Saying Goodbye California Sun, Hello Midwest - New York Times

Sam Cannon and Velia Dayton left Los Angeles two years ago when they and their two young children outgrew their two-bedroom rental apartment. Even with a budget of $450,000, they quickly discovered they could not afford anything less than 70 miles from Mr. Cannon’s office.

“The idea of living in the middle of the desert in a prefab 1,200-square-foot home, stretching ourselves financially and driving three hours a day, wasn’t appealing anymore,” Mr. Cannon, 34, said.

So the family moved to a suburb of Detroit, where Mr. Cannon’s parents live, and he took a job at an Internet marketing firm. They bought a brick Tudor-style house for $310,000, near good schools and a 15-minute drive to his office.

Mr. Cannon and Ms. Dayton do miss California’s “culture and excitement and food,” he said. “We’ve been spending two and a half years trying to find good Thai food and still haven’t found it yet.”

They still talk about trying to get back to Los Angeles. But, he lamented, “housing isn’t getting any cheaper there.”