You might want to consider the "Gold Coast of MA".

Cost of living has skyrocketed here as well, but it's a beautiful area. I know that if/when we move we could never be away from the coast.

Rockport, Gloucester, Newburyport (my town) are all quaint coastal communities, but we are only 45 min. from Boston and travel there frequently to see plays, sports games and frequent the great restaurants. It's a small enought city that it's walkable and not overwhelming. Some people commute to it from where I live as there is a train in.

If you enjoy high taxes, a state that is an economic disaster and getting worse, oh, and crap weather, then you'll love New York, and they call it the Empire State!!

If you are used to beaches, Long Island would be good. They are beautiful beaches, there are many small towns, hamlets with a great amount of charm. I am not sure of the prices though.
Also- look into Rockland County NY. Just next door to NJ, along the Hudson River and a very short trip to NYC for a movie, play or dinner. So it is a little of best of both worlds. Also more hilly and charming than LI to me, which is basically flat.
We are considering looking at houses out near the Hamptons

Vistied Santa Barbara over the summer-- it struck me as amazingly beautiful, and anazingly expensive! I live in the Albany, NY area. The weather is much more unpredictable -- you can just count on extremes and surprises! Yet the year before last, we had the most beautiful "traditional" Xmas -- it snowed and snowed -- 25"! We went out during the day and drove home in our 4 wheel drive -- walked down the street to visit with neighbors at night! We are at a nice crossroads -- about 2 1/2-3 hours to both New York City & Boston. About 4 1/2 to Montreal -- thourgh the lovely Adirondak Mountains. The terrible price of real estate has not reached us yet-- although I believe things are ready to take off -- we have a "Tech Valley" initiative going on. For what you pay in Santa Barbara for a home, you could get 10 times the home here. (When I was in California I had some discussion about this with Californians...) I have a 4 bedroom plus huge master suite on 3 levels (total 5 bedrooms) -- 5 bathrooms, 2 family rooms, dining room, living room, kitchen (obviously!)& office, 2 car garage and large lot -- my home would go for about $300,000 (maybe a LITTLE more) in today's market. I think that the real estate here has to be about the cheapest in the nation... Yet we are in close to mountains, lakes & big cities. What more could you want?

What more could I want? A lot less than 25 inches of snow!! And temperatures that are not below zero!!

OK, so you have to take the bad with the good! Depends on what you want! I've lived here all my life...and OK, we have sub-zero temperature, lots of snow (sometimes-- during some winters I bought snowpants for my kids and they never wore them!) But we don't have earthquakes, don't have hurricanes... so people have to figure out what they want and what is worth the trade-offs!

I can't imagine living elsewhere. I'm in Boston(cambridge) and when spring comes, bulbs start sprouting, birds asinging and nesting, and people smile mote, the earth gives off a wonderful growing fragrance, the summer gives us the blooming flowers and the scent of those with new mown laws, the Charles river is alive with runners, skate boarders, tai-chi classes, the occasinal painter or guitar player and the sail boats in their beautiful sails.
and so much more, then as the fall moves in , we have the farmers market when the tomatoes are at their best heere in New England, the pumpkins, and corn and gourds are now at the road stands in their glorious colors, kids preparing for halloween, now it's thanksgiving and snow may start, winter arrives, the public garden looks like a lace valentine, the robins on snow covered trees look like christmas tree ornaments.

I live in No. Virginia. I suppose the first question would be, "CAN a SoCal Guy AFFORD to live in this area?" although if you own in Santa Barbara I suppose you are used to high real estate prices. When I say "high" I am talking about an area where the average cost of a home is $600,000 and one of the neighboring counties has the HIGHEST average income in the entire nation.

I suggest you take the one who is doing the "longing" and send her to this area in the DEAD of Winter with the ice storms and snow, etc. Frankly, I'd stay in Santa Barbara and make periodic visits for those fall colors, etc.

Good idea. How about a long vacation in mid January on the East Coast FIRST.

Hi, I lived in northwestern pa all my life and I can tell you that the mountains are beautiful. I do love the seasons especially fall. However you may really miss California come February when its really cold and then in March and April when its chilly and rather drab. Scarletts right when she suggested living near a beach.It may have you feeling as though you never left Ca. We live on the New-york state border and are approx. 45 minutes away from Ellicotville NY a charming community, known for its sking in Holiday Valley. If you and your wife enjoy sking then you could have a graet time here. The crime rate is low as is the cost of living. As for cultural experiences you would have to drive to Pittsburgh(3.5hrs.),or to New York City.(6hrs.). WE also travel to Erie Pa for shopping and to go to the lake. It is quite lovely there they have beautiful lake -front homes and condos. Im not sure I would want to be in one of those places in the middle of a blizzard and we do have those. Maybe that would be a good time to visit any friends and family you left behind in California. I love Christmas with snow. I have been to warmer places in December and to me its just not the same.I guess everything has its trade offs and in a perfect world you could have have two haome on different coasts. Good luck. By the way today is a cool crisp morning around 42d but the sun is peaking through the clouds and will give way to a beautiful sunny day,in the 60s. I can see the hills from my living room window and the leaves,their colors are truly amazing.

