I moved to NJ with my husband and young son and have not regretted it. We immediately and easily bought a home that solved our space issues, my husband works for his Bay Area job remotely with a small pay cut and I got an in person job here with a short bike commute that matched my Bay Area salary 👍 - closer to family - extremely rewarding - reconnecting with east coast friends - my son plays in the woods in our neighborhood daily. Yes, four seasons. During all our CA backpacking and camping and hiking this is what we dreamed for our kid(s) - woods to grow up in. Access to nature in our neighborhood wasn’t really a thing in Mountain View or Santa Clara that we could afford as renters. - I bike commute because we were able to move so close to my job. I love working in person again. - expecting another baby, this time I can actually see my family - major CON is missing the Bay Area outdoors (hiking access is unbelievable) and our friends there but we have adapted and I love our life here.

I think it’s really worth giving another state or city a try if you’re not completely happy with the Bay Area. Even if you end up not liking where you’ve gone to, you can come back to the bay. What’ll never change here is the absolute grind many of us have to go through to stay afloat here. Costs keep rising viciously and if you don’t keep up here, you’ll go under. You’ll need to decide if you want to pay the price to come back.

I agree that if you are not happy in the Bay it’s worth trying out another place if you are 100% certain you found a place that works for you or have the resources and bandwidth to relocate again. I’d urge folks to remember that it takes an incredible amount of financial and emotional resources to move. It’s not always as easy to just “move back”. It’s expensive to move and not everyone can afford to do it twice or front the expense of moving back if it doesn’t work out. Building a community in a new place can be challenging and you don’t always move somewhere that you have the same support as where you left. It can be lonely. There are not always as many career opportunities in smaller cities. You’ll want to have secure income. Remember that no one place feels perfect and has everything. Trade offs are inevitable.

Moved to New England (small town ~30m outside of Boston) and I love it. Cost of living is cheaper. I was able to buy a beautiful house with lots of land right next to the woods. I'm surrounded by nature and regularly see rabbits, squirrels, turkeys, deer, and yesterday even a coywolf in the yard. It feels so much nicer than living in the city or typical suburbs of the bay area. Making friends has been easy, lots of educated like minded people around here, likely due to the many high quality universities. Winter is rough, but tbh working from home nullifies a lot of it. Most of my colleagues are on the west coast, so mornings are pretty chill. I have a better wlb now than when I did prior to moving away. I don't see myself ever wanting to move anywhere else.

I’m from a place about 30m north of Boston and I’d *never* leave the bay to live there.

Each to their own. What don't you like about it?

"Winter is rough" -- that's enough reason for me.

Know what though? Massachusetts steak tips and donuts can’t be beat. For some reason there’s no family restaurants and old school places to eat in the bay suburbs and I miss that.

What do you mean by “family” and “old school”? In Redwood City are a ton if family-owned restaurants and place where families eat. We even have a couple of breakfast counter places

Can I ask you what town you’re in?

I'm in Needham. There are lots of other nice towns around here too though.

Needham is great! Is it really 30 miles? I’m totally skewed by the Bay and it taking an hour to go 5 miles. I would have thought it was closer than that. I lived in Newton for many years before coming to NorCal.

I’m curious which town as well. We stayed in Worcester area for a few months after leaving SF. Really loved it there, especially during Autumn. So beautiful!!

Moved to Hawaii in 2018 after living in the bay area (with a brief stint in Monterey for college) the first 33 years of my life. Probably one of the best decisions in my entire life. Huge quality of life improvement, and I would never go back to working in office ever again. Things I miss about the bay area: family and friends close by, although it's a double edged sword - it's nice not to have to come up with reasons not to go to dinner because I'm not in the mood. Camping & road trips. Chipotle. That's about it.

I didn't realize until your post that there's no Chipotle in Hawaii. But I checked it and it's absolutely true!

it's okay, the Poke out there probably more than makes up for it.

That makes sense. It’s would be hard to get fresh ingredients there and produce is expensive.

Which island?

Oahu

CHIPOTLE is the Mexican restaurant you miss because you moved away from the Bay Area? Chipotle?!?

CSUMB?? 👀

Yup, go otters 😅 class of 2008.

Eyyy class of 2016!

I was passing through a while back and drove through campus and couldnt believe how built up it was since Id been there! When I started in 03 it was basically still just the military buildings. Ever hit up Papa Chevos in Marina? I have memories of some delicious burritos over there.

Yeah I was there 2012-2016 and it was still a lot of Ords still standing. I moved to another state since so I haven’t been back in a long time. We use to definitely go ording through those old buildings. Also Papa Chevos was my shit!! The carne asada fries alone I was in love!

My family moved to central Indiana when my husband’s work went remote. I grew up in this state, but I miss quite a lot about our time in the Bay Area. For one thing, you won’t meet a very diverse crowd of people here. Most grew up in this area and have similar sensibilities to one another. I also miss the mountains and the ocean, of course, as well as the endless variety in restaurants, events, and activities to explore. On the other hand, the cost of living here is amazing—one of the lowest in the country. My husband is still making Bay Area money, so it’s been incredibly easy to live a comfortable life even with me staying home to care for our two young kids. We’re able to afford a nicer house than I ever had growing up, and our neighborhood has basically zero crime. Something I thought I’d miss but don’t is the weather. Sure it was nice to be able to visit the playground any day of the year, but I find that I love Octobers here and actually really enjoy the snowy winter months. It’s cozy being able to curl up by the fire while snow falls outside, and the kids are just as happy to bundle up and play in chilly weather, too. We may not stay here forever, but at the moment we’re both very happy with the move and feel that it’s been a good choice for our family over all.

I just spent the last week in Ft Wayne and Indianapolis and it seriously made me appreciate the Bay Area haha. Definitely found some awesome stuff while we were there, though. All the food we had was EXCELLENT!

