[Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

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Tech
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[Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Tech »

[OT comments removed by admin LadyGeek]

If one need to move out of CA, which city and state would has decent weather?
Not too crazy about tax. State tax, sale tax....
Raising a family is also factored in.
I went to Texas and Arizona during summer, it is HOT.
Massachusetts is too cold and bad during winter.
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Re: So special about the Bay area

Post by whodidntante »

If you're in tech, Atlanta is worth a look if you dislike Texas. Not quite as hot as Texas. Most of the USA is far from the coast and has temperature extremes. I'm guessing since you complained about registration fees that you are unwilling to move to Europe. :happy
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Re: So special about the Bay area

Post by sfnerd »

Seattle, Portland, or Denver/Boulder would be my choices if I couldn't live in SF. Colorado would top my list.

Honestly though I loved SF when I lived in the US. It's expensive for a reason.

If I wasn't working a tech job, there are other areas of the US that I wouldn't mind living in, mostly in coastal California though.
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Re: So special about the Bay area

Post by Watty »

sfnerd wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 4:25 am Honestly though I loved SF when I lived in the US. It's expensive for a reason.
One thing to keep in mind is that 95%+ of the Bay Area is not an interesting part of San Francisco.

I lived in the south Bay in the 1980's because I worked in tech but when I was ready to buy a house I moved up to Portland Oregon which was inexpensive back then but it has gotten pretty expensive now. It is a good size city but not too large. The weather is mild but often overcast which most people get used to but for some people it can cause real problems.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seasonal_ ... e_disorder

I moved to Atlanta, which someone mentioned, during a corporate merger. It still has very affordable housing and the economy is strong. It can be hot in three or four months in the summer but it rarely gets above 100 degrees and the weather is actually pretty good the rest of the year. Like many areas the traffic is terrible but if you live close to where you work that will mitigate that problem. I am retired now and my son has settled down in Atlanta so I will be staying in this area.

Tax wise this works very well for me since I have low property taxes which were only $605 last year(not a typo) on a pretty average house. This is because my county is one of the few that exempts seniors over 62 from paying school property taxes, but the schools are very good. In most other counties property taxes would be in the ballpark of $2,000 a year for an average non-McMansion house. Once I turn 65 we will pay no state income tax since there is generous retirement income exclusion of $65K for an individual, or $130K for a couple.
Tech wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 2:29 am If one need to move out of CA, which city and state would has decent weather?
A lot depends on where you can get a good job but if you are open to relocation one place that I would suggest looking is at college towns. Usually they have strong economies, reasonable housing, and there are a lot of cultural and sports activities going on with the college. If you look at a map the states in the band roughly around North Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Missouri, and Arkansas would have four seasons but not be too hot or be too cold.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... ted_States
Last edited by Watty on Sun Mar 25, 2018 9:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: So special about the Bay area

Post by TravelGeek »

Is this a thread to rant about the Bay Area and give others the chance to join in, or is it really asking for advice? If so, the bold part does not seem to be a very well specified question. Weather and climate data for the US is readily available on the internet. Most people probably have additional requirements for choosing the location to make their home such as availability of suitable jobs, cultural fit, outdoor activity preferences (mountains or ocean?), proximity to family and friends, cost of living in relation to earnings potential, ...
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Re: So special about the Bay area

Post by CppCoder »

Pacific northwest seems nice. The Nashville area has decent weather, decent jobs, and no state income tax. I've always thought the research triangle in North Caroline is nice. Northern Virginia is pretty moderate and close to the ocean. I like Pittsburgh, but if you don't like the MA winters, the PA ones probably won't be any more appealing.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by LadyGeek »

This thread is now in the Personal Consumer Issues forum (where to live).

I also removed some off-topic comments and retitled the thread. As a reminder, see: Personal Consumer Issues
This subforum is focused on making informed decisions about consumer goods and services (other than investing or financial).

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Note that topics must be directly connected to your (or your friend's or family's) life as a consumer. General comments or complaints about these topics will be locked or removed.

Note that this subforum has a much lower threshold for locking or removing posts than the financial and investing subforums. In general, controversial, offensive, pointless, divisive or mean-spirited posts or topics may be locked, edited or deleted (with or without notice) at the discretion of the moderating staff even if they do not otherwise violate forum policies.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by euroswiss »

The real problem you have is that you already LIVE in the state with the best weather, so ANYTHING you choose will be a step down. Except, perhaps, for Hawaii?
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Re: So special about the Bay area

Post by vested1 »

Many tech jobs can involve consulting from home, which opens up a whole range of possibilities. The central coast of California is much more affordable, has a mild climate, and beauty beyond compare. The foothills of the Sierras are also quite affordable with a different type of beauty.

