School me on Huntington Beach

[BHC Vic]

Fixed it for ya sir! Cruise down here and come to Hotrods and Handguns one evening Vic, I promise its not that bad here

It could be just the Huntington Beach guys I work with. It’s just not my style

rent at this place is nuts!! But for a single guy like Aaron I can totally get it it.
He’s at pacific city

 

[GET SOME]

I like HB I have lived here 20 years. If you are a Havasu / Parker guy and living in CA is required you will find a spot you like there. A few of general coastal focused areas:
* South Magnolia / Brookhurst areas - nice suburban homes - quite. Great access to schools. I like that section of beach and boardwalk path. Nice bike ride to Newport Beach. I have a couple of friends that live there and really like the neighborhood.
* Beach Blvd North - Downtown - I lived there for 15 years moved there when I was 25. It is a lot of fun but you really need to go into it eyes wide open. We were a little ways off main st. so We could walk or quick bike to chaos but when the new Pacific City development finished it brought a lot more traffic to area. You can still find low key places but they will be a few blocks in land. There are a few gated areas in the downtown section as you head north. Downtown HB has a mall now. It is very commercial but it is still HB. Not crazy about my boys hanging out there in there teens so we moved North.
* Sea Cliff - north of downtown Golden West / Sea Pointe off of PCH - this area is nice. Brother in law lives over here. Mostly if not all gated communities if that is your thing. Big houses, parks, really quite, places to walk other than the beach. I would say a more mellow, older crowd.
* Huntington Harbour - Warner North along PCH / Edinger / Bolsa Chica - Sunset Beach leading into Seal Beach. I live here now. Older crowd with less tourists. Paddleboarding and boating, quiet neighborhood. Two of my neighbors have places in Parker. Gun club up the street and work is pretty close without getting on freeway.

So take your pick - there are a lot of nice places heading inland going towards Fountain Valley. I have a bunch of friends that live south in Costa Mesa (outskirts of Newport Beach). In closing if you are going to live in CA you better like the place you live because you pay for it.

Pretty much the best advice in this entire thread

Anything south of adams between beach blvd and brookhurst.

Pacific city did bring a lot of tourists but it gives a lot of options for places to eat.

Main Street has gone down hill fast


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[TCHB]

Here is a pic of one of daughter’s growing up in HB.

 

[HBCraig]

It could be just the Huntington Beach guys I work with. It’s just not my style

rent at this place is nuts!! But for a single guy like Aaron I can totally get it it.
He’s at pacific city
View attachment 1026758

Pacific City is crazy expensive. Like 5K to 6K a month for some apartments

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Holy Crap way more replies and suggestions than I expected. I'm going to have to reread it all and take down some notes. I appreciate the advice and real world experiences good and bad. Budget for a home will be around 1-1.2mil maybe higher slightly..I have my GC license so im open to finding something we remodel before moving in...I'm after a pretty simple 3/2 house...nothing fancy.

@HB2Havasu Private schools would be on our list, whether it's California or Hawaii. Hawaii schools are awful..and seem to all be in the 20-25k a year range. Only plus on Hawaii is that both of them will get around half of their tuition paid by scholarships/grants.

Hawaii on the other hand. I could probably do a little house on Maui with some chickens running around. I don’t know though every time I go to Hawaii I’m ready to come home after a week or two.

It's different when you grow up there and all of your family and friends are on island...but I get it...I get that way about other places including havasu..after 10 days or so im cooked and ready to go home.

 

[WildHorses24]

Holy Crap way more replies and suggestions than I expected. I'm going to have to reread it all and take down some notes. I appreciate the advice and real world experiences good and bad. Budget for a home will be around 1-1.2mil maybe higher slightly..I have my GC license so im open to finding something we remodel before moving in...I'm after a pretty simple 3/2 house...nothing fancy.

@HB2Havasu Private schools would be on our list, whether it's California or Hawaii. Hawaii schools are awful..and seem to all be in the 20-25k a year range. Only plus on Hawaii is that both of them will get around half of their tuition paid by scholarships/grants.



It's different when you grow up there and all of your family and friends are on island...but I get it...I get that way about other places including havasu..after 10 days or so im cooked and ready to go home.

I personally think the HBUSD is on par with the private schools like Huntington Christian etc. HCS is at the end of our street but can’t justify the extra cost since we’ve been so happy with the public schools. No CRT, LBGTQ gender studies, etc. My boys are in Moffett Elementary and we’re really happy with the experience so far. We all know kids that grew up in private schools and turned out to be losers and public schools that are extremely successful. We keep ours busy with Baseball, football, Jr Guards and anything else we can. Once you get involved with the community you find it’s a great place to raise kids with great like minded families.

