California or bust!

I think if my whole family were going to pack it up and leave for California, I'd do it in a heartbeat. It would be much harder for them to start over than me. I have nothing to lose and to me, it wouldn't be much different than finding a new place to rent here. But, oh the sun, that wonderful sun, warm weather, and beautiful flowers all year, would sure make me happy as long as I was near my kids and grandkids.

Your reasons are valid enough to stay just where you are. It takes more than the beauty of the place to warrant uprooting your family. And besides, this is something that should be decided by all members of the family. You need a consensus but of course if one of the members chose to stay, that decision must be respected. I have something to share that is similar to this. The husband of my sister in law is not really that much when it comes to landing good jobs or finding work. He gets into trouble every now and then and expects his brother to bail him out whenever he needs some money for his bills. He soon gets the message that he will not get money every time he asks because they have 2 kids and my sister in law's husband have high overhead in his business. He always tell us that he's sick and tired of this town and that his daughter needs a new environment (because her cousins are getting in trouble). So without further ado he moved to NC. And he invited my sister in law's family over for some weekend getaway and to boast that his life there is very good, the food is awesome, the place is so pretty and not so dull unlike here. (Didn't even bother to pay them back). So anyway, he managed to convince my 19-year old niece to stay with him and his daughter. Now, my niece got pregnant and have moved back here in her parents' place. Now, we heard that he is moving back here this April because he cannot get anymore work there. Turns out that the beauty of the place isn't enough indication of the sustainability of livelihood. He never listens though, but we'll see.

At the end of the day you have to do what's right for YOU my friend, sounds an awful lot of upheaval to be honest, isn't it a big climate change too going from one extreme to the other, I have heard California can be pretty hot and humid? And as you said the financial implications, sounds like too much strain and pain for too little gain. You are settled where you are, what if you can't get settled there, what if you can't find the right place for you? Then you really are stuck, having forked out all that money, you can't then change your mind and move back again if it doesn't work out?

I don't see a problem with packing up and moving to another area--provided that one has some source of income and knows something about the area to which (s)he is moving. You have good reasons for not wanting to move. Your son may have good reasons for wanting to move. Of course, it doesn't sound like he has planned this out very well. He has no savings, no job lined up for either himself or his wife, no social network there beyond his sister... nothing. He needs a better plan before he commits himself, his wife and child to moving to the other side of the country.

You can do anything if you put your mind to it. It may not happen over night, but with time and goals.