Should I move to California?

[Tommy-G]

Originally Posted by Nickco43

Well this thread blew up.

I guess the TLDR is if you are loaded move to California but I should continue traveling around the US.

I have lived in New Jersey ,Wisconsin, and now Florida. It comes down to what do you care most about in life.
-If you want to ski all the time, move near the mountains.
-If you want to deep sea fish, then maybe Florida is the place
-If you want to dodge potholes and abandoned cars, move near 95 South in Philly or NJ

[Localmotion]

Visting somewhere and living somewhere are two completely different things...

it's like going on a date with a super hot chick, then after a while you see here with no makeup and learn all her idiosyncrasies, and you start to question if you made a mistake

I lived in both Sacramento and Denver.... recently left Calirado. Even though I make more money now, I rather that money go further, investing, traveling, FIRE....

[cfm56d7b]

Nickco43, welcome to California as a potential resident!

Do you have the option of working remotely? If yes - there are so many options for you to find the right lifestyle in California. Real estate costs more in CA of course.

For me, Orange County is still a great place to be: equidistant to LA and San Diego with its own culture.

[vreihen16]

Originally Posted by TommyG-inFlaNow

-If you want to dodge potholes and abandoned cars, move near 95 South in Philly or NJ

Can't offer any advice on California, since it is one of the three lower 48 states that I've never been to.....

[KevinC]

Originally Posted by 2000cs

Grew up in Newport Beach (CdM), still have family there. Try to visit once a year. Day one it is nice to be back and see familiar sites, etc. Day two I’m getting hints why I left. Day three locals are getting on my nerves. Are they really that shallow and selfish while being so self-assured and smug? Day four ready to go, how long until my flight. Day five, I stayed too long. Time to go. ......

Wow. 100% echoes my feelings and experiences. I lived in Huntington Beach for a decade, OC for 20 years overall, after first 24 years of my life in the Bay Area. So many positives and great memories, but SO many negatives nowadays that completely override the positives. Bottom line: it's still a great place to visit, but an awful place to settle down long-term, unless you're stupid-wealthy.

[Tommysalami]

I moved to Orange County 18 months ago from the DC area. My advice is to look at the listing price of homes add 50-100k to that because that's what things are selling for now, and decide whether you can afford a mortgage for a home in an area you can stay in long-term. I think that's going to be the main driver of whether you (and many others) stay in the state for more than a couple years. Bay area housing prices are horrendous, LA, OC and SD are really bad, while other areas like Sacramento are a bit more affordable.
I'd expect your company would offer some extra compensation for the higher local cost of living associated with higher state taxes and cost of gas, so that should be a wash. General cost of living is certainly more expensive, but those states with zero income tax are gonna get their money in other ways and your company may pay you less to live there, so housing should be your main concern.

[BMW F22]

Haven’t lived in other states so don’t know the difference but California has everything you would want: mountains, beaches, sand, snow, beer, wine, weather, tech, great driving roads, camping, hiking, swimming, food, car scene, etc. It is expensive for sure and there are definitely issues such as homelessness, all the political BS, people can be off putting because everyone is trying to get ahead (especially silicon valley where I am), smugness of folks living in SF, etc. You could move here for a little bit and see how you like it. Housing is expensive as fck here to be prepared for that.

[Alfisti]

WHat's expensive? I am from Sydney and that place is something special housing wise.

[TiMSport]

Just my 2 cents but why immediately buy a house until you REALLY know whether you will actually like living there? I would recommend renting a place somewhere and seeing whether you can acclimatize and enjoy it. Like many have already echoed, visiting and living somewhere are very different things. You may find that the place you thought was fantastic may not be so great after all when you take a look behind the proverbial curtains.

Having said that, I lived in Orange County for several years and loved it there but the general cost of living was just whack IMO. I will admit that I very much miss being near the ocean though.

[3.0L]

We're a little short on water right now, so...

[ky0u]

Originally Posted by 3.0L

We're a little short on water right now, so...

Relevant signature?

[TiMSport]

Originally Posted by 3.0L

We're a little short on water right now, so...

Lol. Shutting down or curtailing the almond farming over there would be a good start. It requires 1900 gallons of water to produce a pound of almonds. Compare that to something like tomatoes which requires just 26 gallons. It's not like almonds couldn't be grown in many other places.

[IllSic_Design]

Originally Posted by TiMSport

Lol. Shutting down or curtailing the almond farming over there would be a good start. It requires 1900 gallons of water to produce a pound of almonds. Compare that to something like tomatoes which requires just 26 gallons. It's not like almonds couldn't be grown in many other places.

