[6511]

We´re discussing moving to the States in 3 years for 2-3 years at home. Now that we´re tossing around ideas on where to go, I am looking for some real life experience by real people.

I have always been a big fan of Southern California, as I like the warm climate and the nearby ocean. I used to live in New South Wales Australia, and Cali seems to come closest to that. Not so much interested in the NY area, we are sick of cold (German) weather. Other than SoCal, is there any other place that you can recommend?

We´d bring a dog along, don´t know if that might be an issue in some States.
Thanks for your opinions.

 

[bensexcessbikes]

The US is a massive, diverse country, both geographically and socially. The cost of living in large, metro areas (esp Cali/NY) can be much higher than other ares of the country. It might be worth visiting the top, say, 5 areas you are interested in to get an idea of the culture, infrastructure, cost of living, income taxes, property taxes, economy, "feel" of the area, etc.

 

[whitw wings]

Trust me, move somewhere you can ride all year.

 

[banda]

Trust me, move somewhere you can ride all year.

If you ride off road, that could mean anywhere south of Chicago. If you ice race, it can mean a lot of places north of Chicago. Americans who don't ride all year just aren't very motivated to ride, geography be damned.

 

[sburns2421]

Check out Austin, TX. My parents lived there for several years and it is a neat place. Many recreational and entertainment opportunities within just a few hours. Climate is hot in the summer but very mild in the winter. Low cost of living for such a large city. No state income tax but property taxes are high. They will have a world-class track next year that will host F1 in 2012 as well. I would expect MotoGP within a few years, displacing one of the current USGP tracks.

 

[twowheelcossack]

I'd stay away from California. It's best days are behind it for now and consequently I'm leaving next month. If I had a dream place to live right now, it would be Texas, or I'd also look at Nevada or Arizona, I loved attending college in Arizona.

 

[Multitard]

Cali's great, the cost of living is higher than most places however. The bay area is my favorite, San Fran, Santa Cruz, pretty much perfect weather year round. Mountains and ocean, redwoods, tons of outdoor stuff. Dog's are great pretty much everywhere I think. Democratic state and left leaning, I hope you can get health insurance through a company you work for because if not $$$.

 

[twowheelcossack]

Cali's great

...says the man who lists his home as Atlanta, Georgia.

 

[RockyMt]

Maybe a bit biased here, but Northern California. Waaay different vibe than down south, better weather, better roads (some say the best in the world!) I'm less than 90 minutes from;
Infineon
Laguna Seca
Buttonwillow
Thunderhill
and the roads of the Napa Valley, Pacific Coast Hwy 1 etc.

The downside, as someone here already mentioned is housing prices, but ya get what ya pay for.....Good Luck!

Semper Fi! :rockon

-Rocky-

 

[Turbo329]

I like North Carolina, Nevada (Vegas). Also, I have friends in Arizona who love it.

There are opportunities for me in Texas and I've been thinking about it a lot but haven't pulled the trigger. From what I hear, Texas is nice too.

 

[Area 51]

Pheonix, AZ.
Housing prices are beaten down, many new homes with big kitchens and granite tops. Far from the beach but you could have a pool. Hot there but mornings, evenings and winters are supurb. Air condo a necessity. Lots of shopping for the women (or nero). Some locals go to San Diego or Mexico for ocean visits. Cooler mountain areas with forest to the north. Pretty lousy riding though unless your a Harley moron.

 

[sburns2421]

The downside, as someone here already mentioned is housing prices, but ya get what ya pay for.....Good Luck!

No, you really don't. Bay area real estate remains grossly overvalued. You really have to want to live there to put up with a little s***box house or condo, where in many other areas the same money would allow for a home 2-3 times more "nice". It still has farther to fall in prices from the peak. It would still be easy to find yourself underwater on the mortgage and facing a hefty CA tax bill.

 

[RockyMt]

For those of you who wonder why the Bay Area is 2-5 times the price of say, Phoenix, or Austin, just do 2 things;

Walk outside at noon on july 1st.............nice or opressive?
next,
Open the local paper and look at yer entertainment/eating options..........Bob's Big Boy or Chez Painez? The Black Crowes and the Monterey Jazz festival or Jimmy-Bob's Elvis revival lounge tour at the Holiday inn.............

Like I said, ya get wgat ya pay for............And in the nicest areas here, we only dropped like 15-20% max from the "peak", and it's going right back up.

Semper Fi! :rockon

-Rocky-

 

[Multitard]

...says the man who list his home as Atlanta, Georgia.

kinda an oxymoron i know, I'm not really "southern" if you know what I mean

 

[Cafe_Racer]

Here's the thing about SoCal: Be prepared to spend about 2 or 2.5 hours in your car every day.

There are people who get by with less by arranging their living / working areas, but god forbid friends invite you to dinner somewhere.

In other ways, SoCal is amazing. It is the Mecca for all things automotive - you'll see and have access to things that people the world over only dream about. There's a great moto-culture (though not as good as some other places - NYC and SF have better) but the weather can't be beat and there's lots of racing to do year round. Roads are wonderful and California is incredibly diverse a place to be. People joke about surfing in the morning and skiing in the afternoon - it's easily done.

