Moving my family to southern California

[Cantfindmyplace86]

So! We live in Northern Ireland. Me, husband and 3 homeschooled kids.
I'm an American Citizen and so are my kids. Husband is getting sorted.
We are absolutely sick of the weather. Its too depressing for me and my kids tend to be in the house too often. We are definitely outdoors on rainy days that are not too windy or freezing.
We want to move to southern California. I'm originally from NYC but we want that good weather.
We wouldn't be super wealthy in California. But would build towards it. We aren't very young either. 40 Yr olds.
Kids are 4, 6 & 8
We are comfortable financially in Ireland.
Loads more homeschooling activities in Cali.
But we'd be taking the kids away from thier family (my inlaws) the thoughts does make me nauseous.
We'd need to maneuver when we get there. Build credit and all that.
I wish there was a way to financially be in California 3 months Out of the year. Or maybe somewhere warm. But is that feasible?
We don't own a house in Ireland.
We kind of love nothing tying us down.
Uni will be cheaper in Northern Ireland for sure.
My husband wants to live that Cali life.
I'm scared bc he isn't very outgoing. And I'm the one doing all the research and organizing this whole thing.
I'd say I'm not overly happy in Ireland.
I could do with moving back to NYC.
What would you recommend?
Thanks for reaching

[mtw]

Don't move to Southern CA. Politics are dreadful. The state is a mess. Rife with drugs, homelessness and you'll have the left agenda shoved down your throat. Plus so expensive. You must be very wealthy to be considering cali. Find a state with a better quality of life and go for it!

[Whataretalkingabout]

Your kids are at a great age ( while you can still control them) for an international move. Do it now as it gets harder the older they are.
And do your own research on cost to see if you can afford living in CA. There are cheaper states in the sun like AZ, NM, TX that might appeal to you.
You only live once, go for it!

[Froniga]

Hi
i agree with mtw’s post
do not move to California for all the reasons stated.
My father lives in St George Utah. I’ve visited him many times - I live in UK. Had I the opportunity I wouldn’t have hesitated to move here - visiting at the moment. It seems very safe, reasonable cost of living.
You would need to find work - or your husband would. But I’d say go for it. Nearest airport is Las Vegas and they run a Shuttle (St George Shuttle)to and from the airport to St George. Do look into it. Weather is fabulous. 71 degrees today. Very nice and sunny and lots of parks, trails, outdoor things to do. The choice of fresh produce and indeed all things imaginable are available in store. Your family can visit once you’re settled.

[SpicySunshine]

Where in SoCal are you planning to be? It's great here, but it is expensive.

[britinnyc]

Ignore the people saying Southern California is a mess, that is a giant overstatement. Yes it is expensive but aside from certain areas it is not overrun with homeless people and drugs are not shoved down your throat. My standard of living in SoCal is 1000 times better than the UK. The weather makes a huge difference but the outlook on life is jsut so much more positive. We have everything on our doorstep, Beach, mountains, desert. A strong job market in almost all sectors. Yes crime has probably increased recently, as it has everywhere but it is still very safe and I feel safer here than in London and feel that crime impacts my life less than it does friends/family in the UK. My kids have an amazing lifestyle and attend public schools with a range of opportunities that I have never seen in the UK, at state or private schools. Yes, the good areas are expensive but jobs also pay higher. And In-line always laugh at the part about the woke left agenda, our politics ate complicated but generally are more akin to those of Europe than anywhere else in the US, systems in place to protect employees and citizens, the right like to call it a work agenda but in general it is more along the lines of trying to protect the citizens of the state

[TheSandgroper]

I am a little concerned that your husband wants the life but isn’t very outgoing, isn’t doing any of the research etc.

Moving yourself is one thing (as you know) but moving a family is huge. Who would be working and who would be schooling and would that be a healthy situation?

If your DH has been able to coast a lot of his life wrt life, family, friends, work etc I would strongly suggest counselling before going much further into the process.

[BreakfastAtMimis]

Nothing could persuade me to move to an active earthquake zone but you do you, OP.

[Ridiculous24]

Cornwall??

[MrsTerryPratchett]

Small children, introvert DH, no family, homeschooling?

When and how is everyone making friends?

[user1477391263]

If you have not done so already, you and your family need to do some prolongued visits to Southern Cali and really be sure that this is the place for you. California has this lovely dreamy sounding image which no doubt feels tempting and exciting for outsiders, especially if they are wrestling with crap weather all the time. In reality, it has upsides and downsides like everywhere else. From what American friends have told me, the safety/public order side of California does seem to have deteriorated in the past decade, so I'd suggest that it's really important to check out the area you are thinking of and spend time there, so that you are really sure.

[WalkingaroundJardine]

I am not in Southern California or even the US but I do live in a warmer country. I would take care with expectations that you will be outside all the time living the outdoor life in the sun. Climate change has really impacted hot countries so as to make it almost unbearable in Summer, together with more wildfires in general, which makes the air quality terrible.
You are reduced to living doors with the air conditioning and or air purifiers going. Being super hot is also very uncomfortable and bad for your health. I would ask more Southern Californians if that is the case for them.

[knitnerd90]

It is interesting on here how if you want to move to California people will scream about the left wing agenda but if you want to move to say the Deep South you'll get told no because God and guns...

At any rate you really need to work out financials. Southern California is really expensive, unless you want to live 2 hours inland and roast in the desert (and not all of that is cheap, either). And you'll need to sponsor him for his visa, which means you need savings or a co-sponsor.

[garlictwist]

Oh god I would do it in a heart beat. So the US has its issues, so does the UK. I grew up in NI and it's so grey and bleak. I have friends who moved to LA with their kid. We went to visit and it was incredible. What a different life. Do it.

[alwayscrashinginthesamecar1]

If you can afford it, do it. I'm from NI and couldn't get out quick enough. I ended up in Western Australia and the quality of life is much better. And the weather is glorious! I'm planning a trip back to see family in NI soon, and to be honest much as I can't wait to see everyone, I am dreading the weather!

[Navyblueblazer]

In the UK its non stop bad news about the USA, even though most of the country is unaffected by issues that people stress about on MN. Our lives have been unaffected by anything in the past few years, even COVID lockdown wasn't stressful as we have plenty of space inside and out. Our quality of life is high where we live, we are in the Pacific Northwest though so not the same climate as SoCal.

[Sunflowergirl1]

We are moving back abroad after coming back to the U.K. a few years ago. We are utterly sick of it...and not referring to the weather. The whole place is broken and no thanks to the politicians (of all creeds).

We are doing our thorough planning. However, it does sound like you need to do a lot more research and thought before you decide where to move to

[LittleWeed2]

Only thing is that California is a big place. Cities are big and sprawling. You need to find job/s then suss out housing etc after that. And make sure DH is entitled to a work visa.

[RemarkablyBrightCreature]

@Ridiculous24

Cornwall??

They want good weather - won’t get that in Cornwall 😄

[mitogoshi]

Just be aware that the USA is so expensive! I've lived there and most things were at least double if not triple - I'm not talking about food (though supermarkets are more expensive) I'm talking about the day to day living costs: broadband, mobile phone contracts, kids activities, car insurance, housing (location dependent), household goods ... and you can't even get an electric kettle that boils in a reasonable amount of time!

Wages are higher on average but you need to be in decent employment, and due to the way city laws work, if you work in say a shop outside of the city limits you may be paid less per hour as cities can set their own minimum wages. Many jobs require a masters I found too.

I would definitely try to line up work before you leave because it's not as simple as you think