Do People Actually Move TO California?

If you decide to make the move, Welcome in advance! I am sure you and your family will enjoy living here, especially if you live in the country!

Good luck with your relocation. Though CA isn't a place I would move back too, I firmly believe your experience will be what you make it. I wish you well! Have fun and keep us posted!

I couldn't help but laugh at the title of the thread. People move to CA in droves!!! It's as if they think it's better here. I've lived in southern CA since I was 3 years old. So, I can't really speak of any place BUT CA. As for the cost of buying a house, there's still some places that are somewhat reasonable. You have to find a small town, yes there are some, and try and find a FSBO. I know many here will scream in horror, but we bought our house a year ago, stick home rather than mobile, 3 bedroom 1 1/2 bath, well, septic, tapped into the grid, 2.5 acres. We bought it FSBO brand new roof, new paint inside and out, new flooring throughout, and some minor construction was done. We paid $136,000 and our monthly was $950. Now, for other So Cal residents we get asked how in the world we got such a wonderful price. We waited and watched, spread the word we were looking, and after about 6 months, we found our home. My DH only made $26,000 last year. It can be done. One benefit of Southern CA, I find, is so many people throw out good stuff. Soooo, it's pretty easy to get just about anything you need for little or no cost. We've gotten almost everything to build our animal housings for free, tons of clothes for free, furniture that looks brand new. I don't think I've bought a single piece of furniture in my entire house. Only 2 items did I sand and repaint. Not sure if there's a big difference between Sacramento area and down south, but just some thoughts from a CA girl.

Almost forgot about the homeschooling issue. CA is VERY relaxed about homeschooling. Once a year you file a form with the state and that's that. The form is called a Private School Affidavit (aka R-4). Basically, in CA, there is no "official" homeschooling. Instead, you file a form telling the state that YOU ARE a private school. The regulations on private schools are practically non-existant. You simply must teach in english, teach about the same core subjects public school students are taught, and the teacher "must be capable of teaching". That's about it. You keep a copy of the form on hand should a truancy officer ever knock at your door. You don't have to let them in, but show them that form and they have no more business buggin you. You decide what curriculum you want to use, if you even want to use any. There is NO required testing of any kind, no portfolios, nothing. Makes homeschooling here really easy. You CAN, if you want, choose to enroll your kids with a charter school, many are home based. They give you the same textbooks the schools use and you have to keep a log of your kids' daily work, turn in work samples, and are required to do the testing, but charter schools are just an option for homeschooling, not a requirement. If you go to California Homeschooling Network's website you can find out more about homeschooling here.

UPDATE:

Well the job is pretty much mine barring any problems arising with the legal hoops my friend has to have me jump through.

DW is getting excited about the move, especially since we found a 3 bd, 2 ba, 1750 sq. ft. house on 5 acres for rent at about what we figured we be paying. It's 22 miles from where I work, but that's not a big deal with my Geo Metro. It's set up for goats I think, so our menagerie will be comfy. Being able to take the donkeys will help my DDs accept the move.

The plan is to sell our house, pay off our debt with the equity and move to CA debt-free. We should still have some equity left over which we will bank to begin saving for a down payment. The house we want to rent is for sale, but they will likely take it off the market if they get good renters, which we are. I wish we could buy it, but the $459,000 price tag is alittle out of our rage.

Anyway, if all goes well, I will at least be there by October, Lord willling.

Any advice on selling our house as a FSBO would be appreciated since we want to avoid the thousands in agent fees.

Thanks!

California has the most spectacular scenery in the nation: Make sure you check out the different National PArks.