Many harp on California taxes, but taxation is no more onerous than most other States with all things considered. Once you've bought your house prop 13 keeps property taxes from skyrocketing, so if you add State taxes to property taxes they are comparable to States like Texas who have high property taxes but no State tax. Other types of unavoidable taxation, such as toll roads are far more prevalent in States like Texas. I'm not trying to pick on Texas, as we love visiting family there and enjoying its own brand of beauty.

Our home is assessed at 600k and our property taxes are about $2,500 a year. Our effective California State tax rate in 2017 was 2.7% in retirement. If we do end up selling our home at some point and move to a location with no State tax, like Washington, the net cost will likely be a wash. The reason to move would be to live nearer to lake fishing, rather than escaping over taxation.

There are things to like and dislike in every State. The most meaningful consequence of where you live is the attitude you bring with you.

Edited due to Lady Geek's post, which removed some of the rants.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Clever_Username »

Tech wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 2:29 am I went to Texas and Arizona during summer, it is HOT.
Where in Arizona did you go? I think Phoenix is nice year-round, but I understand if the summer time isn't for everyone.

I understand some people live in Phoenix in the non-summer and have a Flagstaff or Prescott summer home. For the cost of a house in California, this might be doable.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by GCD »

This is a good site to help with relocation considerations. Just plug in your parameters and it spits out suggestions.

https://www.bestplaces.net/
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by jeffyscott »

Tech wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 2:29 am I went to Texas and Arizona during summer, it is HOT.
What about Flagstaff?

You may have to choose what type of undesirable weather you prefer, during certain parts of the year. Cold winter, hot & humid summer, even hotter but drier summer, cool & drizzly winter, etc.

We are in the cold winter zone. Advantage of having our nicest weather in the summer is that is the time with the most daylight in which to enjoy it. Also when we had kids, it was nice having the best weather when they were off school for the summer.

Now that kids are grown, we typically don't travel in summer so we are home for that good weather and also avoid peak travel season. We do now travel somewhere warm once or twice during winter now that the school calendar does not control our travel schedule.

Best source of (extremely) detailed weather and climate info that I have found is: https://weatherspark.com/
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Valuethinker »

Tech wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 2:29 am [OT comments removed by admin LadyGeek]

If one need to move out of CA, which city and state would has decent weather?
Not too crazy about tax. State tax, sale tax....
There are low tax states. For example Mississippi or Louisiana or Arkansas? You could move there? On the other hand I would term their summers nearly tropical-- my least favoured combo of hot and humid (E Texas also).

There are reasons why some of the most expensive states are expensive-- climate, housing, tax etc. You really have to take your pick.

Raising a family is also factored in.
I went to Texas and Arizona during summer, it is HOT.
Massachusetts is too cold and bad during winter.
It turns out the most "livable" places in the USA are probably in the Midwest. Places like Pittsburgh PA and Columbus OH. Also Chicago IL. Ann Arbor or E Lansing MI perhaps-- even extend to Madison WI & Minneapolis-St Paul MN. But Illinois/ Chicago has quite unique pathologies on public sector debt- a lot of pain to come resolving those.

Livable meaning the combination of decent educational systems, relatively low housing prices, cultural amenities. Taxes could be another matter, though. And of course the climate of the Midwestern USA is a Continental one, combining the best of all possible worlds: cold snowy winters, and hot sticky summers ;-).

The classic CA refugee places are OR & WA, on the coasts. Seattle and Portland are both fearsome expensive housing (albeit not for a Californian), but one may be able to find somewhere outside (albeit commuting in Seattle, at least, is difficult)?

Weather?

There are the mountain states - so Colorado & Utah in particular. Both have some fine places to live.

There are the desert states like NM & AZ - then you probably want to live in the hills, cooler in summer. Phoenix gets pretty fearsome, I gather, and also has air pollution issues.

Texas again perhaps if you find a way to live at elevation.

Had you thought of moving to another part of CA? e.g. Sacramento - sounds like a nice, family sort of place (albeit hot!).
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by indexfundfan »

I read with interest Watty’s response above. I had wanted to ER and move out of the bay area for some time. I had investigated and traveled to different parts of the country. In the end, I picked the northern Atlanta suburbs.

The property tax in Georgia is very manageable, about 1% of the appraised value, unlike Texas where it can even get a lot higher than 2%. A very nice house with a decent lot in my area is about $450k, so the property tax is about $4500. The public schools here are among the best in Georgia. Comparatively, I used to pay >$15k in property taxes in the bay area (I do not benefit much from Proposition 13 because I bought in the mid 2000s).

In Georgia, once you reach 65, you are exempted from paying the property tax funding for schools, and your property tax bill will be cut by about 2/3.

