Places to live - input please?

[West Coast Jungle]

I wouldn't leave SoCal. I grew up in N.Y. which is nice but there is no better weather and economy than SoCal. Most folks I know that left wanted to come back but can't because now they cant afford the homes they used to own. The weather here is the absolute best. Try living in a real winter for a year and you will be real sorry you left. Not sure what area you live
In but there are many different areas from city to suburbs, rural farm land, mountains, beach, yuppie, bohemian, you name it. Do your homework because leaving is generally a lot easier than coming back.

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I wouldn't leave SoCal. I grew up in N.Y. which is nice but there is no better weather and economy than SoCal. Most folks I know that left wanted to come back but can't because now they cant afford the homes they used to own. The weather here is the absolute best. Try living in a real winter for a year and you will be real sorry you left. Not sure what area you live
In but there are many different areas from city to suburbs, rural farm land, mountains, beach, yuppie, bohemian, you name it. Do your homework because leaving is generally a lot easier than coming back.

[Argentra]

The bikini girls vary, to put it lightly. IMHO they're twigs, but a lot of guys go for that so...

And as for the 'mega erruption'...yeah that was supposed to have happened many many years ago, and still not a cough from the big guy. Or even from the little girl (St.Helens) as it were. Even living on the edge of the Ring of Fire, we have fewer natural disasters than almost anywhere else...and those we do get I will take over tornadoes and hurricanes any day!

As for actual housing costs, I can only tell you general apartment prices for the different areas. I'm not in the house market, and probably won't ever be so. But it does depend on area a lot. In Seattle, a studio can cost you upwards of $1000! But in the suburbs, such as where we live, you can get a nice 1 bedroom for $700-800. And most complexes up here have good amenities and W/Ds in the apartments.

So yeah, PNW is awesome.

[BrandiR]

The bikini girls vary, to put it lightly. IMHO they're twigs, but a lot of guys go for that so...

And as for the 'mega erruption'...yeah that was supposed to have happened many many years ago, and still not a cough from the big guy. Or even from the little girl (St.Helens) as it were. Even living on the edge of the Ring of Fire, we have fewer natural disasters than almost anywhere else...and those we do get I will take over tornadoes and hurricanes any day!

As for actual housing costs, I can only tell you general apartment prices for the different areas. I'm not in the house market, and probably won't ever be so. But it does depend on area a lot. In Seattle, a studio can cost you upwards of $1000! But in the suburbs, such as where we live, you can get a nice 1 bedroom for $700-800. And most complexes up here have good amenities and W/Ds in the apartments.

So yeah, PNW is awesome.

My last apartment was two bed/ two bath, 1000 sq ft for $750. It was a gated complex with a pool and mini gym. I now live in a duplex, two bedroom, full basement, fenced yard, nice neighborhood...$690. But it's under priced. Something comparable is about $850 average.

[STjepkes]

They're drive-thru coffee stands where the baristas wear bikinis, lingerie, or are otherwise scantily clad.

Wow! It just occurred to me that they don't have bikini baristas everywhere. Is it really a West Coast/Washington thing? Mind blown right now haha what the heck!

[BrandiR]

Wow! It just occurred to me that they don't have bikini baristas everywhere. Is it really a West Coast/Washington thing? Mind blown right now haha what the heck!

I lived in Michigan for 30 years and have spent a lot of time in Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas, and everywhere in between. I'd never seen one before moving to here. In fact, I've never seen so many drive-thru coffee stands in general.

[STjepkes]

My last apartment was two bed/ two bath, 1000 sq ft for $750. It was a gated complex with a pool and mini gym. I now live in a duplex, two bedroom, full basement, fenced yard, nice neighborhood...$690. But it's under priced. Something comparable is about $850 average.

Cost of living in WA is completely dependant on which side of the Cascades you live on. You'll see considerably lower prices the further east you go and much higher prices on the coast, especially near Seattle.

[sorraia]

You guys are too funny!!!

I had never heard of those types of coffee shops, something my husband failed to mention when he lived here....


So I found a website called "Find Your Spot" .com and filled out their quiz. Then had my husband fill out the quiz. Apparently I am a southern girl at heart, because on their list of 24 places for me to live, about a half dozen were in the Southwest, 2 were in Utah, and the rest were in the South/Southeast. My husband, on the other hand got a variety of locations, including a good number in the Northwest, the ONE place he does NOT want to live!

