Well, we thought we did. After 3 winters of this we are out of here. That isn't acutally our car, but it is our neighborhood.
The winter weather in northern Illinois is cold, icy, salty roads, cars are always dirty, windy, cloudy/gray, and did I mention cold? We thought it would be a simpler life, but life is tough no matter where you live so I want to live where it is warm! No more icy winters please. If I want to see snow, I'll be glad to drive to the mountains. It'll give me something to do.
Also, property taxes are high in this area. For a $160,000 house we paid $3700 per year with a 10 day grace period. You don't pay it in 10 days, tax sale here we come! Heating bills are easily $180 to $220 per month for a 1,750 square foot house.
Summers are very pretty, and so is fall, but these winters can be long and drawn out. I also miss the variety of landscapes that you can see out west. Here, you can drive 4 hours in any direction and it looks the same as where you left.
8 comments:
You're smart. You only "wasted" three years. You're a lot smarter than we were!
We did the same thing and moved from California to Iowa for the "simple life." We wound up staying there for ten years.
We are now happily back in California after trying and trying to adjust to the difference in Iowa.
Not only was the weather horrible, but the jobs and neighbors were just as bad. So glad to be gone.
Good for you in figuring out that life is too short to be miserable.
Its something about the midwest people they seem to be stuck in the old ways. They do not like change.
I moved from California to Oregon 7 years ago and have not looked back. I go back to visit family once every other year and am loving life in the new place. There is growth taking place here as more Californians get the same idea. I want them to come and drive up my property value, so when I leave again I do so with a large chunk of their money!
"Its something about the midwest people they seem to be stuck in the old ways. They do not like change."
Absolutely right. They still think it's stupid to pay $600,000 for a tiny 1500-square-foot sh**box.
The offended Midwesterners should hold their fire. I myself have family in Columbus, OH. I went to college in northern Ohio.
And I live in the wine country north of San Francisco. You figure out what's important to you in life and act accordingly. I hate humidity; I dislike snow, at least when it's foisted on me (as opposed to something I can drive to if I so desire); cold, in general, turns me off.
Color me wuss, but I have neither need nor desire to prove my non-wuss-ness by going through midwestern winters. Or East Coast summers. Particularly August in Washington DC, when walking for five minutes means your shirt is soaked through with sweat in the humidity.
So, I somewhat work around the absurd housing prices (having bought in '01 and holding a 30 year fixed at 6.125%), the terrible commutes (by working mostly from my home)and the flakiness that is endemic to the Bay Area (by trying not to contribute to said flakiness).
And, I thank my lucky stars that March 10, 2007 in the wine country is bright blue sky, about 70 degrees, a very slight breeze and zero humidity. Great day for a walk with the dogs.
Couldn't have said it any better Wine Country Guy. I will be out there in three short months. Today it is 45 degrees, yesterday was 38, and there is still ice on the lakes. Some people love it though, it just isn't my deal. If I have to live in a Sh**box I would rather not freeze when I walk out the door.
big whoop. i live in dallas where winter 40 degrees celcius is "cold".
our property taxes are the same, and keeping my 2000sqft home at 77 degrees in the 100+ degree texas heat for 4 months of summer costs $500 a month.
stop whining
Who's whining anon? It is all a matter of personal preference. By the way, 40 degrees celsius is pretty damn hot for winter: 40 celsius is 104 fahrenheit.
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