The grass isn't greener: Why people regret leaving the Bay Area for the Pacific Northwest

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SFGATE is exploring how people's lives change after leaving the Bay Area, for better or for worse, in a new series. Today we're focusing on those who have relocated to the Pacific Northwest. We'll explore other relocation areas in future articles, so follow SFGATE and also share your stories.

Tori Sepand, 23, discovered that the grass really is literally greener in the Pacific Northwest for a reason. Rain.

"I'm used to sunshine," said Sepand, an East Bay native who moved to Seattle in 2015. "What I didn't expect is how much the weather would affect my overall happiness."

The weather was enough reason for Anne Moore, 67, to return to Marin after a stint in Bellingham, Wash.

"I so missed our radiant California sun melting the heat into my bones," she said, adding that she longed for a "big bowl of clear blue sky."

Sepand, on the other hand, longed for a bowl of something the Pacific Northwest has yet to master, in her opinion.

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"I miss good Mexican food," she said.

Many have left the Bay Area in pursuit of greener – and cheaper – pastures, but not all those who wander are content in their new cities.

Earlier this month, SFGATE profiled people who had moved from the Bay Area to the Pacific Northwest, the region where Bay Area ex-pats are most likely to go, according to a report from LinkedIn.

THOSE WHO LEFT: People who left the Bay Area for the Pacific Northwest tell us why

Their reasons for leaving rarely strayed. The Bay Area is expensive; it's difficult to buy a home; there's too much traffic.

Not everyone, however, was content with their newly northern lifestyle. Some quickly learned that despite the prohibitive cost of living in the Bay Area, there really is no place quite like it.

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Racial diversity – or lack thereof – was especially noticeable for Pacific Northwest migrants, accustomed to the heterogeneity of the Bay Area. Census data backs up such observations. About 50 percent of the San Francisco population is white, according to the 2015 U.S. census. In Portland, that number spikes to 76 percent white, and in Seattle it's 69.5 percent.

While there may not be exceptional diversity in the Pacific Northwest, there certainly is a wealth of younger people. According to a 2016 study from Oregon Office of Economic Analysis, the largest group of those migrating into Oregon consists of people aged 25 to 34 – the infamous millennials. This generation accounted for nearly 30 percent of inbound migration, more than double any other age group.

Some Oregonians are none too pleased with the northward migration. Apparently, there's even a "culture of blaming Californians for [the] rising cost of living in Portland," said former San Francisco resident Molly Park, 41.

Local media serves to back up Park's sentiments. In 2015, the Oregonian noticed a rash of "No Californians" stickers popping up on For Sale signs in Portland. Around the same time, the Willamette Week began a series called "Invasion of the Transplants," in which new Portland residents told their side of the story. And lest we forget about a GoFundMe campaign launched last year to "Get Californians out of Oregon."

See also: San Francisco techies are making the move to Seattle

According to Portland resident Eric Foley, 42, it's especially "awkward when the 'where are you from?' question comes up."

Even then, Foley, who lived in San Francisco and Oakland for eight years, says the thought of moving back to the Bay Area only crosses his mind occasionally.

"I have my doubts that we could afford to move back," he said.

Despite its splendor – sunny weather, racial diversity, liberal attitude – the Bay Area is, simply, expensive.