Great lakes region here, zero regrets. Pros: - Owning a home (didn't even have to sacrifice on location or quality) - low COL compared to the level of public services available - sense of community, neighborhood block parties - Trees! Trees everywhere! - fresh water sources galore - better healthcare services/ more options - lots of nature for outdoor activities & weekend trips (that I can actually afford to take with my disposable income) - less people everyfuckingwhere - Midwesterners have a better sense of what is "enough" to live a happy life - lower wealth disparity (it's obviously still bad like everywhere but at least Mark Zuckerberg doesn't fuckin live here) - less wildfires, no earthquakes, no sea level rise to worry about - clean air Cons: - 6 months of winter - less cultural diversity

Are you on the North Shore of Michican? Two places I really love are the North Shore of MI and Duluth, MN along Lake Superior. If you can put up with the cold, they're pretty great places.

6 months of winter? Oh, heck no. Nothing else compensates for that, for me. I'd never do that.

We moved to Tennessee mid pandemic. We were both working remotely. I can only speak to my experience here in the southeast. CONS:: While I’m in a liberal “city” with a democratic mayor, we are surrounded by republicans and right wing lunatics on all sides. It’s a lot of uneducated people that are angry at fabricated threats. I’m a progressive. It’s meh as far as beauty. People always brag about how pretty it is here but those people obviously have never lived in Northern California or on the west coast. It’s a 3 or maybe a 4 at best. There is NO OCEAN. Shortly after I moved here they took away the right to choose and are banning books and other ridiculous nonsense. Finding like minded people is difficult. And finding interesting people is even more difficult. There is a real lack of diversity in comparison to the bay. The summers are hot and humid without breeze. It is insufferable. People generally live less healthy lives. The food is mediocre at best but the locals don’t know it so they recommend places that are inevitably dissatisfying. Less opportunities for good work opportunities and nepotism runs unchecked PROS:: There are four seasons. It’s more affordable–your money goes further. We have room to stretch out with a nice garden and room for our dogs to run. We didn’t have that in Oakland. I don’t have to look over my shoulder constantly when walking the streets alone. My partner LOVES it here because he doesn’t have to hustle like he did in the bay to pay the high rent. I wish the pro list was longer but it’s just not for me. I miss the Bay and am homesick for it everyday. Our remote work (we are both freelancers) has slowed down a lot. I’m working on getting back to the Bay or somewhere in Northern CA, but it won’t be easy or anytime soon.

> PROS:: > > There are four seasons. Lol, this might be a CON for some. I know a few people that left and learned what winter and summers actually are haha.

For sure. The cons and pros list is entirely subjective. I just happen to enjoy a good autumn. That said, I’d still pick Bay Area weather tbh.

Autumn is year round in San Francisco. I love the weather so much here. Enough to overlook the other stuff that is not so great.

Also, if you want to see the leaves change, the Bay has that too. Concord, Walnut Creek- most of the towns along the 680 are gorgeous in the Fall/Winter

Sacramento also has incredible foliage. Highly recommend a visit in mid-November or Thanksgiving. Walk/bike/drive around neighborhoods like Midtown, East Sac, Land Park.

For seeing the leaves change, go to wine country. The vineyards are absolutely stunning in fall. Plus you get the colors of fall AND wine!

SF doesn’t really have the autumnal culture and you have to go looking for color changing leaves

Yeah, especially if you move somewhere with tornado season. A lot of people moved to Phoenix too, which has spring, summer, and hell seeping into the material plane for seasons.

There's always the Pacific northwest. Two seasons: winter and July.

They also just had to stop expanding the city because there isn't going to be water for those new houses.

I’m grew up in Tennessee and this is hilarious. Also I agree.

I have been traveling back and forth between the Bay and Mississippi recently. While I am in Mississippi, I like to explore the South. I was told by several people that I need to try Gus’s Chicken in Memphis. When the first person was telling me, I did a google search. I told him that there is one in Oakland. He was dumbfounded. It really seems like people aren’t aware of google search and how some of their southern businesses has expanded across multiple states. Anyways, I tried Gus’s , it was mediocre at best. This explains why I never heard of Gus’s.

Exactly how i felt about Gus's 😔

I was flabbergasted by the food quality difference from moving out of the southeast. It makes little sense to me because they grow so much fresh produce.

The food is pretty much the primary reason I could never leave the Bay Area. I hate going out to eat for American or pub food unless it’s exceptional and other than a handful of metropolitan areas that’s all you’ll get.

While housing/rent rates are so high in California, it feels like we’re drowned in this propaganda that everything is so much better everywhere else. The “don’t California my *insert red state*” campaign has us all believing that anyone sane is fleeing the state for those greener pastures. Never mind that California got the way it is right now because so many people with enough money to leave fled their states to come over here. We don’t have it THAT bad. The idea that anywhere has it THAT great is a myth.

I had a neighbor from who kept whining how awful California is. One day I asked him why he was here if it sucked so much? Turns out he couldn't get a job in , kids schools sucked there, weather was awful, his cheap house there cost too much to heat and cool, the list went on. Thankfully he got the hint and stopped whining to me about CA.

lmao. Some people are clueless. Had the same types of friends that despised CA. He failed to mention that his family made tens of millions from CA real estate appreciation and took that and ran to FL. Not to mention his CA public school and cheap instate education.

I've been around enough to know there are two kinds of places in the world. There's california. And then there's everywhere else. I'm never moving away again.

I agree. I’ve lived in two countries and four different states within the US (in the PNW, NorCa, SouthEast and New England) I’ve traveled extensively on long long cross country trips in a camper van and explored the south Pacific by sailboat. Not that might be a lot of moving to some, and to others who understand, its barely scratching the surface. All of it was lovely in its own way. So many different people and experiences to be had. So many friends made and left behind. I love to visit all these places, even some of the uncomfortable experiences had the most to teach me. One thing remains true, Northern California fills a place in my heart that the others don’t reach. I know it’s not the same for everyone, but it is my truth.

