[campbellcj]

I was born in and have lived in the L.A. area my entire life. Obviously, there is a lot to like here and nearly all of my family and friends are here, plus my wife and I both operate small businesses here (which are both transportable to some degree). We live very comfortably but have high incomes and do not feel 'wealthy' given taxes and the extreme cost of living. My wife and I are educated and probably had what some would call 'privileged' upbringings but were not able to afford our first home until we were 35, and we had some help even then. As mentioned above, property taxes, utilities and other routine home upkeep are now nearly equal to our mortgage payment, and are going up continuously. Food is also getting very expensive (everywhere, certainly) -- I have not added it up precisely but $1,200/month to feed our household would be in the ballpark.

I have traveled all over the US, to perhaps 40 out of the 50 states, as well as internationally a bit. I've always said that if I ever find somewhere I would rather be than here, I would seriously consider pulling-up roots or at least planting some new ones i.e., land or 2nd home, for the future. So far, this is still the place for me.