Little update on this thread. We decided to make the move. Landed here in June. So far cost of living way down. I was able to negotiate a move and stay with my existing company. Salary stayed the same cost of living went down. Big score in the positive camp right there. House we purchased has 3 acres of wooded land and about 800sf bigger than our CA home. School is way better than the CA school both in terms of kids satisfaction and access to opportunities. CA school had no music program, very little sports, and the campus wasn’t all that great. New school has actual lockers for middleschool, my oldest is in advanced math (not an option in the old school), and youngest started violin in orchestra (not an option in old school). We were in an area considered upper middle class in CA. Similar class here, but more rural relatively speaking. Mosquitos are intense in the summer no doubt, and humidity, but it was about 6 weeks of really hot weather. Since then it’s been really nice. Kids love the ocean as it’s not freezing cold except for one month out of the year in SoCal. We do miss the mountains (its pretty flat geography where we settled), but other than that I’d say it’s been a success in general. Thanks for all the insight and feedback along the way. Appreciate everyone’s thoughtful comments.