For the state income tax, the highest tax bracket is 6% (pending legislation will drop this to 5.75%). Again, once you reach 65, you receive a state income tax exemption, which is $65k for singles and $130k for a couple. So effectively, you won’t be paying much state income taxes either.

On the weather side, summer could be hot and humid for three to four months, but generally not as hot as Texas. The rest of the year is pretty pleasant.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by quantAndHold »

If your primary criteria is weather, then Coastal California is the best choice.

People could help if they had more information about what you actually want. Otherwise, this thread is just people trying to justify their own choices, without regard for whatever your criteria might be.

If tax is your real criteria, then recognize that California is actually in the middle of the pack when all state and local taxes and fees are counted. Now that I’m retired, we actually pay considerably less overall in CA than we did in WA, which has no income tax. States have to get their money from somewhere. There’s no magic tax juice that some states have and others don’t.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Tech »

Well guys, I appreciate your inputs.
My high tech job is working ok so far, but I really don't want to do this job long term. It's just boring and dealing with corporate politic gets me mentally. I want to buy a franchise and run my own business.

One thing I know for sure I'll have to move when I quit my job. I cannot afford to stay in the bay area without tech paying salary.
Having 2 kids, I want to raise them in a decent city/state.
I am an outdoor person, I do fishing and hunting a lot but I could postpone all these for family future.
I am looking at Sacramento too, it would be the area I move to if I don't leave CA. However I will want to move out of CA if there is a better choices.

BTW, Hawaii is nice. I visited Oahu last year but damn it is expensive. I'll keep this as my vacation spot only unless I win a lottery :greedy
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Watty »

indexfundfan wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 3:30 pm In Georgia, once you reach 65, you are exempted from paying the property tax funding for schools, and your property tax bill will be cut by about 2/3.
I think that is only in a few counties and in some counties there may also be an income limit so you would need to double check the details.

One other quirk of Georgia law is that you can deduct 401k and IRA contribution on your state income taxes while you are working but once you get the senior income tax exemption you can likely make withdrawals from these accounts and not have to pay state taxes on the withdrawls if you don't go above the income limits. This makes Roth accounts a lot less favorable.
Tech wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 4:49 pm My high tech job is working ok so far, but I really don't want to do this job long term. It's just boring and dealing with corporate politic gets me mentally.
If you work for a large company then one thing to watch out for is a chance to transfer within the company to a lower cost of living area. It was a long time ago but I know some people that manage to do that and they made out like bandits and the company even paid for their move.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by indexfundfan »

Watty wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 5:13 pm
indexfundfan wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 3:30 pm In Georgia, once you reach 65, you are exempted from paying the property tax funding for schools, and your property tax bill will be cut by about 2/3.
I think that is only in a few counties and in some counties there may also be an income limit so you would need to double check the details.
You are right. I have forgotten about this detail because the counties I planned to move to all have this exemption.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Golf maniac »

I agree that North Carolina may be a good compromise for you. Weather is not as hot as Texas or Florida and both Charlotte and Raleigh have good economies. The cost of living is much lower than California but we do have a state income tax.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Clever_Username »

indexfundfan wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 3:30 pm I read with interest Watty’s response above. I had wanted to ER and move out of the bay area for some time. I had investigated and traveled to different parts of the country. In the end, I picked the northern Atlanta suburbs.

The property tax in Georgia is very manageable, about 1% of the appraised value, unlike Texas where it can even get a lot higher than 2%. A very nice house with a decent lot in my area is about $450k, so the property tax is about $4500. The public schools here are among the best in Georgia. Comparatively, I used to pay >$15k in property taxes in the bay area (I do not benefit much from Proposition 13 because I bought in the mid 2000s).

In Georgia, once you reach 65, you are exempted from paying the property tax funding for schools, and your property tax bill will be cut by about 2/3.

For the state income tax, the highest tax bracket is 6% (pending legislation will drop this to 5.75%). Again, once you reach 65, you receive a state income tax exemption, which is $65k for singles and $130k for a couple. So effectively, you won’t be paying much state income taxes either.

On the weather side, summer could be hot and humid for three to four months, but generally not as hot as Texas. The rest of the year is pretty pleasant.
Between that and Varsity burgers, I may have to consider that as I get older...
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

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Tech wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 4:49 pm Well guys, I appreciate your inputs.
My high tech job is working ok so far, but I really don't want to do this job long term. It's just boring and dealing with corporate politic gets me mentally. I want to buy a franchise and run my own business.

One thing I know for sure I'll have to move when I quit my job. I cannot afford to stay in the bay area without tech paying salary.
Having 2 kids, I want to raise them in a decent city/state.
I am an outdoor person, I do fishing and hunting a lot but I could postpone all these for family future.
I am looking at Sacramento too, it would be the area I move to if I don't leave CA. However I will want to move out of CA if there is a better choices.

