I trust dis- moving from Midwest to cali?

[atthebeachclub]

Most midwesterners are 'road trippers' so an 8 hour drive is nothing. There are so many memes about this 'phenomenon.'
--signed, Nebraskan who drives 1500 miles (each way) to visit Disneyland.

Ha!!! This is my midwestern in laws, to a tee! Midwesterners really do own the road trip.

I advise considering your options: California is very expensive. And culturally it can feel like a big change. Definitely have a plan in case this move is not for you after all. I moved to Southern California a few months after college. I figured since I was from the west coast (PNW), it would be similar. It definitely wasn’t! There was a lot I liked, and much more I didn’t like. It felt very different culturally, which I hadn’t anticipated. Much more emphasis on plastic surgery. Getting to the beach was much more difficult than I expected. Turns out it isn’t really a surfing paradise when you are always stuck in gridlock traffic.

I was back to my home state in under a year. Now I am in the Midwest and it actually feels a lot more culturally similar to where I grew up.

I think you should try the move. But have a contingency plan just in case!

 

[ClaraOswald]

Ha!!! This is my midwestern in laws, to a tee! Midwesterners really do own the road trip.

I advise considering your options: California is very expensive. And culturally it can feel like a big change. Definitely have a plan in case this move is not for you after all. I moved to Southern California a few months after college. I figured since I was from the west coast (PNW), it would be similar. It definitely wasn’t! There was a lot I liked, and much more I didn’t like. It felt very different culturally, which I hadn’t anticipated. Much more emphasis on plastic surgery. Getting to the beach was much more difficult than I expected. Turns out it isn’t really a surfing paradise when you are always stuck in gridlock traffic.

I was back to my home state in under a year. Now I am in the Midwest and it actually feels a lot more culturally similar to where I grew up.

I think you should try the move. But have a contingency plan just in case!

We only went to the beach a few times in the 1.5 years that I lived there. I was just too much of a pain in the butt. And honestly, the beaches there just aren't super pretty and the water is cold.

 

[greeneyedchick]

I trust my dis folks and wonder if those who live in CA would offer some thoughts and advice. If you don't have something nice to say please just don't respond. Totally not on topic to theme parks..

Currently live in the Midwest and make 127K a year. This is very comfortable in the Midwest.

For many reasons I'm looking for new job and a dream job opened in CA. Fremont, CA. If I got the job and could get the posted max salary (I have the credentials to make that happen) the salary would be 190k.

I am very aware the cost of living compared to Midwest is much much higher. We would need to rent and I'm seeing rent in that area being $4000 a month.

Moving to CA and this job would not be to simply make more money. Actually it's not that at all. It's about life improvement. Midwest winters are really hard on my husband and I. Current political climate of our home state. Closer to Disney- it's about quality of life. I

I am our breadwinner. Hubby is a disabled veteran. So we would have his disability on top of the salary. So would be looking to live in CA on about 210k a year.

All I hear is the cost of living being so high in CA . We have pretty low bills. No student loans. A little bit of car debt. Our current housing cost is $1000 a month. (Yay Midwest).

I did run the math factoring 4000 for rent, triple unities costs, triple gas costs. Double food budget. My math says we would do fine.

What else do I need to know and consider?

Have you considered the state income taxes? You mentioned renting. You should note how much property taxes increase each year. It's possible that the property tax increase will increase your rent by at least that much. Also, look into the cost of car insurance and renters insurance.

 

[disneychrista]

Have you considered the state income taxes? You mentioned renting. You should note how much property taxes increase each year. It's possible that the property tax increase will increase your rent by at least that much. Also, look into the cost of car insurance and renters insurance.

Rent can increase by no more than 10% each year. Anyone renting should keep this in mind

 

[mdmost]

If you look at the finances and can make it work then I would do it in a heartbeat, especially if it is your dream job. If you're good with renting for a while then I would certainly do it. Why not give it a try? Maybe it doesn't work out but you don't have to live with the regret of what could've been. I think we're sold a bit too much in this country on what we can acquire and what we need to feel whole. If that is good weather and natural beauty for you then that's all the more reason to do it. You can always do more with less. Somewhere along the way, I feel we lost sight of that in our consumer driven society.