 

[WildHorses24]

Here is a pic of one of daughter’s growing up in HB. View attachment 1026761

This was Friday, my oldest is somewhere in the second row.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Dirtbag]

id stay south of huntington....huntington is a tourist trap which brings in all the rough people....newport, laguna, san clemente, oceanside would be far superior imo

 

[TCHB]

This was Friday, my oldest is somewhere in the second row. View attachment 1026777


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Great program!

 

[Ace in the Hole]

id stay south of huntington....huntington is a tourist trap which brings in all the rough people....newport, laguna, san clemente, oceanside would be far superior imo

One of my college buddies lives in Laguna, and his brother that im also good friends with lives in Dana. We've got some time to figure things out. Brianna has this last year of school left, I don't want her to have to transfer again. Much like when we moved to TX, once we make a decision I'll probably go first and then back and forth till the fam bam can follow.

 

[HNL2LHC]

I personally think the HBUSD is on par with the private schools like Huntington Christian etc. HCS is at the end of our street but can’t justify the extra cost since we’ve been so happy with the public schools. No CRT, LBGTQ gender studies, etc. My boys are in Moffett Elementary and we’re really happy with the experience so far. We all know kids that grew up in private schools and turned out to be losers and public schools that are extremely successful. We keep ours busy with Baseball, football, Jr Guards and anything else we can. Once you get involved with the community you find it’s a great place to raise kids with great like minded families.

Yep.....no guarantee in either direction. There were two reasons we chose private in Hawaii. Public is one of the worst in the country and the school was expected to drive the kids. It took a little off of the wife and my plate. The reason that we chose the school that we did is because it was the largest and if for some crazy reason our son did not go to college he had the biggest pool of contacts that could open doors for him.

Best of luck Joel I think that both options could work.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Yep.....no guarantee in either direction. There were two reasons we chose private in Hawaii. Public is one of the worst in the country and the school was expected to drive the kids. It took a little off of the wife and my plate. The reason that we chose the school that we did is because it was the largest and if for some crazy reason our son did not go to college he had the biggest pool of contacts that could open doors for him.

Best of luck Joel I think that both options could work.

If we go back to HI, this point is exactly why the kids will go to private.. A lot of doors opened for me just because of the pool of friends I had growing up, as well as the connections within my family. Where you went to HS matters far more there than anywhere else I've ever been. We have about a year to figure out our plan, and what's meant to happen will. Thanks Tim, my plans this week changed (MaK got sick and was in the hospital overnight Friday, so I may not go till the end of the month or in august after we go to Havasu). We'll either see you in havasu or Ill meet you on island.

 

[DBMX]

We've lived in HB for close to 20 years and love it. We're a few miles from downtown (Beach and Atlanta) which is perfect. Not too far of a beach cruiser ride, but away from the mess and tourists.

Like any other large cities, its got its good areas and its bad areas and positives and negatives. IMO the positives far outweigh the negatives.

I do laugh at all the comments from people who don't live here or never have telling everyone how much it sucks.

 

[HNL2LHC]

If we go back to HI, this point is exactly why the kids will go to private.. A lot of doors opened for me just because of the pool of friends I had growing up, as well as the connections within my family. Where you went to HS matters far more there than anywhere else I've ever been. We have about a year to figure out our plan, and what's meant to happen will. Thanks Tim, my plans this week changed (MaK got sick and was in the hospital overnight Friday, so I may not go till the end of the month or in august after we go to Havasu). We'll either see you in havasu or Ill meet you on island.

So true in Hawaii everyone wants to know the high school you went to more than college. LOL Sorry to hear of the news of the hospital trips. How all is on the right path for you and the family. I head back to Havasu for Aug and will be back in Hawaii the 2nd week of Sept for about 6 weeks. I am sure our paths will cross more down the road.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

So true in Hawaii everyone wants to know the high school you went to more than college. LOL Sorry to hear of the news of the hospital trips. How all is on the right path for you and the family. I head back to Havasu for Aug and will be back in Hawaii the 2nd week of Sept for about 6 weeks. I am sure our paths will cross more down the road.