That said, I spent 8 years in SoCal after growing up in Manhattan. I just moved back to NYC.

 

[sburns2421]

For those of you who wonder why the Bay Area is 2-5 times the price of say, Phoenix, or Austin, just do 2 things;

Walk outside at noon on july 1st.............nice or opressive?
next,
Open the local paper and look at yer entertainment/eating options..........Bob's Big Boy or Chez Painez? The Black Crowes and the Monterey Jazz festival or Jimmy-Bob's Elvis revival lounge tour at the Holiday inn.............

Like I said, ya get wgat ya pay for............And in the nicest areas here, we only dropped like 15-20% max from the "peak", and it's going right back up.

Semper Fi! :rockon

-Rocky-

But all of those things cost money. And if you are paying $5000/month in mortgage and taxes, how much do you really have left to go to five star restaurants? In the latest Case-Shiller housing price index, San Fran dropped 1.9% in one month.

Mark Twain once said the coldest winter he ever went through was summer in San Francisco.

BTW, Austin has a lot to do and some nice places to eat as well.

 

[UnpaintedHuffhines]

here is the truth about the places in the us that you can live, from someone that has live in the uk, australia, spent time in germany and france, and lived all over the us and mexico, and spent years traveling the us on top of that

california - lived there - decent, but the state rapes you all sorts of car and bike related things, its the worst in the country. lots of mexicans. good weather, fun if you never obey any law, or are ok obeying them/getting raped/fined to hell and back. great music scene.

florida - trashy and cheap, but nice. lots of cubans, and old people, and trashy white people. if you have a decent amount of cash and can avoid the trash, then some of the places and brilliant. lots of ****ing mosquitos, prepare to get bit. lots of airplanes and boats though, so lots of fun for other shit. lots of islands and diving. riding here is straightline and stunting, and cruising. only place you will find turns is on the track. if you run in florida and get caught they have laws in place where they take your bike, and under some circumstances will take your house. the police in florida lead the nation in impounding shit and reselling it.

phoenix - best roads in the country, but its in the desert. running hard is harder due to the fact that as far as i know, they have helicopters in the air 24-7 and a fairly strong police presence in the city. i have run all over the city, but you have to be vigilant. the run from flagstaff - north of phoenix - down the mountain and into the valley is ****in amazing if you like top speed shit. there are really great places to ride all over, plus you get desert riding and fun, something you get to a degree in cali as well. lots of mexicans and american indians. there are places in the desert you dont go because of the mexicans indians, but its not like you will accidentally end up there unless you throw your gps in a river and have too much gas.

benefit - mexico. mexico is ****in awesome. your nice bikes will get stolen and you will get robbed if you dont pay attention and use common sense. otherwise learn some spanish and have fun.

texas - texas is cool, lots of mexicans, similar to phoenix, not as decent riding, the cities are isolated. dallas forth worth has a great bike scene, lots of riders of all types, fun place. most larger cities in texas are cool. santa fey is the fruitiest city in dallas. dont move anywhere near the border in texas. i have family in brownsville.

new orleans - awesome city, lots of mosquitos, lots of brown people, lots of still wrecked houses, lots of fema trailers, lots of boats, lots of gators and swamp people, lots of bike, lots of everything except nice beaches. lots of alcohol, amazing metal music scene, amazing music scene of many types. not really close to anything, sort of draws in all the fun people from a huge area, lots and lots of drugs, but a truly beautiful and interesting city. unlike any other.

personally i would head to the bay area. bay area has more to offer, lots of great sailing too. if you want perfect weather, go to socal. rains a lot in the bay area, and it gets down to upper 40s and 50s during the winter, but coming from germany that aint shit. doesnt snow really.

you should also consider moving to mexico. its awesome. just dont move to someplace along the border. everywhere else is fine if you dont act like a retard and throw yourself into the middle of a cartel gunfight. money goes a lot further, you just have to keep your shit secure. i know lots of people that have moved to mexico and love it. mexicans in the us act very diff than mexicans mexico. in mexico, shits great usuually, in the us, not usually.

 

[UnpaintedHuffhines]

bringing a dog to the states, especially from germany, isnt hard at all, doesnt matter what state. bringing one from some third rate shit hole like the congo is harder. they will just want papers from the vet saying it doesnt have rabies and a few other things. be aware that dogs often freeze on flights due to negligent airlines, check into which airlines have bad records, and make sure your dog has what it needs to keep warm. try to get ahold of someone at the airline that will check on the dog each connecting flight, pay them some money on the side. i have done this many times, and have worked with dogs for years. its a pita but it is usually problem free.

if the dog is a bully/pit type hit me up i will give you the lowdown on what places have gone stupid with bsl and other issues, and how to easily circumnavigate them.

 

[mrgrn]

lots of brown people,.

:wtf does this mean

 

[RockyMt]

:wtf does this mean

I'd say a failed attempt to be PC. (personally, I think the whole PC thing is a crock, but living in the Peoples Republik of Kalifornia, we're all indoctrinated here...........(not always vaccinated though!) :woot:

Semper Fi! :rockon

-Rocky-