[dreamingat30fps]

Being from Canada you probably wont even notice the pounding you'll get from California taxes.

[Danlnyc88]

I've lived in Orange County my entire life and I honestly find San Diego to be an incredibly boring city. Yes, it's nice, Yes, the beach is close by. Yes, it's beautiful...but it's just SO BORING. Perfect place for a family looking to settle down and enjoy the bubble that is SD.

[Mardio]

Something else you should consider is If you actually love to drive and put your cars through the paces then California is the place hands down. The mountain and canyon roads are a drivers dream and are located all over the state. In Florida all you can do is go fast in a straight line.

[The Choosey begger]

Originally Posted by Mardio

Something else you should consider is If you actually love to drive and put your cars through the paces then California is the place hands down. The mountain and canyon roads are a drivers dream and are located all over the state. In Florida all you can do is go fast in a straight line.

Not a dream, even if i drove 10 over the speed the limit! You're really not pushing your car, it's boring!

Take it to a track, now that's fun!

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by Lucky1

All live here in the 6ix. But I hardly see them so I wouldn't make a decision based on where they are

Family, at some point, is likely to become important. Grand kids and distance are horrible things.

If you must move, given what a dour city Toronto is i kind of hear you, make sure it's somewhere with a direct flight.

[infinitekidM2C]

LA for a car guy can be hell. There's a bit of traffic don't ya know. I'd say San Diego.

[F30lolz]

Florida doesn’t really have any exciting driving roads. Most of the roads are straight and flat with hardly any curves. South Florida, especially Miami, is heavily congested with not only traffic but with people who cannot comprehend the basic skills of operating a motor vehicle safely. IMHO, go to Cali.

We’re actually moving out of Miami to a small town in Indiana come June 2020. I’m sure they’ll be better driving roads up there I hope.

Great advice so far for OP...having spent a fair bit of time in each location, I agree with most all of what's already been said.

If anything, I'd say the scope/thread title need a change though...given OPs needs, regions need to be discussed (SoCal vs Southern Florida), not specific cities; I think that a much better discussion will take place if you expand the focus towards West Palm/Ft Lauderdale area vs Orange County and anywhere south of that.

Having said that, SoCal wins hands down based on the weather requirement alone.

[E92 M Sport]

Cali mountain roads win hand down, even if pavement quality is lower. There’s not one mountain in the whole state of Florida and it’s super humid. Cali liberalism = major detractor. Tough call. I loved visiting Cali but couldn’t move there.

[UncleWede]

91 gas is now averaging $4.50/gal here in Cali . . .

[Alfisti]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

91 gas is now averaging $4.50/gal here in Cali . . .

Cry me a fucking river.

[scootr]

I changed my vote to Florida. Having been a 40 yr resident of So Cal I can say there are already too many drivers on my beautiful mountain roads here

[F32Fleet]

California (N of LA). All three locations have horrible traffic, similar levels of poverty.

The humidity in Miami rots cars, however Florida has no state income tax and is cheaper living.

Canadians like to winter on the gulf side of Fla.

[UncleWede]

Originally Posted by Alfisti

Cry me a fucking river.

That's NOT $CDN, eh.

[happyjack]

OK...how about a fourth location that checks a lot of the boxes the OP identified...

Charlotte, NC? could maybe even push further south to greenville or columbia...although jobs might be tougher there.

any love for carolina?

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by happyjack

OK...how about a fourth location that checks a lot of the boxes the OP identified...

Charlotte, NC? could maybe even push further south to greenville or columbia...although jobs might be tougher there.

any love for carolina?

Heading to Asheville on Sunday. We bought a vacation condo there. Love visiting and spending chunks of time there. Not sure about living there full-time.

Originally Posted by happyjack

OK...how about a fourth location that checks a lot of the boxes the OP identified...

Charlotte, NC? could maybe even push further south to greenville or columbia...although jobs might be tougher there.

any love for carolina?

lol

Of the locations listed, I could potentially see OP having interest in some place like Charleston...but even that's a stretch.

[F32Fleet]

Originally Posted by happyjack

OK...how about a fourth location that checks a lot of the boxes the OP identified...

Charlotte, NC? could maybe even push further south to greenville or columbia...although jobs might be tougher there.

any love for carolina?

Greenville and the OP could become a driving instructor for BMW driving school at the BMW plant in Greer!

[mecheng77]

If your from Toronto you know we can get very humid hot days, but then some weather anomaly will bring in dry heat the next day and it keeps changing. Florida is always sticky ass humid all the time in the summer, great If you are near water or in a park but sitting in a car or near a concrete jungle and it's uncomfortable. I have friends that live in OC and they don't even use their a/c or own a unit, it's never humid just comfortable warmth but cost of living is high like the GTA.
I would also look at Nevada and Arizona or the Carolinas. Less or dry heat there and good bang for your buck. If you own a house in the GTA you are sitting on a huge pile of cash. I personally want to buy a winter home somewhere hot that I can Airbnb when I'm not using it. I'm thinking somewhere hot but not California due to costs. What job industry are you in? Florida does not have a diverse economy like Ontario or California

[happyjack]

Originally Posted by FCobra94

lol

Of the locations listed, I could potentially see OP having interest in some place like Charleston...but even that's a stretch.

oh i get it...i was trying to think out of the box a little. if he wants the glitz and glamour of LA or miami then only somewhere like NYC would scratch the itch. i've spent a good bit of time in both san diego and charlotte, and other than the beach i think they compare very favorably...and charlotte has a much better cost of living. i know a half dozen people who have left the DC area for charlotte in the last year, and all of them are loving it.

[Yapakanichi]

I don't view myself as a smart person, or something special, so take this with a grain of salt.

I lived in California for a year. It's beautiful there. I lived 5 minutes away from Leguna Seca and loved it. Granted I didn't get out much as I was bombarded in classes. I wouldn't move back there. People seem....meh....not my cup of tea.

I live in Florida right now. Now I purposely stayed clear of Miami when choosing where to find a place to settle down. I'm 4 hours north of Miami give or take. I have been there and I'm good without it. Kinda a crazy place.

Florida is awesome. No state taxes, no emissions, and free car water for car washes when it rains.

I haven't read all the responses or know what field you are looking into, but let me say this.

Look into the Space Coast. Nasa is kapoot and commercial space exploration is happening and booming. Orlando is like 45 minutes away, the beach is right there, and many tracks are close by.

Other than snowbirds (like happening now) this place is awesome. I'm not in the Space Coast, I'm more toward Daytona. But I wanted to be there, just chose elsewhere.

Good luck to you. Taxifornia and Little Cuba aren't places you want to be if you have nice things. Another reason I stayed away from the city and urban areas. Stick to the outer cities. We have more fun.

[Darth One]

This is one of those rare BPost OT threads where the advice is high quality and there are no threadjacks (famous last words?)

I grew up in Los Angeles but have lived in South Florida for almost two decades. The advice OP is getting is pretty spot on with my experience.

For your specific requirements, SoCal has the advantage except for one - it’s prohibitively expensive compared to anywhere in SoFL except for select areas like Miami Beach. Regarding women - you’ll find an abundance of quality in both places but SoCal women are more stuck up