The other day, a friend came to me with a question. They currently reside on the East Coast but had been teetering with the idea of switching it up and heading west to California! Since I was just living outside of LA for a bit, I was able to give some advice to them! Here were my key points:
Consider the time zone difference
You may find it harder keeping up with family and friends when they are on a different schedule. It can really make you feel a whole world away.
Cost to travel home
Keep in mind the cost for traveling home and account for holiday surcharges. My home airport is Metro Detroit. Thankfully it is usually an easy and inexpensive city to fly into. When I was living in Baltimore, Washington D.C or even the Dominican Republic, flights were never over $500. While California was almost doubled
Walkability
Sometimes nothing is better than a fun walk home after a night out or attending a game. Bar hopping on foot is also a blast and having other things accessible by foot makes it fun and easy to get to places. Most cities on the East Coast were built before cars and are very walking friendly. In california you definitely need a car. With the variety of attractions there is always a place to drive. But yes you do have to drive. It's only worth it if you enjoy the journey and destination
Cost of living
The cost of living is definitely high. However coming from other big cities like New York, DC, Chicago and Miami, the cost is relative. Cities are inherently expensive and don''t be surprised when
Moving from coast to coast is a fun experience. It's amazing how different and diverse our country is between regions. There are many other factors to consider moving but honestly if you're thinking about it so much that you're reading a blog post, then yes it may be time to start getting things align!