Relocating to SoCal because of DLR

Originally Posted By CoolHand

Am I nuts? I am seriously considering moving my family from Oregon to SoCal. My wife and I have jobs that would allow us to relocate. I know cost of living is an issue, but other than that I am looking for some advice. Our girls are 13 and 7, we have been taking 3+ trips per year and still can't seem to get enough. So lets hear it, the good, the bad, and the ugly about living in SoCal.

 

Originally Posted By SoThisIsLove

<<Am I nuts?>>

Nope! Good luck to you, CoolHand. I hope your dreams come true. Standby because I'm sure the SoCal LP'ers are about to give you the lowdown!

 

Originally Posted By -PegLegPete-

Come on down!! One of my sisters just moved back here from oregon after a little over a year. She missed the busy life here versus the little town of Weed, OR.

Besides...D I S N E Y L A N D is too far from Oregon for the kids (and you).

 

Originally Posted By trekkeruss

The good: DL, of course.
The bad: It's HOT sometimes, like now.
The ugly: I suppose traffic can be a bear.

Where in SoCal are you thinking about?

 

Originally Posted By Lady Starlight

CoolHand..What's taking you so long!? For heavens sake, you should be all moved in to So Cal by now! DL awaits!
:-D

 

Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt

Southern California is wonderful place (I live in Northern California), but I really have to wonder why you'd uproot your family and move to another state just to be close to DLR. I'm curious to know what your 13 year old thinks about this.

 

Originally Posted By CoolHand

The 13 year old is actually the one who suggested it. I think mostly we are looking for a change. We have lived here our entire lives and honestly the weather is starting to get to us. Not too fun to go 6 months with intermittent sunshine. My wife and I have been Disney freaks since we got married and have often talked about retiring in SoCal. 25 years to go on that...

 

Originally Posted By CoolHand

We are open on areas to live in. I am in Banking and my DW is in HR, so we aren't too limited in where we could go.

 

Originally Posted By KCCHIEF

I, for sure know all about the rain...I live in Vancouver Washington...and I would trade living there for here anytime.....just not sure, if I could make a living..plus I have an 8 year old son...he really likes his friends and school...but, I would move to S. California...if I could...

 

Originally Posted By Walter Elias

CoolHand,
I have sometimes dreamt of moving to SoCal. I'd probably move to San Diego if I could. There, I'd buy a house boat and live near Shelter Island. My kids are in a great elementary school so we don't want to move them. So, someday, when we retire.

 

Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt

"I think mostly we are looking for a change."

Okay, so it sounds like you aren't moving to LA just to be near Disney. That sounds reasonable to me, so to answer your question I don't think you're nuts. Best of luck with your decision making.

 

Originally Posted By Ursula

First off, it is over-crowded here, so make someone else move out first.

Then, consider housing costs. Rent or own? Houses here are pricey, even though they are going down now and again.

Can you handle traffic?

Make sure you check the city you are thinking of moving into with us first.

But really, being a native SoCal-er, I wouldn't live any place else. We have things to do, we have nice people, the beach is great, the weather is great, we have four major airports to take you away when you need it and Palm Springs is two hours away.

Sit down with your family and have a brainstorming session.

Do you have immediate family near you now who would suffer? Would you be better off staying or moving? Have you looked for comparable jobs to see if the pay is consistant with your monetary obligations?

Sounds like an adventure to me.

 

Originally Posted By rockcow1

Check into school districts!! There is not a lot of money going into some!

 

Originally Posted By Schmitty Good Vibes

CoolHand,

I'm working on the same move, but it's going to take a couple of years for me - if I want to have a So Cal income when I arrive. There's so much more than the DLR down there, and the local LPers are the nicest you could ever hope to meet!

I suggest a visit where you don't even go to the Resort (if you can stand it).

 

Originally Posted By mawnck

Also consider:

We're at the leading edge of a major water shortage out here. If you believe all that global warming stuff (as I do), it certainly ain't gonna get any better.

Two words: Rolling Blackouts.

One more: Earthquakes.