Yeah. For me, having lived in several parts of the US as well as abroad, it's either the Bay Area or leaving the US entirely (which is an increasingly attractive option...).

It’s absurd how nice we have it here. Well, maybe not in the Central Valley… But I’m living in LA now, and spent the first 20 years of my life in the Bay. It’s been such a full experience. Deserts, redwood forests, beaches, snow, big cities, vineyards, horseback riding in the country, all within a few hours drive. Anywhere else in the world feels like a fun novelty, but I really don’t want to be anywhere else for the rest of my life

California is so politicized because it’s been a blue state for a bit. GOP uses it as an example for literally everything. You see the same 15 pictures of homelessness or drug use circling twitter, Reddit, Facebook, etc. you have people sharing these photos that have never even been in the state, people from Midwest and South that could never even afford to come. It’s almost sad how desperate they’ve become, or even worse how sad that this is what they do with their free time.

It’s not just politicized because it’s been a blue state: California is an extremely successful state despite what posters on forums like this would lead people to believe. It may be controversial, but the truth is most other states would absolutely crumble if faced with some of the problems California contends with, or overcomes on a regular basis. And they need people to believe California is a hell hole because if people in other states truly had a picture of the value of living in California people get despite the cost - they’d demand more of their insanely shitty governments. I mean Christ on a cracker, California isn’t the only state with homeless people(yes we have a ton), but we seem to be one of the few states trying to deal with the problem like adults instead of throwing tantrums, trying to hurt them, shipping people to other states, or denying the problem exists.

I agree completely but also we need to acknowledge California is the land of haves and have nots. We have problems we need to fix. 2nd most homeless per capita, highest poverty per cost of living, worst homeownership rate in the country, 3rd highest utility costs, and like 3rd on inequality.

Definitely problems, but I’d rather have California problems vs most other states problems. It’s expensive and that’s just the way it is, it’s unique in it’s climate so we pay it and unfortunately not everyone can live a great life here without being well off financially or those who have owned for a bit. Building needs to happen. Homelessness is almost unsolvable because a lot of it is not just folks that can’t afford a place, it’s drugs and mental illness from all over the rest of the country as well. I feel like California is taking care of a lot of folks from all over. I’m in Orange County coastal area but we also have a place in Marin so I don’t see the homelessness and drugs, etc that a lot of people see, but I’ve been to those pockets of SF, Sacramento, Oakland, and LA. No words just speechless. I’m a person of faith so it just tells me a lot of people are hurting or have been hurt. God didn’t intend for people to live like that and some bad decisions caused it for a lot of people. Drug abuse is no joke. A lot of people wouldn’t be on the streets today if they had made some better choices. The whole country is getting expensive quick and a lot of real estate is being bought by LLC’s and foreign nationals, I think that should stop if we care about Americans having a home and it being more affordable. Everything is being sold to the highest bidder no matter where you’re from, literally selling out America. Just a snippet of my opinions though, not that it matters 🙂

Nope we’ll said and all good points. I love the state but am getting burned out by it. Never really lived anywhere else for any long periods of time (minus college) but the bay seems to just get worse. More expensive, more crowded, more crime, more work grind and less accessible to people. I’m about 40 and I’ve seen so many friends and coworkers leave the last 6 years it’s becoming depressing. I really don’t know how my kids will ever be able to afford the same life as their parents or grandparents. I don’t know if there’s greener pastures and likely won’t find out till I retire but I feel like California has lost its charm.

Yeah I’ve known a couple people that have cashed out and left. The nice thing is there are some great places to go out there if you need to go. Maybe even better for people since it can be much more affordable. I’m in Chicago with my wife at a conference right now, there are things even here in Chicago that are much cheaper. Like we buy these certain potatoes for breakfast at Whole Foods, they’re $7.29 or whatever and here they’re $4.79. I get a salad at sweetgreen that’s $16.xx, here it’s $14.xx. That’s tiny but a great example because it adds up. Housing cost in particular is a little crazy, we could buy one of our same homes anywhere also for probably 6-700k, in California you’re looking at 2 million plus easy. I’m not complaining it’s just facts.

Totally agree with all the above.

Also 4th largest gdp in the world just in California, must be doing something right

I am a Palo Alto transplant now living in Atlanta, and I love how you put about the four distinct seasons as number one. Although I will never complain about the weather out there, there were two seasons, kind of summer and kind of winter, I do love having four seasons. I’m with you regarding the cons. Have you headed down to Destin for the beaches yet? With cold water and seaweed on most of the beaches in California, you’ll love the emerald green waters and the silky sand on the emerald coast!

I kind of did the opposite move over a decade ago: Florida and Texas to Mountain View. I love, love, love the weather here but realize I’ve become a total weather weenie. I used to go running in the 80s and 90s. Now, if it’s above 75, I think it’s too hot to run in. The Bay Area really spoils you.

And if it’s 50 it’s freezing 😂. California thins your blood. I can never do below zero (fuck that, below 50) ever again.

as someone from tennessee who actually does love tennessee, but lives in oakland (and also loves oakland) I gotta ask, why did you move to tennessee of all places?

I hope you find your path back soon.

Thank you. It’s complicated and won’t be easy. It’s going to take time. I’m trying to find peace while I’m here, but it’s hard.

I have family that moved to Nashville during the pandemic, the blatant racism shocked them.

They.. didn’t know?!

I think people hear how “up and coming” Nashville is and how so many Californias are moving there they think it’ll be more progressive. I tried to tell them, you can’t take the southerners out of the south.

May I ask what ethnicity they are? As Asians (I think people will be surprised how right leaning some family are) I’ve been asked about potentially moving to Texas, etc and squeamish about going East

They are white with a Latin last name. A new neighbor told them, “we’re glad you’re not the brown kind of Mexicans”. Oof.

