I'm friggen out of CA!!! Really!!!

[Bill Verburg]

S. Fla. is no traffic paradise either. I'm in Stewart, just north of Pompano. When we bought 15yrs ago it was sleepy, almost rural. Now it reminds me of LA traffic. And getting worse. hurricanes aren't much fun either. 13yrs w/ no damage but lost the garage each of the past 2 years.

[pwd72s]

As long as sex is more popular than death, we're going to have a "population problem".

[Joeaksa]

1967 is correct. Lots of aging hippies and such in Sedona. They say that the "force" is there and attracts all of them. Forking wonderful... The property values are going out of sight there so its not really an option for most.

Flag and Prescott are still nice and descent priced.

JoeA

[1967 R50/2]

Originally posted by Porsche-O-Phile
Everyplace has its good and bad, ...

True...true...

Except most places "bad" doesn't consist of earthquakes, firestorms, mudslides, race riots, gang wars, pedophile celebs and bumper to bumper on the 405 at 7AM on a Sunday.

Oh yeah...and pollution so thick you can't see the sky.

On the "good" side, LA does have NFL football...oh, wait....


Oh well, for me it looks like it is back to swimming in another Superfund site...

[Dixie]

I used to live in S. Florida. You'll like it. It's the L.A. of the East Coast.

Now before someone gets the wrong idea, let me confess that I really like S. Florida. I enjoyed the years spent living in Plantation. (Having easy access to three tracks was nice.)

On the other hand, my wife was always itching to move back to a place where she didn't have an accent. Apparently you can't take the Southern Belle out of the South...

My point remains that S. Florida might, or might not be, what one expects to find. Just like L.A., it's not a thing like the image it's been given.

[RoninLB]

I wanted to buy property in the Keys yrs ago. I tried to explain to the bride that I had friends down there and that I'd have much more ocean access.

"Absolutely Not the Keys. Any place but the Keys."

I figured she didn't want me into the Keys' experience full time?

[makaio]

Paul, I'm happy for you. You've been through some tough $hit and I think this move will do you great. If you're ever in Nor-Cal look me up.

[Evans, Marv]

Joe,
About 20 or a little more years ago, I looked at Prescott and thought it would be a nice little place to retire. Beautiful place! I was last through there 10 years ago and was astounded at the number of housing tracts and malls to the east outside the older part of Prescott. After seeing that, I didn't think I would like it. Too bad, because it's such nice country and was such a nice old town.

[Tobra]

Originally posted by pwd72s
As long as sex is more popular than death, we're going to have a "population problem".

too true, whole planet. I left CA and came back, climate is very nice, really love it here, but will probably retire in Texas. I can sell my house here, move down there and live like a king on profits from my home. It has gone up about a third in value in 2 years, but has leveled off, glad I stepped on the roller coaster as it was going up.

[tabs]

SO CAL is/was home for me. I lived there for 48 years...I saw it change from endless Orange Groves to endless Suburban Tract Houses. I saw it change form one car on the 57 to an endless snake of cars 60 miles long. CA has changed and not for the better in my opinion. But it still is one he11 of a place to live.

I left and moved one step over the line from CA , to Las Vegas. I had visited this place on and off for 48 years. Summers here are brutal, winters colder with crisp in the air, and talk about a corrupt State including its government. Las vegas is truly a Dirt Bagger Town. However that said the desert scenery is realy quiet beautiful. The place is BOOMING with new developments literally springing up over night. Drive by some vacant land and the next time you go by there will be anothe 200 houses there filled with families. Drive down the Beltway and count the cars with CA license plates as well as from every other state in the union. This place is changing and the old ways are dieing, all be it hard.

You might say LV is LAs newest suburb..just a little further east thats all. The Gun Laws here are very tolerant, taxes are lower, and there are 1.4 M people to deal with instead of the 20M in So CAl. If I want to go visit SO CAL its an easy 3.25 hour drive. Naw all in all LV ain't that bad of a place to be...your outa the mess that CA has turned into...and RE prices are begining to rival those in SO CAL...315K is the median price home here in the valley...vs 337K for Ontario/Riverside. I'm of the opinion that LV RE one day in the not to disatant futher will be MORE expensive than much of SO CAL. Simply because it won't have the problems CA has burdened itself with, and land is limited. After all which city of 1.4M has as many world class amenites as LV.

