Why did you...or why do you want to move out of California? (Riverside: find a job, taxes)

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

We left because of cost of living. We could do California when we didn't have a kid, but eventually the cost of living wore us down. And with the economy in California being particularly on the rocks it got stressful. I still love California (and maybe we'll return sometime at a different stage in life), but I also love Minneapolis. I also love that in Minneapolis we can afford a better quality of life. We'll even have more free money to travel, and I look forward to visiting more of the parts of CA that we were never able to fully explore when we were living there and pumping so much of our income into rent!

Funny because we actually left for the same reason with the birth our our third child. It was just too expensive for us and my wife wanted to be a stay at home mom. And she earned it especially after working full time to put me through my Masters program. Well, after moving to Colorado and growing in my career we were able to get ahead financially. Then the opportunity arrose to return to CA, actually to our favorite part which we had dreamed about as a young couple. So long story short we are now fully enjoying living in Monterey. After starting in LA, then moving to CO and now back to the Central Coast it really feels like coming full circle for us.

So when ppl say they want to leave for various reasons I can understand as we did at one point ourselves. And its great to get out and explore life in another part of this great country of ours.

The one thing I do try to remind ppl of who are planning on making a move is that no place is perfect, although the idea of moving somewhere else can be exciting/romantic. Eventually one discovers that every place has it's own unique set of pros/cons. Some of which one learns to accept and live with while other cons become a long term deal breaker. And the cons can only be evaluated best after a few years of experience for one's self and one's family. Because everyone has their own set of preferences which are both on the conscious and subconscious level. For us CO was nice for a time, but not for the longer term. Now we are fully enjoying being back in CA.

Derek

[sjnative]

Originally Posted by 10ofus

, environmentalism is out of control in California and is ruining our lives.

"Ruining" is a strong statement. Think about it.

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

...We neither regret our choice nor feel we miss out on anything important other than family still living in CA. Above all, the frustration has evaporated.

But you keep giving the same message so repeatedly on this forum.. e.g. "CA changed and I don't like it anymore so I moved and now I like where I'm at".

Given the repetition, I don't think you're over your frustration, and I don't think you know how repetitive you really are but if you do a search of your own posts, you might.

Originally Posted by Ziasforever

When you move out of CA, leave some of those ideas y'all have there. Like hating guns, fiscal conservatism and that illegal immigration is ok. The rest of us folks here in normal land don't really like your ideas, although we might like you.
The people that are leaving CA for the reasons mentioned above, I don't blame you for leaving either.

If you're looking for solitude, then ND or SD is calling your name!

Normal land = what zias is familiar with. That's how children think: familiar = normal.

And just so you know, not all of us think illegal immigration is OK, esp given that we're the ones paying for their emergency medical care, their chilldren's public school educations, etc. A lot of the illegal immigrant sympathizers don't know how badly they're being exploited.

Originally Posted by Curmudgeon

...The thread asks, "Why did you leave?" I answered. That's all!

No, that's not all, and over the course of how many posts?

Originally Posted by nmnita

I certainly understand your defense, I think many of us do the same when people blast where we have chosen to live, especially those who have nver stepped foot in the state, but I also think sometimes people mistake normal comments as totally negative.

They are totally negative. Read the SoCal diatribe below.

Originally Posted by frankrj

Earthquakes, Fires, Bad Traffic, child abductions - CA - it is just non-stop I am gone for 6 months in Florida and return to SoCal to pick up some more things, the same thing is on the news.

...

OK Seriously, at 90 to 95 with air pollution in SoCal vs. 94 and 70% humidity in the Fl summer. As a Cali native, I can say it was better in FL.

And the scenery is butt ugly to see miles of brown grass, or hay, (and now dirt) on the freeway sides in SoCal vs. the greenery on the east coast, the pure air, the rain that comes and washes away pollution.
(NorCal is a different story, it's just beautiful up in Humboldt county)
So, I'd say my reason for leaving:
deteriorating budget crisis and
too immigration friendly; (free should not be the norm when it comes to medical help fi you are not paying and never have paid taxes.)
non-business friendly,
crime
sky high property values
Yeah, I'd have to make $150k each year to own a decent home.

...

After all , 90% of the US population is not in CA and doing OK.

Originally Posted by nightbird47

And instead of ONLY those who love California as it is now there needs to be balance. If someone asks how bad the pollution in Riverside is, then honesty should happen. Honesy is that its awful. And you are damaging your childrens lungs when they breath it. This isn't bashing, its truth. And what is so wrong with truth.

What's wrong with "the truth" is someone mindlessly and long-windedly complaining. Who wants to read complaining? Have you ever heard someone say "don't get me started" and they don't? Well, many people on this board have gotten started.

Originally Posted by nightbird47

I will say I don't like what California has become. I will say it drove ME away. Its not bitterness. Its reality. I don't ask anyone to share the idea but if someone asks I'll tell if it answers their question. This site isn't a place for the state pr office. You get lots of views and take what you want of it. Best way to see reality.

You don't get lots of views, you get a lot of people bashing something. That's not what I'd celebrate as "honest" or "truth" or "reality". It's just bashing.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by frankrj

When do you recall sudden rainstorms in the summer 15,20 30 years ago...

Uhh, whenever the monsoonal flow from the South makes it up this far? The weather of two weeks ago wasn't exactly a ground-breaking event. Some Summers we avoid it, some we don't... but it never lasts for more than a few days at a time.