Hey Whodunit;I live in the Venice Canals.I bought my house in the mid 80's when the housing market was at an All Time high for 600k.Most of my friends said I was Nuts.Well the house is paid for and its now worth 2 and 1/2 Million.
When its -10 degrees on the East Coast its 70-80 degrees here.
I own a little over 200 acres in the Hill Country(Edwards County)Tx.I plan on retiring in a year or two and want to move there.I do however Love CA.
I produe a show on Television,A little over 200k.The reason I have such a happy life is because I spend Less than I make!
I usually go camping in Yosemite or out in the desert.There is a lot of affordable housing in Ca.But not in areas that are desirable to the masses. ie Not at the Beach,which excludes of grid type land.There is a lot of crime and gangs but not in my neighborhood ( the Canals.)
There was a thing on the news last year that stated that 20-30 thousand people move to CA.a month!Thank God for the Gang murder rate!-

Congratulations on your upcoming move! You said that you felt as if the Lord was leading you to Idaho years ago. I hope that he is moving you to CA now. It certainly sounds so.

We live and homeschool in CA. Not near Jackson though. I do have to say that CA offers so many opportunities. Even if you live in a rural area, you can find anything within a 2 hour drive. We love that when we are studying anything we can jump in the car and find an opportunity to expand upon that study.

In fact our absolutely favorite camping spot is up your way. It is such a nice area. We actually looked around Jackson, Moke Hill (as it is called by the locals) and Pioneer. It is just not where the Lord lead us.


Sorry, I cannot help with the For Sale By Owner. We are in the process of building our new home and are getting ready to sell our current home. We will probably sell our home FSBO also as I cannot see paying a real estate agent about $30,000 commission when it is time to sell our home (and for what, opening my door for me?) I have always been a do-it-yourselfer. I will continue on that footpath myself. If I find any good info, will keep you posted.

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Chickieeeee

I've never let my schooling get in the way of my education. -Mark Twain

I could almost write a book on this subject... I was thinking about selling my place and did a couple years of research to discover how to go about it. Here's a quick outline of what I think would be the quickest method to get the fair market price.

Assuming you know the basics such as fresh paint on the front door, removing all personal items (including pets) from the house, how to “stage” the house for sale, curb appeal, etc. I'll give you the "plan" for a quick sell.

I’ve gathered this information from several sources including a book I bought on how to sell your home in a weekend, many different sites online, and from watching TV shows on how to stage and sell your home.

1. Get the word out that your house is for sale.

a. For 10 days before your open house run an ad in your local paper and several larger towns all around where you live. (I'll try to find my book and post a sample ad showing the basic wording to use)
b. The ads should announce the date that the house will be sold and the days that the house will be available for viewing. Include your phone # in the ads. You should have at least 50 calls before open house or this won't work. In that case, run an ad the last day before the open house cancelling it.
c. Limit the viewing days to a weekend, that does 2 things,
1. it gets several people there at the same time so they get a mental image that others are interested and
2. it keeps your time invested in showing the house limited to 2 days
d. The ads must state that the house will be sold to whomever submits the highest written offer by Sunday at 6 PM.

2. The Open House.

a. As each prospective buyer inters, hand them a prepared packet of paperwork. Try to anticipate questions potential buyer will ask and have a question/answer sheet (that will keep you from having to repeat the same answers over and over again). Have a page for them to write up and submit an offer. Some other things might be to have the packet are: a floor plan of the house, and any other information you want them to have... If the house has a new roof, be sure that info is in the packet. If the hot water heater has a lifetime warranty, have that in there. I can't remember everything the book listed right now. They might look at several homes for sale and this packet will help keep your home fresh in their mind.
b. Mark the house with balloons so there will be no doubt that they found the right place
e. Have a plan for parking vehicles in case they all show up at one time. Not likely, but it’s better to be prepared and not need the plan than to have to try to scramble at the last minute with an unforseen problem.
d. Have a box for all offers to be deposited in.
e. Treat all visitors equal. The guy that looks like he slept on a park bench might be the one who walks in with the cash to purchase.
f. You'll get lots of lowball offers, but you'll also get serious offers in the proper price range.