Same with Avocados

[TiMSport]

Originally Posted by IllSic_Design

Same with Avocados

But it only takes 74 gallons for a pound of avocados.
However, I didn't realize Cali provides 95% of avocados grown in the US. I don't even like the damn things! Lol.

[NeverL8]

I love living in SoCal

Cons: yes it’s expensive. Yes traffic is bad. Yes we have stupid politicians that make our life harder.

BUT….we have the best weather here all year around (living on the coast helps). While everyone in 10 feet of snow, freezing their ass off….we’re at the beach enjoying sunshine in 70+ degree weather.
Plus there’s TONS to do here for every personality.

If you focus on every single political issue and have it consume your day to day life….then this state might not be for you.

[IllSic_Design]

Originally Posted by TiMSport

But it only takes 74 gallons for a pound of avocados.
However, I didn't realize Cali provides 95% of avocados grown in the US. I don't even like the damn things! Lol.

yeah we produce almost all the US's avocados lol. Ahh you're right, I did a quick search and it said like 1900 litres for a kilo, which still sounded pretty high, but I guess nothing near almonds, jeez


Edit: This link to the water footprint network states a single avocado uses 60 gallons to grow. Who knows who's right haha
https://waterfootprint.org/en/about-...nt-calculator/

[TiMSport]

Originally Posted by IllSic_Design

yeah we produce almost all the US's avocados lol. Ahh you're right, I did a quick search and it said like 1900 litres for a kilo, which still sounded pretty high, but I guess nothing near almonds, jeez

No, it's much more than that. As I stated earlier, it requires 1900 gallons of water to produce a single pound of almonds. If you must, that is equivalent to 7192 liters! Crazy water consumption. That's just nuts. No pun intended. LOL.

[3.0L]

Originally Posted by TiMSport

Lol. Shutting down or curtailing the almond farming over there would be a good start. It requires 1900 gallons of water to produce a pound of almonds. Compare that to something like tomatoes which requires just 26 gallons. It's not like almonds couldn't be grown in many other places.

Not to mention vineyards. We export millions of gallons of water in the form of wine.

[dreamingat30fps]

Originally Posted by TheRussski

BUT….we have the best weather here all year around (living on the coast helps). While everyone in 10 feet of snow, freezing their ass off….we’re at the beach enjoying sunshine in 70+ degree weather.

I dunno about southern CA but in northern CA that fucking water is -20F in the summer when it's 110F outside soooo.... don't get me wrong, I'm sure it's great for some... like polar bears.

They are pretty though. Personally I like the beaches in Washington and Oregon. I like the more remote desolate beaches with what seems like a mile of sand before you get to the water.

Beach pics for fun. Guess the state.

[GrussGott]

The "cali is commies & homeless" people are morons talkin out their ass. As someone who relocated here 10 years ago from the midwest, I had/have the same observations as you - it's an amazing state with an endless amount of beauty and things to do. There are other states with equal, but no state with more.

Cali also has the best car/motor culture of any state I've ever been to! If you love driving Cali is the shit.

With that, lately drought, heat, & fires put a damper on things ... and it's expensive of course. And with those things I'd be hesitant to buy property here, though I'm not buying property anywhere because I believe the future will be about mobility with no way to predict an area/market that takes a decade or longer downturn ...

You should move where you're happiest! If that's Cali, go for it.

[cmyx6go]

Originally Posted by TheRussski

I love living in SoCal

Cons: yes it’s expensive. Yes traffic is bad. Yes we have stupid politicians that make our life harder.

BUT….we have the best weather here all year around (living on the coast helps). While everyone in 10 feet of snow, freezing their ass off….we’re at the beach enjoying sunshine in 70+ degree weather.
Plus there’s TONS to do here for every personality.

If you focus on every single political issue and have it consume your day to day life….then this state might not be for you.

Yes, the weather is beautiful most of the time. Except when it rains. You people do not know how to drive in the rain!! Lol.

Carry on!

Edit: I love CA. I entertained moving there when I got divorced but ultimately decided against it. My family all live on the east coast. Go get a rental and see how you like it. I love OC.

[Humdizzle]

Originally Posted by GrussGott

Cali also has the best car/motor culture of any state I've ever been to! If you love driving Cali is the shit.

could you elaborate on that.

i've heard the traffic is terrible. and even the back roads, like big tejunga or whatever mountain roads matt farah uses get busy later in the day (he says he goes at the crack of dawn to avoid traffic).

i do see there are big car meets all the time there, but how much can you actually drive and push the car before traffic gets in the way compared to the midwest.