BTW, Hawaii is nice. I visited Oahu last year but damn it is expensive. I'll keep this as my vacation spot only unless I win a lottery :greedy
The northern Atlanta suburbs might be attractive to you. I don't know which area of tech you are in but the Alpharetta area has quite a lot of decent tech jobs. The nearby Lake Lanier has a lot of water and outdoor activities. Plus hiking in the north Georgia mountains is just an hour away.

The public school system is among the best in Georgia with a lot of young families. Housing is still relatively affordable. You can look at houses in the Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Cumming and South Forsyth areas.

One negative for this area is the commute traffic, which I guess is similar in many of the big cities. That wasn't a consideration for me because I'm not working.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Sandtrap »

Tech wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 2:29 am [OT comments removed by admin LadyGeek]

If one need to move out of CA, which city and state would has decent weather?
Not too crazy about tax. State tax, sale tax....
Raising a family is also factored in.
I went to Texas and Arizona during summer, it is HOT.
Massachusetts is too cold and bad during winter.
If HCOL to LCOL then check this comparison calculator between States and locations.
Cost of Living Calculator at BankRate.com
https://www.bankrate.com/calculators/sa ... lator.aspx

Each state has micro economies and different climates within the state. IE: Norther Arizona vs Phoenix. and so forth.
In some areas things may not seem too favorable and then you might discover a small town that is wonderful.
Besides taxes and weather, there are other considerations.
Actionably:
Are you purchasing a home? So consider local R/E costs. Property taxes, etc.
Is employment a factor or not so if retired?
Is politics a factor (off topic here) then that has to be considered?
Are you a water person or a mountain open land person?
Do you need the excitement and diversity of a city like San Francisco, or Scottsdale, or is a laid back quiet old fashioned small town of 50,000 folks at best, like "Mayberry" more to your liking?
Do you prefer country, western, blues, reggae, or ?. . . . "Line Dance" or "?" Meaning consider local "culture".
What local cultural norms do you wish your children to be exposed to?
And, much more. . .

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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by GmanJeff »

Eastern Tennessee, in or near the Great Smokey Mountains. No state income taxes and generally moderate climate although extremes do occur at higher elevations.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by dbr »

Tech wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 2:29 am [OT comments removed by admin LadyGeek]

If one need to move out of CA, which city and state would has decent weather?
Not too crazy about tax. State tax, sale tax....
Raising a family is also factored in.
I went to Texas and Arizona during summer, it is HOT.
Massachusetts is too cold and bad during winter.
If you can specify your weather conditions in terms of highest temperatures, lowest temperatures, rainfall, snowfall, days of sunshine, humidity you could look up maps of these things, overlay them, and pretty well pinpoint the likely candidates.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by BolderBoy »

Tech wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 2:29 amIf one need to move out of CA, which city and state would has decent weather?
Not too crazy about tax. State tax, sale tax....
Raising a family is also factored in.
I would look at Carson City, NV.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Strummer »

jeffyscott wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 10:36 am Best source of (extremely) detailed weather and climate info that I have found is: https://weatherspark.com/
Thanks! The "comparison of average weather" tool is particularly useful. If I was considering leaving California, I would pay particular attention to the "Chance of Muggy Conditions" chart offered on that site. The real secret to California's weather is that it is almost never humid here.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by hoops777 »

I have lived in the Bay Area my entire life except for 3 years in Arizona.I am 66 and lived in AZ from ages 51 to 54.I liked Arizona.It does get very hot for about 4 months,but I easily adjusted and it did not bother me.I would say 105 in Phoenix feels like 90 to 95 in San Jose.Arizona arguably has the best weather in the country for 8 months.
No place else has California’s weather,but I personally felt much more comfortable in Az.vs the states that are humid.No comparison.The other thing about Az and the dry heat is you can simply find a shaded spot and get relief.Humidity sucks unless you grow up with. It.
Last edited by hoops777 on Tue Mar 27, 2018 11:06 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by jeffyscott »

Strummer wrote: Mon Mar 26, 2018 7:33 pm
jeffyscott wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 10:36 am Best source of (extremely) detailed weather and climate info that I have found is: https://weatherspark.com/
Thanks! The "comparison of average weather" tool is particularly useful. If I was considering leaving California, I would pay particular attention to the "Chance of Muggy Conditions" chart offered on that site. The real secret to California's weather is that it is almost never humid here.
Thank you too, I'd not even noticed the compare thing on there. And yes, the humidity info is great on there. Especially since they base it on the far more meaningful dew point, not relative humidity.

