Want to move to better weather but tough to leave family/comfort

[Ready]

I live within walking distance. It's a hotel/resort with three swimming pools and a world class spa with a five hot tubs, dry sauna and steam room. Free coffee, tea, juice and fresh baked snacks. I get unlimited use for $139/month, which also includes a one hour massage. I come here to swim six days a week. I've been a member for 15 years. The price has not increased since I joined. I've been so spoiled by having it that I could not imagine moving somewhere that did not have all this available. Life is good!

 

[Fedup]

I live within walking distance. It's a hotel/resort with three swimming pools and a world class spa with a five hot tubs, dry sauna and steam room. Free coffee, tea, juice and fresh baked snacks. I get unlimited use for $139/month, which also includes a one hour massage. I come here to swim six days a week. I've been a member for 15 years. The price has not increased since I joined. I've been so spoiled by having it that I could not imagine moving somewhere that did not have all this available. Life is good!

My husband used to live near there, walkable to the pier, but it was too noisy and now he is no longer considered living near the beach a dream.

 

[Fedup]

Wait I never said the winters were horrible. I just don't like the weather. I don't like the cold, nor do I like the heat and humidity. And when it is nice in the Spring my allergies kick in. All told we might have 25 or so really nice days a year here in DC that Are simply spectacular. The rest you can have.

You get allergies here too.

 

[novaman]

You get allergies here too.

I doubt it is to the same degree as this area. People literally get red puffy eyes, nose like faucets and feel like zombies from the allergies. There is a green film of pollen that covers everything for weeks.

 

[Fedup]

I doubt it is to the same degree as this area. People literally get red puffy eyes, nose like faucets and feel like zombies from the allergies. There is a green film of pollen that covers everything for weeks.

I always have allergies around this time, April-May. I was like that last week, I thought it was allergies until I found out it was bronchitis infection.

 

[StaceyR]

DH & I absolutely love living in So CA, so much so that we continued to work for several additional years so we could afford to stay here after we RE'd. If you stay out of LA you can avoid much of the crowds & traffic, and there are many options including Santa Barbara, Ventura, South Bay, Palos Verdes, Long Beach, OC, & San Diego. Personally I value living on the beach so I wouldn't choose Irvine. Irvine is very nice but it's more suburban. Given the OP's situation, I would choose a town/neighborhood on the water. It's not just being able to see the ocean, but also having easy access to biking, jogging, or walking on the beach path as well as sailing, kayaking or paddle boarding on the ocean. These activities really help make So CA feel special to me.

Only the OP can decide the values question (proximity to family vs lifestyle of CA), but if a move to CA is the OP's preferred option, I encourage consideration of an oceanfront community. When I first moved to CA, we lived in inland OC. While it was beautiful & the weather was great, I realized I was missing out on the true So CA lifestyle by not living close to the beach. Now I look at the ocean every day and the beach/ocean are big motivators for my fitness.

I feel the same way but then the little angel (devil?) on my shoulder reminds me about the crazy cost of living oceanfront in OC as well as the traffic, lack of parking and summer (spring and fall as well) crowds of tourists. Still, if I could magically move my mortgage-free inland OC ranch home 15 miles to Laguna Beach I'd do it in a second...now that I'm RE'd!

 

[cathy63]

I doubt it is to the same degree as this area. People literally get red puffy eyes, nose like faucets and feel like zombies from the allergies. There is a green film of pollen that covers everything for weeks.

Might want to rethink that. Plants here have pollen too and it makes a pretty big mess. Allergies in California and other warm climates can also be much worse because the blooming seasons are longer.

Of course, if you live close enough to the beach, then the prevailing breeze is usually nice clean ocean air with no pollen. It's great until the Santa Anas come along and blow that hot, dry, allergen-laden air from the east.

 

[TrophyWife]

View attachment 25876

My morning swim at the local resort pool, short drive from Irvine. Just in case that helps the OP think this through a bit. Ocean and beaches in the background. Daily routine for me year round here.

Where is this!!!

 

[wrigley]

I consider myself a very lucky man. Both my children, along with my only grandchild, live mins from my wife and I. To me, that's more important then the weather (living in Florida does it make it a bit easier though ).

BTW.....My FIL and BIL both graduated from UVA. BIL currently has 2 children at UVA. SIL graduated from UVA medical school.

