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I spent the first 18 years of my life in Cali, then escaped. Most of my family remain there, and are doing ok. I think a couple will flee when my mom passes. You couldn't pay/give me enough to move back there, anywhere, permanently. The only place lower on my list is DC, which I was able to leave, gladly, last year. While they are a country apart, in a lot of ways, they are very similar.
The costs, in all ways, living there do not outweigh the gains for me. Particularly when you have seen a good bit of our country and realize that everything you can have in Cali you can find somewhere else without all the drama and hassles. If you love it there, cool. But it is absolutely not for everyone: population, government, infrastructure, environment (all aspects) ... not when you take into account that anything in the plus column can be had for a fraction elsewhere.
If you are set on moving there (or remaining there), awesome. But do your homework (and soul search) and make sure you are doing it for the right reasons, whatever those may be. Moving to a place to start a lifestyle seems backward to me. No offense. You should have a lifestyle and find a place that supports that. I think that is a key to happiness.
My wife and I were both Calif natives having been born there in the 50's.. We're in our 60's now and have lived in Colorado for the past 8 years. The only thing I miss about Calif is surfing in Ventura and friends. Other than those two items, our quality of life has greatly improved without the traffic, crime, taxes and politics. I only go back for funerals and weddings.
You should have a lifestyle and find a place that supports that. I think that is a key to happiness.
Exactly. You can, of course, adapt your lifestyle to your surroundings, but it is easier the other way.
When we moved to Southern California in 1980 there was so much to do. So much to see. Where do you want to go? Pick a direction! So living in Southern California was cool because the weather was great and you could do pretty much anything when and where you wanted. We lived in Orange County and routinely went to Dodger and Angles games. No problem. Take a drive to the Bay area? No problem. Take the dirt bikes and sand rail to Mexico? No problem. But that was before 25 million more people flooded the state over many decades. Slowly but surely the increase in population took its toll. It would now take hours to get places, if you wanted to deal with it at all, only to struggle to park, and then wait in long lines. Want to get a tee time at a decent golf course? Good luck. Like driving cars. I hope you like 5 mph.
Eventually fighting traffic during the week made us live much more local all the time. Who wants to go out in the evening or weekend after sitting in 3 hours of traffic every day during the week? Relaxing means staying home, or going somewhere very local. If you live near the beach that might not be terrible, but even that gets boring at some point. So while California has a lot going on everywhere, accessing it is so much trouble that you stop trying at some point. You just start living local. If we were ever to consider moving back, we would need to live somewhere that had everything you woukd ever want within 5 to 10 minutes away. Malibu comes to mind, but fires and mudslides are an annual problem. My grandparents lived in Pacific Palisades and Malibu for 50 years and they put up with a lot of drama to have that beach house. Waves crashing through the windows. Paradise doesn’t come cheap! But i am a sucker for Malibu. I would probably regret the move but it would be one spot i could stay local at.
Hey everyone. My wife and I are considering relocating from OK/TX to California for multiple reasons, but largely due to weather. We are considering LA, Palm Springs and the central coast area. I thought I'd ask for some advice on here as there seems to be a lot of guys from California on the board, and obviously we have some common interests. We don't have kids and aren't tied down. We really enjoy weekend traveling, good food/wine/beer, live music, great drives, and nearby tracks for either DE's or a membership. If you have any recommendations on why you love or don't love your spot in California, I would appreciate it. Thanks!
You've gotten a lot advice here. You haven't mentioned your budget. But unless you have T. Boone Pickens money you are in for some financial shock. All the nice areas everyone has mentioned here will cost you a $1M plus. As a point of reference spending $450K in OK will buy you a very nice home maybe even a mansion in some areas. $450K is the average price house in Watts. So unless you and your wife want to be part of the Bloods and Crips gangs you will need to back up the Brinks truck to get into the better neighborhoods.
I guess I don’t consider the traffic part of living in LA, especially the West side, since I have no reason to leave the area and only drive at off hours (which is honestly not that bad). I’m actually moving from Venice to PDR next month 👍 My wife and I really love the coastal neighborhood vibe of PDR but it’s slightly removed from everything being on the other side of the marina and seems to stay much quieter then MDR and Venice.
You are correct, sir. Playa Del Rey is a sleepy, throwback beach town from a bygone era. Let's get together once you settle in!
I grew up in the bay area for the first 28 years of my life. Skied and snowboarded many of the great resorts in the Sierras and spent a lot of time in Truckee and Tahoe. I went to college at SDSU and USC in So Cal. I've lived in Hayward, San Leandro, San Diego, South Central LA and Manhattan Beach. I've done many track days at Sears, T-Hill and Laguna (noise ordinances at all 3 now)
I moved from CA over twenty years ago and have been living outside Portland ever since. California has changed quite bit but many of the same problems are there which I'm sure are getting worse. For me I would never move back as I'm a different person now than what I was then. Many dream of California from what they see in the media. Beautiful women, beaches, the gorgeous coast, great real estate, cars, tech, trends get started there etc and it's easy to get seduced from it all. Many who grow up there think it's the center of the universe, there is simply nothing better than California and wouldn't dare move. But time and experiences tend to change people.
The California dream is far from reality. What you have to deal with in living there is simply not worth it at all these days and wasn't really worth it back 20 years ago either. For me the worst was the traffic congestion in both LA and the bay area. It truly was soul crushing. California=lines and waiting for me, everywhere. Waiting 1.5 hours for a table, lines at the toll bridge station, lines for the theater, gas station, amusement parks, cant find parking etc. I also never enjoyed the pretentiousness of the culture in LA. Everyone is 'ON' all the time. Trying to impress, charm and be better than others. That is really annoying to me these days. When you're young I guess you have to play the game but none of that is anything I'd care to participate in now. LA has to be a selfie instagram sh*t show these days.
The crime was bad back then but from what I've seen and read it's much worse now. Californians have to pay for that in increased insurance rates and additional taxes for police, court, incarcerations etc. Speaking of politics and the way California is governed, taxed to the hilt, illegal immigration, sanctuary cities, a terrible homeless problem etc that state has a bleak future. But that can be said for Oregon and Washington as well. There's been a bit of an exodus out of California in the past several years to the surrounding states as well as Texas. That's telling of the problems California has. Check out these U-Haul rates. The top one is from San Francisco to Phoenix, the bottom one Phoenix to San Francisco. Market demand paints the picture here.
I'm also looking to get out Oregon. It's governed the same, the people are a bit different but it has also changed for the worse over the last 15 years or so. The problems here are generally the same, just less so, and without the good weather. Boise is on my radar and am diligently trying to place assets there (especially with the Oregon state wide rent control signed by Kate Brown last week). Western Colorado, Utah and parts of Arizona are also attractive going forward. It's sad what California has become. I can't imagine how great it was to live there in the 50's-60's but now there is zero attraction for me to ever move back.
Tons of great info and advice here. I'll add my $.02.
Grew up in SoCal and lived there 40 plus years. I traveled all over the world for work and as I got older, the traffic, the crowds and the attitudes started to wear on me. I agree with others, that if i was going to relocate within SoCal it would be to Santa Monica near Montana for all the reasons stated.
Had the opportunity based on work to relocate to SF which at the time, I was not all that excited about due to cost and having lived here briefly in the late 90's. I took a temp apartment in Marin. My first morning I woke up to a beautiful sunrise and dear on my front lawn. It only got better after that. I found amazing roads, I took up cycling and realized I'd found paradise (for me). Marin (Sonoma and surrounding areas) have the perfect blend of beauty, nature, lifestyle, easy going people that will keep us here as long as we can. The sticker shock has worn off after 5 years but my wife and I have discussed relocating elsewhere so we can retire earlier (Pacific Northwest, etc).
I completely agree with taking a road trip up the coast to explore the state. Lots of different experiences here. It would help to have a local to show you some of the local flavor. I've hosted a few RL'ers that have wandered thru as many have done for me. RL is a great community in that regard.
Tons of great info and advice here. I'll add my $.02.
Grew up in SoCal and lived there 40 plus years. I traveled all over the world for work and as I got older, the traffic, the crowds and the attitudes started to wear on me. I agree with others, that if i was going to relocate within SoCal it would be to Santa Monica near Montana for all the reasons stated.
Had the opportunity based on work to relocate to SF which at the time, I was not all that excited about due to cost and having lived here briefly in the late 90's. I took a temp apartment in Marin. My first morning I woke up to a beautiful sunrise and dear on my front lawn. It only got better after that. I found amazing roads, I took up cycling and realized I'd found paradise (for me). Marin (Sonoma and surrounding areas) have the perfect blend of beauty, nature, lifestyle, easy going people that will keep us here as long as we can. The sticker shock has worn off after 5 years but my wife and I have discussed relocating elsewhere so we can retire earlier (Pacific Northwest, etc).
I completely agree with taking a road trip up the coast to explore the state. Lots of different experiences here. It would help to have a local to show you some of the local flavor. I've hosted a few RL'ers that have wandered thru as many have done for me. RL is a great community in that regard.
lived so cal, nor cal, Boston, NYC.
there is NO place in USA I would relocate to.
To the OP. Santa Monica and the Montana Street area seem to be getting a lot of votes. And I agree the area is stunning with perfect weather. Be prepared to pay$$$ for that beauty. Here's a sample of the houses for sale according to Zillow. Most are multi million dollars. I see a couple are in the one million range but I think those are where the homeless live :-) If you move to Santa Monica be sure to ask about the homeless population and their rights. I'm not joking. One last thing. The 405 freeway is the main freeway. A few years ago on Christmas day the California dept of transportation counted 500,000 cars traveling on the 405 in that area. I bet Oklahoma doesn't even have 500,000 in the entire state. A little joke: do you know why they call it the 405 freeway? Because it takes 4 or 5 hours to get anywhere. The sad part is that it is the truth.
Moved out of LA due to wasting half your life stuck in traffic trying to get anywhere. Taxes, housing cost, air pollution, cold water beaches. Only thing I miss is the Asian food.
03-09-2019, 10:33 AM