Though there are conditions where relative humidity can matter, too. If the dew point is in the comfortable 55-60 range but the temperature is also 55-60, it can feel clammy. Only visited SF once and part of time we had those conditions, walking around we were sweating and cold at the same time.

On the other hand, the temperature still does matter, in that a dew point of 65 is more uncomfortable when temp is 95 than when it is 75.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Carefreeap »

quantAndHold wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 4:35 pm If your primary criteria is weather, then Coastal California is the best choice.

People could help if they had more information about what you actually want. Otherwise, this thread is just people trying to justify their own choices, without regard for whatever your criteria might be.

If tax is your real criteria, then recognize that California is actually in the middle of the pack when all state and local taxes and fees are counted. Now that I’m retired, we actually pay considerably less overall in CA than we did in WA, which has no income tax. States have to get their money from somewhere. There’s no magic tax juice that some states have and others don’t.
Shhhhsh! Let them go; it's too crowded and expensive already.

I've tried to explain to my friends who are thinking of retiring from So. CA to AZ that unless you are making substantially more than $100k/yr in retirement you will pay more for utilities in AZ than you will save in CA state taxes. And that of course they will do what every stupid Californian does which is to buy a big house in a nicer neighborhood plus a second home somewhere cooler and therefore invest the same amount in real estate plus have twice the operating costs and maintenance headaches.

But people like to complain about taxes so there's no point in letting the facts get in the way. :oops:
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by vested1 »

Carefreeap wrote: Tue Mar 27, 2018 6:03 pm
quantAndHold wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 4:35 pm If your primary criteria is weather, then Coastal California is the best choice.

People could help if they had more information about what you actually want. Otherwise, this thread is just people trying to justify their own choices, without regard for whatever your criteria might be.

If tax is your real criteria, then recognize that California is actually in the middle of the pack when all state and local taxes and fees are counted. Now that I’m retired, we actually pay considerably less overall in CA than we did in WA, which has no income tax. States have to get their money from somewhere. There’s no magic tax juice that some states have and others don’t.
Shhhhsh! Let them go; it's too crowded and expensive already.

I've tried to explain to my friends who are thinking of retiring from So. CA to AZ that unless you are making substantially more than $100k/yr in retirement you will pay more for utilities in AZ than you will save in CA state taxes. And that of course they will do what every stupid Californian does which is to buy a big house in a nicer neighborhood plus a second home somewhere cooler and therefore invest the same amount in real estate plus have twice the operating costs and maintenance headaches.

But people like to complain about taxes so there's no point in letting the facts get in the way. :oops:
LOL, I resemble that remark, or at least I aspire to. One can dream, as long as reality doesn't come back to bite you.

It's tempting to let click-bait articles influence your outlook on how good you've got it, and all things considered we have it pretty good here in California. That doesn't stop me from speculating on selling our home and buying a 300k home in a 4 season location and another 300k condo in the Caribbean. 6 months of winter in the Caribbean and 6 months of summer on a lake somewhere neglects the costs you mention.

Oh well, maybe I'll win the Lotto and have three houses. I just read an article that said that's possible. :sharebeer
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by jeffyscott »

vested1 wrote: Wed Mar 28, 2018 8:36 amIt's tempting to let click-bait articles influence your outlook on how good you've got it, and all things considered we have it pretty good here in California. That doesn't stop me from speculating on selling our home and buying a 300k home in a 4 season location and another 300k condo in the Caribbean. 6 months of winter in the Caribbean and 6 months of summer on a lake somewhere neglects the costs you mention.

Oh well, maybe I'll win the Lotto and have three houses. I just read an article that said that's possible. :sharebeer
I don't know what people with modest incomes (say $50K-100K) pay in state income taxes in CA, but to me the housing cost is probably the bigger issue. If someone were not fixated on weather and wanted just the one $300K home, that is probably going to free up a lot of money over a similar house in the parts of CA with the favorable weather.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Jack FFR1846 »

Blacksburg, Virginia.

Why?

The biggest, by far thing there is Virginia Tech. When the students go home, the population of the down drops by half. What you get is a vibrant downtown with shops and restaurants that a normal town this size without a college would never have. Since the college abuts the downtown, it really keeps it alive. You want biking, hiking, mountains (go west about 100 yards and there ya go) golf, offroading in a Jeep. Being in the foothills of the Appalachians, it stays cooler than more northern flatlands like DC. Winters will get snow but it doesn't stay long. When I was there, I was amused (as a New Englander) to find that they would wait until the snow stopped before they started to plow. Snow's generally gone a week or 2 after it falls. Low taxes, low cost, nice people, likely better infrastructure than even the bay area.

Is is socal 70's and sunny all the time? No. And it's very far from any big city.