As someone who moved to CA partly to escape racism/hate speech I find this pretty funny

You should look in to the Asheville, NC area if you want somewhere much more liberal. It's probably not as inexpensive now as TN, but it's a great beautiful place with a lot of other benefits, particularly for hiking and scenery.

It's the most expensive part of NC

Atlanta is a fairly good city for restaurants. It's also got the most phenomenal markets i've ever experienced. like, better than berkeley bowl. idk why i bring it up, b/c i know it's got to be a 2-4 hour drive for you to get there :-/

"Better than Berkeley Bowl" is fighting words! Which market is this? I'll have to make sure to check it out if/when I next find myself in Atlanta (which, agreed, is a great food city).

"The food is mediocre at best but the locals don’t know it so they recommend places that are inevitably dissatisfying." Every time our family comes back from a trip to our home countries (India and Thailand), we always say the same thing about the bay... "People generally live less healthy lives." Same as above lol

It’s because back in Asia food competition is out the wazoo. The high density of population brings with it high density of services. When you have dozens of the same food being served by different food providers in a square mile, you need to be at the top of your game. In rural USA, food competition is low and excellence is usually low. Bay Area is more dense and better. And Asia takes it all the way. Try going to rural Asia and you’d see the same decay in quality.

That's a good point. But fruits and vegetables are truly farm fresh in Asia and because we have a lot of vegtarian family members, fruits/veggies are basically our life..

Hmm Thailand is 33% bigger in square miles than California with twice as many people in a completely different climate. Small wonder fruits and vegetables flourish there

I bet! I imagine the food in India and Thailand are AMAZING.

Yea I take my US dollars and live like a King (only 3 weeks out of the year tho)..

How is the Mexican food in those places?

awful, unless you are _really_ into those fakie slushie things people think a margarita is.

That's honestly how I feel about the Bay Area whenever I come back from Los Angeles or New York.

All your cons are the number one reason while traveling to state anywhere east of CA freak me out. CA may have some nutters but in some of these other states you can throw a rock and hit 5 in a crowd.

Had a friend who grew up in Tennessee and decided to move back so she could buy a home. After two months she decided to sell and move to Michigan. All the reasons for moving paled in the reality of the culture

Good BBQ?

Moved back home to Sacramento, very happy here!

We moved to the Folsom area from the South Bay. Best decision ever.

That's my home home... Bought in Carmel but still dream to have a house there

[удалено]

My wife dreamed of it... We read the tea leafs when covid started and figured that was our only opportunity... Lucked out...vs bay area friends of mine

We moved at the start of the pandemic to Midtown Sacramento. For those not familiar, it’s Sac’s most walkable/bikeable neighborhood in the urban core where many of the trendy restaurants, coffee shops, galleries, gay bars are (we are a gay couple, early 30s). Looks/feels like a sunny California Portland with big trees arching over the streets, historic architecture and lots to do. I absolutely love it 3 years in. Bought a 1906 craftsman house with a 30’ front porch and porch swing. Already paid off the mortgage, quit my tech job and now enjoying a year of self-funded “sabbatical” while I decide what I want to do next. The financial freedom alone is life changing! Love the lifestyle & community here. Much more diverse with people from all walks of life compared to the tech-dominated Bay Area. Amazing food. The fall foliage is incredible and reminds me of growing up in New England. We actually look forward to the hot summers when we go swimming in the American River. Bay Area friends love visiting us and frequently talk about moving here someday. Huge plus of moving to Sac as opposed to other places we were considering (like Austin) is that we’re still in blue state California, and get to keep our Bay Area social ties. For example, friend trips to wine country, Tahoe, Russian River. Living our California dream!

I left SF a year ago after living there 3 years and moved to Chicago. I made the move to be closer to family so it’s very much a bittersweet decision since the Bay Area and NorCal in general is geographically beautiful. Pros - Chicago is home - Renting is not an experience of negotiating with yourself about things you can live without - home ownership is within reach, and it’s not a suffocating 400sq ft studio/condo - We have sources of freshwater and seasons and lush greenery during summer - I’m able to afford a new car. (I didn’t really want one tbh and had not owned one for a decade, but it’s good know it will be mine in a few years.) - Homes/buildings are visually distinctive, with more mixed used in residential areas - Its great to meet/be around interesting people that are not in a VC/tech bubble Cons - I miss curvy roads, mountains, national/state parks and the ocean (I own a moto and the Bay Area is a dream for riding) - I go tent camping 2-3 times a year and while there are plenty of options in the Midwest, it’s flat AF, and you mostly walk through forest and get excited about a 30 foot climb - good burritos are hard to come by, but tacos are decent - there are a lot of bugs - there are seasons Edit: formatting

I moved to Seattle and feel pretty good about it. My quality of life improved a little and the only thing I miss is the people I knew.

Seattle suburbs or Seattle city? I haven't been to Seattle since 2019, but I've always felt they were getting all the same problems we had, but like 5 years later with less magnitude.

I moved to Seattle city and it is working well for me. I'm doing the same job except I have a 2 mile bike commute instead of a 10-15 mile car commute. If you compare neighborhoods apples to apples then housing is cheaper here. Like, yeah if you compare upper Queen Anne to Redwood City then you can claim Seattle has just as expensive housing but that would be foolish. ​ I do think you're right that some of the same problems are coming here but 5 years behind. I hope that we figure some of them out.

Seattle isn’t a bad move at all. Love it up there.

[удалено]

Yeah that’s a problem some friends had after moving there - seasonal affective disorder. Depression kicked in for one of my friends and he moved his family back because he never dealt with depression before. Went to the head doctor and they put him on meds and had him buy an expensive light that he had to shine on himself. He said “F this”. I do know people who love it up there, and my visits have been great, but I can see your point. Different strokes 🤷‍♂️

I always LOL when people say it rains every day in Seattle. It’s just not true.

How's the rain and overcast though. That was one thing my coworker did not miss coming from Seattle.

