Comments on: Moving To California – Is It Worth It?

By: pdxguy

pdxguy — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 22:17:58 +0000

I came across this blog after doing search for cost of living seattle vs socal. My situation: I am a married guy 31 year old Electrical engineer. I moved from Portland to Irvine for better salary but after moving here the 50% raise seems to be almost gone after adjusting the potential to buy a house in socal. Thats why luckily I didnt sign the papers which would have bound me to stay here longer. Now I am able to get another increment in salary by 3 companies in northwest. 120K in Boise, 140K in PDX, 115K in seattle. I am more inclined towards Seattle due to the company MSFT although its the least pay of all but stability and careerwise seems better. I am still not able to choose due to big difference between the other offers especially more pay in cheaper cities like Boise and PDX but reluctant about Boise due to its citylife and location. Reluctant about sales aspect of job in PDX and travel it requires. I know its a mix of choice between locations and career but any advise is valuable. Thanks

By: Tracey

Tracey — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:52:06 +0000

Well I’m in IL and the neighbor to IN. I would think it would be a diverse mix of opportunities. Maybe have a Dr. say its better for the kids health overall.

By: Tracey

Tracey — Sun, 11 Dec 2011 20:49:16 +0000

I would really, really, really love to move to Cali from cold Chicago IL but I am afraid that I won’t be able to find work. I don’t make a six figure income. I’m barely making the two figure. So, with that said, I’d have to come there seeking a job. Taxes in IL are 9.3% (sales tax) I don’t smoke so they can raise it to the roof. I don’t care. I hear car fees & tags are based on the car. Which I don’t have right now. I just want to be able to look for a job year round. Right now I work retail (two retail jobs) at the mall. Is it worth leaving with about $1,000 to get me started. I am very driven and I believe I can find a job so I won’t starve. But, where should I live. I’m 57 (female) I want to be safe. I have an online business but I’m just getting started. I’m one year in the business and have 2 clients so far.

By: Nancy

Nancy — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 19:46:12 +0000

terrance~ I am seriously considering moving FROM California to Washington. I don’t like high taxes nor the nanny/police state California has become. And while there may be plenty of things to do here, I find it a task and/or expensive to do most of them. The traffic and crowds are unbearable! I am a homeowner and will likely lease out my home. My only grandchild is moving to Washington and I have little reason to stay behind. I do have other relatives in the Seattle area who have been there since the early ’60′s. They don’t remember what it’s like to live elsewhere. It’s been four years since you wrote this initial piece. Keeping in mind that I have lived here and only here since 1954, I am almost 60 and do not need to work, what is your view of California vs. Washington living today?

By: AJ

AJ — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 22:33:27 +0000

If you’ve been gone a while, you will be disappointed. If you don’t have any jobs lined up then stay where you are. The state is bankrupt yet everyone continues to run around in denial. Find a more fiscally sound state to move to. More so than before the weather is the only thing CA has going for it and that shouldn’t be your deciding factor in coming here.

By: dave

dave — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 21:28:26 +0000

Future jobs, Education, Experience of different lifestyle, Better opportunities for better paying jobs to help pay for flights back and forth for them to visit there day if needed.
Better medical if child needs it. & if you have family they get to meet & spend time to get to know your side of the family & possibly his side of the family if they also live there.

Just a few idea’s & thoughts.
As long as the child will be able to visit & see there father the judge will usually say go for it.
Either he would be required to pay for it or you would be required.
Such as summers & Holidays to send the kid/s back to spend time with him. & He would also need to be responsible & liable to ship them back to you.

By: California dreamin

California dreamin — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:35:52 +0000

I am divorced and have 2 kids ages 10 and 7 I grew up in CA and now live in Indiana. My new husband and I are wanting to move to CA but need to convince a court why it is in the best interest of the kids to relocate and take them away from there dad. Please help me come up with good reasons to convice a judge so I can leave this cold, blah corn field. Help quickly I have to be court in 2 days.

By: John

John — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 17:25:06 +0000

Hi Henry,

Yeah we are getting hit pretty hard by Seattle City Light due to our heating bill over the winter. When winter comes and it get’s much colder, they raise the rates and for my home it is about $600 every 2 months, between electric heat and my home office.

We’re planning our move back right now also. We should be back in CA Oct/Nov 2011. Excited to get back to surfing and feeling better. Cant wait to get acclimated to SoCal again so that my joints stop hurting as much and I have more energy overall.

Good luck on your move!

By: Henry

Henry — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:51:47 +0000

@ John,

I couldn’t agree with you more! I grew up in CA for 20+ years, and recently moved to Puget Sound. Although the quality of life is pretty good up here, I’m biased because of my CA roots. As much as it is wet most of the year up here, people here suck as driving when it’s wet out. As for utilities, I’m getting by fine w/o AC, but the winter heating bill is the killer for me. The traffic here sucks too, yes there’s less people here overall compared to CA, but there’s less freeways and high flowing BLVDS too to get you through town. Job-wise, CA is waaay more diverse. Since I’m saving some college money for my child, CA has way more schools to choose from, not just a handful compared to WA.

So I’m in the early stages of planning my move back to CA. I’ll miss the all the trees of WA, but I won’t look forward to all the politics related to bankrupt CA.

By: John

John — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 01:02:34 +0000

I grew up in Seattle, then moved to San Diego and lived there for 12 years and recently moved back to WA. I agree with you on most all of this but have a few observations:

Tech: I work in tech and you are 100% spot-on. CA wins.

Traffic: Horrible in Seattle. It is also horrible in LA, but outside of LA, most of California isn’t really that bad at all due to the roads / routes being constructed for tourism. Everywhere in Seattle you see someone being pulled over and getting a citation. I don’t understand where this money goes; It most certainly does not go into making WA a better place to drive. CA wins.

Utilities: You didn’t mention this. This is huge for me. In SoCal, the weather is usually around 70 most of the year. You can get by without using heat and air conditioning. Here in Seattle, utilities are totally outrageous. You stay in more, so you use more heat and electricity. CA wins.

Food: CA wins.

Health: People are fatter in WA due to being locked indoors and the food is more of a comfort food, rather than lighter options for warmer weather. You really have to work on yourself here in WA. CA wins.

thanks for this great article!