I spent grad school time there and bought a house because it was so much cheaper than renting. If you can telecommute, you'll build your retirement bigly.
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core4portfolio
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by core4portfolio »

Cary/Raleigh NC is #1 choice with snow in few times a year
Atlanta GA is #2 choice but heavy traffic.
Charlotte NC is #3 choice but no city life over there
Virgnia Beach VA is #4 choice but no lot of work opportunities for techie guys

i have been in all these places as tech IT guys but Virginia beach is best place to live from safety stand point and low COL.
VA have property tax :(
But i wish to go back to Atlanta as I missed the city life
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Calico
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Calico »

I would advise the Washington DC area for tech jobs. There are a lot of them here and everyone seems to be hiring. If you have security clearance, you are golden. Amazon is looking at three sites in our metro area too for it's second round. I wonder what's going on with all that anyway. There are state taxes though, but the trade off (in Northern Virginia anyway) is some great schools (you said family was important). The weather isn't too bad in my opinion. But then again, I might think differently than a native Californian. I used to live in Southern California. It was the same, boring weather all the time. Sure, a sunny day in the 70s is nice, but not every day. After a few months of it, I missed the seasons. Cool spring mornings that warm up to wonderful afternoons, hot sunny days at the beach and pool, crisp Autumn air, and yes, even snow. To each his own.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by HueyLD »

Carefreeap wrote: Tue Mar 27, 2018 6:03 pm
quantAndHold wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 4:35 pm If your primary criteria is weather, then Coastal California is the best choice.

People could help if they had more information about what you actually want. Otherwise, this thread is just people trying to justify their own choices, without regard for whatever your criteria might be.

If tax is your real criteria, then recognize that California is actually in the middle of the pack when all state and local taxes and fees are counted. Now that I’m retired, we actually pay considerably less overall in CA than we did in WA, which has no income tax. States have to get their money from somewhere. There’s no magic tax juice that some states have and others don’t.
Shhhhsh! Let them go; it's too crowded and expensive already.

I've tried to explain to my friends who are thinking of retiring from So. CA to AZ that unless you are making substantially more than $100k/yr in retirement you will pay more for utilities in AZ than you will save in CA state taxes. And that of course they will do what every stupid Californian does which is to buy a big house in a nicer neighborhood plus a second home somewhere cooler and therefore invest the same amount in real estate plus have twice the operating costs and maintenance headaches.

But people like to complain about taxes so there's no point in letting the facts get in the way. :oops:
Also, some long term Cal residents discovered how high the property taxes could be in AZ. There ain't no Prop. 13 protection in AZ and owning one or two large homes can really hit one's wallet with property taxes.

I think people choose where they live on multiple factors and weather and cost are just two of them.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Carefreeap »

vested1 wrote: Wed Mar 28, 2018 8:36 am
Carefreeap wrote: Tue Mar 27, 2018 6:03 pm
quantAndHold wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 4:35 pm If your primary criteria is weather, then Coastal California is the best choice.

People could help if they had more information about what you actually want. Otherwise, this thread is just people trying to justify their own choices, without regard for whatever your criteria might be.

If tax is your real criteria, then recognize that California is actually in the middle of the pack when all state and local taxes and fees are counted. Now that I’m retired, we actually pay considerably less overall in CA than we did in WA, which has no income tax. States have to get their money from somewhere. There’s no magic tax juice that some states have and others don’t.
Shhhhsh! Let them go; it's too crowded and expensive already.

I've tried to explain to my friends who are thinking of retiring from So. CA to AZ that unless you are making substantially more than $100k/yr in retirement you will pay more for utilities in AZ than you will save in CA state taxes. And that of course they will do what every stupid Californian does which is to buy a big house in a nicer neighborhood plus a second home somewhere cooler and therefore invest the same amount in real estate plus have twice the operating costs and maintenance headaches.

But people like to complain about taxes so there's no point in letting the facts get in the way. :oops:
LOL, I resemble that remark, or at least I aspire to. One can dream, as long as reality doesn't come back to bite you.

It's tempting to let click-bait articles influence your outlook on how good you've got it, and all things considered we have it pretty good here in California. That doesn't stop me from speculating on selling our home and buying a 300k home in a 4 season location and another 300k condo in the Caribbean. 6 months of winter in the Caribbean and 6 months of summer on a lake somewhere neglects the costs you mention.

Oh well, maybe I'll win the Lotto and have three houses. I just read an article that said that's possible. :sharebeer
Lol, well the advice I gave my friend who is convinced that CA is going to hell in a handbasket (too much Fox News) is if he's going to sell the So. CA house is to plan on going somewhere for a month during the summer. I hated July more than any other month because it was hot AND humid as the Monsoon was building. Once the Monsoon hit it wasn't so bad and of course the flash flooding is always exciting and interesting. :wink: So much cheaper and easier to go away for a month than to deal with a second home.

