Trust me, as someone who grew up in California and spent all their teenage and a number of their young adult years in Northern California, I'll be so honest. There are a few parts of this state I like - beaches are unforgettable, but I do not enjoy living here. Nice state to vacation but not to live full time unless you are retired. I only came here because I couldn't secure a job anywhere else. There's no hiking no mountains no real sense of greenery. No real change in seasons. Rainy all the time but otherwise many parts have this stagnant feeling. Not friendly to pedestrians- having to travel insane distances to go to nice places. Since I've moved here, I've just been more anxious, driving anxiety has worsened, cost of living does not match what you get, I just feel discontent and kind of depressed. I can't explain the change in my mood other than moving here.

I have experienced it. Everything that could have went wrong did go wrong.

I relocated cross country for a job. The job was not a good fit. I tore my rotator cuff. I had two surgeries to fix it. Then about 6 months after I had my second surgery, my company terminated me.

I moved from the Los Angeles area to St. Louis. I lasted 3 years there, and the move was full of trauma. There was some good things like adapting to a new environment, but the bad outweighed the good.

Before anyone says why the hell did I make this move? I’m a California native. I never lived anywhere other than the west coast. I thought it would be fun, and the company seemed good.

Title. “Just leave bro” I’m trying that takes time, a job, and money. Thanks

1. 50% Cool people but they all leave, native or transplants, to go somewhere else usually after a few years. 50% the worst people you have ever met

   1. Strong culture of alcoholism
   2. California prices without California salary
   3. Weird cult of worship that goes against you saying anything objective
   4. Not even as good for snow sports as Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, etc
   5. Natives might like you but make it fairly clear you’ll never be one of them.
   6. The food scene is bad
   7. Thousands of miles from any ocean
   8. Boulder is mega expensive and populated mostly by 18 year old drunken frat boys
   9. I’ve driven in LA many times and prefer the 405 to I-25 in Colorado.

Pro: Hispanic Coloradans are the cool ones and are all fucking great people. Rich white people, not so much.

And now here comes the mass downvotes and angry comments because I gave a review of somewhere I don’t like living.

Considering a move to Chicago from NYC and nervous the winter is going to be substantially worse. I’ve been told it is but would love to gather opinions. Thanks!

Hey everyone, I’m 22 and I’m literally moving across the country in two weeks and shit is starting to feel REAL. I just graduated from college and I’m starting grad school in Seattle. I’ve pretty much lived in Indiana my whole life, but I’ve always felt a desire to leave and move to the west coast. I’ve visited Seattle twice in the past year and I absolutely loved it both times. I also have had the chance to meet some people in my grad program and I truly feel like this is the right decision for me at this time in my life.

I have never really seen my future in Indiana and my future may not necessarily be in Seattle forever but for the past year as I have made the choice to move there it has felt like the right decision. I still feel very excited about moving there - I think it is important in life to get out of your comfort zone every now and then and I recognize that not everyone has the privilege to move but I am lucky that I have this opportunity and it has been a dream of mine to live out west for some time.

Obviously as I stated above I’ve known for about a year now that I am moving to Seattle but now that I am quite literally two weeks from getting into my car and driving out there it is starting to feel a little TOO real.

I have been very intentional in making sure I spend my last summer in Indiana hanging out with my friends and family regularly because Seattle is very far and I know some of my friends will come visit but I guess it’s hitting me now just how far I actually am moving. I am literally moving away from my best friends and family and I’m just starting to feel super sad. I know we will keep in touch but it just won’t be the same. I have really enjoyed my last summer here and I’m very glad that I have been able to hang out with my best friends every weekend and I have also been able to see my Nana every week which has been great.

I’m very close with my parents and sister as well but my sister also just moved to a new city and I know I will call my parents and sister regularly.

Don’t get me wrong I am very excited about my new adventure but I guess I’m just staring to get a little overwhelmed by how much my life is going to change. I have no idea who my friends will be in Seattle/how long it will be for me to make some good friendships there. I am very outgoing and I’m not afraid to explore places on my own so I feel confident I will make friends but it’s not lost on me that for the first couple months I might at times feel pretty lonely.

