The Daydreaming Husband...

I'm on the exact opposite side of this discussion - many of my better half's college friends are living in the same town (same neighborhood!!) in Illinois. I've become close with the group too, and we hear about their dinners, movie nights, getting the kids together, babysitting for each other, all the time. When we visit we have such a great time. We have local friends, but none as close to us as this group, and I'd LOVE to live out there.

Problem is, we're both in our actual dream jobs right now, and while we could find work in Illinois, he would have to leave Google and I would have to leave one of the best animal shelters in the nation. I'd do it in a heartbeat, he won't. We finally had to sit down and have a conversation that lasted until 3am to decide on buying a place where we are now. Not my favorite idea when our down payment here could buy a house outright in Illinois, but we're going to try and make it work.

I'd recommend going with an open mind, but remaining firm on having job prospects before committing to a move.

ETA: and as for the CA move, as someone who feels somewhat stuck here...yeah, take a loooong look at housing prices. -_- We'll be renting out a ROOM in the house we're buying for $1000/month.

Neither of us has ever been to MN, or CA for that matter. He is basing it all off of images on the web, and he's readt articles about the concert halls and such, lol.

CA sounds expensive, and im guessing MN is too. Right now we pay 800 for a 3 bedroom, 2.5 bath.

Give it a try. There is no law saying that if you don't like it you can't move back home. Life is too short to not take a chance. Don't buy a house, just rent for a year. Go online and find jobs and then find a place to live. Good luck!

Give you an idea in CA I pay 877 for a 2 bedroom 1 bath apartment! I was paying $1550 for a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom mobile home with a tiny bit of land (less than an acre)