Speaking of moving, does someone out there know some blue states or at least

[Upthevibe]

Moderate states have a lower cost of living? (I now live in CA).

[JimDandy]

1. Washington State-east side around Spokane.

Just don't tell anyone else!

[Tikki]

13. Eastern Washington State is notoriously Conservative...

Just ask my B-I-L who goes to a church where they have had their guns blessed.


Tikki

[Sanity Claws]

2. Vermont

But the heating bills in winter are certainly not low cost.

[TexasBushwhacker]

3. There are a lot of CA people in Austin, TX

I used to call it "My Blue Heaven". Actually all the cities in Texas are at least light blue. DFW is more conservative than Houston. San Antonio has a strong Latino culture (and the Spurs!). Houston is actually very diverse. Just steer clear of the small towns and suburbs.

[SusanCalvin]

17. Correct.

But Austin is pretty expensive (not California-level) and not nearly as cool as it's hyped. Houston is the best of a bad lot.

I must admit my reason for not liking even Houston much is pretty shallow - I'm into entertainment and restaurants, and my experience is basically driving a long way for things that turn out not to be worth it. So I've pretty much given up and changed my lifestyle.

For family types, it's probably great.

[TexasBushwhacker]

20. If you are a blues fan like me

You can find a blues band playing somewhere in Houston 7 nights a week. With restaraunts, we have such a diverse population that you can find Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, you name it, right in your neighborhood. The local free paper, the Houston Press, does a good job of reviewing restaurants big and small.

And property taxes are high, but we don't have state income tax. Traffic during rush hour is a booger, so it's best to live near where you work.

[SusanCalvin]

21. Oh, the Houston Press makes it sound like a wonderful place.

We moved closer to Houston for exactly that reason.

Then we found out that our standards were apparently much higher than the Press's.

I'm not saying you can't have a good restaurant/entertainment experience in Houston. I am saying that the odds of disappointment in any given instance are much too high, based on our experience. It is mostly a case of people not taking service seriously.

[Arugula Latte]

4. I would think New Mexico might fit the bill.

Northern New Mexico is gorgeous. Southern New Mexico ... not so much.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. Minnesota.

The winters are kind of cold and the state taxes are higher than some places, but it's still a heck of a lot cheaper than CA. And if you stay out of the 6th Congressional District it's reliably blue.

[Mr.Bill]

6. There are places in California with a lower cost of living.

I live in Lake County, about 100 miles north of San Francisco. You can buy a house for under 200K. One could live here comfortably on 50K. The weather is a little more extreme here, but not too bad. Our economy is weak, our unemployment is higher than the state average, but there are some good paying jobs. What do you do for a living?

My wife and I are retired and are living comfortably on less than 50K.

[SusanCalvin]

18. Oh myyyyyyy. Interesting, thank you. nt

[mackerel]

29. Does Lake County get as hot as the SJ Valley?

[Mr.Bill]

30. I've never lived in the SJ Valley, so I'm not sure.

I can tell you that triple digit temperatures are not uncommon here in July and August, although usually not for an extended period of time. Some summers only a few days here and there. Some winters there can be a little snow, but only in the upper elevations. Down at the lake level (1320 ft) usually no snow, certainly no more than an inch or two that melts when the sun comes out.

[mackerel]

31. San Joaquin Valley gets about 2 weeks straight of triple digits

then a few days break and heats back up again from July to October. I lived in Vallejo for years a lot of people move up to Lake County from Vallejo. I was always curious about the weather up there.

[Mr.Bill]

32. I won't say that 2 weeks of triple digits can't happen,

But it would be unusual. I've been here 25 years and only seen it a few times. Let's just say having air conditioning is something I would consider essential.

[DebJ]

7. I would think almost any blue state would be less expensive than California! n/t

[Upthevibe]

9. Thank you guys so much for some great places to mull over. I'm just kind of

thinking of options.

[TuxedoKat]

10. How about DE or MD?

DE has no sales tax and property taxes are lower too. MD is nice too but higher in taxes. These are both wonderful states, close to beaches, depending where you live, and winters aren't too harsh.

[alarimer]

11. MD is less expensive than CA, but not by much.

Especially in the DC suburbs. Maybe Eastern Shore, but those parts are not so blue.

[SoCalDem]

12. Washington near Portland

No income tax in WA.... no sales tax in OR
auto ins in WA is sooooooo cheap compared to CA

[roody]

14. Iowa

[dilby]

15. Depending on where you live in CA I would say the Pacific Northwest.

I love Portland but people here complain about the cost of living which is high but no where near the cost of living in San Francisco, LA or San Diego. As others have said Vancouver Washington is also a safe bet, cheaper cost of living than Portland but lacks the charm.

