Hundreds of Californians have been paid $10,000 to relocate to Oklahoma. Did they find paradise?

Los Angeles Times ^ | Aug. 15, 2025 3 AM PT | Hannah Fry

[Myrddin]

When I moved into Mira Mesa, the intersection of Parkdale and Mira Mesa Blvd was a 4 way stop. A two lane road continued west to intersect with I-805. Nothing but clear canyon with sage brush at that time. That was 1983. It is nothing like that now.

When I first returned to San Diego in 1969, most of Mira Mesa was dirt. The Scouts had a huge jamboree on the open fields. Part of the San Diego 200th anniversary.

[pfflier]

We moved to Mira Mesa the same year!!.. Camino Ruiz ended with a barricade and my work at Convair was about a 10 minute drive from home via MM Boulevard and Kearny Villa Road. We loved the Tio Leos next to the shopping center, walking distance from the house.

By the time we left, it was so congested that trip took 45 minutes and involved about 5 stop lights. And, if it rained, double the time.

[Myrddin]

Tio Leo's was a favorite eating spot. One of my students lived in Mira Mesa just east of the high school. He invited me for dinner at Tio's. That was prior to purchasing my house there. I remember the barricade at the end of Camino Ruiz.

Around 1990, I was sent to a training class in Anaheim. The drive home was brutal. Getting from the I-805 south turn to my house near Parkdale and MM Blvd took 2 1/2 hours. MM Blvd became the main E-W corridor between I-805 and I-15. Bumper to bumper for hours. The buildout of SR 56 between I-5 (Del Mar) and I-15 (Rancho Penasquitos) shifted most of that traffic away by the late 90s.

[pfflier]

Sadly, Tio Leo’s is down to one restaurant now, on Moreno at Napa. They’ve still maintained the same great food quality. My wife and I still manage to stop there every time we are in town.