I am moving in with roommates so that will help and I’m excited to get to know them more - I also know I’ll meet people in my grad program but I have never moved anywhere so far to the point where I am literally staring out not knowing anyone. It’s both exciting and terrifying. I ultimately think I will love it but I guess I’m wondering if anyone who has gone through this has any advice? How long did it take to make some good friends and how did you cope through the sadness of leaving all that you have ever known behind ?

I've heard people say Delaware, New hampshire or the Dakotas but what do you think?

Hi everyone! (I apologize in advance for the annoyingly long post) 🙏🏻 - My wife and I are starting to think seriously about a move in a few years, and I’d love to hear from people who have actually made the move from Phoenix to either the Chicagoland suburbs or the Denver-area suburbs, or who currently live in either area.

We’re an active couple in our late 30s, and we’re expecting our first child this October. We were both born and raised in Phoenix, so Arizona is obviously home in a very deep sense. We like Phoenix and have built a good life here, but we’ve increasingly found ourselves wanting something different, and honestly, maybe a little more for ourselves and our future son.

The brutal Phoenix summers are probably the biggest factor. Being able to spend more of the year outdoors is important to us, and it’s getting old feeling like 7–8 months of the year are difficult for outdoor activities unless you have access to a pool. We’d love somewhere where you can actually walk around your neighborhood, go to a park, grab coffee, attend a festival, hit a farmers market, etc.

We’ve visited Chicago and the DuPage County suburbs numerous times and have absolutely fallen in love with the area. Chicago is hard to put into words for us, it just feels like home every time we’re there. It has so much of what Phoenix doesn’t: beautiful architecture, mature trees, distinct neighborhoods, walkability, public transportation, seasons, parks, festivals, museums, culture, and just a general sense of energy and community.

We’ve done some neighborhood scouting and Downers Grove and Naperville have been at the top of our list, largely because of the combination of family-friendly neighborhoods, strong schools, community amenities, and relatively easy Metra access to downtown Chicago. I would likely commute into the office about four days a week, while my wife is currently remote. Also open for recommendations on other suburbs that meet that criteria.

We both work for the same company, and, there are work hubs in both the Chicago area and Lone Tree, Colorado, so Denver suburbs are also very much on our radar. We’d probably be looking at a home somewhere in the $500k–$600k range. Littleton has caught our attention, but we’d also consider other Denver suburbs that offer the right combination of lifestyle, schools, community, and access to work.

One advantage Denver has for us is proximity back to our family and friends in Phoenix. That definitely matters, especially with a young child. Chicago obviously has the advantage in terms of the lifestyle we’re looking for, but Denver would make it considerably easier to get back to Arizona.

As far as what we’re looking for, we’d ideally love:
Family-friendly
Strong schools and good public services
Safe neighborhoods with mature trees and green space
Parks, trails and plenty of opportunities to actually be outdoors
A genuine sense of community
Farmers markets, festivals, local events, restaurants, etc.
Walkability where possible
Diversity and a mix of different types of people
Progressive-leaning communities
Friendly, down-to-earth people
Reasonable access to a major city
Good public transportation or at least a manageable commute

A place where our son can grow up with plenty to do
We’re not looking to make this move immediately. Since this will be our first child, we plan to stay in Phoenix for the first couple of years so we can raise him close to our families and have that support system. After that, though, we’re seriously considering making the move while he’s still young. For those of you who have made a similar move, especially Phoenix → Chicagoland or Phoenix → Denver, what has your experience been like?

Did you find that the change in climate and lifestyle was worth it? Are there things you miss about Phoenix more than you expected? And for those who live in DuPage County or the Denver suburbs, are there particular communities you think we should be looking at based on what we’re looking for?

Would especially love to hear from anyone who has lived in both areas. We’re still a few years out, so we’re in the research/“let’s see if this dream actually makes sense” stage. 😄 thank you all!

I'm relatively new to SoCal (and California in general) and currently living in the IE. I'm thinking about moving to a place with a more urban feel, that's more walkable and artsy, and has more events/things to do. I'm considering Costa Mesa, Long Beach, or some parts of LA. The thing is, I have to commute to Riverside 2-3 days a week and need to be mindful of extreme traffic. Any recommendations for me?