[Chan790]

16. Than where you live now?

Connecticut. Our tax rates are higher but since you can buy a 3BR/1BA 1,500ft² house in the Hartford suburbs for $90,000, it more than evens out.

It also has the advantages of being fairly metropolitan and if you want to get to a truly large city, NYC is 2-3 hours away.

[SusanCalvin]

19. Thank you for asking! Some interesting ideas. nt

[RiverLover]

22. Asheville NC

If you don't mind being in a (very cool) blue bubble surrounded by bright red.

I lived there for a few years & miss it.

[clarice]

23. Everyone is welcome in Texas...low unemployment..VERY affordable housing...No state income tax.nt

[PasadenaTrudy]

24. Albuquerque or Santa Fe, NM n/t

[underahedgerow]

25. Well there's always this...

Top destinations for ex-pats:

http://www.dailycaviar.com/itw-7-top-destinations-for-ex-pats-if-trump-wins/

[greymouse]

26. Not Rhode Island

Property taxes are a killer.

[we can do it]

27. We are moving to Delaware this year from Ohio.

[LynneSin]

35. Where to in Delaware

I'm in Wilmington if you need some new friends to socialize with!

[we can do it]

37. Rehoboth Beach! Ohio house going up for sale this week!

We'll have to do a Dogfish meet up....Any good craft beer closer to you?

[LynneSin]

38. It's Delaware - all the craft brewery is close to us

Just saying

[we can do it]

39. OK I get it.

[mackerel]

28. New Mexico in a blue state

I just talked to someone recently who moved to Reno. She says that Nevada really isn't that red and the cost of living is way lower than California.

Remember though once you leave CA you can never move back.

[Upthevibe]

33. Well, you guys have given me a lot of places to check out. I'm also interested

In the ex-pat places. Why if I leave CA I can never come back?

[mackerel]

40. Most former Cali's tell me that once they left

they could never afford to come back.

[LynneSin]

34. Welcome to Delaware!

Wonderfully low cost of living. Tech jobs are pretty solid in the northern part of the state. We have absolutely no sales tax and we are the 11th ranked state for the Craft Beer Brewing industry. Oh and we are the home of Joe Biden! And we are about as blue as it gets when it comes to bluedom.

[mnhtnbb]

36. I've been watching this thread

and hesitated to add Chapel Hill/Carrboro, NC to your list until I saw Asheville.

I lived in CA from 1965-88 and my husband is a native of Palo Alto. We left Santa Monica
in 1988--with an almost 2 year old--and never looked back.

We finally ended up in Chapel Hill in 2000. I have LOVED it here until the Republicans gerrymandered
the state after the 2010 elections and took over the state government in 2012 for the first time in over 100 years.
Chapel Hill/Carrboro is an oasis of blue, as is Asheville, most of Durham, many parts of Raleigh, and increasingly, more of
Charlotte. It's the battle of the urban/well educated vs. the religious/country not so well educated
but certainly brainwashed by Fox News/talk radio/Sunday at the local church types. HB 2 has really
drawn the lines. Roy Cooper, (D), current Attorney General is now leading current Gov. McCrory (R)
in the polls by 6 points. The blowback from HB 2 has been tremendous, and I think Cooper will
now easily beat McCrory in November. (He had been mayor of Charlotte and the folks who backed
him were moderate Republicans--business types--who are now really pissed because of HB 2 and
the loss of jobs/negative impact on the economy.)

Anyway, there are not so expensive--compared to California--liberal areas of NC. Pretty nice climate.
Great beaches--better than southern CA, I think, by a long shot and the ocean is warmed
by the Gulf stream in the summer. We have 80 degree water for about 5 months of the year.

Most of the beach towns are a lot less expensive than Redondo, but there are more Republicans.
Some of them, though, are becoming more environmentally savvy and fought the off-shore drilling
that the Obama Administration and the State Republican leadership wanted. That battle is over
and the environmentalists won. If I were going to choose an NC beach town to live all year round,
I'd opt for Wrightsville Beach/Wilmington area. But my favorite vacation beach spot in the state
is Emerald Isle.

Just my $.02.

Check back in when you decide where to go take a look see and let us know what you decide!

[Upthevibe]

41. One of my very best friends lives in South Carolina and she loves it. It's supposed to

Be really beautiful and from what you describe it really sounds wonderful. I wish I didn't love California so much but I do. It's been home for over 25 years. I lead a very simple life in terms of material possessions. And I'm fine with having a roommate so I can afford to live in an apt. In Redondo. I really need to figure out how much per year my state taxes are because if I moved where there aren't state taxes, that's even more money in my pocket. I've even been seeing other countries with ex-pat communities. I'm very open.

[bigwillq]

42. Blue states are generally more expensive to live in

Don't really know of a lower cost living blue state but one thing is for sure: don't move to CT. SOOOOO expensive.