Finally, if you asked me where the absolute best place to live is...and where I would go if I had a bit more dinero..I would say Santa Barbara, CA. or its environs. It is the American Rivera...the climate the Geography, the amenities and its one step away from a Major City..LA...

Other places I would check out are...Tucson, Prescott, Col Springs, Alberquere, Reno and Squim WA.

[Rick Lee]

I would seriously consider moving to near LV, but it will fill up and become as much a headache as where I live now. It's probably the fastest growing place in the US.

[Howard Agency]

Go figure. People want to live where the weather and opportunities are good. So much so that these areas become more densely populated with high prices.

Want low housing prices, good air, and uncrowded roads? Move to a place few people want to go. Then you can ***** about the lousy weather and lack of jobs.

So Cal? Sure, even here. Just did a search for CA homes under 150,000 and found this one. 1 1/2 hours from LA, San Diego, or Vegas. Year round golf and Porsche weather.

Yawn

[KNS]

Prescott *is* nice but there are a staggering number of SoCals here (I know, I'm one). I think one thing that attracts the Californians to this place - among other things - is that the geography happens to look a lot like California. It is growing like crazy here, home prices are really going up and water availability is becoming an increasing concern.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Originally posted by Howard Agency
Go figure. People want to live where the weather and opportunities are good. So much so that these areas become more densely populated with high prices.

Want low housing prices, good air, and uncrowded roads? Move to a place few people want to go. Then you can ***** about the lousy weather and lack of jobs.

So Cal? Sure, even here. Just did a search for CA homes under 150,000 and found this one. 1 1/2 hours from LA, San Diego, or Vegas. Year round golf and Porsche weather.

Yawn

Exactly, come to Wichita. Except we have plenty of jobs. Though I can't ***** too much about the weather, I like having four seasons. Even though So Cal's 70 degrees year round would be nice, I think I'd get bored.

[Rick Lee]

Matt, I've been to Wichita and can't say I'm in a hurry to go back. I love driving in no traffic, but that's about it. I really don't care to live in Tornado Alley.

[Howard Agency]

Matt, don't even try to explain it. Wichita is a great town, great steaks and airplane history.
Some people find happiness wherever they are. Others, well,

[pwd72s]

Kansas? My wife lived in Kansas City, MO for a couple of years back in the early 70's. She says there are only three seasons: 1. Freezing cold. 2. Blistering hot & humid. 3. TORNADO!
But we should brag? Today, the only people enjoying Willamette Valley weather are body & fender shop owners...it was freezing rain from Eugene up to Portland, snow in higher elevations. Roads a mess! I stayed in, watched the Chargers upset the Colts. Another illustration of why I never bet on pro sports, but it sure was a fun game to watch.

[nostatic]

Just came back from spending the afternoon sitting on the beach at Zuma, sipping some wine, and watching the sun set over the ocean.

I need to live within driving distance of the ocean. Otherwise I get very sick and nervous. ymmv. I could sit and watch the ocean day after day. And have. It's home.

John, your perception of life in CA is unfortuantely correct. My ex and I were making well over $200K and it seemed like we could barely make it work. Of course now were separate and making it work, so you live to your income. But she won't be able to pay the mortgage on her salary alone. A decent house in a decent neighborhood that has decent schools is just ridiculous expensive. And only the elementary school is good. So she'll likely live in the red for 2.5 more years (end of elementary school for the boy) then sell and move somewhere...probably Portland since that is the home of the "mother ship."

I'll likely stay in CA and make it work somehow. I'm 3rd generation. I'm lucky to have spent my first 44 years living in CA (most in SoCal). I'm hoping to spend the next 44 here. Or maybe Hawaii. Or Tahiti. Hmm...

[Bamberg96]

Left Tustin, CA 12 years ago for Boca Raton, FL 12 years ago and have never looked back, targa weather all year!

[onewhippedpuppy]

I'm just not an ocean guy, if I had my choice I'd be in the mountains somewhere. Unfortunately there's not much for aerospace industry at 2000 ft. Like Howard said though, it's all in what makes you happy. I love variety, we have 8" of snow right now, but it's supposed to be 50 by Friday. And as for tornados, it's not nearly as bad as people think. I've lived in Kansas my entire life and never actually seen one. I've seen my fair share of funnel clouds, but never one on the ground. It's still better than a hurricane, a big tornado is a mile wide, while hurricanes are a couple hundred.

Here we get good salaries, cheap living, very little traffic, all the shopping you can ask for, and overall friendly people. I can't complain.