I can't wait to leave So. Cal. when I retire. The traffic and crowds are so overwhelming here. Has anyone left and regretted it? On all my trips in the western states I have found many places that are much more pleasant and cheaper than here. Other than jobs and family why do people stay here? Even though I live a few blocks from the beach, I'll leave here as soon as I can!!!

Being a 4th generation Californian that grew up in Pacific Palisades I completely concur with your opinion.I left LA-LA Land in 1979 for Northern California and have never regretted my decision.In fact of my three brothers and sisters none of them live there any more either.The only reason I ever travel back is to visit my parents in the Palisades,and when they are gone I hope to never go back.I think my main gripe with the place is its just to crowded and the traffic to get anywhere is just awful.So for your sake I hope retirement comes soon.

It's amazing how two people with similar experiences can come away with completely opposite opinions.

I moved to Northern CA after living in the L.A. area for 23 years, and it was probably the worst decision of my entire life. Northern CA is a cultural wasteland compared to Southern CA, traffic is WORSE in some areas, people (at least natives) are pathetically two dimensional and small-town minded, and after years of living here I STILL feel like a traveler just passing by, on my way to somewhere else.

So to answer your first question: YES.

Moved to LA from Chicago five years ago. We're moving back after the first of the year. We've had enough. It's dirty, crowded, and soul-less here in LA.

fdecarlo - just out of curiousity, where in northern California do you live?

Maybe its too soon to tell since I left coastal Orange County for Mesquite, NV only two months ago. My reasons had more to do with my ability to afford early retirement and the proximity to my kids and grandkids than with living or traffic conditions.

So far, I don't regret the decision in any way. I am still getting acquainted with my neighbors and others here but everyone I've met has been friendly and welcoming.

The big attraction for me was financial. I was able to buy a larger home here than I had in California for cash and still put mega-bucks in savings and investments, all from the equity in my California home. It just boiled down to the fact that I could retire in some comfort here and could not afford to retire at all if I had stayed in California.

I'm also only 90 minutes from my daughter and about 3 hours from my son and all their kids. Now, I can visit a couple of times a month instead of a couple of times a year.

There is one small bonus here, also. I ran into my first traffic jam a few days ago. Some kids were crossing the street on the way to school and both cars had to stop for them.

J_Correa: I moved from Brentwood in southern CA to near San Jose, which probably accounts for my opinion. The move was job/money related and at the time I thought I couldn't pass it up.

The SJ Mercury News published a survey a few years ago that showed 40% of the people living in Santa Clara County would move, if they could take their jobs with them. That shows the level of obvious discontent in the immediate area, and I've run into way too many people here (even during the hi-tech boom years) who have something to prove and who're just plain mad at the world.

I didn't mean to slam all parts of northern CA -- especially San Francisco, Marin, Napa, parts of Monterey County etc etc, which are wonderful places to live. But unless one is raising a family I honestly can't think of a reason to recommend the San Jose area.

fdecarlo,

No wonder you are not happy in the San Jose area. It is a copy of Southern California. It's the pits.

Years ago I moved from Northern California, (the Penninsula) to Costa Mesa then Huntington Beach. I was in sales based in Long Beach (near the old Douglas Aircraft facility). My wife taught school in Buena Park. It was the complete pits. Smog, traffic, people with attitudes, the way they do business, etc. I asked for a Transfer and moved back to San Jose.

That was then. San Jose was still OK. Now it is a little LA. I wouldn't move back to San Jose on a bet.

But yes, there are many other nice places in Northern California. Affording them is another matter.

Curious

Jobs are a pretty understandable reason! Ever tried to find a job in Idaho???? Oregon????

Weather is better in Southern California than anywhere else, too.

I live in San Jose and think it's a pretty decent place, not perfect, but no place is. The traffic and high cost of living are definitely drawbacks, but other than that it's ok. I love hockey, so being able to go to games right in town is a big plus. The downtown area is coming back and there are some great neighborhoods in that area. There are is a lot of diversity here and I find that people pretty much live and let live.

I think you run into the type of people who need to prove something or are mad at the world wherever you go - just part of human nature. Depending on who you know, you may run into more or fewer of those types. I don't find them impacting my life too much.

Maybe it's just the way I'm reading it, but it sounds like you think of So. Cal. as being solely comprised of the greater LA metropolitan area. I can see why one would want to get away from the traffic and the crowds, but I would just point out that there are plenty of other places to live in So. Cal. that are away from the hustle and bustle

As a 4th generation Californian who grew up in Los Angeles, I also agree with the original post. I can't wait to get out of California. I am 24 years old and still in college, and I am having to live with my parents right now because it is too hard for me to go to school full time and also worry about making enough money to support myself. Besides graduating from college, getting out of CA is the biggest goal in my life right now. I moved to San Diego as an adult, and although it's beautiful, I quickly realized I can't afford it. My goal is to move to the Midwest ASAP. When traveling there this summer, I found it to be such a refreshing change from the rat race of So. Cal. The people are super nice, the sky is blue, the air is clean (something important to me after growing up in LA, and best of all- it is affordable.My friend and I drove cross country from Manhattan to So. Cal, and we were so depressed when we got back to CA.

Southern California is a terrible place to live. Rotten weather, lousy beaches, no decent restaurants or attractions. The traffic is bad and the housing is expensive. Please don't move here. If you're planning on leaving, take a few families with you.

I knew a family from the midwest that had five sons and daughters move to the greater LA (California) area in the 1970s. They all loved it. One by one they moved back home after seeing the quality of life in southern ca go down hill. The last hold out left last year.

The quality of life in southern ca is only good if you have lots of money!