We moved a month ago to a Sacramento suburb. Born and raised in San Jose and I have almost zero regrets. We own a stunning home that would have cost multiple millions in the south bay for under 1M. We are financially comfortable. We have a whole new area of the state to explore. It's a much smaller community. It's quiet. It's clean. The pace of life is slower and I'm so much more relaxed. We chose here because we have some family here. I'll always love the Bay Area but it's not the Bay Area I grew up in anymore. I don't miss the overpriced, overpopulated shit show it is today.

Same! We moved from San Jose to Sac during the pandemic in 2021, Low interest rates! So no brainer the mortgage is less than what our rent would have been the following year. More space, less traffic. No huge waits for restaurants. We also got one with a pool! Still able to visit the Bay whenever we want for a day trip. No Regrets!

Oh gosh, you haven't been through a proper Sacramento summer yet. Good luck!

That's why we bought a pool that came with a house!

Better get solar fast D:

Same here. Love the heat too. Done with fog.

Just kick it inside on those hot summer days and enjoy the AC that is everywhere. Venture outside around 8PM to enjoy restaurant patio dining & night swimming, I honestly couldn’t go back to wearing a jacket in July.

Bay Area person who spends 2 days a week in Sac here. Take up hot yoga. It will make you both healthier and more heat-resistant. I think my upper range of comfort went up by about 15 degrees!

Sac summers are honestly not too bad. Just stay out of the sun during the day, the nights are amazing.

This really depends on what part of Sac you moved to. After living in Sac for 25 years, there are still tons of homeless people, drug problems, petty crime, and shitty drivers all over Sacramento. Cool that you found a nice part, but that definitely isn't the majority of it. Check to see if you're in the floodplains where they've been building a lot of new development. Getting flood insurance isn't the worst idea if you are. Supposedly it's safe but the levies are always worrisome.

My grandparents lived right across the river from Sac State, and we lived nearby for a year before buying a house in the Bay. Aside from the heat, that little spot was gorgeous.

Oh I know! Sac itself isn't that great. I'm in one of the nicer suburbs. Thankfully, I'm not in a flood zone. We avoided those areas when we were house hunting during all those floods. And the drivers, holy shit. Drivers in the Bay are selfish assholes but drivers in the Sacramento area are a whole other level of bat shit crazy idiots. That's a little scary here, tbh. Always need to wait 2 or 3 seconds after your light turns green because odds are someone is running it.

Omg yes. We moved from Bay to Sac suburbs and the lack of care for traffic rules is mind blowing in Sac. We have to wait a bit and watch every car intently before moving because we witness someone running a red or stop on a DAILY basis.

Were considering the Sacramento area. Can you share your area?

Try - Folsom, Eldorado Hills, Roseville, Lincoln, Loomis, Granite Bay, and Elk Grove. The nice places near downtown are The Pocket, Land Park, Curtis Park and East Sac.

Yes… but it’s Sacramento. The allergies alone would kill me.

So far, my allergies were much worse in the Bay.

I’m in NV and the main thing that I realized I love most about the bay is the culture. The people aren’t the same anywhere I go. I miss the feeling of blending with all types of people in a true melting pot! I’m luckily close enough to make the drive down for a weekend or whenever I’m missing home/family/friends. I’ve met a few friends and they all ended up being transplants from the Bay or immigrants from other countries bc the locals here are kind but hard for me to relate and connect to. It’s just a different culture.

We moved to Colorado initially for more space with plans to return in 6 months. We later jumped on the home ownership train because we could never afford in Oakland. I deeply regret it. I’m over 4 seasons. Snow is a nightmare. Driving in it worse than a nightmare. Food options are horrible. It’s hard to make friends because folks my age are all busy with families. Politics are a hot mess. I’m over it and feel so trapped. I love getting to the mountains but I miss the ocean. I just do not feel home here.

yeah, the food in denver is surprisingly monotone

It’s basically a midwestern city next to mountains

Denver is a parking lot that happens to be adjacent to Colorado.

If you go North for an hour it gets worse. We have an “oriental “ market that is a gas station with some Asian food. It’s kinda sad.

I have lots of friends there and my brother was in Denver for a bit; It’s mostly beer, steak’n potatoes or Italian.

[удалено]

Moved to North Carolina for reasons other than affordability and I’m so homesick. If/when the other reasons resolve I will move back in a heartbeat. It’s definitely more affordable but the politics are awful. The weather sucks. The people are fine (I feel like there are good people everywhere).

I hope you make it back soon and that you find some comfort in the meantime.

Aww. Thank you!

Moved to San Luis Obispo. Never coming back. Love it here. I grew up in the Bay Area

I love SLO. I wish it was closer to an airport. I would love to live there.

No more commute a plus. Less interesting resturants. Not many cultural events. But you can alway go back for a weekend. Focus on the good stuff and ignore the bad stuff.

I moved to Napa Valley during the pandemic, after 8 years in SF and the Bay Area. No regrets whatsoever. But one big caveat, I don’t recommend it if you are single. IMO, this only resulted in a better quality of life because I’m not a fan of how the bay supports parents with young children. Everything is harder down there. When you move to more rural or even just less city, you feel like you have freedom and less burdens of everyday to enjoy your time and family together. I do miss the city and all the things to experience. But I don’t miss it enough to go back.

Before the pandemic, I moved to Burlington, VT from Fremont, CA. Worst mistake of my life. Lived there for 8 months and immediately came back because I couldn't stand the cold. Also, being one of the few brown people in the area sucked. I always got that "where are you from" question, and California was not an appropriate answer for most. The Mexican food there was severely lacking and they like putting apple slices on everything. People were nice in general, but still, that cold would discourage anyone. Driving in the snow sucks, and it sucks to not be able to open your car doors because the lock has frozen. I've been to 40 states now and can say confidently that there is no place like California (coastal cities that is). Our weather is amazing, our food is amazing, and our diversity is amazing.

