Its been five years

[DEVOREGUNNER]

It’s been five years since we left California and we could not have made a better decision. Our story follows.

A not so Merry Christmas (2016). I was diagnosed with Stage II Gleason Scale 7 Intermediate Cancer Christmas week. Now the journey began to seek the best course of treatment and to join my wife as a Cancer survivor. One week after our 52nd anniversary I had Cryosurgery at Loma Linda University Surgical Center to freeze the invading tumor(s) at -314 degrees F, not once but twice they were frozen and thawed and frozen again. While it would be a period of time before I would learn if the procedure was successful it was time to fill some of my bucket list. It was also time to get serious about leaving California as we had been planning on for a number years but had not acted upon, now was the time to act.

With approval from my Loma Linda Doctor in June 2017 and a probable good outcome in the forecast I set off to fulfill part of my bucket list. Hooked up the “Redneck Rocketship” and set off to fish the Bass Lakes I dreamed and read about. First stop Lake Fork and Lake Texoma in Texas then Lake Eufaula and Broken Bow in Oklahoma then off to Arkansas.
Met up with my grandson in Fort Smith for breakfast where he was finishing his Masters degree in Geospatial Technology at the University of Arkansas (Go Hogs) and then off to fish Lake Norfork and Bull Shouls. After a private tour of the BassCat factory in Mountain Home where the “Redneck Rocketship” was built it was off to Lake Dardenelle in Alabama. Then on to wet the line in Lake Lanier and Clark Hill in Georgia.

Finally ended up at my ex business partners Lake Greenwood home in Cross Hill, So Carolina to relax, recharge my batteries, get some down home Southern cookin’ and start house hunting. Between house hunting I fished Lake Greenwood, Lake Hartwell, Lake Keowee, Lake Strom Thurmond and Lake Jocassee. I also found time between house hunting, enjoying southern cooking and BBQ to fish in a night tournament on Lake Murray. After 6 weeks it was time to head home and put our home on the market and purchase my wife a plane ticket to go and look at the homes I had picked out.

How ironic it is that we settled in what once was Cherokee territory before the Indian Removal Act and near the town of Easley in an upscale tract named “Pendelton Plantation”. Easley was named after General William Easley one of the original signers of the Secession Declaration and later a Confederate General.

My roots and about that Confederate flag some have a problem with, ya need to get over it. I have a special reverence for the Stars and Bars as both of my maternal Great Great Grandfathers fought in the Civil War for the South (Company C, Morgan Regiment, Texas Calvary and Company A, 8th Regiment, Missouri Calvary) and one lost a brother in the war with the North. To my surprise the Museum and Library of Confederate History is just 20 minutes away and I have been accepted as a member in the 16th Regiment, S.C. Volunteers, Sons of Confederate Veterans. My maternal kin were not immigrants but were Native Americans and Colonists (1650), my paternal kin were legal immigrants from Europe and Scandinavia in the early 1850’s. I have no issue with legal immigrants only illegal immigrants that are gaming the system, key word “illegal”. No sanctuary state or sanctuary city BS here, no confused sex restrooms and mandatory E-verify makes a huge difference too as teenagers of all races actually have entry level jobs and construction workers have names like Billy Bob and John Boy.

This forum and watching the insane news coming out of Sacramento daily is just a constant reminder of the many reasons I left California. Each and every day I thank my blessings I was wise enough to move to So Carolina and leave California in my rear-view mirror. After 72 years it was no longer the California my wife and I were born in, grew up in and raised our family in. My only regret is not doing it sooner, much sooner.

All of the big box stores (Home Depot, Lowes, Costco, Walmart, Sams Club, Cabelas, etc) here are amazing. No crowds, never more than one person ahead of you at check out. Can’t walk down an aisle without a clerk asking how they can help you. At checkout they ask if you found everything alright and thank you for shopping with them and have a great day or a blessed day. Even Wal-Mart is a most pleasant experience, I was shocked. Oh and no bag fee, lumber or paint tax and they take your shopping cart to your car and load it without asking. Civil, courteous and polite behavior regardless of the situation or venue is the rule and not the exception. Southern hospitality is the real deal.