Without a doubt, we'll get out on the water next time lol. We are going to start knocking out school applications just in case since most of them for 22-23 are due in the next few months. We always thought mid pac or sacred hearts would be best for the oldest..just because of her personality and interests..but I'll have her on every list possible.

 

[TCHB]

I personally think the HBUSD is on par with the private schools like Huntington Christian etc. HCS is at the end of our street but can’t justify the extra cost since we’ve been so happy with the public schools. No CRT, LBGTQ gender studies, etc. My boys are in Moffett Elementary and we’re really happy with the experience so far. We all know kids that grew up in private schools and turned out to be losers and public schools that are extremely successful. We keep ours busy with Baseball, football, Jr Guards and anything else we can. Once you get involved with the community you find it’s a great place to raise kids with great like minded families.

I thought the same thing about schools until mine went to Peguses and Mater Dei. If I had to do it again no change. Most of the kids in the neighborhood that went to Edison really did not do that well after high school. We had two girls up the street that became doctors. Their mom and dad were both doctors and were very focused. There is no BS catering to students at Mater Dei. If you can not make the grades or behavior problems you are gone. Go visit the campus and you will the difference in the first 50 feet.

 

[HBCraig]

Holy Crap way more replies and suggestions than I expected. I'm going to have to reread it all and take down some notes. I appreciate the advice and real world experiences good and bad. Budget for a home will be around 1-1.2mil maybe higher slightly..I have my GC license so im open to finding something we remodel before moving in...I'm after a pretty simple 3/2 house...nothing fancy.

@HB2Havasu Private schools would be on our list, whether it's California or Hawaii. Hawaii schools are awful..and seem to all be in the 20-25k a year range. Only plus on Hawaii is that both of them will get around half of their tuition paid by scholarships/grants.



It's different when you grow up there and all of your family and friends are on island...but I get it...I get that way about other places including havasu..after 10 days or so im cooked and ready to go home.

I can tell you that the 3/2 models in my tract are selling at just over 1M and you will need to upgrade a few things

I personally think the HBUSD is on par with the private schools like Huntington Christian etc. HCS is at the end of our street but can’t justify the extra cost since we’ve been so happy with the public schools. No CRT, LBGTQ gender studies, etc. My boys are in Moffett Elementary and we’re really happy with the experience so far. We all know kids that grew up in private schools and turned out to be losers and public schools that are extremely successful. We keep ours busy with Baseball, football, Jr Guards and anything else we can. Once you get involved with the community you find it’s a great place to raise kids with great like minded families.

True. HBUSD is good. We specifically moved into our house for the elementary and middle schools

 

[rivermobster]

We've lived in HB for close to 20 years and love it. We're a few miles from downtown (Beach and Atlanta) which is perfect. Not too far of a beach cruiser ride, but away from the mess and tourists.

Like any other large cities, its got its good areas and its bad areas and positives and negatives. IMO the positives far outweigh the negatives.

I do laugh at all the comments from people who don't live here or never have telling everyone how much it sucks.

I never lived in HB, but my good friend had a place in Huntington Harbor for a few years, way back in the day, and I was down there all the damn time!

His mom lives there now and I've visited her a number of times.

I'm gonna say I sorta lived in Sunset Beach, cause I spent so much time there in my youth! I think it was The Red Onion, across the street from Sunset? Great party place!

Early Sunday mornings...

there was a place across from the Red Onion that served bottomless mimosa's with breakfast. I'd drink till I was nicely lit, go lay out on the empty beach and pass out, and then wake up with all kinna people around me.

V&R's pizza in Newport was where we always went back in HS. The Wedge and Balboa Island were popular hang outs in those days as well.

I love Sunset. There is hardly any parking, so the beach really never gets crowded.

I guess I like Seal better now cause I am old? And, there is also limited parking.

Maybe I should call it the beach tax instead of the weather tax. All I know is CA is closed for sure.

P.S. Could the OP afford to live by Mastros in Newport or down around Dana Point with his budget? Those aeras are way less crowded I'm thinking?

 

[Maw]

We split our time between Huntington Beach and Havasu, we have houses in both. Yes there are areas in both to avoid, and we do just that, as such no major issues.

Sub $1M homes are getting harder to find and rents are getting up there, but not that much higher than our rentals in neighboring Westminster. As with a few of the other posts I'm at the northeastern end of town closer to and inside the harbour. I generally stay clear of the Slater Slums and downtown sections, just no need to aggravate myself.

My biggest complaint about living anywhere in CA are the income and property taxes. I can work around most of the other B. S.

As others have posted feel free to PM me for specific information.

