Reply #13: I lived in Boulder and areas of California

[KeepHopeAlive]

I'm a native Californian who lived in Boulder, CO, for four years. I moved back to CA last November.

Boulder is beautiful, and indeed progressive, but I couldn't get used to the winters and the altitude. Housing is very expensive. I really can't pinpoint the reason, but I just grew progressively more and more homesick for my native California.

We just bought a house on 4 acres in Paradise, California, which is near Chico--another liberal area--and not all that far from Sacramento. Housing is still affordable in this area, but climbing. People here blame Bay Area people (I was once one of them) who sell their homes and retire quite nicely here. As in Sacramento, summers are hot! I survived my first summer without air conditioning in my car so it's not really all that bad, although my husband has a differing opinion. Our view of the valley and beautiful sunsets makes it all worth it, and the ocean is a much shorter drive than it was from Colorado. :-)