A visit to the DMV was like a miracle come true. No appointment needed and I was called to the window before I could take a seat. Walked out with my new real ID driver’s license and new license plates in under 30 minutes, registration was only $31 for two years. Oh, and I had a choice of plates and chose the one with “In God we Trust” on it and got consecutive numbered plates for all of my vehicles (3). Sales tax on an automobile purchase here has a $500 cap.

No ridicules taxes and fees on everything unlike California. Utilities, insurance and taxes (property, income, sales tax, gas tax) all significantly less. My first electric bill for 34 days was $29 on a 3000sq ft home with an all electric kitchen and laundry. The electric company is a Co-op and has not had a rate increase in over 7 years and give members a rebate at the end of the year. My trash pickup is $15 a month and no recycling to have to sort through and separate. Water bill with sewer is $60 and no water rationing here. Car insurance was $400 less and the home insurance was $700 less than the California rate plus the $1,500 in savings as Earthquake coverage was also not needed. Property taxes are less than ½ the California tax rate and after I have been here a year I get a senior homestead reduction of $50,000 from the accessed evaluation. $2.59 a gal for a gas fill up this morning, a 5 minute slow down to 45 mph is considered a traffic jam on a highway and is rare, also no bullet train to nowhere here. After 5 years I have yet to see a panhandler or homeless person or any graffiti and while I am sure there must be some somewhere I haven’t seen any yet.

Removed the bullet button from my AR 15 on arrival, my Concealed Carry license is free, bought a new firearm (9mm pistol) and walked out with it, no 10 day waiting period after the instant background check and it came with two 16 round factory magazines. A Department of Natural Resources (fish & game) shooting range nearby is free and rivals the private club in California I was a member of.

Purchasing a senior lifetime combo hunting and fishing license for a onetime fee of only $9.00. The license is good for Freshwater fishing, Freshwater set hook, Saltwater fishing, State Hunting, Big Game Hunting and includes Wildlife Management Area Permit, Migratory Waterfowl and the license also comes with deer (5) and turkey (3) tags, no limit on Coyotes, Bobcats and Wild Hogs. Enter and/or launch your boat at any of the 46 state parks for $2.00 ($1.25 for seniors), free at county parks. Three lakes with over 1300 miles of shoreline less than 30 minutes from my door to the launch ramp (free). Over 150 waterfalls to see less than an hour from my home, many can only be seen from a boat on the lakes. 45 minutes away from the Blue Ridge parkway and spectacular mountain vistas. Vast variety of fish to chose from in those 3 lakes (Largemouth Bass, Spotted Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Redeye Bass, Stripe Bass, White Bass, Hybrid Bass, Walleye, Trout, Catfish, Black and White Crappie and more varieties of Sun fish than you can count). Fly fishing on the Chattooga River is only 45 minutes away for Brook, Brown and Rainbow Trout. You might remember seeing the Chattooga River as it was where the white water river scenes in the movie “Deliverance” were filmed. Did I say the lakes are huge; you could put all of the lakes in So California in anyone of a half dozen lakes within an hour or less of me and have room left over. No crowds and no speed limits on the lakes here, not unusual to make up to an hour long 70+ mph run from launch to your favorite honey hole. The Coosa River chain rivals the California Delta in total fishing area and variety.

Y’all are getting ripped off royally by the California Fish & Wildlife Dept. DNR (fish & game) here are world class, $10 for a regular hunting or fishing license, DNR habitat placed in the lakes is marked by a buoy and GPS coordinates, a free loaner program for complete rod, reel and tackle is available at state park lakes and free loaner Personal Flotation Device’s are also available. And state Wildlife Management Areas for hunting can’t be beat. Unlike California fishing and hunting are supported here.

https://upcountrysc.com/

https://visitoconeesc.com/

https://www.visitgreenvillesc.com/

[kustomkat1950]

^^^

All this. Down the holler from you, Richmond Hill GA. Live next to a river...Its all true. People are just nicer and things are cheaper.

DMV is a breeze, and plays soft jazz. No lines. Pay a one time tax and then its free (veteran)

My unlimited hunting/fishing license was $60 out the door.