Cheers

 

[DBMX]

I never lived in HB, but my good friend had a place in Huntington Harbor for a few years, way back in the day, and I was down there all the damn time!

His mom lives there now and I've visited her a number of times.

I'm gonna say I sorta lived in Sunset Beach, cause I spent so much time there in my youth! I think it was The Red Onion, across the street from Sunset? Great party place!

Early Sunday mornings...

there was a place across from the Red Onion that served bottomless mimosa's with breakfast. I'd drink till I was nicely lit, go lay out on the empty beach and pass out, and then wake up with all kinna people around me.

V&R's pizza in Newport was where we always went back in HS. The Wedge and Balboa Island were popular hang outs in those days as well.

I love Sunset. There is hardly any parking, so the beach really never gets crowded.

I guess I like Seal better now cause I am old? And, there is also limited parking.

Maybe I should call it the beach tax instead of the weather tax. All I know is CA is closed for sure.

View attachment 1026784 View attachment 1026785 View attachment 1026786 View attachment 1026787

P.S. Could the OP afford to live by Mastros in Newport or down around Dana Point with his budget? Those aeras are way less crowded I'm thinking?

We love Sunset too. In fact we're heading to Taco Surf in a few minutes. My only issues is that it is just that much farther from freeways, so commuting/from work is a challenge. ESPECIALLY on a Friday afternoon when PCH is a dumpster fire.

 

[TCHB]

My grandson hanging out at the Hilton Yesterday.

 

[DILLIGAF]

id stay south of huntington....huntington is a tourist trap which brings in all the rough people....newport, laguna, san clemente, oceanside would be far superior imo

Oceanside is not a walk in the park. Out of control gangs there

 

[DILLIGAF]

If we go back to HI, this point is exactly why the kids will go to private.. A lot of doors opened for me just because of the pool of friends I had growing up, as well as the connections within my family. Where you went to HS matters far more there than anywhere else I've ever been. We have about a year to figure out our plan, and what's meant to happen will. Thanks Tim, my plans this week changed (MaK got sick and was in the hospital overnight Friday, so I may not go till the end of the month or in august after we go to Havasu). We'll either see you in havasu or Ill meet you on island.

i hope Mak is ok.

 

[Xtrmwakeboarder]

I never lived in HB, but my good friend had a place in Huntington Harbor for a few years, way back in the day, and I was down there all the damn time!

His mom lives there now and I've visited her a number of times.

I'm gonna say I sorta lived in Sunset Beach, cause I spent so much time there in my youth! I think it was The Red Onion, across the street from Sunset? Great party place!

Early Sunday mornings...

there was a place across from the Red Onion that served bottomless mimosa's with breakfast. I'd drink till I was nicely lit, go lay out on the empty beach and pass out, and then wake up with all kinna people around me.

V&R's pizza in Newport was where we always went back in HS. The Wedge and Balboa Island were popular hang outs in those days as well.

I love Sunset. There is hardly any parking, so the beach really never gets crowded.

I guess I like Seal better now cause I am old? And, there is also limited parking.

Maybe I should call it the beach tax instead of the weather tax. All I know is CA is closed for sure.

View attachment 1026784 View attachment 1026785 View attachment 1026786 View attachment 1026787

P.S. Could the OP afford to live by Mastros in Newport or down around Dana Point with his budget? Those aeras are way less crowded I'm thinking?

Newport Coast? No way in hell. Dana Point with $1.2+, yes it’s doable.

 

[HBCraig]

We love Sunset too. In fact we're heading to Taco Surf in a few minutes. My only issues is that it is just that much farther from freeways, so commuting/from work is a challenge. ESPECIALLY on a Friday afternoon when PCH is a dumpster fire.

Sunset / Seaside is a cool area

 

[Ace in the Hole]

We had a pretty long discussion tonight and brought up a lot of points in this thread. Right now we are probably 75% move home, and 25% California.. we intend to spend some time in CA before making a final decision. We would like to be out of Texas around the first of the year with Brianna following by May. Much of our decision will rest on a few meetings I have in the coming weeks...in reality business wise I can hit the ground running a lot harder at home so that's a factor, and our oldest really wants to go back to HI. We are going to apply for private schools in both bc deadlines won't wait obviously... I really really appreciate all of the input, I owe some of you a beer sometime lol.

i hope Mak is ok.