Mike

 

[Koolau]

OP

We waited until the last parent passed on and the kids were either in university or otherwise scattered. At that point, we moved 5000 miles away. We still spend summers in our old homestead and thus catch up with friends. We can travel to see kids as well. Only our parents' needs were of high priority. If you don't need the funds from your business, you may be holding on to it because it is a large source of satisfaction to you - bravo! But only you can decide if SoCal is better than your business. If you can afford it, keeping a foot in your old life while actually moving to SoCal could be an answer. It was for us, except we choose HI instead of SoCal. YMMV

 

[kcowan]

If you can afford it, keeping a foot in your old life while actually moving to SoCal could be an answer. It was for us, except we choose HI instead of SoCal. YMMV

Agreed. We travel all over the place in the summer now that parents have passed on to visit the extended family.

As for SoCal oceanfront, have you folks never experienced the Gray in May and the Gloom in June? We found La Jolla to be bone chilling when we stayed there.

And the locals said "Oh yea it is like this every year." And. of course the ocean is only marginally fit for swimming without a wetsuit in August/September. Pretty to look at though...

 

[fasteddie911]

Hawaii is amazing...unless you have to work while you're there. Ive visited hawaii a bunch of times. Its always great being in vacation mode. Those that do live/work there that Ive spoken with sing a different tune. just an fyi

Having friends and family from there, definitely one of those places that is different visiting than living/working.

 

[W2R]

Having friends and family from there, definitely one of those places that is different visiting than living/working.

I grew up in Hawaii and can definitely confirm that observation.

New Orleans is like that, too. People who have only been here on vacation, seem to think that New Orleanians spend all our time drinking and carousing down on Bourbon St. Honestly I haven't set foot on Bourbon St. since 1999. It's way, way too loud, crowded with drunks, con artists, and sleazeballs, and it stinks of urine and vomit. Or at least that was the case back then. I really don't see why tourists want to go there, but they do.

Like people everywhere, most New Orleanians do laundry, work, shop, run errands, pay bills, go to church, and so on. We aren't just lounging around all day waiting for a drinking buddy to show up.

 

[marko]

Like people everywhere, most New Orleanians do laundry, work, shop, run errands, pay bills, go to church, and so on. We aren't just lounging around all day waiting for a drinking buddy to show up.

Friends live right in the center of a very, very big tourist town. A tourist actually asked them once "ok, but after here, where do you really live?".

The tourist really thought that people mowing lawns, painting houses and bringing out the trash was all part of some sort of living museum exhibit and that once the lights go out, everybody leaves the town empty and goes to sleep somewhere else.

 

[Fedup]

I grew up in Hawaii and can definitely confirm that observation.

New Orleans is like that, too. People who have only been here on vacation, seem to think that New Orleanians spend all our time drinking and carousing down on Bourbon St. Honestly I haven't set foot on Bourbon St. since 1999. It's way, way too loud, crowded with drunks, con artists, and sleazeballs, and it stinks of urine and vomit. Or at least that was the case back then. I really don't see why tourists want to go there, but they do.

Like people everywhere, most New Orleanians do laundry, work, shop, run errands, pay bills, go to church, and so on. We aren't just lounging around all day waiting for a drinking buddy to show up.

My cousin lives in Louisiana, not sure how close she's to New Orlean. I need to have a trip to visit all my long lost relatives. The last time she came to California was to visit my dad and he died almost 10 years ago.

 

[Scuba]

Having friends and family from there, definitely one of those places that is different visiting than living/working.

The US Virgin Islands are like that too. We've vacationed here many times, staying at an oceanfront condo in a resort. We decided to do a 3-month stay here to celebrate our retirement. We're staying in an apartment that is part of a large home on a mountaintop. We love it, but we can see that having to live and work here could be frustrating. Many of the waiters and service staff we've met have 2 or 3 jobs just to make ends meet. Traffic can be bad, electricity cuts out a fair bit, and most people outside of resorts don't have A/C. But it's beautiful and the beaches and water sports available make it all worthwhile. The laid back island vibe is great for retired folks, maybe not so great for working folks in a hurry.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I feel the same way but then the little angel (devil?) on my shoulder reminds me about the crazy cost of living oceanfront in OC as well as the traffic, lack of parking and summer (spring and fall as well) crowds of tourists. Still, if I could magically move my mortgage-free inland OC ranch home 15 miles to Laguna Beach I'd do it in a second...now that I'm RE'd!

