You read that right– we moved to San Diego. We’re officially San Diego residents, babyyyy! Just last week, we finally received all of our “proofs of residence” and were able to go to the California DMV to get our licenses. My dad was pretty strict growing up, so I wasn’t able to get my driver’s license until I turned 18. That meant I never officially drove in CA before we moved to Utah when I was 17. I had no idea that when moving states, you have to take the written test again. Did you?! It had me all sorts of stressed out, but I passed on the first go–whew! Here’s a little bit about how our move is going and why we chose to move to SD.
Cost of Living
First and foremost, it’s worth mentioning, that the cost of living in Salt Lake City had begun to far outweigh the salary and pay. The median home price rose to $486,000 for first time buyers, an older figure, not including information like location, lack of home improvements or updates, and many buyers were waiving inspections and paying above asking in cash.
Rent had also become hopeless, with a studio anywhere in Salt Lake County costing at least $1,500 + additional mandatory fees such as parking, trash valet, and amenity packages. In the end, we moved from Downtown SLC to a suburb in San Diego (with the same amount of liveliness) for the same price in rent. Although we downgraded a bathroom and dishwasher, we were happy to pay the sunshine tax!
We’re far off from being able to afford buying a house, in Utah or Southern California, but find the market cost makes more sense in the SoCal area, anyway. Eventually, if or when we have kids, I’d like to raise them in an area that values putting spending into public education, has a diversity of culture, and provides them with a multitude of opportunities. California just makes sense!
Physical Health is Why We Moved to San Diego
Personally, ever since I moved to Salt Lake City in December 2008, I have felt my health decline. SLC is surrounded by mountains that create a bowl around the valley where pollution gets trapped. During winter months, there is the inversion, and during the summer months, wildfire smoke blown in from other states hangs in the air. It not only makes it hard to breathe, but it leads to headaches, sore throats, and lack of ability to go outside.
It is really hard to stay active all year long when it gets cold outside and it’s often overcast four months out of the year. As someone that has arthritis issues, the winter weather can really be a downer on wanting to exercise! The cold triggers arthritic pain, especially in places where I have had surgery and hardware, like the screws in my feet. In order to feel better daily, despite chronic pain, I needed to move somewhere with more consistent weather. Interestingly enough, many people with orthopedic implants report that they can sense the weather changing before it happens!
Mental Health
Similarly, the lack of sun really had a negative impact on my mental health. You can often find me saying, “having a bad day? go outside and get some sun!” These are words I truly live by on a day to day basis. Winters in Salt Lake City, Utah are fabulous for outdoor junkies that love snow, but not so much for the sun lovers like me. I found myself in the depths of seasonal depression every year. It was to the point I’d prepare for it to happen between late December (around the first snow) to mid-May (when the flowers started blooming). We were looking for a Mediterranean climate (like the weather in Bodega Bay, California) to really help boost our moods.
Weather aside, I grew up in a very conservative and religious environment. Moving to SLC, where many other Mormons were living, only added to the closed-in culture. At 17, I found myself questioning my beliefs, just based on living in an area with high saturation of LDS church members. It brought out all the flaws in the religion for me, and it became something I wanted to escape. Although I began the process of leaving my beliefs and religion behind in 2015, I didn’t feel like Salt Lake City, UT was the environment to find closure and properly heal from the damage that the surrounding lifestyle had caused.
We Moved to San Diego for Work Opportunities
Listen, I don’t have to tell you that there is more work opportunity in California. Being in the media industry, as a blogger, social media influencer, and content creator, there are so many more chances to get paid jobs. Although Utah has a large influencer market, a lot of the businesses in the 801 are working on small marketing budgets. That means that they offer little to no pay. Quite often, I’d run into brands that hadn’t even considered social media marketing. I knew that moving would not only put me in a more savvy market that pays creators for their work, but also would provide a year-round, temperate climate that was perfect for shooting any campaign that I was asked to do.
Nostolgia
Finally, if you ask my husband, he will tell you that I see SoCal through “rose colored glasses”. Well, at least he said that before he had moved here himself. I lived in La Crescenta, a small suburb outside of Los Angeles, during my junior high and high school years. It’s typical to reminisce on our teens, so Spencer thought I only had nostalgia for the SoCal Lifestyle when I’d talk about wanting to move back. Literally, from the day I moved to Utah, continuing on through the marriage, I discussed how much I wanted to move back.
Obviously, there was a bit of nostalgia, but I had visited the state enough times to know that moving was what I truly wanted. When my family lived in Los Angeles, we often did staycations, including in San Diego, Newport, and Catalina Island (trust me, this is the best thing to do on Catalina Island). Pre-pandemic, my husband and I would travel to San Diego at least once a year for a vacation. Each time, I’d consider SD as a potential landing place. I craved the eternal sunshine, the inclusive communities, the myriad opportunities. Now that I have been in San Diego for a month, I can say that it hasn’t let me down. The expectations are reality. Not a day goes by that I don’t think, “we’ve made the right decision.”
What do you think?