Much better today, but she still looks miserable and isn't herself. she spent most of the afternoon tucked in the pocket of my arm watching tv/sleeping. She's growing too fast, you would trip out at how much she is talking just from when you were here lol.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Newport Coast? No way in hell. Dana Point with $1.2+, yes it’s doable.

I've spent a lot of time in dana...especially when I was younger, in shape and single... my first college roommate was from down there and it was a blast to go to in our early 20's. Always a good place to surf on that coast.

 

[Hypnautic]

We had a pretty long discussion tonight and brought up a lot of points in this thread. Right now we are probably 75% move home, and 25% California.. we intend to spend some time in CA before making a final decision. We would like to be out of Texas around the first of the year with Brianna following by May. Much of our decision will rest on a few meetings I have in the coming weeks...in reality business wise I can hit the ground running a lot harder at home so that's a factor, and our oldest really wants to go back to HI. We are going to apply for private schools in both bc deadlines won't wait obviously... I really really appreciate all of the input, I owe some of you a beer sometime lol.



Much better today, but she still looks miserable and isn't herself. she spent most of the afternoon tucked in the pocket of my arm watching tv/sleeping. She's growing too fast, you would trip out at how much she is talking just from when you were here lol.

Went to Punahou and Kam schools when I lived in Hawaii and Fairmont Private when I was on the Mainland—so those are my biased choice for school.

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Went to Punahou and Kam schools when I lived in Hawaii and Fairmont Private when I was on the Mainland—so those are my biased choice for school.

Most of my generation in my family are grads of Kam and Punahou. Several guys in the group that handles the veggies/fruits for the carnival at Punahou are my friends..both of my godsons are current students there...actually sitting here typing this wearing an O-Men t-shirt lol. Kam schools investment portfolio was one of my largest clients when I was in hawaii. I'll throw fairmont on the mainland list for my wife to research. The oldest would be a candidate for Kam, but I think mid-pac would be a better fit for her personality. I will push hard for MaK to go to Punahou if we go back.

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

I'll put a toe in on this one.... I scanned your earlier posts and if I got it right you've lived in HI and HB and your both in your 30s so kids are younguns.... I won't touch the raising cubs in islands topic cause I dont have expertise on that.... as to your options from Dana Pt up to Sunset beach If I had it to do over I'd put my family in Seal Beach I think. I also considered San Clemente at the time but travel up to business for wife and I was a no go as much as I wanted kids to have that experience. Seal has remained very non material in there values culturally so you should consider that when raising a family. The community is still healthy as the housing hasn't quadrupled in value which changes cultures significantly and your kids would be exposed to that. If daily travel isn't an issue for you two San Clemente also hasn't been ruined. Still a healthy surf and beach oriented community. I live in CDM and kids are grown but Newport and CDM are a big NO as far as raising healthy cubs. And to be frank, you're late to the realestate party here so look at yet to boom areas as mentioned earlier in my post. As to Huntington... I am a bit negative on their culture but saw it many years ago as a great family atmosphere.... I'm sure there are great pocket neighborhoods still. Enjoy the search

 

[mbrown2]

We have lived in downtown for 10 yrs....we have lived many places in Cali as well as nice areas in AZ. I don't see us moving....I actually find us going to the river less as we have the water right there. The weather is amazing year around as long as you like afternoon wind and some morning marine layer. Yes, there are homeless and most nice cities downtown areas from Austin to San Diego to everywhere is dealing with homeless... As far as tourist, most weekends are packed from HB south to Laguna...as when we were kids and lived inland...everyone comes to the beach on the weekend so as a resident we deal with it. Even HB Harbour is overrun with rental paddleboards and kayaks on any given weekend the same as NP harbor. We like Pacific City and Downtown and like the fact we barely drive anywhere as we walk and bike most places. If you are raising kids ...I would say South HB....best friend lives off Banning and Bushard and plenty of kid friendly developments around there. It all depends on what you look for in a community...,

 

[Ace in the Hole]

I think that I will be in HB around the 15th for a couple days to feel it out. I appreciate the input from all

 

[boatpi]

I have not visited downtown in 5 years, it if for tourists. Look around the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, or on Edwards Hill, great areas and good schools. Both daughters grads of marina HS, in UCR now as well as all of their friends. I would never know a downtown exists, just another world away from the house.

 

[DrunkenSailor]

Where is work for the wife? The 405 is a mess. Used to live off Warner and it was a solid hour plus every day to get home from irvine.

 

[cofooter]

I never lived in HB, but my good friend had a place in Huntington Harbor for a few years, way back in the day, and I was down there all the damn time!

