CA vs. UT

Eight months ago we moved from SoCal to Utah, where we are originally from. We had lived the previous 3 years in California and we absolutely loved it, but with the twins coming and me needing to quit my job to be home with them, we felt the need to be back in Utah close to our families and where the cost of living was a little more reasonable. Though both Forrest and I grew up in Utah, we've lived half of our married lives in California, and half in Utah (with a short stint in Vegas, but we don't really count that). After experiencing life in CA and then coming back to life in UT, there are certain things about both states that I LOVE, and also things about both that I really don't like. This is CA vs. UT, the good, the bad, and the ugly. (Note: CA is coming first solely because it comes first in the alphabet.)

California                                             Utah

The good: clean air                                         The good: four seasons

                  the beach                                                        UT ghetto = nothing compared to CA ghetto

                  Disneyland                                                      not expected to work on Sundays

                  mild weather                                                   traffic = bliss

                  excellent Mexican food and produce               cost of living

                  fantastic entertainment                                    DMV 

                  great shopping                                                wide open spaces (Dixie Chicks anyone?)

The bad:    people aren't very friendly                              really friendly people

                   so many people                             The bad:   long way from Disneyland and the beach

                   takes forever to get anywhere                       hot summers

The ugly:    the DMV                                        The ugly:   post-Christmas winter

                   the cost of living                                               inversion

                   traffic                                                                

If I were to make this more personal, I would add awesome friends and extended family to the CA good side and immediate family and "home" to the UT good side. Truthfully, I couldn't say that we like living in Utah more that we liked it in California, or vice versa. Each state was right for us during that time of our lives. And right now, what we need is to be close to our family, and be somewhere with a low cost of living. Utah is my home and it always will be, regardless of where we live. But we absolutely LOVED our time in CA and I wouldn't trade it for anything. Being able to ride my bike or run to the beach anytime I wanted was something amazing. And we made friends and grew close to family that will always be close to my heart. So which state wins? Neither. Or both. However you want to look at it. 

PS - This post is coming now because tomorrow we are taking a vacation back to California to visit family and friends, go to Disneyland and compete in a triathlon. So excited! Three adults and three kids on a six day adventure.. Wish us luck!