Three homes? As someone who actually does have three homes I really don't recommend complicating your life that way. We've got one in vacation rental service and another as a full-time rental until the mortgage is paid off. Once the mortgage is paid off you know something major is going to break. :annoyed
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Carefreeap »

HueyLD wrote: Wed Mar 28, 2018 11:16 am
Carefreeap wrote: Tue Mar 27, 2018 6:03 pm
quantAndHold wrote: Sun Mar 25, 2018 4:35 pm If your primary criteria is weather, then Coastal California is the best choice.

People could help if they had more information about what you actually want. Otherwise, this thread is just people trying to justify their own choices, without regard for whatever your criteria might be.

If tax is your real criteria, then recognize that California is actually in the middle of the pack when all state and local taxes and fees are counted. Now that I’m retired, we actually pay considerably less overall in CA than we did in WA, which has no income tax. States have to get their money from somewhere. There’s no magic tax juice that some states have and others don’t.
Shhhhsh! Let them go; it's too crowded and expensive already.

I've tried to explain to my friends who are thinking of retiring from So. CA to AZ that unless you are making substantially more than $100k/yr in retirement you will pay more for utilities in AZ than you will save in CA state taxes. And that of course they will do what every stupid Californian does which is to buy a big house in a nicer neighborhood plus a second home somewhere cooler and therefore invest the same amount in real estate plus have twice the operating costs and maintenance headaches.

But people like to complain about taxes so there's no point in letting the facts get in the way. :oops:
Also, some long term Cal residents discovered how high the property taxes could be in AZ. There ain't no Prop. 13 protection in AZ and owning one or two large homes can really hit one's wallet with property taxes.

I think people choose where they live on multiple factors and weather and cost are just two of them.
You do need to pay attention to the taxes city by city. Scottsdale has some pretty high property taxes due to the Preserve. My city, Carefree, doesn't because it's not part of the Preserve, did a one-time contribution to Spur Cross and Fire and Police are paid via sales and TOT tax not property tax. I didn't agree with the latter decision but apparently the rest of the town thought it would be great that out of town visitors paid for our Fire and Police service.

What I tell retirees is to move to a place where their kids will visit them. :beer
Every day I can hike is a good day.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by vested1 »

Carefreeap wrote: Wed Mar 28, 2018 6:30 pm You do need to pay attention to the taxes city by city. Scottsdale has some pretty high property taxes due to the Preserve. My city, Carefree, doesn't because it's not part of the Preserve, did a one-time contribution to Spur Cross and Fire and Police are paid via sales and TOT tax not property tax. I didn't agree with the latter decision but apparently the rest of the town thought it would be great that out of town visitors paid for our Fire and Police service.

What I tell retirees is to move to a place where their kids will visit them. :beer
Curiosity killed this cat. Just looked on Zillow, 134 single family homes for sale, but only 9 below 500k, 21 below 600k. Looks nice though. :D

Also looked at Scottsdale, comparing a comparably priced home in Carefree. Scottsdale property tax was nearly double that of the Carefree home.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Carefreeap »

vested1 wrote: Thu Mar 29, 2018 9:06 am
Carefreeap wrote: Wed Mar 28, 2018 6:30 pm You do need to pay attention to the taxes city by city. Scottsdale has some pretty high property taxes due to the Preserve. My city, Carefree, doesn't because it's not part of the Preserve, did a one-time contribution to Spur Cross and Fire and Police are paid via sales and TOT tax not property tax. I didn't agree with the latter decision but apparently the rest of the town thought it would be great that out of town visitors paid for our Fire and Police service.

What I tell retirees is to move to a place where their kids will visit them. :beer
Curiosity killed this cat. Just looked on Zillow, 134 single family homes for sale, but only 9 below 500k, 21 below 600k. Looks nice though. :D

Also looked at Scottsdale, comparing a comparably priced home in Carefree. Scottsdale property tax was nearly double that of the Carefree home.
It all depends. Scottsdale has a population of about 200k. Carefree is about 2.5k. There is a huge variety of housing stock. Desert Mountain (NE of Carefree) is very, very expensive. Carefree by comparison, has a few expensive home on Black Mountain and on large parcels outside the town center. I do have to chuckle about how the typical sales process goes for the multi-million dollar homes. Typical scenario is someone spares no expense creating a multi-million dollar home designed to their personal taste. Then for some reason or other it goes up for sale five years later. Then it sits on the market for a couple of years until it gets reduced to between 2-3M. Someone scoops it up thinking they got themselves a bargain. Then they rip out all the fits and finishes, add more square feet of specialty space and in about 5 years put the property on the market for $5M. It sits on the market for a couple of years with price reductions until it too gets priced into the 2-3M range...rinse and repeat!