[CAL.BAR]

OP - you left a state with 40 MILLION people for a state with just over 5 million. Nothing "remarkable"about that. Yes, there WILL be fewer people EVERYWHERE you go. Big surprise. Yes, EVERYTHING will be cheaper and yes, it will be easier to hunt (and better hunting too). If even one half of one percent of Californians decided to go hunting, it would be result in 200 THOUSAND hunters killing everything that moves. There wouldn't be anything left! Enjoy it while it lasts. Populations are surging in many states, SC included. I'll leave this here for you
https://rfa.sc.gov/data-research/pop...es-projections

And.... crime rates.... SC ranks 9th highest in terms of crime. WELL above CA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ent_crime_rate

Glad you like it there. But gloating and bashing the rest of us for staying in CA is not warranted. I enjoyed hearing about your personal story and found your experiences interesting and worth reading. But the the jeering and teasing really isn't necessary. Best of luck in your future endeavors.

[bigbossman]

Originally Posted by CAL.BAR

OP - you left a state with 40 MILLION people for a state with just over 5 million.

Hello, paging Captain Obvious. That's kind of the whole point, isn't it? We no longer wish to live in the urban blighted cesspool that you and those like you have turned CA into.

Originally Posted by CAL.BAR

And.... crime rates.... SC ranks 9th highest in terms of crime. WELL above CA.

It would be hard to find a more crime-ridden area than Oakland, SF, LA. or Fresno. At least outside of CA, they tend to lock people up for their crimes........ and occasionally still send a few to never-never land. What a stupid argument.

[BAJ475]

Originally Posted by bigbossman

Hello, paging Captain Obvious. That's kind of the whole point, isn't it? We no longer wish to live in the urban blighted cesspool that you and those like you have turned CA into.

It would be hard to find a more crime-ridden area than Oakland, SF, LA. or Fresno. At least outside of CA, they tend to lock people up for their crimes........ and occasionally still send a few to never-never land. What a stupid argument.

In all fairness, I do not think that CAL.BAR or the other members of Calguns are the ones who turned CA into the urban blighted cesspool that has become it. I did find one of CAL.BAR's points intriguing. He said that if only 1/2 of one percent of Californians (200,000) decided to go hunting, that they would kill everything that moves. That would mean that it would only take an armed force of 200,000 to eliminate every libtard, Marxist Dem in CA. I thought to myself, maybe there is hope for California!

[yakdout]

Originally Posted by CAL.BAR

OP - you left a state with 40 MILLION people for a state with just over 5 million. Nothing "remarkable"about that. Yes, there WILL be fewer people EVERYWHERE you go. Big surprise. Yes, EVERYTHING will be cheaper and yes, it will be easier to hunt (and better hunting too). If even one half of one percent of Californians decided to go hunting, it would be result in 200 THOUSAND hunters killing everything that moves. There wouldn't be anything left! Enjoy it while it lasts. Populations are surging in many states, SC included. I'll leave this here for you
https://rfa.sc.gov/data-research/pop...es-projections

And.... crime rates.... SC ranks 9th highest in terms of crime. WELL above CA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ent_crime_rate

Glad you like it there. But gloating and bashing the rest of us for staying in CA is not warranted. I enjoyed hearing about your personal story and found your experiences interesting and worth reading. But the the jeering and teasing really isn't necessary. Best of luck in your future endeavors.

Pretty funny when guys come on here to say “ I moved to a place with less people. I can’t believe there are less people here.” Really? I walked outside and it was raining, the street was wet. I bought a two story house, it has stairs. I moved to Idaho. The name of the state starts with an I.

[bigbossman]

Originally Posted by BAJ475

..... it would only take an armed force of 200,000 to eliminate every libtard, Marxist Dem in CA. I thought to myself, maybe there is hope for California!

Hmmm...... interesting. Hadn't thought about that.

[kwsr166]

Originally Posted by CAL.BAR

OP - you left a state with 40 MILLION people for a state with just over 5 million. Nothing "remarkable"about that. Yes, there WILL be fewer people EVERYWHERE you go. Big surprise. Yes, EVERYTHING will be cheaper and yes, it will be easier to hunt (and better hunting too). If even one half of one percent of Californians decided to go hunting, it would be result in 200 THOUSAND hunters killing everything that moves. There wouldn't be anything left! Enjoy it while it lasts. Populations are surging in many states, SC included. I'll leave this here for you
https://rfa.sc.gov/data-research/pop...es-projections

And.... crime rates.... SC ranks 9th highest in terms of crime. WELL above CA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ent_crime_rate

Glad you like it there. But gloating and bashing the rest of us for staying in CA is not warranted. I enjoyed hearing about your personal story and found your experiences interesting and worth reading. But the the jeering and teasing really isn't necessary. Best of luck in your future endeavors.

