Moving Out of California

[ysoitanly]

Suggestions for a new beginning from Freepers.

[sweetliberty]

I lived in Manitou Springs. My daughter still does. It is a great little town, but much too close to Colorado Springs for my taste. There are lots of places to shop in Colorado Springs and the surrounding area though, a fact I have come to appreciate since moving to Arkansas where I have a hard time finding anything, not because I don't know where to look, but mostly because a lot of things just don't exist here. As to the dryness, you can have it. It is very hard on your skin. Not great for the sinuses and lungs either. I had fits with upper respiratory ailments there.

[ovrtaxt]

http://www.freestateproject.org/

[LibKill]

It was a pun.

Well it surely was no palindrome! :)

[w_over_w]

Can an obviously legally insane person sell a house?

Dog . . . you're ruthless! ;^)

The lady fell in love with her publicist and it was a choice between her Ranch and his Bayfront home. But here's the best part . . . she writes books on self awareness and enlightenment and is a therapist on the side.

We love her dearly but this is the story of her life. [sheesh! I hope she doesn't FReep]

[Lazamataz]

Well it surely was no palindrome! :)

A palindrome of Bolton would be Notlob! It just don't work!

[Magic Fingers]

I lived in TX for 25 years (Houston/Galveston/Clear Lake area), got transferred to Phoenix 6 years ago. Great people and food in TX, oppressive humidity and terrible traffic in Houston metro (which is about 50 miles in all directions from downtown). Very green, very flat, lost of rain, mosquitos, and fire ants (did I mention the humidity?).

Phoenix is blazing hot for about 4 months out of the year, but only a couple of those have somewhat high humidity. The rest of the year has gorgeous weather, with many scenic areas a short drive away. Property taxes are so-so, there is a state income tax, and the politics are strange (you meet lots of conservatives on the street, but we recently elected a woman Democrat for governor).

If you like a smaller-town atmosphere with four distinct seasons and nearby access to the big city, consider Prescott/Prescott Valley or Payson (elev. about 4,500 ft.), and each about an hour NW or NE of Phoenix, respectively. Both are in the cool piney woods (about 20 degrees cooler than Pheonix on average).

Phoenix, Prescott, and Payson all have low HUMIDITY (can you tell that's a big deal to me?). Good luck!

[Lazamataz]

The pet shop owner's brother was lyin'.

[ysoitanly]

WOW! Thanks to everyone for this feedback. I have a lot of decisions to make, but in reading all of these posts, I've realize how absolutely messed up and controlled this whole country is. Seems like I'm at a slight advantage I never thought of before - at least I get good weather along with the bull$hit - /sarcasm. I thought it was just California, but it's not!!! This was a real helpful, eye-opener for me, and I can't tell you how much I appreciate it. Maybe I WILL stay and fight - for now. THANK YOU FREEPERS!!! (I'm pretty sure I'm still moving in the spring) ;)

[LibKill]

The pet shop owner's brother was lyin'.

Well you can't blame British Rail for that!

[Proud_texan]

I lived in California for about 30 years moving there from Texas but moved back in '92 when I thought that that California's problems are unmanagable without a huge shift to the right....and didn't see that happening.

I prefer smaller cities and was looking for the next tech boom town so I selected Austin. I had known it was liberal from my previous stint in Texas but I had no idea, it's a commies paradise and I'm sorry I moved here except for the school district for my son (not the Austin school district, which is a disaster) and year round golf, which is great.

I got a great deal on real estate. Traded straight up from a 30 year old tract house in a marginal neighborhood to a 10 year old custom job with 3,000 more square feet. Property seems to be overpriced here in Austin, probably another bubble burst coming like there was here in the 80s.

A lot of it will depend on what kind of work you do but my favorite place is Tyler, mentioned by others. Even they have traffic issues, but it's a great town. Haven't lived in Ft. Worth in a long time but I still enjoy it every time I go there. Houston and Dallas traffic justs kill me....reminds me of Seattle, Atlanta and LA. Don't get down to San Antionio to know much about it.

Weather just about anywhere is bad in the summer. Winters can get cold but it rarely stays cold for long, maybe three days, and there are rarely more than 2-3 below freezing stretches a year, at least south of I-20.

I keep thinking that when I really retire (yeah, sure) I'll move to Goliad or Cuero or Tyler (which does have great medical facilities)...but I couldn't give up the golf ;->

Re: taxes. The bulk of mine are school taxes and they are HIGH but it depends on the school district, if you don't have kids/want to home school/private school you can find a district with lower taxes and you'll make it up in lower tag taxes for your car; I had one new car that went from $550 a year in California to $60 in Texas, and this was '92.