Originally Posted by frankrj

the climate has changed. It used to only be hot and dry..

And now it's back to being hot and dry. The thunderstorms of two weeks ago came and went, and for the past two weeks we've been back to same old same old.

Really, it's nothing new.

[CArizona]

No one wants to feel "attacked." People who live in CA today and love it don't want to feel"attacked." I understand this....It's just hard when we live in an area and things start to change all around us that we don't really prefer or like....This is especially true if we are a native of a state and thought in terms of "staying put" and living our entire life out in the state....It's a big loss when we end up feeling like an alien in our native land....It's hard to explain. It's sad and spooky....We know we can't stay because we just don't seem to fit-in anymore....There comes a point where we have to look for someplace else to live whether we feel like it or not....Where will we fit-in? Where do our kind of people live? HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN? Why did the culture change all around us...yet we are still basically the same? Of course we're going to look back to try to find some answers and try to make sense of all of it....But this doesn't mean that we aren't happy in our new "home."...It seems like some people in CA went through a weird machine that changed them a lot and we didn't...Why????

[Fontucky]

Change is the only aspect of life that stays the same.

[lpt2569]

I have to say this is a fascinating discussion. My wife and I are planning to move in the next few years with our son (currently 13 months old). We most likely will stay in the Baltimore, Md area (rather reluctantly). However, if we decide to leave the state, we would go nowhere else but California. Baltimore is ok, but the crime, economy/cost of living is tough, pollution and humidity in summer is wreaking havoc with our health, and it's kinda just plain boring. Only negative we see right now to moving to California is the current economic state there, but things could (and hopefully, for those who live there already) should change for the better. Just curious if anyone who has left California or wants to leave, have any of you ended up (or want to end up) on the east coast?

[Curmudgeon]

Originally Posted by lpt2569

I have to say this is a fascinating discussion. My wife and I are planning to move in the next few years with our son (currently 13 months old). We most likely will stay in the Baltimore, Md area (rather reluctantly). However, if we decide to leave the state, we would go nowhere else but California. Baltimore is ok, but the crime, economy/cost of living is tough, pollution and humidity in summer is wreaking havoc with our health, and it's kinda just plain boring. Only negative we see right now to moving to California is the current economic state there, but things could (and hopefully, for those who live there already) should change for the better. Just curious if anyone who has left California or wants to leave, have any of you ended up (or want to end up) on the east coast?

I love the east coast. It's where my family was from. Baltimore conjures up images of blue claw crabs, soft shells, skip jacks and the Chesapeake. However, having lived and traveled extensively through New England, including New York, as well as the Washington, D.C. area, I also see, harsh weather, high taxes, crowds, congestion and cost of living issues.

Nice to visit, seasonally.

[sjnative]

Originally Posted by CArizona

.It seems like some people in CA went through a weird machine that changed them a lot and we didn't...Why????

Please describe this "weird machine" and the weirdification is imparts on its subjects. Saying "well, like the people from CA, that's what I mean" will simply not be elucidative, though it will be very clever and unexpected.

Ironically, the plight of AZ'ers you describe is that which native CA'ers are going through with the influx of latin americans coming in, increasing population density and imposing Spanish as a common language- a language which they often speak exclusively because they, in their own words, "don't want to lose my culture". With the influx of North Easterners to CA comes a culture of brashness- "HEY, I'M FROM NEW YORK". Both cultures are a departure from the more open-minded culture of tolerance that many native CA'ers were brought up in.

Originally Posted by lpt2569

Just curious if anyone who has left California or wants to leave, have any of you ended up (or want to end up) on the east coast?

Here's an indirect answer:
Map: Where Americans Are Moving - Forbes.com

Start clicking.

Some CA'ers are going to the NE, but most are going to adjacent western states, much to the dislike of those states' natives or, ironically, those states' recent transplants.

[nightbird47]

Originally Posted by sjnative

Please describe this "weird machine" and the weirdification is imparts on its subjects. Saying "well, like the people from CA, that's what I mean" will simply not be elucidative, though it will be very clever and unexpected.

Ironically, the plight of AZ'ers you describe is that which native CA'ers are going through with the influx of latin americans coming in, increasing population density and imposing Spanish as a common language- a language which they often speak exclusively because they, in their own words, "don't want to lose my culture". With the influx of North Easterners to CA comes a culture of brashness- "HEY, I'M FROM NEW YORK". Both cultures are a departure from the more open-minded culture of tolerance that many native CA'ers were brought up in.



Here's an indirect answer:
Map: Where Americans Are Moving - Forbes.com

Start clicking.

Some CA'ers are going to the NE, but most are going to adjacent western states, much to the dislike of those states' natives or, ironically, those states' recent transplants.

Actually I can understand that perfectly. I moved from California to get away from the culture that it has now, which isn't the one I or my parents were raised in. I was happy to see that the migration to and from Oklahoma is largely out and the migration in is not overwhelming because I really like it the way it is and unless you want to keep it this way, go somewhere else.

[whoisjongalt]

1. Too many people
2. Way too many people
3. Horrible, never ending traffic
4. Got sick of boring hot weather and filthy air
5. Everyone is way too stressed out
6. You need to make about $1,000,000 / year to buy a house anywhere decent
(P.S. I'm only talking about SoCal)