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Well, I'm a little on the fence which is one of the reasons for my participating in this forum. Why do people want to move so much out this way (so cal)? Yes, the weather is nice, but everything is so brown & dry. I don't want to get into politics but we have a pretty major illegal alien problem here and house prices are finally improving a bit but are still so crazy.
It's so beautiful in Virginia, it's so rich in history, etc. It seems a better place to raise children. But, since you already live there, can you tell me what kinds of negatives make people want to move to the west coast? I'd appreciate brutal honesty. :-)
Year around "outdoor" weather is the main reason. We have illegal aliens' too, just mostly Central and South Americans instead of mostly mexican. All of VA isn't beautiful all the time. Right now we're in a moderate drought and while our yard is somewhat green due to a sprinkler system, the trees and open areas are brown. Yeah, there's plenty of history, but I know plenty of people who don't take advantage of it. I've been to and taken my children to many battlefields, museums, etc, but I know plenty of people who don't. My husband and I joke about moving to southern Cal so we can play golf year round and not deal with winter weather. We like to be outside and can only use our patio for 1/2 of the year here. Here's a new flash people, There's no such thing as a perfect place! It doesn't exist. We're happy where our family is.
Well, I'm a little on the fence which is one of the reasons for my participating in this forum. Why do people want to move so much out this way (so cal)? Yes, the weather is nice, but everything is so brown & dry. I don't want to get into politics but we have a pretty major illegal alien problem here and house prices are finally improving a bit but are still so crazy.
It's so beautiful in Virginia, it's so rich in history, etc. It seems a better place to raise children. But, since you already live there, can you tell me what kinds of negatives make people want to move to the west coast? I'd appreciate brutal honesty. :-)
I Just got back from a week in socal, and here are my observations....
The traffic in the DC metro area is bad, but the traffic in socal is even worse. I tried to go on 10 and 405 at midday during the week and it was like rush hour traffic on the DC beltway.
The urban sprawl is much worse in socal. Here in Nova, you at least get open spaces and a feel of separation between most cities (eg Mclean to Reston). In socal. All the cities blend together with no difference or separation at all. I didn't notice any real spacing until I got to Irvine.
It is brown in socal. Nothing but dirt, which makes everything look dirty In Nova, even in a drought, the trees are lush and full, and there is lots of grass and plants. The drive around the beltway is beautiful.
The people in socal are more laid back. Nova is more uptight. Definitely Va is more conservative.
There are definitely more illegals in Socal than Nova (just by virtue of geography)
Is Va a better place to raise kids? probably. In central Va you still have your conservative/ family values/ traditional types (although Nova is more liberal than orange county!). There is all the history, culture, the best museums in the nation (and free!), and top notch schools.
Really the only thing Socal has going for it is the weather and coastal living. Which is pretty much the reason why so many people want to go there.
I Just got back from a week in socal, and here are my observations....
The traffic in the DC metro area is bad, but the traffic in socal is even worse. I tried to go on 10 and 405 at midday during the week and it was like rush hour traffic on the DC beltway.
The urban sprawl is much worse in socal. Here in Nova, you at least get open spaces and a feel of separation between most cities (eg Mclean to Reston). In socal. All the cities blend together with no difference or separation at all. I didn't notice any real spacing until I got to Irvine.
It is brown in socal. Nothing but dirt, which makes everything look dirty In Nova, even in a drought, the trees are lush and full, and there is lots of grass and plants. The drive around the beltway is beautiful.
The people in socal are more laid back. Nova is more uptight. Definitely Va is more conservative.
There are definitely more illegals in Socal than Nova (just by virtue of geography)
Is Va a better place to raise kids? probably. In central Va you still have your conservative/ family values/ traditional types (although Nova is more liberal than orange county!). There is all the history, culture, the best museums in the nation (and free!), and top notch schools.
Really the only thing Socal has going for it is the weather and coastal living. Which is pretty much the reason why so many people want to go there.
This is really helpful, especially because you've been here recently so you can really see what I'm talking about. I've been here all my life. I'm tired of the dirt, the traffic, the complete lack of open space. To me it's worth giving up the ability to barbeque Christmas Day to live someplace that is just more special. I know no place is ideal and every state has its own challenges, but I just feel like a fresh start someplace so different would really make a difference for us. Again, thank you for your input. It has been very valuable.
This is really helpful, especially because you've been here recently so you can really see what I'm talking about. I've been here all my life. I'm tired of the dirt, the traffic, the complete lack of open space. To me it's worth giving up the ability to barbeque Christmas Day to live someplace that is just more special. I know no place is ideal and every state has its own challenges, but I just feel like a fresh start someplace so different would really make a difference for us. Again, thank you for your input. It has been very valuable.
I would recommend that you take a few trips out here to see if the area really is to your liking. You've been able to take the weather for granted all year around. You need t see what it is like when it is hot and sticky for days on end...or cloudy, gloomy and rainy for a whole week (one year we got caught in a weird weather pattern and it was cloudy/gloomy/rainy for 3 weeks! That was when I said I really wanted to move to CA)....or the snow and ice just won't go away...
I live in Staunton, and we get it all!! Hot & sticky in summer; snow and cold in winter. Rain; fog on Afton Mtn. We rarely get a blizzard, but when we do - it's a beaut!! Usually the snow melts within a few days; however, because the terraine is quite "hilly" - 2" of snow results in closed schools.
