am considering moving closer to California to be near my brother and his family. Living in CA is out of the question due to affordability, but cities close to there offer less expensive tickets than the $300-400 per person from Pittsburgh. So I could visit more often.
My question is, what warmer cities on the west half of the US would be comparable to Pittsburgh in affordability, housing, education, etc.?
I am looking at Phoenix currently. Was considering Texas but the recent hurricanes and flooding scared me away. New Mexico does not seem as attractive. Tons of reports say Nevada is not a good option. I am clueless about Oregon.
Anyone have any recommendations? Thanks!
IF you stay out of Houston, you would be OK with hurricanes and floods. Dallas or Austin maybe? Dallas is cheaper and has all those direct flights.
I would say Sacramento is probably most similar to Pittsburgh in terms of affordability. It’s also only about 2 hours away from both San Francisco and Lake Tahoe (which is nice!) Having lived in both Pittsburgh and California for several years, I would choose California (without a doubt). If you could swing the move, I’d highly recommend it.
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