His mom lives there now and I've visited her a number of times.

I'm gonna say I sorta lived in Sunset Beach, cause I spent so much time there in my youth! I think it was The Red Onion, across the street from Sunset? Great party place!

Early Sunday mornings...

there was a place across from the Red Onion that served bottomless mimosa's with breakfast. I'd drink till I was nicely lit, go lay out on the empty beach and pass out, and then wake up with all kinna people around me.

V&R's pizza in Newport was where we always went back in HS. The Wedge and Balboa Island were popular hang outs in those days as well.

I love Sunset. There is hardly any parking, so the beach really never gets crowded.

I guess I like Seal better now cause I am old? And, there is also limited parking.

Maybe I should call it the beach tax instead of the weather tax. All I know is CA is closed for sure.

View attachment 1026784 View attachment 1026785 View attachment 1026786 View attachment 1026787

P.S. Could the OP afford to live by Mastros in Newport or down around Dana Point with his budget? Those aeras are way less crowded I'm thinking?

Was it the Harbour House? Great place for breakfast. I lived right up the road in an apartment in my 20's. You must remember Sunset Pub and Mothers bar.

 

[Dirtbag]

harbor house cafe fantastic!!!!

 

[DILLIGAF]

Was it the Harbour House? Great place for breakfast. I lived right up the road in an apartment in my 20's. You must remember Sunset Pub and Mothers bar.

ahhhh….Mothers. Great little dive to ride the harley to and have a beer

 

[TCHB]

Lots of good memories from HB.

 

[BHC Vic]

I think that I will be in HB around the 15th for a couple days to feel it out. I appreciate the input from all

Don’t mean to switch gears but can I ask why you’re leaving Texas? I’ve only lived in California my whole life and I can’t wait to leave. Texas and Tennessee are the detonations. I think I posted a few years back my wife was offered the new store in Hawaii. My wife didn’t want to raise the kids there and at that point I didn’t want to leave California. Now everyday I find myself looking at houses on lakes not in California everyday. Just wondering if there’s cons about Texas that I should learn about sooner rather than later.

 

[Gelcoater]

Don’t mean to switch gears but can I ask why you’re leaving Texas? I’ve only lived in California my whole life and I can’t wait to leave. Texas and Tennessee are the detonations. I think I posted a few years back my wife was offered the new store in Hawaii. My wife didn’t want to raise the kids there and at that point I didn’t want to leave California. Now everyday I find myself looking at houses on lakes not in California everyday. Just wondering if there’s cons about Texas that I should learn about sooner rather than later.

I’m sort of curious here too.
I’m going to guess the high humidity is not it, anyone from Hawaii could cope.
Now the high heat...combined with the high humidity....add rattlesnakes. BIG! F’n rattlesnakes...

 

[TITTIES AND BEER]

Personally you couldn’t pay me to live in Huntington Beach but I don’t like people. I have buddies that live there and absolutely love it. They pay 3400 a month for a one bedroom apartment.

Bad enough I work there -shit hole I take the $ and go home I try to spend as little as possible .

 

[Ace in the Hole]

Don’t mean to switch gears but can I ask why you’re leaving Texas? I’ve only lived in California my whole life and I can’t wait to leave. Texas and Tennessee are the detonations. I think I posted a few years back my wife was offered the new store in Hawaii. My wife didn’t want to raise the kids there and at that point I didn’t want to leave California. Now everyday I find myself looking at houses on lakes not in California everyday. Just wondering if there’s cons about Texas that I should learn about sooner rather than later.

Valid question, and there's a lot of parts to wanting to bounce. We like Hi for the most part..its home and were I pretty much built my career. I get the not wanting to raise kids there...my wife had a very different experience vs me growing up over there. The kids will be in private schools if we go back. CA would have some hiccups but its doable and I could be in the field I was in while in HI.

Primarily it's distance from our families (especially since we have young kids). Both of our parents are essentially retired and split time. My mom is in Hawaii half the time, and Havasu the other half (though we're considering selling out in Havasu (house/boat) with prices where they are..that decision will be made when we are there in 2 weeks and meet with the realtor), Bri's Parents are in HI 3/4 of the time, and in WA or Las Vegas the rest. I have no family outside of HI with few exceptions, Brianna has some cousins in CA and Canada, but other than that all in HI.

