''Could a more affordable life, away from the Bay Area, actually be better?''
For at least a couple of years now, my wife and I have been rehearsing a break-up conversation with the Bay Area. As much as we love it here, we're just not sure if it will ever work out.
A lot of our uncertainty revolves around money, and our realization that we can't afford to buy a home here. That fact, rightly or wrongly, has become a touchstone for other uncertainties -- about finding a neighborhood we can stay in for the long term; about having good school options for our two-year-old daughter; about making enough money to afford the high cost of living without giving all of our waking hours over to work
...."The basics of day-to-day life are a lot more convenient in a smaller community," he says, "whether it's going to the store or visiting friends. Sometimes we'll see family members two or three times on a weekend. In the city you can't do that." http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2009/12/07/moneytales120709.DTL#ixzz0Z66u2vMd