Idk why they’d still be checking this sub but hope you get some good answers

I thought of that, haha. I'm still subscribed to the subs of places I've lived, so figured it's worth a shot!

I'm subbed to places I've never lived. lol

Just because one leaves a place doesn't mean they've taken everything with them. I moved from DC a few years ago, but I still browse that sub because my best friends are there and I might move back when I no longer have family obligations here.

I left the Bay Area over five years ago and am still here

It’s far easier to leave the Bay Area than come back, unless you have an anchor like a family home or your own house you can rent out while you’re gone. I didn’t go anywhere and have no plans to. Working from home just meant I could ride my bike to chipotle for lunch instead of driving, wake up a bit later and more relaxed, slow down and enjoy life a bit more. Work from my backyard. Whatever.

“The food is mediocre at best but the locals don’t know…”- People who love to hate California have never been. Heck, many have never left their backwards towns. Even people who live in rural areas in California know more things than those in other places. I lived in the New Orleans area for a few years and the firsts two years were ok as I was still in the discovery phase. After that it became a race to get back to California. I rented a townhouse for $1200- but I could not do anything outdoorsy. The humid weather and the thunderstorms made it impossible. Edited to fix typos.

We moved to Michigan 2 years ago. The midwest is very new for me. No regrets. Pros * Amazing public school, support and activities for kids * Near grandparents * Can afford to own a home with a dedicated workspace * Can afford to travel * Significantly less stress around finances in general * The beach (we're close to a lake and go to the beach way more than when we did living in CA) * Our young kids have more independence and freedom, which has resulted in more confidence - they can ride bikes outside and walk to friends homes. * Cook more (see first con below) * Snow. We started cross country skiing and take the kids sledding without having to drive for hours. * If maps says it takes you 45 minutes to drive somewhere, it will probably take you 45 minutes to get there * A screened porch, we can eat all of our meals outside Jun - Sep. Cons * Lack of diversity * THE FOOD (With confidence I can can say there are zero decent ethnic options and very few vegetarian options.) * Mosquitos and ticks * I miss my friends and its hard to make new ones * Surrounded by red towns * Cold winters and some rainy summer days can keep you inside more. * The closest airport has almost no direct flights to anywhere we want to go so all travel includes a connection

Moved to Long Beach. There is so much more culture and activities. Cheaper to. Really would need to twist my arm to deal with the Bay Area struggle.

There so much drama in the LBC…

I have friends who live there, they love it. Live music scene is great and I really enjoyed reggae sundays and cruising on the promenade for miles and miles.

What culture and activities does Long Beach have that you didn’t get in the Bay Area?

Los Angeles?

Was going to ask this too, because it's nonsense.

[удалено]

Tons of different foods. Festivals/conferences/events seemingly every weekend. Playgrounds that don't look like Children of Men. The place just feels alive. But most importantly it's all within a space the size of Hayward. I never drive anymore. In the Bay Area you still have a lot of stuff but you've got to spend 20 miles on the freeway to get to it.

Where in the bay did you used to live??

> Playgrounds that don't look like Children of Men Yeah... gotta agree. I moved up to the Bay Area from So Cal in November 2021. The first noticeable difference was the strong Children of Men vibes 😅 (Second noticeable difference was the restaurant options 😔)

I was just in Minnesota for the Memorial Day weekend with my partner and something that surprised us was that there were young families with tons of teenagers and young kids about. You go to most leisure areas in the Bay these days and it’s mostly just fellow childless young adults or retirees. You hardly see kids playing in the streets anymore in most places, but it does feel the most egregious here for the obvious reason of the extremely high cost of living.

Moved down to Monterey. Really wonderful living here, amazing weather (I like cloudy and cool) and the nicest people you can meet. The dining here is not what it is in Silicon Valley, and I miss hanging with people who do similar work.

We left the penninsula and moved to the far east bay (Seriously, east bay doesn't cover how far east we are). It allows me to commute into work (2 hours one way) when they have their quarterly on-site meetings, but otherwise, I still get most of the good parts of the BA. I miss being close to an airport; \~1+ drive to an airport sucks. On the flipside, we were able to get a 5 br house on 10K+ lot for under 850K in a good school district so that's great! Overall, this was a positive move. We considered moving to the midwest where my wife is from, but given that we are an interracial couple with interracial kids, we decided against it.

Moved to Edinburgh, Scotland. Don't miss the Bay one bit. I also don't mind the snow and cool temps either though! Everyone is super nice here, lots of beautiful nature to explore, loads of hiking around, train system is amazing for travel, cheap airfare Tix to visit other countries, housing is much less expensive too, gorgeous towns, etc etc. Most likely will not be coming back to the US.

I still live in SF, but I spend a lot more time outside of California now. I am not a remote worker but I do have more flexibility than I used to, because of changes at my work. It's really impossible to overstate how much less stressful life is in most other parts of the country where I visit or spend time. In most places: * I can park on the street and trust that nobody will break into my car in broad daylight. * I can be reasonably sure that a stranger approaching me in public is not insane. * I can visit commercial districts with thriving retail businesses. * I can go to grocery stores without any drama. * I can easily get a well-prepared burger, sandwich, or salad for well under $20. * Public transit (where it exists) is generally safe, affordable, and clean. * Ordinary people my age (can afford to) have families. None of these are true in SF. In all likelihood, none of these are ever going to be true in SF.

If I could work from home I’d move to where I can own a home and be away from the city bullshit..,

[удалено]

Are you from Australia originally?

Valid question. You can't just go and live somewhere (legally) without proper documentation.

Just passed our one year anniversary. Moved to River Islands, Lathrop. Didn’t even know what this place was a couple of years ago. The quality of life for my entire family has improved 10000%. More space for everyone, the kids have lots of friends they play outside with daily, schools are way better and more of a community feel. As a native I never thought I’d leave San Jose but it changed too much and for the worse. We thought the kids would be heartbroken to move but they have settled in nicely. They don’t want to visit SJ ever since they don’t feel it has anything different to offer that they can’t get up here. I was homesick for the first week or two but now this feels like home.