I don't really see any gloating, bashing, jeering or teasing, but it is IN the Expat Forum, so folks should be prepared.

As far as quoting Stats to make a point on a subject, Wikipedia is not going to begin to qualify as a reliable source, they even state it on their webpage. Really when it comes to Crime stats, none are going to be very reliable, because the result is only as good as the information that is put in and a lot of Agencies, especially those who want to have their communities remain "attractive" or "safe" sandbag the stats. Also, Chiefs of Police are usually "at will" and bad stats= unemployment for Chiefs.

[strakill]

Originally Posted by BAJ475

In all fairness, I do not think that CAL.BAR or the other members of Calguns are the ones who turned CA into the urban blighted cesspool that has become it. I did find one of CAL.BAR's points intriguing. He said that if only 1/2 of one percent of Californians (200,000) decided to go hunting, that they would kill everything that moves. That would mean that it would only take an armed force of 200,000 to eliminate every libtard, Marxist Dem in CA. I thought to myself, maybe there is hope for California!

Actually, CAL.BAR and a good handful of other members do fall into that category.

There is a reason he sticks to threads where he is less known here. He is in fact a leftist, he praises and tries like hell to defend the leftist utopia's.

He worked not so hard to earn the name CAL.DUMB on this board. Mag restrictions, "assault weapon" bans, red flag laws, waiting periods, and micro stamping are all on his "this I shall defend" list.

[Rotnguns]

Worst lines I've seen in Idaho, by far, are at the Boise Gun Show held in Nampa when it opens for the day. Seriously folks, it's fun to visit with one another, but have your cash out and walk in when you get to the door.

[oddball]

Originally Posted by strakill

Actually, CAL.BAR and a good handful of other members do fall into that category.

There is a reason he sticks to threads where he is less known here. He is in fact a leftist, he praises and tries like hell to defend the leftist utopia's.

Yeah, I'm pretty sure he is perma-banned from OT, that is why he is posting in places like this sub-forum.

[DaveInOroValley]

Almost three for us. No regrets at all.

[bigbossman]

Originally Posted by strakill

He worked not so hard to earn the name CAL.DUMB on this board. Mag restrictions, "assault weapon" bans, red flag laws, waiting periods, and micro stamping are all on his "this I shall defend" list.

If I recall correctly, the OT crowd hung the moniker of Kick.Ball on him before they tossed him out of OT altogether.

He's a pariah.

[Dougbert66]

Originally Posted by CAL.BAR

OP - you left a state with 40 MILLION people for a state with just over 5 million. Nothing "remarkable"about that. Yes, there WILL be fewer people EVERYWHERE you go. Big surprise. Yes, EVERYTHING will be cheaper and yes, it will be easier to hunt (and better hunting too). If even one half of one percent of Californians decided to go hunting, it would be result in 200 THOUSAND hunters killing everything that moves. There wouldn't be anything left! Enjoy it while it lasts. Populations are surging in many states, SC included. I'll leave this here for you
https://rfa.sc.gov/data-research/pop...es-projections

And.... crime rates.... SC ranks 9th highest in terms of crime. WELL above CA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ent_crime_rate

Popluation here is 1/8, but area is much smaller as well. Comparing average popluation density...CA is 254/sq mi and SC 170/sq mi. Not a huge difference.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List...lation_density

And, yes, there is crime here. Most associated with gangs, drugs, etc The nearest small city has higher violent crime rates than the San Jose area. But where I live (a few miles out of town) they are lower than where I lived in the Santa Cruz Mountains a few miles from Los Gatos. I was called for jury duty here last August and ended up serving on a trial with three defendants in a gang related shooting incident. They were convicted on most charges and will serve a minimum of 85% of their sentences (10 and 18 years) before being eligible for parole. The County Prosecutor is not soft on crime.

We have some areas run by leftists (Richland county, parts of the low country which have also seen an influx of NJ, NY, IL yankee democrats), but most areas are civilized and better run. It's not perfect by any means, but it is a damn sight better than CA where a few high pop areas dominate state politics and ruin the whole thing.