Good luck! Know the feeling and I wish you the very best.

[JoeSixPack1]

You "may" come to Florida as long as you dont bring that martin_fierro guy.

(He rides rice, which means i paid more in taxes and fees then he did for his whole bike!)

Ummmmm, wait a min..........


<|:-(~~

[CaliGirlGodHelpMe]

I was born here, and with due respect to Cali Freepers, what I loathe more than anything is what I can only term as the shallowness of the people here. I sometimes get the feeling that half the population thinks it's on a soundstage somewhere auditioning for a beach movie. Materialistic, spoiled, amoral, unkind, atheistic, and so sure that they are wonderful even though they don't know * from Shinola, as long as they're buff and tan. I hated this mindset even when I WAS buff and tan.

Texas is wonderful, but too hot. I'm going to Maryland. Yes, I know it's crawling with Democrats, but it's so beautiful there and I heard that the East Bay is very conservative.

[Proud_texan]

What are housing prices like in Phoenix? It's always impressed me, probably the cleanest and best maintained city I've ever seen.

[ysoitanly]

You're not the first to mention this city - sounds like I should check out Tyler - thanks!

[Magic Fingers]

The housing prices in Houston (at least, when I moved in '97) were some of the lowest in the country, so relative to that benchmark, housing in Phoenix was higher than I was used to. However, (I was transferred here to develop a project with others from various parts of the country), everyone else who got tranferred here remarked on how inexpensive the housing was - many bought a much bigger house than they moved from and put money in the bank as well.

With Phoenix, it seems some people love it and some hate it (I like it just fine). And AZ has amazing scenery a relatively short drive from Phoenix (and tremendous variety - if you've ever seen "Arizona Highways" magazine, they've got some great examples).

I recently read that Phoenix is about surpass Philadelphia and move from 6th largest city to 5th largest...don't know if that's a plus, but it is indicative of job availability and the fact that lots of people like living here...the great Southwest.

[VOA]

What, pray tell, could Kansas possibly have to offer, at least to a sighted person?

Having been sentenced to spending about one weekend a month at my maternal grandparent's
home in Wichita, KS, I do agree with you to a large degree.

Kansas is a place of what I'd call "subdued charms". Overall, it's a pretty vanilla place,
but I suspect for those fed up with urban decay/angst, it might provide a refuge.
Plus, although the economy of Wichita has taken a hit lately with the strain on
the aviation industry, it is a pretty calm place with most of the amenities of
a city it's size. And a person could live in Kansas City (on the Kansas side)
in some of the nice suburbs like Overland Park.

Landscape-wise, the western half is simply mind-numbingly flat...great for
wheat farming...but that's about it.
However, the eastern third or so has some nice, gentle hills, such as around
Manhattan, KS.

I put KS on the list because of general stability. And it surely wouldn't be
the place for folks looking for big-city thrills.

[Dog Gone]

I keep thinking that when I really retire (yeah, sure) I'll move to Goliad or Cuero or Tyler (which does have great medical facilities)...but I couldn't give up the golf ;->

I played golf in Tyler a couple of months ago. Fabulous course, except that I had about eight balls that went swimming.

[TejasRose]

West Texas is where it is at with San Angelo the crown jewel. It is a wild yet conservative area of over 250k people and a western frontier town mentality. The big city, the mountains and the border less than 3 hours away (at 100 miles an hour and no armadillo mishaps).

San Angelo is a pretty nice town, but according to the 2000 census, the population is only 88,439 and 104,010 for Tom Green County.

[Val E. Girl]

Ten years ago after much research, I gleefully uprooted myself from So. Cal and moved to Ft. Worth. (Happiness is Los Angeles in a rear view Mirror!) I was overwhelmed by the hospitality of the people...... it was almost surreal.The Bass family renovated the downtown ; it is a visually beautiful, sophisticated with a plethora of fine dining and shopping. The arts flourish, with extradionary museums, theatre and opera. On the weekends you can drive to many charming,small towns and stroll through the twon square. I could go on and on..............Ft. Worth offered me a quality of life I had never experienced. I would desribe Ft. Worth as Mayberry with skyscrapers!

[Guyin4Os]

Geeze ... yer a thread based on encouraging Conservatives in California to be quitters, losers, and kids who run away? What is it with you guys?

Never never never ever ever ever give up. And DON'T run away. Make the other side be the ones to quit and go home.

We can't be ceding California to the leftists. The admin should strike this thread and start one where we talk about staying and fighting.