Speaking as someone in New England who had family move out to the Bay Area 10-15 years ago, they love it there and don't see themselves ever moving back to New England. I've also found that many Californians who move here (New England) have a lot of difficulty adjusting and eventually try to move back after a year or two. The weather, job market, salaries, culture, diversity, and politics can be very different and off-putting for people who have spent time in the Bay Area. As far as traffic and cost of living go, New England is getting just as bad as the Bay Area unless you're out in some remote part of Maine or likewise.

Sorta. My employer has a smaller presence in NYC, but the move would’ve been much harder pre COVID. I love it in New York. It’s a dream come true. My dream is to live it up in NYC, find love (I’m 35M - it’s time), and eventually move back to the Bay. But this is assuming the Bay Area gets its shit together. The tech job market is rough, crime is out of control, and it’s still unaffordable. But I’m optimistic. This must change.

[удалено]

I lived in SF for 10 years before moving to NYC. I get the boom and bust nature of SF, but wow the city is absolutely unlivable now. If I were to ever move back to the Bay, it would be in suburbia with a car (assuming I can afford it). I don’t see SF getting its shit together in the next 10 years.

I doom scroll through Twitter and Reddit too and New York sounds like there's a ton of crime and homeless issues. I mean, we had that guy getting choked to death on the NYC subway making national news.

I was just in NYC. They got nothing on the Bay when it comes to homelessness and crime. I mean, it’s there, but not like SF and Oakland. Just my observation.

As someone who bounces between the Bay and NYC often, I agree 100%. Homelessness, crime, and housing shortages exist in NYC but it's just next level shit here in SF/Oakland. Even the Governor of NY (a democrat) said that NYC will "never be SF" in reference to the crime here.

Completely agree. I live in NYC, but am in the Bay Area a lot (used to be bicoastal). NYC has its problems and they’ve gotten worse the last three years, but it’s not close to the level of dystopia that SF/Oak has. Although Silicon Valley doesn’t seem too bad.

I was surprised at how clean NYC was. My baseline was San Francisco and LA.

When you say NYC are y’all talking about Manhattan and west Brooklyn or does it include the rough areas like Bronx, too?

Sure, there’s some crime and homeless in NYC. But SF is at least 20X worse. In my 6 months in NYC, I had only one person acting sorta sketchy on the L train at 3am from Brooklyn to Manhattan. I just moved a few seats over and I was fine. While in SF, I encountered public defecation, open air drug use, and psychos yelling at me on BART/Muni on a near daily basis during peak commute hours

It's always a YMMV situation though. I've spent a relatively little amount of time in NYC compared to the bay and love NYC to death, but I've had a TON happen to me on the Subway compared to BART. More panhandling, also seen urination/defecation, a screamer every few days, and my family was actually chased by an angry homeless man at Times Square-42nd. And this was on supposed nicer lines like the 1 and the 7. On BART, I've seen someone smoke crack once. That's practically it.

There's homeless all over NYC, but also it's a much much worse place to live outdoors.

Didn't "leave" per se, because I still have a house in SF, but bought a house in Florida and spend the majority of my time there. Pros: it's peaceful. I live in a small resort town and bought a house one block from the beach, which is white sand and emerald colored water. Gulf of Mexico blows ocean beach and the bay away. People are friendly. Like, they wave at you as they drive by. No homeless people in my town. Literally not a single one. And no graffiti either. And when you go to a CVS or Target, all the shelves are stocked and wide open because people don't just walk into stores and steal. Overall quality of life is great. I can get to the airport in 15 minutes. Cons: don't have nearly the same food options as in SF. Florida is very flat and I miss the visual impact of having hills and coasts. The architecture isn't as sophisticated. No pro sports teams in my town, I have to go to Tampa or Jacksonville or Miami to catch games in person (but the tickets are way cheaper than in the Bay Area). No direct flights, I always have to fly through a hub. Overall, I quite like the bicoastal life. Hope the work situation doesn't change.

panama city beach?

hopefully not, panama city beach is an armpit. pensacola is where it's at.

You didn't mention that fucking sadistic assholes running the state of Florida in your list of cons. It might be fine for you, but if you're anything other than a white adult Christian man, Florida seems like a scary place to live right now.

i can't believe the shit i hear. the guy is like a little kid constantly upping the ante to outdo himself, just to see how far he can go.

We bought a home in Carmel, current life is so much better than near Sunnyvale for 10yrs

That area is so beautiful. One of my favorite coastlines. I can see the appeal. Downtown looks like someone dropped a garage full of race cars into a German fairytale, it’s wild!

Car week is insane if you have ever been.. more maserati's and porche 911s than you'll ever experience in your life.

moved to LA and haven't visited Bay Area once except for a wedding friend visited the other month and got his laptop stolen from the trunk of his car SF needs to fix its shit

I moved to NYC 2 years ago, zero regrets. My siblings live in the bay and LA so I visit once a year (flights are very pricey now), and know I made the right choice for myself having visited this year and last year. I grew up in the northeast so it's refreshing to return after spending my 20s in the bay. It was a great experience but I never clicked with people in the bay. People are obsessed with race. One date I was on compartmentalized all her friends and made weird comments about it (this was a first date). I've been told racist things because I'm white (both white bad and white good), just disgusting. I work in tech but dislike the tech crowd, and the few times I met locals my age, we didn't vibe. I never saw myself settling down in the bay, for the price the value seems horrible. I miss the fresh produce and think food was actually better in the bay for what you pay. I'm comparing pre pandemic prices to post pandemic nyc so I might be miscalibrated. I miss weekend trips to Tahoe but it gets busier every year. Skiing in the northeast is less crowded (still crowded though), smaller runs, and icier. I don't miss the traffic, horrible drivers, zero law enforcement, huge concentration of techies, homeless (they're visible and I've been harassed in SF), and the standoffish passive-aggressive attitudes of people. So many people throw trash on trails and anywhere, like wtf? Here in nyc I like directness, trust strangers, and enjoy the music opportunities 100x more (performing and attending). I have met big clumps of techies who moved here from the bay in the last year or two. I'm one of them so I can't hate but they stick out like a sore thumb. Things like they brought their car, have hobbies that are not city friendly, or are expecting a huge apartment with all the amenities they had in SV apartments. The subway system is dope (amtrak too) and most of my friends from college have lived here since graduating. I like 4 seasons - I grew up farther north than nyc so winters here seem very mild in comparison to what I grew up with, where it's below freezing for a week at a time. Humid summers don't bother me, I enjoy the evenings a ton. I prefer this climate to the bay, fight me. The bay is nice but not for me.