While it is entertaining at some level, it's also a little horrifying at the waste and environmental damage. I just hope someone is salvaging all these exotic high end materials because it sure would be a shame for it to wind up in the landfill. :oops:
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by inbox788 »

Temperature is a good beginning guide. I found this interesting color chart. If you avoid blue and reds, Vancouver Canada stands out as being temperate. Just eyeballing it a few cities pop out: Indianapolis, Charlotte, Columbus. Ultimately, you might have to choose being a little hotter or cooler.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... th_America
If anyone knows of a more detailed or interactive data set, please share it here. ("search database for cities where 325 days out of the year the low temperature is no lower than 45F and high temperature no higher than 95F")
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Fan23 »

Southern Utah (St. George is nice) or Boise, Idaho. Moderate climate, scenic and outdoorsy, fairly inexpensive COL.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by quantAndHold »

inbox788 wrote: Fri Mar 30, 2018 2:23 pm Temperature is a good beginning guide. I found this interesting color chart. If you avoid blue and reds, Vancouver Canada stands out as being temperate. Just eyeballing it a few cities pop out: Indianapolis, Charlotte, Columbus. Ultimately, you might have to choose being a little hotter or cooler.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... th_America
If anyone knows of a more detailed or interactive data set, please share it here. ("search database for cities where 325 days out of the year the low temperature is no lower than 45F and high temperature no higher than 95F")
Vancouver May be temperate, but it has appalling weather, unless you prefer endless drizzle for several months each year. I believe it also has the most expensive residential real estate in North America.

That chart is kind of weird, because it seems to be the average of the daily highs and lows. For example, Denver in July is listed as 74.1. Anyone who’s been to Denver in July will know that means 98 degrees during the day, and 50 at night. Where San Diego is listed as 72.0, which is actually highs around 78, and lows around 66.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Isabelle77 »

Might as well come on up to the PNW, everyone else in California seems to be moving here.

In all seriousness, there isn't another place with California weather (except maybe Hawaii) in the US. You have to decide if you want temperate rain (PNW), humidity (everywhere east of the Mississippi), hot (AZ), or hot (Texas).

I would look closely at the reasons you want to leave California and decide if they mean more than the weather.
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by rebellovw »

Prescott AZ sucks - I'd stay away from that heck hole. :sharebeer

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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by Nestegg_User »

“Bend sucks...Don’t Move Here “ is the local bumper sticker

we’ve got a LOT of people coming here ( or the general area)... but with under 1% availability for rentals not many places to put them (there was even a news report recently that indicated a Bay Area business was moving a significant number here as their employees could afford renting versus there)

for us retirees, our TOTAL costs dropped versus a midwest city due to lower property tax (only in our area, your results may not be as good) and NO sales taxes. (many parts of TX have almost 9% sales tax and high property tax rates, but cheaper overall costs for house. if you can find a location with low house costs then you might make out)

upthread someone mentioned Carson City... we looked there a few years ago {also looked at Gardiner and Minden}... while generally favorable it lacked medical... but apparently recently got another hospital established so might have improved. It’s a nice area with easy access to Tahoe without the CA premium ( and south Tahoe City premium as well) but didn’t appear to have the same job opportunities ( but might be perfect for those that can telework)
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by vested1 »

inbox788 wrote: Fri Mar 30, 2018 2:23 pm Temperature is a good beginning guide. I found this interesting color chart. If you avoid blue and reds, Vancouver Canada stands out as being temperate. Just eyeballing it a few cities pop out: Indianapolis, Charlotte, Columbus. Ultimately, you might have to choose being a little hotter or cooler.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_c ... th_America
If anyone knows of a more detailed or interactive data set, please share it here. ("search database for cities where 325 days out of the year the low temperature is no lower than 45F and high temperature no higher than 95F")
Interesting site but only for large population centers. Citydata.com is a great reference, which allows you to look up almost any city and check the average climate during the year, and other pertinent information. There are also forums with members giving their impressions of living in the city in question and answering questions of those who are considering moving there.

http://www.city-data.com/
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Re: [Moving out of CA. What city has decent weather?]

Post by littlebird »

Carefreeap wrote: Wed Mar 28, 2018 6:30 pm What I tell retirees is to move to a place where their kids will visit them. :beer
Yes. At this very moment, my son and DIL are sipping their morning coffee on the back patio, enjoying the mountains and the warm Arizona morning air. Yesterday, my son enjoyed an afternoon of golf on a lush 18 hole community course for $36 (including cart). Today he'll be playing a desert course. After that, there are 5 more if has the stamina. I didn't have to cajole, and they paid their own airfare! :sharebeer
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