Berk winter, spitballing relocation

I admit this is purely thinking out loud and not likely to come to fruition so I don't feel bad about these ideas being terrible. I have 2 prospective relocation options this year. Brooksville Florida and Sonoma California.

Brooksville would have me getting my grandfather's old place for free. If not for family reasons at the time, I would have already moved in '09 or '12. It is an early 90's single wide on a 100x100 double lot. My aunt is 5 miles away in Spring Hill.

Option 2 is vaguely the Sonoma wine country region in California. SWMBO's BFF has recently finished a wine program and is looking at winery jobs out there and wants us to go with her. That is the extent of any information on that idea at this time.

My wife is in banking in a position between teller and loan officer and I'm stuck in the purgatory of retail customer service.

You'll be a lot better off financially getting a free house in Florida than shopping for a house in California wine country, that's for sure!

Florida. Debt free housing, and with yalls jobs, plenty of work.

And no snow. berkeley snow.

I will second Brooksville. Fairly quiet area, not a beach town or a retirement area, but a bit red necky. I did a bit of contract work there a while ago, no bad memories. Cost of living will be ridiculously lower than Cali, even if you had to pay rent. Great fishing close by. 12 month race season. Yeah, no snow. We are about 100 miles south and were shivering outside with 60 degree cold. Real close to Challenge, too. Decent pro sports in Tampa.

Sears Point...

I don't know, I spent the ages of 10-19 living in a mobile home.

It sucked. I'm sure newer ones aren't as bad, but I'd never do it again. Especially in an area with a penchant for tornadoes.

Sonoma is in a beautiful place surrounded by beautiful places in the middle of some other beautiful places and it's expensive.

But if you are desperate enough to consider living in a single-wide trailer in central Florida I'd say you would still be better off in an old refrigerator box or abandoned car on the left coast.

Stayed in Sonoma for a weekend after speedning a week in SF, it was some of the nicest country and weather I've had the pleasure of being a part of. Florida sucks. Been there, done that. Too hot, too humid, too many slow old people, too many u-turns. The tax situation there is nice though, 6% on non-food items, 0% on unprepaired food, and no state tax.

If you love old cars and driving, anything like a firearm, or just generally not spending every single penny you can scrape together on housing I'd say Florida is your go-to. The PRC has little to interest me personally.

free Florida is the answer then save until you can afford a place in the keys

Is the place in Florida completely free or is there lot rent? Because an early 90's singlewide in Florida has not much more value than the land it sits on. I know because this is how my in-laws in Florida get by.

Otherwise personally I am in the position where I would rather live in a tent in Sonoma, one of the most beautiful parts of the country with basically perfect weather year-round, than in a free mobile home in Brooksville, which is a not-so-great area even by Florida standards.

Brooksville airport hosts autocrosses nearly every weekend, between all of the clubs that race there.

Mild (relatively) winters is all those two locations share.

If money is an issue, a trailer in Florida is your best choice. Otherwise Brooksville isn't even in the same league as Sonoma.

My family took a vacation to Sonoma a few years back and it was gorgeous. It even rained most of the time and it didn't take away from the beauty. Dragged my race car with us and managed to wipe out the crank in about 15 minutes at Infineon raceway, but whatever, I can still say I've run on that track. Oh yeah, it has wine, and breweries, and wine, incredible scenery, and did I mention wine?

There is this.....

The median home value in Brooksville is $82K. The median home value in Sonoma is $677,800. So yes.....there is quite a difference in real estate cost.

Sonoma is gorgeous, but you pay dearly for the privilege of living there. I haven't been to Brooksville, but I'm very happy in Central FL on the coast. Everyplace is what you make of it---- you can be happy anywhere, or you can be miserable anywhere.

Huckleberry wrote: But if you are desperate enough to consider living in a single-wide trailer in central Florida I'd say you would still be better off in an old refrigerator box or abandoned car on the left coast.

yea, there aren't any people living in trailers in that area.

And you could follow SWMBO's BFF to Sonoma?? Are threesomes guaranteed?

