[Scott Douglas]

My family moved out west from NJ back in the mid-50's. I grew up in Santa Monica.
The closest I've come to moving out was back in '92 when I got laid off. Came home that day and told the wife the hardest question we had to answer was what color to paint the house before we moved.
Then I went to Missouri for a couple of weeks, looking around for work. Spent a day in July in 90/90 heat and humidity mowing my buddy's lawn. Left the next day for CA. No way was I going to put my kids through that kind of weather. They both were too into playing sports and that is no weather to be playing soccer and baseball in, IMO.
We stuck it out (my unemployment) and I finally got hired again after 18 months. Didn't loose the house or cars, just a little bit of my self-esteem as I hired back at what I'd been making 5 years previous. So, with the bank account almost empty I basically started over.
My kid excelled in baseball (drafted out of high school by the Angel's) and got a scholarship to school based on his academics. Graduated with honors and is now working/living in San Diego.
Daughter graduated and started working in San Diego. Met a guy, got married and is living in Japan while he makes his way up the ladder in his chosen profession of ship repair for DOD. We might see them move back to the states in another couple of years. It will be interesting to see how their three girls handle that change.
Meanwhile, we continue to self quarantine here in the OC as the numbers don't seem to be going in the right direction again.
Has it been easy living here, seeing Santa Monica go downhill to the point I hated going to see my mom in her later days because there was so much traffic and homeless people on every corner up there? No.
The one saving grace is I haven't had to put up with dealing with rusted bolts or see my cars rust away because of the salt on the roads.
Do I live like a king like a lot of you guys here?
Hardly. But I do have a paid for house and cars and no big outstanding bills, except when my wife wants a new sewing machine.
Life could be a lot worse, IMO, but from where I'm sitting right now, it's not all that bad.