[sorraia]

I wouldn't leave SoCal. I grew up in N.Y. which is nice but there is no better weather and economy than SoCal. Most folks I know that left wanted to come back but can't because now they cant afford the homes they used to own. The weather here is the absolute best. Try living in a real winter for a year and you will be real sorry you left. Not sure what area you live
In but there are many different areas from city to suburbs, rural farm land, mountains, beach, yuppie, bohemian, you name it. Do your homework because leaving is generally a lot easier than coming back.

I really am torn. I know if we leave, chances of coming back are slim to none.

I grew up in Redlands, have family there as well as Orange County, Ontario, and near Palm Springs, and have worked all over the place. I really liked it growing up, but it is getting harder. Currently we are living on my modest income alone. My husband has been out of work for 2 months. He has been applying to multiple places, getting interviews, and then nothing. Like a bunch of dead end streets. It is depressing. Meanwhile I suddenly see a paycheck cut AFTER getting a raise, thanks to taxes, so suddenly we are caught a little off guard with a sudden tightening in our budget. Still able to survive, but things are tight. And commuting sucks. I have done it my whole working life (since I was 15 years old), and I am getting sick and tired of it. My commute depends on where I get sent on any particular day. One of my work sites is 3 miles from home, which is GREAT! My office is about 30 miles from home, not so bad. Another work site is 87 miles from home, that is not so fun. It isn't so much the distance that's the problem though, it is the traffic (something that's pretty much expected for any metropolitan area). Traffic is the worst, and it isn't just the freeways, but surface roads as well (I need to give myself a half hour to drive 12 miles across town from my office to another office where we have our staff meetings). Half of my commute to the office is on surface roads through farmland, and all in all it takes me 45-60 minutes one way. When I have to drive out to Huntington Beach it takes me 2 hours without traffic. And then there's the crime... Crime is getting worse, and will only continue to get worse, and I'm getting sick and tired of it. My house was broken into a couple years ago, my neighbors' houses have recently been broken into, just got done dealing with drug dealing, car stealing, meth addict neighbors after a year. I'm seriously contemplating just moving to a different city, BUT there's no escaping the crime. My dad's house was also recently broken into (and unlike mine, he actually had stuff stolen), my coworkers in other cities are dealing with similar problems, crimes are occurring in all cities all across the map. There's going to be crime in every city, every state, but the difference is the per capita rate of crime and what kind of crimes. Another problem with simply moving to a different city is the affordability: We practically stole this house, getting another house with land for the horses is going to be at least double and on my paycheck alone we can't afford that. Moving further east or north into the High Desert aren't options, because then the commute would be impossible. If my husband could get a job, affordability will change, BUT with unemployment being so high in this state, we really don't have high hopes in that area. I do LOVE the weather out here, and I LOVE having every kind of scenery with just a short drive in any direction. Those are things I won't find any where else. BUT we need to decide what's worth it and what isn't. We have a baby to worry about too. There isn't much else to makes you question your safety and comfort than to have a meth addict hop your fence into your yard at 2AM, looking straight at your security camera and giving the bird, and harassing your horses, and knowing he can't be arrested and held in jail because he's considered a "low level offender".

I haven't worked out a full list yet....
Pros: weather/climate, things to do, landscapes, most of our family lives here
Cons: housing costs, taxes, crime/AB109, high unemployment rate, traffic, high population, hard to find housing with land that's affordable but still near work

[wwmjkd]

the only city that could get me to leave D.C. at this point would be Austin, Tx. strong economy, decent weather (excepting July and August), and no shortage of nightlife or music. admittedly I am in the tank for Seattle, but only because I am firmly stuck in the early 1990s, and haven't heard all too many great things about living there.

good luck with your decision.

[Mike41793]

the only city that could get me to leave D.C. at this point would be Austin, Tx. strong economy, decent weather (excepting July and August), and no shortage of nightlife or music. admittedly I am in the tank for Seattle, but only because I am firmly stuck in the early 1990s, and haven't heard all too many great things about living there.

good luck with your decision.

Nirvana was in seattle in the early '90s. There nothing bad about that!