I'd like to pick some S2Ki members brains as my wife and I are considering a colossal move - east to west coast.
We've traveled all over Cali and settled on San Diego, specifically Carlsbad. I'm in a constant tug-of-war with regards to cost of living vs quality of life. Is it worth the money e.g. income tax, sales tax, gas tax, real estate, etc etc etc...
The analytics don't point in my favor, that being said, I'm a diehard car guy (own every Car & Drive since 1984) and love all things scenic. It's one thing to read s**t online, a local point of view is what I'm after.

 

I'm not 100% leaving Raleigh is a great idea. Seems like a nice enough a place. That said, Carlsbad is lovely.

If you've spent more than 2 weeks there, then I say go for it, because you and the Mrs. have some clue. Otherwise, I'd encourage you to look a little deeper. Lastly, there's a thread further down about a guy leaving Upstate NY for somewhere, anywhere, else. You may want to glean some ideas from that.

 

We've spent lots of time in Socal. I'd be working in Carlsbad, so living elsewhere and commuting would suck. Raleigh's OK, just a little slow for me - born and raised in Washington DC

 

If you are a car guy & like scenery, there's no place better than California. I want to move to the west myself. Looking for a change & year round outdoor activities. The only downside for myself is the lower pay (i.e. $140k NYC vs $90k SoCal).

 

There is really no way to know for sure until you do it. Everyone is different. That stated, I really love SoCal. Almost all of my family lives back east (they range from Greensboro to Boston) and they often ask when I'm moving back. Um, I've been in the LA/OC area 25 years now. I don't see myself going back. This is my home now and I like it here (particularly the weather!). I certainly enjoy my visits to my family back east and I always marvel at how green things can be there, but then I remember they get snow (lots of it, at times!) and I'm content with never having to deal with that.

Carlsbad is beautiful. Expensive, but beautiful. It's a sleepy town, but you are close enough to San Diego for when you want to have a little more upbeat fun. SD is definitely a party town and I love visiting there. The car scene in San Diego is plentiful. If you are into autocrossing, there really isn't a much better place to be! You can run year-round.

But the local culture and if you will feel "at home" is completely unique to each person, and only you will be able to tell. If it's something you really want to do, you'll just fit right in.

 

I've done the move from east coast to west as well. I love the weather here, it's definitely a big part of what keeps me here. Thinking about moving back to the east coast makes me cringe because of the humidity, winters, snow.. sure I miss snow from time to time, but an hour or two drive and I'm there in the mountains carving up some snow on the slopes. It's beautiful down here in SoCal, and Carlsbad is a great place to live. Cost of living though is quite high; I would definitely think twice if I had to take a substantial pay cut.

 

Thankfully, I'm not taking a pay cut. I know North County is expensive, but that's where I'll be working. Living too far would be a commuting nightmare similar to my hometown (Arlington, VA)

 

I miss Socal terribly. Would like to move there but my income would be cut in half with very slow regain to current income. Norcal isn't so bad but Socal is best.

 

Just left San Diego last week. I absolutely love the area. I live an 35 miles north of LA. I'm an hour away from snow (when there is any), an hour away from the beach, and near some of the best mountain roads in the country. Life's good

 

Socal is nice enough. I've lived in Los Angeles for all of my 21 years. Having everything an hour away is pretty nice. If you have a modded car or plan on modding then you're going to have a bad day.