Complaining about the weather is so old. I love the NE section of the U.S. I chose to live with this climate and enjoy the heck out of it. If you lead a sedentary lifestyle winter will bore you, but if you get out of the recliner there are winter sports, fairs and activities to do all over the NE, live life for all the seasons of the year. You can bitch and have a miserable life in winter or you can enjoy yourself, its your choice.

Stephanie: I agree that if one must live in a cold climate, he or she should either do so by choice or, if required to live there, learn to emphasize the upsides. But if you forced most people from SoCal to live in New England in particular, they'd be miserable.
Remember the original question asks for advice about how someone who has never lived in the northeast might adapt.

Far more people choose to live in warmer climates than cold climates. There are many obvious reasons why. There's enough variety and space in the US to suit everyone.

Great information - thanks everyone - keep it coming! I am a project manager in the semicondutor industry, so nearby tech centers are good. On the issue of affordability (TopMan), this would be another reason to move. Our 1800ft2 home that we purchased about 6 years ago is worth about $1 million (the current median home price in SB). Selling it could buy a huge home many places (even at $600k) in the East for cash and with a nice chunk of change left over to invest. I could almost retire! However, I'm more interested in what people have to say about transplanting experiences than whether or not I can afford to live someplace.

Good point travleis- It hard to pick up and move anywhere, but So.Cal. to NE- Yikes! In upstate NY it's not just the weather(and I'm a skier) it's the economic and political downside. As long as NY remains one of the few states with no medicaid cap, high taxes will only get higher! So sb_fool, I'd think twice about NY.

When I lived in California, I also remember telling my husband how much I missed the change of seasons (especially the fall color). What I realize now is that I was also saying to him that I missed having a sense of community. I wonder if your wife is feeling the same. You don't mention children. I have to say I love living in the NE for my kids. Love my little town, schools, etc. Am I sick of winter? You betcha! The first snowfall is great, and nothing will ever compare to a beautiful fall day like today. The positives outweigh the negatives, and I will stay put until my kids graduate from high school, but then I am willing to move to a warmer climate and vacation in the northeast in the fall season. With a million dollars, you could really have a wonderful life living in my neck of the woods, with plenty of money for vacations to nice warm spots to beat the winter time blues. Good luck to you.

Yikes.. I think the housing prices in SB are ridiculously high. Your taxes are atrocious too. If I were to move to the NE it would be to Boston,,not much better tax wise.... so why not try DC? DC has a little bit of everything...would not mind living in Georgetown either IMVHO. Judy

I had looked briefly into Manassas, VA - there are a few companies there in my industry and it looks very quaint and historic - near DC too. Anyone have any experience there? I do like winter sports too - my wife and I love skiing.

On the issue of "community," California is very tolerant of new people. Will we be accepted into a Northeast community, or forever feel like an outsider because our family doesn't have a long history in a certain place? I have some friends here originally from MA that lived in NC for 3 years (this was probably 30 years ago). People made references to them being the "Yankees" the entire time. They couldn't stand it and finally left!

Well, 30 years ago was a long time ago, and it depends where in NC your friends moved to. I grew up in a college town and there were new kids in school every year. People moving was common. But some of the small-minded towns might not have been that welcoming.

However, in the past 30 years many people from all over have moved to the state. Mainly the city areas, so the state is getting used to transplants.

By the way, maybe we could work out a house swap. My home is valued at about 1/10th of yours. You would get seasons and snow and ice and hurricanes occasionally. I would get the 'boring' weather of the CA coast.

Hello SB Fool,

Add me to the votes for Northern Virgina! Having lived in many areas of the U.S. (Army Brat) I can give this area a "thumbs up" for everything you are looking to find.

There are real season changes, it is close enough to DC for culture, many high tech companies, tons of history, close to lots of other states (unlike California where it takes a while to drive anywhere - I am in LA) Natural beauty too! We used to go to Great Falls on the Potomac - history, beauty, hiking all in one park!

I lived in Annandale, in Fairfax County, for six years. The schools are excellent! Wakefield rec center is fantastic, and there is a real feeling of community.

There are people moving in and out of the area due to military and diplomatic posts, so you will not be the only newbies and feel shut out.

I have two sets of friends that moved from CA to VA and are still there and loving it.

Good luck in your search!

sb fool - I think one of the hardest things that Californians have trouble adjusting to in other areas is the lack of sunshine. The winter months can be long, dreary and gloomy. I know that many of my friends who live back East say it is very difficult not to get depressed during the winter. Depending on the job market, maybe you should consider someplace like Colorado. Your wife would get more of the seasons she is looking for, skiing of course is wonderful and there is still plenty of sunshine even during the winter.

LGH makes a great point about finding a sense of community when you are raising a family. There is no doubt that raising a family in a community environment is important and often difficult to find in California. If you have lived most of your life though in Santa Barbara, I would think that you would have lots of community ties. And if you keep reading LGH's post, she goes on to say that she get's tired of the winters and would be willing to move to a warmer climate when her kids are grown. Even Ncgrrl would like to do a houseswap with you.
If people who have lived in these areas for sometime feel this way, I think it speaks volumes about the advantages of living in a warmer climate and how difficult it might be to adjust to the East coast.