In May of 2020, we decided to get a real estate agent in Utah to explore the idea of moving from Santa Cruz. My husband’s job with Looker/Google was going to be over in December, and California was stressing us out. Cost of living was high, our electricity got turned off when it was hot and windy, and homelessness and drug use were all around. It was frustrating to pay $1.5 million for a modest house and $18,000 per year in property tax then see things like this:
Then we’d hear about this kind of madness:
And there were many perhaps well-intentioned laws—I voted in favor of some of them—that had terrible results. Let's have no felony charges for someone who steals $900 worth of stuff from a store! (Prop 47) = stores closing because people were blatantly stealing tons of stuff from stores. San Francisco businesses with 20+ employees should be required to give their employees health benefits! = higher prices for customers, fewer people hired, unwiped tables at casual restaurants, etc. This popped up when I tried to buy a bike online:
It’s no wonder Governor Gavin Newsom was given this honor—ha! Like us, a lot of people wanted out of a wonderful but worrisome place.
So we sold our house (which thankfully went well--it was hard to know what to expect during Covid) and bought one in Utah for half the price. My mom was a MAJOR help previewing listings and taking us around during the three separate trips my husband and I made. We lost out on two offers and a backup before getting our current house. We gave our piano and trampoline to Santa Cruz friends who lived down the street:
The kids had their last outdoor playdates (which started in late May 2020 with a handful of like-minded parents so we could preserve our sanity and help our kids stay connected and happy during the pandemic):
Sister said good-bye to our very kind neighbor who had provided peach-ring gummies and hang-out time with her dog:
My husband sold the charming 1999 Mazda Miata we bought from my aunt and uncle; it's a California car:
and I took the kids to the San Francisco Zoo one last time:
It was not easy to leave--it's still my favorite house we've lived in, and the location was very hard to beat:
But we felt good about our decision, especially when the CZU Lightning Complex fire started burning 10 days after we left. We know three people who lost their homes and many who had to evacuate. (Our old neighborhood was close but got to stay put although the air quality was horrendous for about a month).
The move itself went well. My awesome friend from high school came out and helped us pack up the Penske truck that my husband drove, then she and I switched off in our family car during the 13-hour drive on August 6, 2020. We left almost exactly 19 years from the time my husband and I arrived in California, newly married and ready to start jobs in San Francisco. Here's me on a corner near our first apartment in the Marina district of SF in 2001:
It was so nice to have family help on the other end with unloading and unpacking. They are another big reason we made the move:
