Why did you...or why do you want to move out of California? (Riverside: to buy, schools)

[breeze823]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

Was stationed in GA, have lived in VA twice, thanks to Uncle Sam, have loved it both times (have ancestry there dating back to 1609), and now am retired in SW MO. No family here but for my wife, but a true sense of having moved back to America after leaving our native state of CA as well. Where in the Ozarks were you, Springfield?

Yes, we were about 10 miles north of Springfield in a little town called Willard. Loved it there. The Ozarks are beautiful! My husband has family in Columbia and Lake of the Ozarks.

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by breeze823

Yes, we were about 10 miles north of Springfield in a little town called Willard. Loved it there. The Ozarks are beautiful! My husband has family in Columbia and Lake of the Ozarks.

We're down on Table Rock Lake about 23 miles SE of Branson. It's a very park-like setting and we can look at the lake from our front windows. The shore is just across the street from us. Like you, we'll never go back to CA.

[Rhenzanite]

Originally Posted by breeze823

Yes, we were about 10 miles north of Springfield in a little town called Willard. Loved it there. The Ozarks are beautiful! My husband has family in Columbia and Lake of the Ozarks.

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

We're down on Table Rock Lake about 23 miles SE of Branson. It's a very park-like setting and we can look at the lake from our front windows. The shore is just across the street from us. Like you, we'll never go back to CA.

And you couldn't pay me enough to live in Missouri. I like the ocean, the tidepools, the dunes etc. I love the ecosystems of the California coastline. Living next to a lake, for me, would be like half-assing it.

It all comes down to personal preference and ability to live how you deem fit. Personally, I don't mind being a little broke but living in a place where I can stay outside most of the year. I'm far from broke, but I also don't require a 5000 square foot house, 2 SUVs, a boat or two all on 10 acres. I have everything from the big dunes and ocean to flat prairie where antelope still roam all within an hour drive of where I live. I can go snowboarding, wakeboarding at the lake and play in the ocean all on the same day, and yes I've done it before

For me, where I live in California is damn near perfect. I'm glad that many people have left to find their own version of paradise but it does get just a little annoying when they come back and smugly talk about how much 'better' their life is. For you it may be, but I can almost guarantee that it wouldn't be for me.

[Mach50]

We will be leaving California in 3 weeks, in route to Denver, CO.

My family and I take with us no real issues with California outside of the expense, economy and the cost to have kids. When it was just my wife and I, things were perfect financially. But when we chose to have a child..and noticed the extreme costs of day care ~2000 per month, it became quite clear why many young parents leave, especially when the job scene has become so awful.

My employer offered me to move to Denver and keep my BayArea salary, my rent dropped in half, daycare by more than half (2000 to 800). Also my wife already has a job lined up in Denver in 1 month, after searching for work for the last 6 months here in the Bay.

I love California and I love the BayArea, it was a tough choice leaving such a nice place. But now we will be able to afford a vacation to Hawaii every year so we will wave and throw a "hang loose" when flying over.

[breeze823]

Originally Posted by JetJockey

And you couldn't pay me enough to live in Missouri. I like the ocean, the tidepools, the dunes etc. I love the ecosystems of the California coastline. Living next to a lake, for me, would be like half-assing it.

It all comes down to personal preference and ability to live how you deem fit. Personally, I don't mind being a little broke but living in a place where I can stay outside most of the year. I'm far from broke, but I also don't require a 5000 square foot house, 2 SUVs, a boat or two all on 10 acres. I have everything from the big dunes and ocean to flat prairie where antelope still roam all within an hour drive of where I live. I can go snowboarding, wakeboarding at the lake and play in the ocean all on the same day, and yes I've done it before

For me, where I live in California is damn near perfect. I'm glad that many people have left to find their own version of paradise but it does get just a little annoying when they come back and smugly talk about how much 'better' their life is. For you it may be, but I can almost guarantee that it wouldn't be for me.

That's cool, maybe you could start a new thread for people who never want to leave California because I thought this one was for people who have left or are thinking about it and what our reasons for wanting change were? just sayin....

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by JetJockey

And you couldn't pay me enough to live in Missouri. I like the ocean, the tidepools, the dunes etc. I love the ecosystems of the California coastline. Living next to a lake, for me, would be like half-assing it.