Second is financially it's not what I expected. 2019 was not bad, pretty similar to what I made in HI in 2018. 2020 was a brutal year on us, 2021 started off worse and I wound up selling out to cut my losses. We came to Texas in large part due to the fact that I had a non-compete agreement for 2 years in effect from when I asked for my buyout at the firm I was the RME for in HI. I had done work in Tx and had contacts so we kinda figured if it worked out and we liked it we would stay, if not we would go home. Our monthly "costs" are actually higher here by about $1500 vs what we spent in HI as hard as that is to believe. Health insurance here sucks, thats putting it lightly, way more expensive, way less coverage, and the network system here is a joke. Costs for everything here has visibly ticked up over the last 2 years..but thats pretty much everywhere.

Job wise...Tx doesn't regulate contractors in the same way HI/AZ/CA do...anyone with a pulse can be a GC here. I worked my tail off to get my license back home, and there it holds value..here it's pretty meaningless. Wages/Comp here is significantly lower in a lot of fields..

Traffic in SA is horrible...poorly planned roads for the growth.

Kids...there are 2 right now and my wife would like to have another one. The oldest (my stepdaughter) is half Hawaiian, she was all about moving and doing something new..but as time goes by I don't see TX as a good fit for her. At home she was very active in her hālau, and I know she misses doing that (she's very good at it). Education wise she is struggling here hard...while the schools rate good..I've been less than impressed honestly. This may sound mean, but I feel like they cater to the lowest common denominator in the school systems here and the other kids suffer bc of it... Growth here is so exponential that they are shifting these kids around like pinballs..she went to 3 schools last year (all while we lived in the same house under a mile from one of them. She has been attending a summer program back in Hawaii and thats caught her essentially up to speed..but at a large cost to us. She does like Tx don't get me wrong, she rides horses, we go fishing, floating etc...

Not a fan of the weather here..sorry not sorry. People are a 50/50 crapshoot, but usually most actual texans are good people. I will say that as far as doing business here....People in TX LOVE debt..they finance everything (yes thats a blanket statement). So if you are in a financed industry it can get dicey.... There's other reasons but thats the primary ones.

There is a plethora of things we love about Texas, but not enough to keep us here.

 

[BHC Vic]

Valid question, and there's a lot of parts to wanting to bounce. We like Hi for the most part..its home and were I pretty much built my career. I get the not wanting to raise kids there...my wife had a very different experience vs me growing up over there. The kids will be in private schools if we go back. CA would have some hiccups but its doable and I could be in the field I was in while in HI.

Primarily it's distance from our families (especially since we have young kids). Both of our parents are essentially retired and split time. My mom is in Hawaii half the time, and Havasu the other half (though we're considering selling out in Havasu (house/boat) with prices where they are..that decision will be made when we are there in 2 weeks and meet with the realtor), Bri's Parents are in HI 3/4 of the time, and in WA or Las Vegas the rest. I have no family outside of HI with few exceptions, Brianna has some cousins in CA and Canada, but other than that all in HI.

Second is financially it's not what I expected. 2019 was not bad, pretty similar to what I made in HI in 2018. 2020 was a brutal year on us, 2021 started off worse and I wound up selling out to cut my losses. We came to Texas in large part due to the fact that I had a non-compete agreement for 2 years in effect from when I asked for my buyout at the firm I was the RME for in HI. I had done work in Tx and had contacts so we kinda figured if it worked out and we liked it we would stay, if not we would go home. Our monthly "costs" are actually higher here by about $1500 vs what we spent in HI as hard as that is to believe. Health insurance here sucks, thats putting it lightly, way more expensive, way less coverage, and the network system here is a joke. Costs for everything here has visibly ticked up over the last 2 years..but thats pretty much everywhere.

Job wise...Tx doesn't regulate contractors in the same way HI/AZ/CA do...anyone with a pulse can be a GC here. I worked my tail off to get my license back home, and there it holds value..here it's pretty meaningless. Wages/Comp here is significantly lower in a lot of fields..

Traffic in SA is horrible...poorly planned roads for the growth.

Kids...there are 2 right now and my wife would like to have another one. The oldest (my stepdaughter) is half Hawaiian, she was all about moving and doing something new..but as time goes by I don't see TX as a good fit for her. At home she was very active in her hālau, and I know she misses doing that (she's very good at it). Education wise she is struggling here hard...while the schools rate good..I've been less than impressed honestly. This may sound mean, but I feel like they cater to the lowest common denominator in the school systems here and the other kids suffer bc of it... Growth here is so exponential that they are shifting these kids around like pinballs..she went to 3 schools last year (all while we lived in the same house under a mile from one of them. She has been attending a summer program back in Hawaii and thats caught her essentially up to speed..but at a large cost to us. She does like Tx don't get me wrong, she rides horses, we go fishing, floating etc...