Being far away from family members sucks. Especially with travel expenses going so high.

California seems to have the biggest discrepancy between the amount of taxes we're paying, and the amount of taxes we *should* be paying to keep things from going to heck in a handbasket. It isn't just schools. The roads, in particular, are the absolute worst in the country condition-wise as well as traffic-wise. "You get what you pay for" hasn't sunk in with California voters, and it doesn't look like it will.

Public. Transportation. Sucks. See preceding paragraph.

If you're looking at Orange County, please note that it mostly comes in two flavors - either ultra-conservative white, or heavily concentrated ethnic minority. A problem for some.

Two MORE words ... Shallow People. I'm gonna get some flack for that, but as an immigrant from the Southeast, I can assure you it's very true. (And there's no decent barbecue. None. Zip. Nada. Zilch. Not even those places the other posters are about to mention to prove me wrong. But I digress.)

Constant access to DL makes some people who thought they'd never get tired of it, get tired of it. I'm living proof. My AP is about to lapse, and I'm going to let it.

*****

The preceding negative post was not intended to dissuade you, but to give you some more things to consider. I figure you already know most of the positives (weather, Hollywood, shopping, DL, beaches, mountains, In-N-Out Burger, etc.)

 

Originally Posted By SoThisIsLove

<<In-N-Out Burger>>

That's the only claim to fame in Phoenix, so it's a good thing you're not coming out here!

 

Originally Posted By Mrs ElderP

Rockcow is right, look at school districts. The good ones are going to have EXPENSIVE houses. We live about an hour and a half from DL (that's w/normal traffic) i.e. 65 miles. Around here your 3 bed 2 bath 2000 sq ft in a safe neighboor hood: $350,000. Move closer in and that same house in a safe neighborhood is going to keep going up, up to about 750,000. I'm not talking granite counter tops and 3000 square feet either, I'm talking a 70s tract home, 3/4 of million dollars. Sure you can find homes really close to DL for 250,000, but those are some *really* scary neighborhoods.

However, you are in banking. If you are willing to put much more of your money into your house and/or downsize your "house style" there is alot to be said for living here. Mountains, beach, progressive living, more theme parks than you can shake a stick at!

Now is also the time to move, if you can sell your Oregon house, ours are in freefall. That $750,000 house? A year ago it was a million! I bet they're only going down for quite a bit too, so I wouldn't be so fast to buy if I were you.

BTW I was talking to a friend who moved from Anahiem about 5 years ago. She says there are very few safe areas in Anahiem proper anymore. In general you are much better off in Anahiem Hills.

If we had 400,000+ to spend on a house, we would probably move to Riverside (where ElderP works) or Redlands (the town in our county with the highest density of millionairs). Riverside would probably be about an hour from DL under normal traffic conditions, Redlands still an hour and a half, but a *nice* town to live in. Both cities have very active civic organizations, making the cities a fun, family centered place to live.

 

Originally Posted By believe

Pro-
Weather.
Beautiful people - ooops, you're married, so it doesn't matter.
Beaches
Diversity
Weather.

Con -
Some not so nice neighborhoods.
Graffiti.
Beautiful people - lots of temptation.
Very expensive to live here - a mansion in OR will buy you a 2 bdrm fixer upper in a decent neighborhood.


Comments
Pick a place with a good school district. Usually good schools equals good neighborhoods. Of course, that means more $$$.

 

Originally Posted By lil_kim2005

mawnck, I love how you listed In-N-Out as one of the considerable pros.

I say just go for it, every place has their ups and downs. It won't make your life better, nor worse (as long as you are all healthy-minded), but it will definitely make it more interesting. And it's good for your kids to have the experience of living in different places, even if they're bordering states. Change is good. Spice up your life. DO IT.

 

Originally Posted By LuLu

I'd suggest at least one of you get a job here before you move. The economy is NOT good here. As far as I can tell, banking is in the pits.

If you're not happy where you are, then I'd consider moving. But if you like your jobs and have friends and relatives where you are, DL could not be worth moving here (to me).