We lived in Canyon Crest for 15 years just down the road from you. Yes the weather is great. But all the other reasons people mention does make it tedious for every day life. Yes we were 14 miles from Laguna Beach, but parking was a bear once you got there and it was always crowded. Yes it is the best beach in the area. El Toro Road is a parking lot too.

Now we live 1 mile from the beach, that is rarely crowded, and we can cycle there, I also have a scooter which other than a convertible is the preferred mode of transport for pottering around here locally in NE Florida. Weather can be brutal in the summer but great in Winter and really good for all round living too, you do get used to the weather after a while. The Slower pace of life too me longer to get used to coming from SoCAL. South FLA is too brutal all year.

Traffic here is reasonable, people are always happy and smiling as they are either here on Vacation, to get Married or are retired and taking it easy. We have everything we need within 5 miles and more within about 35miles.

 

[brett]

We live in a cold climate. Dislike the winters but very much like the summers and the proximity to the mountains.

We thought about a move and have we have shopped locations. We decided to stay put and simply travel for two-three months during the winter. Solved two issues for us. Our desire to avoid winter and our desire to travel to areas that are on our respective bucket lists. So far so good. Already doing some planning and shopping for next winter. We are good to go after Boxing Day and return in mid/late March...sometimes closer to Easter.

 

[dixonge]

Agreed. We travel all over the place in the summer now that parents have passed on to visit the extended family.

As for SoCal oceanfront, have you folks never experienced the Gray in May and the Gloom in June? We found La Jolla to be bone chilling when we stayed there.

And the locals said "Oh yea it is like this every year." And. of course the ocean is only marginally fit for swimming without a wetsuit in August/September. Pretty to look at though...

When we went through California several years ago, we were generally surprised at the cool temps at the beach in May/June, from Santa Monica Pier all the way up through Oregon. I felt very deceived by Baywatch! LOL

That's when I understood the famous quote (usually falsely attributed to Mark Twain):

The coldest winter I ever spent was a summer in San Francisco.

 

[rocketjockey]

For weather about as good but still in Ca consider Santa Maria/San Luis Obispo, which are at least not as large.

Hush! We are all full here......

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Problem with moving to a place like California, especially SoCAL is the RE Taxes would be prohibitive because of the home prices. We would get half the home (That is OK as we are looking to downsize by 30% or so), away from the beach, a lot older, and pay a lot more RE Taxes.

 

[Fedup]

Ocean front property here is at least $4million, coastal property is not the same as ocean front. Ocean front means a stone throw away from the beach. Coastal property from city like San Juan Capistrano or San Clemente can be less than $2 Million. I just looked at the new homes in OC.
Living on the beach, like Warren Buffet's house in Laguna Beach is about $15Million.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Ocean front property here is at least $4million, coastal property is not the same as ocean front. Ocean front means a stone throw away. Coastal property like San Juan Capistrano or San Clemente can be less than $2 Million. I just looked at the new homes in OC.

Still out of my league.

 

[Koolau]

Friends live right in the center of a very, very big tourist town. A tourist actually asked them once "ok, but after here, where do you really live?".

The tourist really thought that people mowing lawns, painting houses and bringing out the trash was all part of some sort of living museum exhibit and that once the lights go out, everybody leaves the town empty and goes to sleep somewhere else.

Reminds me of a cruise we took years ago. At the orientation, some lady asked "Does the crew sleep on the ship at night?" I thought to myself about the old saying "Better to keep quiet and be thought a fool than open your mouth and remove all doubt."

Fielding questions about Hawaii from tourists can be sort of fun, but can be a bit shocking as well. One guy seemed surprised that "white" people actually lived on the Island. I didn't know whether to break into the old Sunday school song "...red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight..." and hope that he would just drift away - or just ignore him. Instead I tried to educate him (and I hope I did.) I told him "We are ALL minorities here - and that's the way we like it."

 

[kgtest]

That's sort of what I'm doing now although the vacations aren't long. Every month or so I have been taking 5-7 days off and going somewhere. This year I've been to Puerto Rico, Scottsdale AZ, and So Cal. There is just something about that So Cal lifestyle that I yearn to taste- being minutes from the beach, pleasant outdoor living with low humidity and no mosquitos.... I suppose I could just go out there frequently and maybe rent a place through airbnb but not sure it would be the same as having our own place with our own stuff

Try grabbing a steak dinner in downtown san diego on a Friday night...that might change your mind.