The other place that Micah and I dream of moving to is San Diego. This is probably Micah’s number one pick. Nashville is my number one, but San Diego is pretty tough competition…
He dreams of having a house right on the beach and wants our kids to grow up surfing. It doesn’t sound too shabby to me… Here is the thing. My husband was born for the beach. He is a California boy at heart. I think he was born in the wrong state. When we go to California, he just fits in instantly. He runs for the beach, surf board in hand. After an hour or two of surfing, he will come back to the sandy shore to rest and eat a picnic lunch. He then goes out surfing one more time before calling it a day and riding around town on his skateboard to hunt down his afternoon snack or the best place to get fish and chips for dinner. When he’s not wearing a wet suit, he is dressed in a tank top and board shorts and just soaking up the perfectly sunny, seventy-five degree weather. You would think he was a local…
Here are some pics from our recent weekend in San Diego…
So what do you think? Again, there are pros and cons. The two huge pros are clearly the ocean and the best year-round weather you could ever ask for. Also, there is just a fun, carefree feeling in California. It’s kind of its own little world. There are also four great universities in San Diego and I would be happy working at any of them. However there are clear cons as well. Expensive cost of living, high taxes, messed up government. And it never gets really HOT there, and I kinda like really hot weather sometimes…
Please share your thoughts… would you rather live on a peaceful lake in Tennessee or the lively beach in California OR some place totally different? I would love to hear your ideas.
This is too funny…did you know I looked at TN schools too? I'm so excited to be moving to San Diego, but I absolutely loved Nashville and really all of TN! And I totally relate to the horse dream! I think we should be neighbors!
Great pics! I LOVE San Diego, we go and visit almost every year. I for sure would choose the beach. I cry everytime I have to leave.
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Having grown up in San Diego my whole life, I will say that it really is one of the most beautiful places in the whole world 🙂
However, you nailed a few really good points of why it might detour you elsewhere. It is very appealing from the "outside looking in." When you live there, it's a place to live. There is so much to do. I have great childhood memories of sailing, hiking and going to all of the museums and parks.
SD unfortunately is not the place our parents migrated to anymore. It's getting more and more crowded and it is VERY expensive to live there. Comfortably, of course. Do you guys want to travel a lot moving forward? Do you want to be a stay at home mom, or have the option of being one down the road? Do you want your children to be able to afford to live there? Those are just some thoughts that we have pondered.
Another thing we have REALLY noticed now that we are in AZ is how materialistic CA is. There really is a lot of pressure to look a certain way, whether that's what you wear, what you drive, or what you do. I've told myself my whole life that it's a choice to feel pressured, but almost everyone I've ever known who has lived there has felt the same way subconciously :/
Not to by cynical, just offering a perspective of someone who's been there for over 26 years 🙂 It really is an AMAZING city and if you can do it, do it! If you want some more flexibility financially, I would say go to TN! Both places would be amazing!!!
P.S. Don't hate me after this post 🙂
great blog! found you via gussy 🙂 i'll be following now 🙂
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Hi there… I found you via Gussy, but I wanted to weigh in on your debate about SD vs. TN. 🙂
My hubby and I live in So. Orange County, less than an hour from SD. SoCal is a beautiful place to live, to be sure, and we are grateful for our time here. However, we're both transplants (He's from TX, I'm from OR,) and we know we probably won't be here forever.
For one thing, it's incredibly expensive. We have a comfortable life, but we don't get to travel as much as we'd like, nor will we be able to buy a house here because of the cost of living. For right now, it's worth it – we have great friends and we both work a lot and spend our weekends on the beach – but I don't think I want that forever.
Also, the culture is not overly friendly. People tend to ignore their neighbors for years, not out of spite or meanness, but just because it's a fast-paced, self-centered lifestyle here. If you want a more communal style of living (like TN) I think you might be unhappy here.
Also, if you are entrepreneurial, CA is a very hard state to do business in. Taxes are high, regulations are ridiculous and the politics can be very frustrating.
It's a beautiful, fun place to live for a season and I have no doubt to you would love it… although I admit that the Nashville idea would tempt me greatly – we visited last year and were IN LOVE with the scenery and friendly people!
Hope you find what you're looking for, wherever you go! I'll be bookmarking your blog… I love it! 🙂
Beautiful photos!
LOVE San Diego. I miss it so much! We just moved to Texas after being in Oceanside for 6 years. We lived about 6 blocks from the beach and I would take walks or ride my bike there all the time. We definitely would love to go back sometime. It will forever be my favorite home.
Hi! I keep forgetting to mention that I really want to link your button on my blog but it's not working for me 🙁 LMK if it's on my end! God bless!
San Diego is by far my favorite place, and some place I hope to live! I was born a California girl, and it's still in my blood.
But I do have a thing for Nashville ever since college, I've had a itch to live in the South. 🙂
Funny that Texas is your favorite place because San Diego is my favorite place on earth!!
We live in Fort Worth. It's a little too hot for me and the traffic is outrageous. But we're here for a time (while my husband is in school) and then we'll probably move on.
can taht be my backyard too please? ha! LOve your pictures…..you are so cute!
xxoo
Let me throw something completely diffferent into the debate…don't forget about Micah's birthplace! There's some land in North Dakota that was homesteaded by Micah's ancestors that should stay in the family. No ocean in site, but lots of heritage!