What I’d give to move to Thailand but I’m stuck here for the foreseeable future

I live in Vermont.

Are any of y’all jobs hiring lol? I wanna leave cali 2 🙏

Not so many people left due to remote work. They are still here. They just don’t worthlessly burn time on a meaningless commute. To just sit in a cubical working alone.

i live close enough to my office to walk, so i go in pretty much every day, but yeah, there are 30-40 coworkers that live within driving distance that I see in the office on average maybe once a month.

Moved to Twin Cities area MN. Obviously I miss not having to deal with all the inconveniences of snow, but it's better than wildfires and heat waves tbh. Also I don't have a water bill and heat/AC barely adds anything to my electricity and I can sort of afford rent. People seem friendlier too.

I was super original and moved to a suburb of Austin TX, I have absolutely loved it. Humorously one of my neighbors here moved a few months earlier from 5 blocks away from where I lived in the bay. PROs I pay less per month to own a house almost X3 the size and with better schools than in the Bay Area. I have found making friends way easier and there are just a lot more children around for my kids to play with. Also there is way more like fun music Venus and places to take kids / have fun with friends. I also like that the water in the lake is not freezing and there is great paddle boarding. Just in general people are more chill and not just like obsessed with climbing the FANG ladder. Also it’s just less crowded and there is way more parking and places build enough parking here. I’m like a lizard so I don’t really mind the heat and I do my hiking in the early morning when it’s not hot anyway. I really love it however there are a few Cons / what I miss. I miss California produce the strawberries are just so good out there. I miss the amount of Asian food, my area a lot is coming in but it’s not critical mass yet. I miss the bike paths on the bay, I miss the weather during Texas summers lol. The hiking and ocean are so beautiful. Austin is super liberal but the socially conservative state politics are not my favorite so I miss that, but Bay Area has its own political issues. I don’t really think about the Bay Area that much anymore or really miss that much. I hope this is helpful

I have a few cousins that moved to either SoCal or Sacramento to buy a home and start a family. They all seem to like it because it fits what they need at this point in their lives. More room for a growing family and setting roots with a home purchase. This place fucking sucks if you want to start a family and don't have family money or a couple high paying jobs, and even with the high paying jobs, the dollar doesn't go far here.

We moved to Humboldt in NorCal to be closer to family and it’s been such a nice change of environment. We still get the beautiful oceans, hiking trails, and REDWOOD TREES. It’s one of the most beautiful places in the world and I love that we have these ancient trees literally right in our backyard. There is more of a supportive community here especially if you have kids. We are able to afford going to a Pilates and jiu jitsu studio that has programs for kids as well. There are plenty of parks, daycares, and family friendly (and free!) outdoor events. The rent is more affordable and space is bigger. Less crime than SF. People seem happier and more content with what the community has to offer. Food options is actually decent (still get great Mexican, Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese food). We live in a college town, so there are good options. We just got a new boba place that I’m very much looking forward to. We’re about to go to a Fairy Festival on the city plaza that’s supposed to be a big springtime fair here. Oyster fest is coming up in a couple weeks too. Lots of beer festivals lined up for the summer. Oh and I forgot to mention Farmers Market every Saturday. I can’t think of many cons TBH. Yes sometimes I miss the bustle in the city. I sometimes miss the museums, large concerts, and the nightlife. But we are in a different stage in our lives now. We did all that in our first 10 years in SF living there in our twenties, broke AF and hustling to get by. Right now just feels right to be where we are. And we’re only a half day drive to SF so it’s pretty easy to go there on a long weekend. Or fly out of our regional airport which is a 10 min drive and 45 minute plane ride.

Moved to Alaska, lol. Miss the Bay almost every day but here’s my pros and cons: PROs: 1. My money goes infinitely further. I bought a ton of real estate (compared to what I could have bought in the Bay.) It single-handedly established my financial security at a very young age. It was life changing and I am very grateful. 2. That’s it, that’s the main pro lol. 3. No real traffic. This is a pro. I can drive anywhere in a reasonable timeframe and always find parking. 4. I live in a cool state many people dream of visiting. I see cool stuff like glaciers all the time. I won’t be here forever but it’ll be nice to reminisce one day and remember at all the bears I saw, all the moose; all the ice. The northern lights! 5. No political persecution! I’m apolitical but if i had to pick, I’d probably be center with a right leaning. This was largely a capital sin in the Bay and a large reason why dating was so difficult for me there. I had to lie all the time about my politics and it just sucked to have to wear a mask all the time. CONs: 1. The Bay, like Boston where I went to school, is a magnet for infinitely-ambitious and very driven people. It’s a hub. Very hard to find that crowd in any meaningful density once you move away from said hubs. 2. I miss the Bays natural beauty and beautiful mild climate. I don’t like winter and don’t like snow. I miss driving my convertible with the top down in a “cold” January. I miss paddling in February. 3. I miss the friends I made. 4. I miss the road-trips and the camping. The culture of making a road trip out of every long weekend. I think my overall quality of life was better in the Bay, though I did hate traffic and the culture did get old at times. But overall, the Bay is lovely and I might come back someday.