Glad you're here, OP. My family has roots here from the 1750s (maternal) and early 1800s (paternal, though they moved south from what is now West Virginia where they settled in colonial times). I'm glad to be back home. I hope CA can turn itself around.

Glad you like it there. But gloating and bashing the rest of us for staying in CA is not warranted. I enjoyed hearing about your personal story and found your experiences interesting and worth reading. But the the jeering and teasing really isn't necessary. Best of luck in your future endeavors.

It only feels that way because of the huge difference in actual freedom. Freedom is not free or safe, but it is better than all other alternatives. Until you realize that, well, enjoy CA.

[Sutcliffe]

Seems appropriate!

I worked for 14 months after we moved. Early flights from Boise to San Jose were creepy during Covid. The planes still flew, they were just empty.

We have zero regrets. Well, we have one: both of us are kicking ourselves for not doing it earlier.

In the Bay Area there were more people in a ten mile radius than live in the entire state of ID.

[borderguy]

Originally Posted by CAL.BAR

OP - you left a state with 40 MILLION people for a state with just over 5 million. Nothing "remarkable"about that. Yes, there WILL be fewer people EVERYWHERE you go. Big surprise. Yes, EVERYTHING will be cheaper and yes, it will be easier to hunt (and better hunting too). If even one half of one percent of Californians decided to go hunting, it would be result in 200 THOUSAND hunters killing everything that moves. There wouldn't be anything left! Enjoy it while it lasts. Populations are surging in many states, SC included. I'll leave this here for you
https://rfa.sc.gov/data-research/pop...es-projections

And.... crime rates.... SC ranks 9th highest in terms of crime. WELL above CA.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...ent_crime_rate

Glad you like it there. But gloating and bashing the rest of us for staying in CA is not warranted. I enjoyed hearing about your personal story and found your experiences interesting and worth reading. But the the jeering and teasing really isn't necessary. Best of luck in your future endeavors.

Glad you're happy living in CA!

If you don't like CA bashing, perhaps this is the wrong forum for you.
I just paid $206 to register my F-250 and Forester for 2 years each.
Taxes on my 1-1/2 acre property with my house and shop were $1911.
My gas and electric bills this month were high at $88.79, water is free I have a well.
It's not gloating, it's just fact.

[BAJ475]

Originally Posted by borderguy

Glad you're happy living in CA!

If you don't like CA bashing, perhaps this is the wrong forum for you.
I just paid $206 to register my F-250 and Forester for 2 years each.
Taxes on my 1-1/2 acre property with my house and shop were $1911.
My gas and electric bills this month were high at $88.79, water is free I have a well.
It's not gloating, it's just fact.

It may be a fact but yes, we are gloating! No roster, no such thing as an AW, no DROS or registration of firearms, no 1 in 30, no limit on mag capacity, no need for a FFL for a private sale, no state restrictions on NFA items, no need for a permit to carry either open or concealed, no BG check to purchase ammo, no red flag laws, with a CWP no NICS check and conservatives outnumber liberals by a wide margin.

[oddball]

Originally Posted by Sutcliffe

We have zero regrets. Well, we have one: both of us are kicking ourselves for not doing it earlier.

Same with me and the wife. We started our move in late 2017 and wished it was earlier, yet we would not have found our current house, which we love, our best home to date. We call it our "permanent vacation", because it feels like it, just getting the hell out of CA took an enormous amount of daily stress off our backs.

With the sole exception of weather, everything else was an upgrade when we moved, everything in our lives.

[Garand Hunter]

Good hunting Bros in the other side of the world....OUTA CALI ! I am in Tennessee and liking it plenty.

Psalm 1

[sd_shooter]

Coming up on 5 years for us as well. No regrets!

[colossians323]

coming up 6 years for us, and those whining about him celebrating, get over it.
We moved to an area with roughly the same population of where we lived in California.
People are nicer
I don't have to wait in line if I want costo gas (for longer than 2 minutes)
I don't have to wait in line at costco, home depot, walmart etc.
The people are far nicer (they still don't know how to drive).
I hike in my backyard.............thousands of acres of blm land.
Wild life is a double edge sword, between the deer rubbing their antlers on my trees and the rabbits starving, and eating our evergreens lower branches this winter, spring cant come soon enough
Pond freezing over every day I bet the bluegill are feasting on the minnows.
Love it outside of Cali.
For those that love it inside of Cali more power to you