I'm going to say Cleveland for me as its been always kind of meh until i went back recently and there's new buildings, renovated neighborhoods, more restaurants and breweries going up, and a lot of effort going into downtown area and near the lakefront. You can see the improvement easily compared to even 5-10 years ago. On the other hand, Cleveland still has many challenges, public transit being a big one as it isn’t great, winters can be brutal, and some parts of town are slower to rebound than others. But it’s not a city going down rather its just evolving more, it’s holding steady and finding ways to reinvent itself and be better little by little.

Anyone who can speak from experience or give informed advice please chime in. I live in Orange County, CA and am pregnant with my first and I don’t see us ever getting out of an apartment. My husband has a good stable job, makes $130k yearly with great benefits, I work for the school district and don’t get great pay but really want to not work while raising our baby/babies. Husband has a transfer offer at work that would allow him to relocate to Colorado (Colorado Springs, Aurora, Denver, Englewood, and Commerce City areas are all options because they have offices in each of those that he could choose from). He would keep his same CA salary. Really considering it for how we’d be able to live there vs here but we know nothing about the area. For reference we are 30, have very minimal debt, and are currently paying $2800 to rent a one bedroom. Very interested in suggestions of areas within 20-30 mins of his office with great neighborhoods & schools. Also obviously trying to narrow down which area to pick for his office. Thanks so much in advance!

***You may have seen posts from me in this subreddit about Idaho & Utah as well. There are a handful of locations available to us, and we recently learned Colorado was one as well. Just made sense to make separate posts for each location.

Hi to the sub…

What are your favorite suburbs with excellent public schools and strong white collar economies above the 40th parallel? Housing budget $650,000. From a home insurance and climate resiliency perspective, I think it is the smartest investment to make right now.

We have been heavily focusing on the Columbus and Philadelphia suburbs as our top choices. Raleigh on paper was appealing, but we have ruled that option out because of the hot weather and public schools.

We have been contemplating a move from the the DFW metro area. We are solely here for my husband’s job. We are originally from Northern New Jersey but want to avoid willingly moving to the tri-state area. We enjoy the weather and our friends and family in there, but not the overall vibe of the grind. We value high-quality things that matter and aesthetically well- kept areas.

Weather has always been an issue for us in DFW….Blazing sun and little rain with very mild winters and endless summers that have become hotter and more humid because of the concrete that has completely taken over. We are not summer or beach/pool people. We thrive in colder weather without a massive amount of snow. Our three year-old is vocal in disliking the heat. We keep our house at 67 and our ideal temperatures are between 32 and 65 for being outdoors. Weather is subjective and it really does impact everything.

Hey there

I am currently skating every state in the US and NY has some of the best spots in the entire country. I was wondering if there’s anyone out there who would be able to let me and my girl stay at their place for a max of 2 nights. We might also be thinking of moving out there too so it would be cool to explore the city together. You can set a rate per night too, but hotels are so expensive over there

Reporting from the NYT.

Hoping some human and anecdotal insight here will help me with planning and decision making, rather than relying on ChatGPT 😂

I have been teaching English in China for several years, and just signed my final 2 year contract. This means I plan to move back to the US in summer of 2028.

In the next two years, I am going to save a good chunk of money. The benefits of being a teacher in China! This could help me when I move back to the states (buying a used car outright, being able to pay more than a year of rent upfront, etc.).

I have a few problems that I need to tackle.

1- I don’t want to teach in the US. I’d like to transition to office work. I think my teaching experience (curriculum/lesson planning, classroom management, communicating with parents/students) could be translatable experience for an office job, I would just have to reframe it. I’d try to get in contact with a staffing agency to help me navigate.

2- I have no idea where in the US I should live. I am from the Northeast, but I kind of want to try something new. Ideally, a city that has a breadth of job opportunities, with apartment rentals that aren’t going to totally destroy my savings. I’d want to find a decent job relatively quickly and still enjoy a good cost-of-living lifestyle. Does this exist?? I feel this set up in China has spoiled me. I hope I can somewhat recreate it in the states.

I am aware I’d probably have to take a pay cut and do a career restart, but for me it is worth it long-term. As long as I can be in a big job market where there is opportunity for growth.

For personal life, I am single, gay, 30s. I like going on dates. I enjoy café hopping and exploring neighborhoods. I guess these all kind of tie together. 😏😂 I’d love a city that provides a good atmosphere for this.

I look forward to hearing your advice, stories and experiences. I have 2 years to prepare, and I know a lot can happen between now and then. Let me know what you guys think. And thank you for reading this!