DD, Hannah and BB, her beau Blake
At Del Mar for his birthday and their 4th Anniversary.
Two of my three favorite people.
Now that Dearest Son and Darling Daughter
live five minutes apart,
they see each other often.
They like each other as friends,
as well as love each other as siblings.
Mama could not be happier.
They are even going on vacation
together this year.
The three kids are campaigning to
get me to LA permanently and I have spent hours
researching any possibilities,
but location and financials are mind boggling.
Houses are unaffordable since I refuse to
take on a mortgage, after not having one
for over a decade, and condos come
with large HOA fees.
Both come with triple the property taxes
I pay here.
The worst though is where?
What small town within 60 minutes
of Culver City would suit me?
Definitely not more than 90 minutes away.
My eyes cross after hours on Zillow
and Realtor.com.
Any CA girls out there I'll GLADLY take any advice,
area recommendations, realtor names etc.
I'm just thrilled that they want me near.
Till then the 4 hour drive seems to
be getting easier for all of us.
We're averaging about every other month.
and if they ever would build the super train...
of course in 80 years they will live much closer as the
rising ocean will have pushed em back 1 hour my way...
BUT I'm sure I will be long gone by then.
I told them last week maybe they should hold
onto this property as it is in the very south of town and
will be beach front real estate some day in their retirement!
Ha!
forever stuck in lala
*******
And yes Amy, since you asked, I would love to have
folks travel in for a Gathering class.
3 blocks away is a lovely large casino hotel
with spa, movie theaters,
and adjacent a wonderful mall called the District.
Mall has Pottery Barn, Williams Sonoma,
Anthropologie, West Elm, great dining and more.
by car
I am 2 hours from St George and
4 hours to Culver City in LA.
if that helps...
There are still a few spots in Sept class,
and it will be cooler then.
Bring your hubby, leave him at the casino
and come play with some great gals for the day.
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13 comments:
Love that your children are friends. My daughters are so different but have great love for each other and friendship. They play well together. I adore living this close to my family and Grands and I'm lucky to be able to do that. I don't own a home but Calif is so expensive I don't know if I could move there now. My oldest lives in Santa Clara and it is pricey!! She rents! Good luck and if you move it will be amazing.
Linda
Go. find a way, find a place.. keep looking, but go. Life is short, time with family is precious.. I say.. go.
So sweet that they are such good friends as adults. I hope you can make the move closer work. Still thinking about PA and 2 years to go to retirement....
nothing makes me happier as a parent to see my grown children best of friends. They see each other weekly, get their kids together often, take vacations together, etc. And even better, they like being around us. wow, must have done something right!
Congratulations on the invite to live closer
Four hours isn't a long drive, IMHO. If you want to move for yourself, then that's wonderful. As for moving closer to kids being the reason, that's great as well.
Recently I've been thinking more about where I would move for myself, without the being closer factor. The plans aways circle back to family and familiar places. Yet, the lure of my ME-adventure is still there. There may be a day when either by opportunity or choice the children move farther away. Where would I be then? A parent is never too old to have their own dreams.
Good luck!
I live in Long Beach...about 25 minutes away from Culver City...the 405 freeway is minutes away...if you use it at "off hours" it can be as little as a 25 minute drive....Long Beach is cool! a lot cheaper than LA...but still you get to use the Metro Rail, two stations close by, and travel all over now...Downtown La, and now the Westside....Consider Long Beach!!!! if you need anymore info, or if you do come to your kids for a visit, you can stop by my house we'll have lunch! I can let you know of the good areas to look...without knowing your
finances, I can only say you can still buy a place here, in certain areas, for 375,000...of course if you want a nice hood it will cost more, but there are lots of different neighborhoods...It is the best secret in LA area...I live about 3 miles from the beach...houses here are around $470,000 but there are ones that can be found for less...we are talking about a 2 bedroom, large yard, garage...etc etc. Trader Joes, beach, city, everything close by...
I just went to Zillow Long beach....I am in the Wrigley area...It is "marginal" but I have so many fabulous neighbors, cool, hip people...many who came from LA to find affordable houses...like us! Long Beach has many many different neighborhoods with prices all over the map...Wrigley is a lot of cute Spanish houses...you would have to hook up with a real estate agent who will get you in on properties before they get listed... I have lived in LA now for over 40 years!!!! and believe you me, we looked for house for about 15 years...everyplace so expensive, or tiny or crappy neighborhood...my husband drives to Culver City everyday to his studio on Washington Blvd and Fairfax, I still see my old friends, I don't miss it one damn bit cause it is so crowded...better here...come visit!!!!
How lovely that your children get on so well Z …… and, just thinking about moving brings me out in a cold sweat !!!! So stressful but, I'm sure that you would love to be nearer your children. Ours only live a short distance away and I can't imagine having to drive 4 hours to see them but, you seem to manage.
oh, and many thanks for your brilliant comment over at mine. XXXX
My girls live 2 1/2 hours south, and that's a long haul for me. Four hours would be a long drive for me...whew. You are doing pretty good to make that long drive! Isn't it wonderful to have the kids get along? Sure makes a mom's heart sing.
I hope you find what you are looking for.
Debbie
xo
I've often wondered why you didn't up and move somewhere, mostly in the summer when your blogs are about the heat :)
My mom used to talk about moving closer to us, then because of work we moved four times in three years and then she stopped talking about it. Closer to kids is great, but make sure you like wherever you are for yourself also, just in case.....
My daughter is packing this week to move to Santa Rosa, I have looked at rentals and have no idea how she expects to pay the rent, but live and learn..... maybe you guys could room together!
Even thinking about moving would send me right over the edge Z. I am waaay too comfortable and lazy for that. My kids who moved far away are always trying to get us to think about moving closer, and I just say...say what??? If I move closer to you than I'm further from the others :)))
sending love...
AWESOME NEWS!!! I HOPE you can make this happen!!! XOXO
I live in Escondido Ca in a senior mobile home park. If you don't want a mortgage a mobile may be the way to go. Some parks have high space rent and some have low space rent. San clemente might be a good place to look.
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