Not a fan of the weather here..sorry not sorry. People are a 50/50 crapshoot, but usually most actual texans are good people. I will say that as far as doing business here....People in TX LOVE debt..they finance everything (yes thats a blanket statement). So if you are in a financed industry it can get dicey.... There's other reasons but thats the primary ones.

There is a plethora of things we love about Texas, but not enough to keep us here.

Thank you for that, you touched a lot of important things. It’s sounds like a move that way for us is going to be years out because I have young kids. As bad as I want to leave my wife has always said she wants to raise the kids in California. I work union and we’ve kind of adopted Texas into the southwest and it’s a nightmare work wise. I’d probably need to wait till I was retired.

 

[HBCraig]

I have not visited downtown in 5 years, it if for tourists. Look around the Bolsa Chica Wetlands, or on Edwards Hill, great areas and good schools. Both daughters grads of marina HS, in UCR now as well as all of their friends. I would never know a downtown exists, just another world away from the house.

Hey now. My daughter just graduated from Marina HS

 

[HubbaHubbaLife]

Valid question, and there's a lot of parts to wanting to bounce. We like Hi for the most part..its home and were I pretty much built my career. I get the not wanting to raise kids there...my wife had a very different experience vs me growing up over there. The kids will be in private schools if we go back. CA would have some hiccups but its doable and I could be in the field I was in while in HI.

Primarily it's distance from our families (especially since we have young kids). Both of our parents are essentially retired and split time. My mom is in Hawaii half the time, and Havasu the other half (though we're considering selling out in Havasu (house/boat) with prices where they are..that decision will be made when we are there in 2 weeks and meet with the realtor), Bri's Parents are in HI 3/4 of the time, and in WA or Las Vegas the rest. I have no family outside of HI with few exceptions, Brianna has some cousins in CA and Canada, but other than that all in HI.

Second is financially it's not what I expected. 2019 was not bad, pretty similar to what I made in HI in 2018. 2020 was a brutal year on us, 2021 started off worse and I wound up selling out to cut my losses. We came to Texas in large part due to the fact that I had a non-compete agreement for 2 years in effect from when I asked for my buyout at the firm I was the RME for in HI. I had done work in Tx and had contacts so we kinda figured if it worked out and we liked it we would stay, if not we would go home. Our monthly "costs" are actually higher here by about $1500 vs what we spent in HI as hard as that is to believe. Health insurance here sucks, thats putting it lightly, way more expensive, way less coverage, and the network system here is a joke. Costs for everything here has visibly ticked up over the last 2 years..but thats pretty much everywhere.

Job wise...Tx doesn't regulate contractors in the same way HI/AZ/CA do...anyone with a pulse can be a GC here. I worked my tail off to get my license back home, and there it holds value..here it's pretty meaningless. Wages/Comp here is significantly lower in a lot of fields..

Traffic in SA is horrible...poorly planned roads for the growth.

Kids...there are 2 right now and my wife would like to have another one. The oldest (my stepdaughter) is half Hawaiian, she was all about moving and doing something new..but as time goes by I don't see TX as a good fit for her. At home she was very active in her hālau, and I know she misses doing that (she's very good at it). Education wise she is struggling here hard...while the schools rate good..I've been less than impressed honestly. This may sound mean, but I feel like they cater to the lowest common denominator in the school systems here and the other kids suffer bc of it... Growth here is so exponential that they are shifting these kids around like pinballs..she went to 3 schools last year (all while we lived in the same house under a mile from one of them. She has been attending a summer program back in Hawaii and thats caught her essentially up to speed..but at a large cost to us. She does like Tx don't get me wrong, she rides horses, we go fishing, floating etc...

Not a fan of the weather here..sorry not sorry. People are a 50/50 crapshoot, but usually most actual texans are good people. I will say that as far as doing business here....People in TX LOVE debt..they finance everything (yes thats a blanket statement). So if you are in a financed industry it can get dicey.... There's other reasons but thats the primary ones.

There is a plethora of things we love about Texas, but not enough to keep us here.

Very well spoken and thank you for the great written communications. I have a realtor friend I trust who was born in HB who can help you if desired. Ask if want contact. Good luck on journey.