The danger of this method is that you are legally required to sell to the buyer who submits the highest offer. One way to protect yourself is to put a reserve price on the home. That would prevent many “lookers” and potential buyers from coming to your open house and could actually make your final offer lower than it would be without a reserve price. The idea is to have tons of people viewing the house in 2 days. It’s partly psychological. People want something more if they perceive that others want it also. The more people who want it, the higher the price gets.

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Moved to Los Angeles in 1985--had a good job offer and followed a man out there (bad idea). Met the man that would become my husband and I always comments that he was the only thing positive about the whole 12 year "adventure."

I made over $80,000 and STILL could not afford a decent home. Sure I could live in the barrio, but the nearest affordable neighborhood where I could even think about buying was a 1.5 hour drive into and then out of the office. When my eldest started kindergarten, and I learned the school personnel was teaching the class to duck and cover (not from earthquake debris but gunfire!) I freaked out, and that sealed the deal. We were out of there in 9 months--had to wait until my pension and 401k vested at 100% but we pulled her out school as she was barely old enough to be in kindergarten anyway.

I have not been back to CA since then--that was 1998. My kids have gone back to visit, and my husband has, but not me. I miss the food, and the scuba diving, and I miss being close enough to drive to Vegas and San Fran but that's IT.

Vanessa
near Nashville, TN

see if you can get a lease option to purchase on the rental that way you can lock in price build a small equity that is transferable. In the event prices increase dramatically again your proteced while you rent or be able to walk away if you find better.

We have thought of that. What is the longest lease option you have heard of?

I know this reply is a little late, sorry.

I was in your position in 1998.

I worked in the prison in Orofino and made $11 an hr.

I moved to Portland Oregon and became a police officer making $30 an hr.

You nailed it on the head in your previous post! Struggle in Idaho or struggle in California?

I have a nearly identical lifestyle here as I did there. I make 3 times as much money and still live paycheck to paycheck just like i did in Orofino.

Orofino mortgage $505 mo.

Portland mortgage $2200 mo.

Orofino prop tax $400 yr

Portland prop tax $2400 yr

Orofino water/sewer/garbage $17.50 mo.

Portland w/s/g $120 mo.

Orofino car ins $68 mo.

Portland car ins $140

Orofino Little league baseball for a 6yr old $25

Portland little league baseball for a 6 yr old $100

Orfino Electric family of 3 $35-50 mo

Portland electric family of 4 $80-150mo

I too love to hunt and fish and race off-road motorcycles.

Idaho has tons of public land that I never appreciated when I grew up there.

I moved here and found out that most of the land is private and they don't want you on it! Warehouser (like Potlatch there) owns most of the land around here and it's all gated and posted and you may walk on it when there is no fire danger and that's it.

It's all about QUALITY of life and what that means to your family.

We will have 100-120K and no debt in about 2 more years. We are coming back to Kooskia, Kamiah, Weippe??? Dunno yet?

and I will be burierd there!


don't go!

W

Thanks for the responses!

Well, I was officially offered the job last night and I am taking it. It may be a struggle until our house sells, but nothing we can't handle.

I feel good about making alittle more money, having better benefits, and having room to grow in a profession I really enjoy.

Nobody can predict the future, but they can look at the past and see what might be coming. When I do that here, it looks bleak. I see more cuts in benefits and more years of no COLAs, which affects me now and at retirement.

I also just talked to a high school graduate (actually he might be a drop-out) who makes about 70 cents less an hour than I do with full benefits working at the mill. He has been there seven months compared to my 10 1/2 years!

Yes, it's time to move on.

Blessings on you and your family. Life changing decisions are tough.

Huggs,
Rose

__________________
Alice
* * *
"No great thing is created suddenly." ~Epictitus

I appreciate that. I have a great wife and great kids. As long as I am with them, I can live anywhere.

Yes, good luck! It takes courage to make life choices and it sounds like you made the right one for you and your family. I wish you and your family well. Keep us posted about the move and what you think of California