andrea99 - 1:54 pm on Jan 31, 2006 (gmt 0)

I'm not familiar with "sea change" in that context. I'm not sure if this is exactly what you want to hear, but it's related... After having lived in LA, Chicago and the Bay Area I've found that by moving to southern New Mexico I can, for the same price, live in a home three times better than any in those other places. And this would be true no matter what my income level.

The internet and Adsense especially have made it unnecessary for me to be near a big city. El Paso, TX is nearby, but it's no LA. :)

So I haven't downsized but it is a "desert change..." Of all the things I miss about California though, it would be the sea that I miss the most. There are rural areas on the Pacific coast, these are looking good too.