I would recommend that you take a few trips out here to see if the area really is to your liking. You've been able to take the weather for granted all year around. You need t see what it is like when it is hot and sticky for days on end...or cloudy, gloomy and rainy for a whole week (one year we got caught in a weird weather pattern and it was cloudy/gloomy/rainy for 3 weeks! That was when I said I really wanted to move to CA)....or the snow and ice just won't go away...
That's a good suggestion. I actually thought about doing that, at least in the winter. I just spent 10 days in Orlando, FL. Talk about sticky! Still, it was really pretty. The idea of three weeks of rain is disheartening, but about two years ago it rained just about every day from March to June. It was crazy. And we do actually get cold in the winter - This year there was even a bit of snow in Chino (where I live) although it didn't stick. My poor plants all but froze this past year and a couple of my pond fish didn't fare very well. I know the winters are harsher where you are and the summers a bit less forgiving. I guess you make trades.
I live in Staunton, and we get it all!! Hot & sticky in summer; snow and cold in winter. Rain; fog on Afton Mtn. We rarely get a blizzard, but when we do - it's a beaut!! Usually the snow melts within a few days; however, because the terraine is quite "hilly" - 2" of snow results in closed schools.
Is Staunton in Northern VA? I understand, and correct me if I'm wrong, that the further south you are, the milder things are.
I have lived in VA my whole life. The different seasons are beautiful (as seen in the pics). In VA you can look forward to every weather related thing possible (which is both good and bad)... we get tornados with our thunderstorms, but there rarely cause much damage since they are small and quick to disappear, we get remnants of hurricanes sometimes during hurricane season which means lots of rain in a short period of time which can cause problems, The humidity in the summer can be terrible, but if you have ac you'll be fine..its usually only consistently hot and humid from june to august, but we get breaks from the humidity here and there. In VA we have it all... snow, rain, sunshine, beautiful green grass, flowers that bloom, trees that turn brilliant colors in the fall, mountains and the beach,.... Overall, VA is one of the few states that have 4 specific season of fall winter spring and summer.
Why do people move to the West coast... theyre idiots? Ok just kidding. Negatives about VA where I live (I live in Fredericksburg, halfway between Richmond and DC)
Development is VERY rapid here. There are new buildings literally everyday and as a result the traffic is becoming a nightmare here. The humidity can really suck, I hate it. But I just look forward to the fall. I have known a few people to move to the west coast but they came back.. guess they missed va??
Also, there are a lot of people moving to the Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania area so (lucky us) we at one point were one of the top 20 fastest growing counties in the country, now Im not sure, but our growth rate is rapidly increasing.
I attended school in Franklin County (this is central va/ the mountains) and it was absolutely beautiful there and the pace was much slower then here in fredericksburg (the people were nicer too) so it depends where you are in va. (if you hate traffic stay away from Northern Virginia (nova for short)
Tornadoes are rare west of Richmond. East of Richmond you move out of the mountains and into more level land where powerful thunderstorms can breed some tornoadoes.
Staunton isn't in Northern Virginia. It would be more accurate to say that Staunton is in the Shenendoah Valley. It's about 1.5 hours from Roanoke, VA on I-81N.
I have lived in VA my whole life. The different seasons are beautiful (as seen in the pics). In VA you can look forward to every weather related thing possible (which is both good and bad)... we get tornados with our thunderstorms, but there rarely cause much damage since they are small and quick to disappear, we get remnants of hurricanes sometimes during hurricane season which means lots of rain in a short period of time which can cause problems, The humidity in the summer can be terrible, but if you have ac you'll be fine..its usually only consistently hot and humid from june to august, but we get breaks from the humidity here and there. In VA we have it all... snow, rain, sunshine, beautiful green grass, flowers that bloom, trees that turn brilliant colors in the fall, mountains and the beach,.... Overall, VA is one of the few states that have 4 specific season of fall winter spring and summer.
Why do people move to the West coast... theyre idiots? Ok just kidding. Negatives about VA where I live (I live in Fredericksburg, halfway between Richmond and DC)
Development is VERY rapid here. There are new buildings literally everyday and as a result the traffic is becoming a nightmare here. The humidity can really suck, I hate it. But I just look forward to the fall. I have known a few people to move to the west coast but they came back.. guess they missed va??
Also, there are a lot of people moving to the Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania area so (lucky us) we at one point were one of the top 20 fastest growing counties in the country, now Im not sure, but our growth rate is rapidly increasing.
I attended school in Franklin County (this is central va/ the mountains) and it was absolutely beautiful there and the pace was much slower then here in fredericksburg (the people were nicer too) so it depends where you are in va. (if you hate traffic stay away from Northern Virginia (nova for short)
When I was there last I did notice a lot of new construction. It made me sad to see them cutting into all those beautiful trees in the name of progress. Living in a concrete jungle myself, I really do long to be in a place rich in natural plant life. Still, you're blessed to still have an awful lot of untouched open space. Never having had seasons, you really do paint a good picture of what to expect. It sounds lovely. It's interesting to note the people you have known that moved west all moved back? Was it just homesick or did they say why? Just curious.
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