©ALL CONTENT OF THIS WEBSITE IS COPYRIGHTED AND CANNOT BE REPRODUCED WITHOUT THE ADMINISTRATORS CONSENT 2003-2020



West Coast cities

Sully

AnaSCI VET / Donating Member
Dec 3, 2012
3,324
0
36
Ok, so in 5 years I'll be retiring from my current career and starting career #2. I would prefer to live somewhere on the west coast. I've checked out Portland, OR, and I really like it. The only problem is the cost of living is outrageous there. It even rivals many cities in California.

So, what are the cities on the West Coast that are on the come up? A medium sized city with good infrastructure and job market that's growing at a fair pace, with nice mild weather and a relaxed feel is what I'm after. Something like Portland, but with a more reasonable cost of living. I've been down to San Luis Obispo in CA, and it's really nice down there, but the job market is a little stagnant, and cost of living is still fairly high.

It can even be West Coast adjacent. Recently, I've been hearing some good things about Boise, Idaho. I'm open to any suggestions guys. Where should I look at?
 

K1

Blue-Eyed Devil...
Jun 25, 2006
5,046
1
38
I moved from the East Coast down to FL last year...Better weather, cheaper living and quiet!

Not sure I would live on the West Coast...too expensive for what they offer?!
 

Sully

AnaSCI VET / Donating Member
Dec 3, 2012
3,324
0
36
I moved from the East Coast down to FL last year...Better weather, cheaper living and quiet!

Not sure I would live on the West Coast...too expensive for what they offer?!

Florida isn't in the equation for me. Been there a dozen or so times, hated it every single time. The weather always seemed terrible. If I wanted to spend the rest of my life being hot, humid, and miserable I'd just stay in Kentucky.

I'm thinking more like 70 degree average temperatures, rather than 90.
 

Sully

AnaSCI VET / Donating Member
Dec 3, 2012
3,324
0
36
San Diego.... hands down

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Tapatalk

Not the first time I've heard that suggestion. Cost of living still seems a little absurd, though. Had a good weekend there once when I got back from Iraq. Not sure if I'm pretty enough to live there!

With so many recommendations, I may have to go ahead and put San Diego on the short list.
 

K1

Blue-Eyed Devil...
Jun 25, 2006
5,046
1
38
Florida isn't in the equation for me. Been there a dozen or so times, hated it every single time. The weather always seemed terrible. If I wanted to spend the rest of my life being hot, humid, and miserable I'd just stay in Kentucky.

I'm thinking more like 70 degree average temperatures, rather than 90.

I agree it's HOT...But cheap for the amount of property you can buy and having central air and the pool takes care of the heat:cool:
 

Sully

AnaSCI VET / Donating Member
Dec 3, 2012
3,324
0
36
I agree it's HOT...But cheap for the amount of property you can buy and having central air and the pool takes care of the heat:cool:

True, cheap is good. That's why I'm looking for alternatives to Portland.

Anyone have any experience in Seattle?
 

lycan Venom

AnaSCI VET / Donating Member
Nov 22, 2013
1,963
7
38
Just bring your ass out here to san diego like ive been bugging about for the past 2 years. Cost of living is not bad in certain parts over here and if i can make it here in the affluent area, you can do it a lot easier. Plenty of starbucks.

But good thing you have 5 years to wait. We are past due for another national recession. May be a big tech burst from what many economist are predicting. No telling how it will truly affect everything as the #'s for our GDP, unemployment rate, etc. are not accuretly reported. Hopefully it hits sooner than later and the newly legalized agricultural crop will help to boost this state's economy.
 

Sully

AnaSCI VET / Donating Member
Dec 3, 2012
3,324
0
36
I'm definitely gonna come out and visit u and let u show me around sometime. Gotta go out tuna fishing while I'm there. I need to bring a couple hundred pounds of bluefin home with me.
 

lycan Venom

AnaSCI VET / Donating Member
Nov 22, 2013
1,963
7
38
Come check out SD now. We can go fishing until late september for yellow fin tuna around mexican water all the way up to santa barbara.
 

*Bio*

Super Moderator
Oct 30, 2012
2,454
5
38
I'm in Northern California and there are cheaper places like the Central Valley but you wouldn't want to live there. I have several friends that moved to Idaho recently...I don't know what the attraction is besides cheap living. I'm a native Californian and I'm not moving anywhere that snows!