I hate Florida. That being said, I'd take a free trailer in FL over being a CA resident again any day, it wouldn't even have to be a real nice trailer.

Even if I had hedge fund manager income I wouldn't go back to live in Cali. I would take some nice vacations there though.

Dusterbd13 wrote: Florida. Debt free housing, and with yalls jobs, plenty of work. And no snow. berkeley snow.

Don't forget the cold and car killing road salt.

Is it possible that you'd be better off just staying put and selling/renting your grandfather's place? Sonoma is silly pricey. Money can't buy happiness, but it's a lot easier to be happy if you're not stressing over how you'll pay for a roof over your head and food this month.

Central Florida isn't so bad, but that's not an especially enticing situation/location either. Truly free housing is pretty rare though. Depending on your current living/ financial situation I can see how it could be a good move.

That was my first thought, What does the BFF look like in a bikini?

But that was the other head talking. Not always the best decision maker.

Free rent you can save for other digs or build. Spend lots of money on race car. Downside is 100 x 100 does not leave much room for a shop.

My father owns the Florida house, lot and all. They are currently renting it out for around $300 a month, but the tenants are often several months behind. I would have moved down in '09 when I finished college but that was when my father went to Iraq with KBR so I stayed home to help out my mother. By the time he came home I was married and SWMBO wasn't liking the idea of FL. She still isn't big on it but she knows I am just about done with winter.

As far as BFF, I would prefer to avoid an Amy situation. Although BFF wouldn't mind my wife leaving me for her.

We are currently renting an old house for $800 a month in CNY, but are getting killed on heat at close to $100/week for propane. A quick look at Sonoma shows a 2 bed place starting around $2k/month.

Does it have to be IN Sonoma? Cost of living varies greatly in CA, especially the closer you get to the Bay Area. I live 30 miles from Sonoma, on the other side of the hills to the East. Very similar scenery and climate for 1/2 the cost. Better yet, I'm only a short drive from Sacramento or SF, and only a coupe hours from Tahoe. There are lots of places in Northern CA that are very nice but more affordable (by CA standards.) That said, CA can be a very expensive place to live. Everything costs more, and you are taxed on just about everything. Many times I've wished that I could move my large extended family out of CA due to the cost, but I can't think of a place that I'd rather live. Also be sure you are ready for the political atmosphere of CA, which could be heaven or hell depending on which way you lean. And that flips when you get out of the cities and into rural CA, though most legislation is passed by the cities.

Car wise, it is heaven and hell. Lots of nice cars, no rust. Plenty of tracks, and some of the best back roads on the planet. But we do have SMOG tests, high vehicle tax and registration. Gas and insurance are more expensive.

I live in a part of Texas that is shockingly similar to Florida. No state tax, cheap housing, alligators, meth, humidity, and lots of car stuff. Low cost living frees up a LOT of resources for other stuff. $2k a month would probably pay for a singlewide in Florida in 2-3 years. Then continue is that for 7-8 more and the ten year difference between CA and FL is a crappy trailer and a couple hundred thousand invested vs........A higher quality life for the past decade? I've gotten addicted to low cost living and am willing to put up with a lot of E36 M3 for it.

If you do move to Brooksville, you'd practically be neighbors with Karl Lafollette. So at least you've have tasty tacos, and manatee tours nearby. Karl is also a very nice guy--- if you've ever been to the challenge.

Joe Gearin wrote: If you do move to Brooksville, you'd practically be neighbors with Karl Lafollette. So at least you've have tasty tacos, and manatee tours nearby. Karl is also a very nice guy--- if you've ever been to the challenge.

See now...I was debating on whether or not to mention Karl being in the vicinity. Couple of good car building sessions with Karl and he might be willing to let his old lady run off with the BFF so he can hang around that "Business" that Karl runs. What is the latest some sort of boat based enterprise no? Might even find a way out of the retail industry.

So let me get this straight. You have a choice to live in a trailer in Florida vs wine country in NorCal?

And there is a debate raging about this?