If you follow me on Instagram, you’ve probably heard that we are saying goodbye to California, and hello to Florida! Our new home will be ready sometime early 2021, but I wanted to share some of the reasons why we are making the Sunshine State our home. It definitely wasn’t an easy decision, but every day I feel more and more like it was the right decision for us.
To find out about our process for narrowing down a neighborhood, click here!
And to read about our design center experience, click here!
To read about what to expect at a home walk-through, click here!
Leaving California Behind
Don’t get me wrong: California is a beautiful state. Hundreds of miles of coastline, mountains, desert, and year-round moderate temperatures make this a fantastic state to live in. Culturally, California is extremely diverse – craving Mexican food? Sushi? Pho? French pastries? In every major metropolitan area you can find dozens of eateries to please a variety of flavor palates. Looking for something to do? Theme parks, museums, parks, surfing, skiing, hiking.. we have it all!
So why would we leave such an awesome state?
The enormous cost of living is the single biggest drawback of living in such a beautiful, diverse place. As of writing, Redfin reports a median sales price of $795,000 for homes in Orange County. Yikes.
“But, you don’t have to live in Orange County!” one may think. While that’s true, what would it mean for us to move away from Orange County, but still stay in California?
-a 1 hour+ drive to visit family and friends
-I would need to quit my job, and even if I started a new career, I would need to arrange for babysitting for our son (right now we are very blessed to have grandparents watch him 2 days a week). We would likely be a one-income family, as hiring a babysitter would negate the benefits of me working.
-we would be on the hook for California state income taxes
-we would still be paying a lot of money to fill up our gas tanks, as the tax on gas per gallon in California sits at just over 50 cents
So it came down to this: if we left Orange County, but stayed in California – although our housing expenses may go down, we would be a one income family, but still be responsible for some of the costs of living that you can’t escape just by leaving Orange County: namely, the state taxes and gas taxes, along with other high expenses of living here. We would not see our families as often as we do now, because let’s face it – once the weekend hits, are we going to be driving 1+ hours each direction to see family? Probably not.
Leaving Family & Friends Behind
I’m not going to lie to you, the biggest roadblock in making our final decision to leave was the thought of saying goodbye to family and friends. On my husband’s side, he’s got his parents, his brother and brother’s wife (with a baby on the way), his grandmother, his aunt & uncle and their two daughters, one of whom is married with a newborn. All within a ten minute drive. On my side, I have my parents and a set of grandparents within a ten minute drive. I have additional extended family members about an hour away. We are beyond blessed to have such a close circle of family on both sides, so close. As far as our friends go – many have already left southern California. We only have a few close friends, and coworkers, that we see occasionally.
If we stayed in California, we would be staying to be close with our family and friends. However, we would probably move an hour or more away from our close family and remaining friends, so we wouldn’t see them as often as we do now, which brought us to the idea of moving out of state.
Why Florida?
Out of all the states we could have moved to, we chose to make central Florida our home. A lot of people have said “UGH! Why Florida?!” and given us crazy looks. Here’s why:
-the weather: yes, the heat and humidity are unavoidable. If it were up to my husband, he’d live in snow! He knows I can’t tolerate snow, so central Florida was a good compromise for us. It rains nearly daily for a good chunk of the year – he loves the rain, I don’t. I thrive in heat, and with the right preparation, humidity doesn’t bother me.
-tax-friendly climate: no state income tax and other financial factors make this a good financial decision for us.
-similar amenities as our home in Orange County: the beach is a little over an hour away in either direction, there are a multitude of theme parks nearby, professional sports teams about an hour away, and a variety of restaurants & shops. Not to mention gorgeous nature trails and tons of lakes!
-lots of young families are moving to the area: having our children grow up with other young people is important to us, and since so many people are flocking to central Florida, it should be easy to make friends and establish roots.
The Bottom Line
Looking at all these factors, we will be able to provide our children with a better life than what they would have here in California. As I said, it was not an easy decision to make, but when it came down to actually making the decision we realized, “why wait? Why not provide a better life for our children now?”
Yes, we will miss our family and friends. Yes, we will have to find a new church and make new friends. Yes, I am quitting my job and will need to establish a new identity as full-time stay at home mom. Yes, we are going to work hard to maintain relationships back in California.
Is it scary? Absolutely. But totally worth it for the better life we’ll be able to provide for our family.
What’s Next?
For now, we are still in southern California, living with family until our house is done sometime around February. In my next post in this series, I’ll be detailing our home search as well as the design process for the home we picked!
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