The other thing is that it's hard to predict where real estate will be at 5 years from now.
 

Sully

AnaSCI VET / Donating Member
Dec 3, 2012
3,324
0
36
I'm a native Californian and I'm not moving anywhere that snows!

The other thing is that it's hard to predict where real estate will be at 5 years from now.

Agreed on the snow. When I was younger I didn't get why people didn't like it. Now, I'd be just fine if I never saw it again. I won't rule anywhere out completely just because of snow, but places without snow definitely go to the top of the list.
 

Sully

AnaSCI VET / Donating Member
Dec 3, 2012
3,324
0
36
Come check out SD now. We can go fishing until late september for yellow fin tuna around mexican water all the way up to santa barbara.

You know you ain't got time to be dragging me around and fishing right now. You don't even have time to cook a decent meal for the cycle you're on!

I couldn't do right now anyways. Too many coals in the fire, same as you. Might be able to swing something middle part of next yea, though. I'll be in Big Bear for my sister's wedding in February, next year. Might be able to extend the trip a little.
 

lycan Venom

AnaSCI VET / Donating Member
Nov 22, 2013
1,963
7
38
You know you ain't got time to be dragging me around and fishing right now. You don't even have time to cook a decent meal for the cycle you're on!

I couldn't do right now anyways. Too many coals in the fire, same as you. Might be able to swing something middle part of next yea, though. I'll be in Big Bear for my sister's wedding in February, next year. Might be able to extend the trip a little.


Thats usually when I take the family to a cabin for the snow. Mybe we will run into eachother!
 

Sandpig

AnaSCI VET
Mar 22, 2014
1,546
0
0
SIN CITY
Come to Vegas.
Way cheaper than CA

The gyms are open 24 hrs as are lots of places for food.

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 

Sully

AnaSCI VET / Donating Member
Dec 3, 2012
3,324
0
36
Come to Vegas.
Way cheaper than CA

The gyms are open 24 hrs as are lots of places for food.

I like Vegas, I really do. And I'm not talking about the Strip and the casinos and the standard touristy stuff. I've had a lot of family that lived there, and we used to go all the time when I was growing up. Been to a couple classes out there for the Fire Department that are put on by Deparment of Homeland Security at the nuclear test site. There's a lot of great stuff in Vegas that makes it appealing.

And then there's the weather.....I'm trying to move away from miserably hot summers, not go somewhere that it gets in the triple digits. And spare me the old line about "dry heat". Iraq was plenty dry too, and it still sucked. Once it hits triple digits, the humidity no longer matters. I just don't want to sweat during summer anymore, unless I'm in the gym.

Vegas is a place that I love to visit, but I don't think I could ever live there.

I thought the COL had gone back up since the housing market had recovered? I know it was dirt cheap there for a few years, relatively speaking. Figured it would have rebounded by now.
 

Sandpig

AnaSCI VET
Mar 22, 2014
1,546
0
0
SIN CITY
I like Vegas, I really do. And I'm not talking about the Strip and the casinos and the standard touristy stuff. I've had a lot of family that lived there, and we used to go all the time when I was growing up. Been to a couple classes out there for the Fire Department that are put on by Deparment of Homeland Security at the nuclear test site. There's a lot of great stuff in Vegas that makes it appealing.

And then there's the weather.....I'm trying to move away from miserably hot summers, not go somewhere that it gets in the triple digits. And spare me the old line about "dry heat". Iraq was plenty dry too, and it still sucked. Once it hits triple digits, the humidity no longer matters. I just don't want to sweat during summer anymore, unless I'm in the gym.

Vegas is a place that I love to visit, but I don't think I could ever live there.

I thought the COL had gone back up since the housing market had recovered? I know it was dirt cheap there for a few years, relatively speaking. Figured it would have rebounded by now.
You're right about the COL. Never said it was dirt cheap.
Just cheaper than CA. Which is not hard to do unless you are in Hawaii.
 

Sully

AnaSCI VET / Donating Member
Dec 3, 2012
3,324
0
36
I meant dirt cheap, relative to what it was before the housing market crash. And yeah, it's hard to compete with SoCal when it comes to COL. Downtown San Francisco and Silicon Valley might be the only places that higher on the west coast.