It all comes down to personal preference and ability to live how you deem fit. Personally, I don't mind being a little broke but living in a place where I can stay outside most of the year. I'm far from broke, but I also don't require a 5000 square foot house, 2 SUVs, a boat or two all on 10 acres. I have everything from the big dunes and ocean to flat prairie where antelope still roam all within an hour drive of where I live. I can go snowboarding, wakeboarding at the lake and play in the ocean all on the same day, and yes I've done it before

For me, where I live in California is damn near perfect. I'm glad that many people have left to find their own version of paradise but it does get just a little annoying when they come back and smugly talk about how much 'better' their life is. For you it may be, but I can almost guarantee that it wouldn't be for me.

I'm very happy for you and I do miss the ocean, tidepools, et al. I wouldn't say the lake is half-assed, just very different but with its own charm.

We had to weigh our decision very carefully and in the end, finances were a major factor. We're retired so our income is somewhat diminished. With children and grandchildren in four states from Maine (1,800 miles away) to California (2,000 miles away) a central location and much lower costs of living give us the ability to visit them more.

It all boils down to individual choice and most major, life-changing decisions require trade-offs. The thread asks, "Why did you leave?" I answered. That's all!

[Rhenzanite]

Originally Posted by breeze823

That's cool, maybe you could start a new thread for people who never want to leave California because I thought this one was for people who have left or are thinking about it and what our reasons for wanting change were? just sayin....

It's been done. People from other states who have never been to California, or people who moved away come in and start going on and on about how horrible CA is. I think you can state your case for moving without putting down the entire state, or the people who actually enjoy living here.

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

I'm very happy for you and I do miss the ocean, tidepools, et al. I wouldn't say the lake is half-assed, just very different but with its own charm.

We had to weigh our decision very carefully and in the end, finances were a major factor. We're retired so our income is somewhat diminished. With children and grandchildren in four states from Maine (1,800 miles away) to California (2,000 miles away) a central location and much lower costs of living give us the ability to visit them more.

It all boils down to individual choice and most major, life-changing decisions require trade-offs. The thread asks, "Why did you leave?" I answered. That's all!

No worries

It just seems there is SO MUCH negativity in the California threads that I get a little defensive about my choice to stay. If you're constantly told that you're 'stupid' for staying somewhere you love wouldn't you get just a tad defensive as well?

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by JetJockey

It just seems there is SO MUCH negativity in the California threads that I get a little defensive about my choice to stay. If you're constantly told that you're 'stupid' for staying somewhere you love wouldn't you get just a tad defensive as well?

I absolutely would be upset, just as I sometimes get for being told we should have stayed or we're in a swamp surrounded by rednecks and hillbillies when in fact, the area in which we live, while decidedly rural, is also quite cosmopolitan.

You stay because CA is just right for you and I can't think of a better reason. We left because somewhere else was a better fit for us. Neither should be subject to condemnation!

[Rhenzanite]

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

I absolutely would be upset, just as I sometimes get for being told we should have stayed or we're in a swamp surrounded by rednecks and hillbillies when in fact, the area in which we live, while decidedly rural, is also quite cosmopolitan.

You stay because CA is just right for you and I can't think of a better reason. We left because somewhere else was a better fit for us. Neither should be subject to condemnation!

Exactly!!!

I've been to Missouri and I thought it was quite beautiful, just not for me. There are rednecks and hillbillies everywhere, even here in CA...trust me, I know quite a few

[breeze823]

Originally Posted by JetJockey

It's been done. People from other states who have never been to California, or people who moved away come in and start going on and on about how horrible CA is. I think you can state your case for moving without putting down the entire state, or the people who actually enjoy living here.



No worries

It just seems there is SO MUCH negativity in the California threads that I get a little defensive about my choice to stay. If you're constantly told that you're 'stupid' for staying somewhere you love wouldn't you get just a tad defensive as well?

I'm not sure that I put Ca down in my reasons for leaving and if I did I apologize...I was extremely tired of the same ol, same ol and really wanted something new, BUT, Ca will always be my home. I feel like I can put it down but nobody else better lol....That was my home for the first 35 years of my life...funny, when we left Ca, we would always be sure to tell people that we weren't actually from Missouri, we were from California....then we found out quickly that people don't think as highly of us as we do haha....isn't it ironic though, people outside of Ca are always complaining about Ca and it's crazy inhabitants, but they are all so quick to move there!