Where Roots Matter Most
Being rooted isn’t always about staying in the same place.
Recently, I took a call from a client who was looking for Camelot to move them back to SoCal. We’ve always had our share of such clients: families or individuals we had moved out of California who ultimately move back. However, in the last few years, there has been a significant uptick in clients returning “home” to California.
What's driving this uptick? Is it the simple answer that SoCal puts the sun, the sand, the snow, and theme parks within tantalizingly easy reach? Or is it less pull and more push? Away from snowstorms, hurricanes, tornadoes, or humidity?
Based on what I hear from those returning to California, my unofficial, highly subjective opinion on what's driving this trend is that the answer is not so simple. SoCal’s weather- and geographic-based perks draw the transplants, not the returnees. The returnees come back for something much deeper: home, community, roots.
So what roots us? Weather? Opportunity? And which roots are hardest to relocate or rebuild? We tend to think of being rooted as staying in one place. But in reality, our deepest roots lie in the people we’re attached to, the community we love, and the circumstances that allow us to thrive. Since people move, communities shift, and circumstances change, sometimes we find ourselves moving in order to stay rooted.
As a personal example, I grew up in busy Los Angeles, a few decades and a world away from the quiet Santa Clarita I've chosen as home. This newsletter made me look inward: did I take any LA-based roots with me? My daughter reminded me of the big brother/fatherly figure who let me work at his corner market from an early age. There I not only gained fraternal guidance, but also learned the value of work, work ethic, honesty, and community. And now I'm the big brother/fatherly figure with the shop on the corner, where the young guys come to learn how to work. Funny what we can take with us as we move across town.
For many, including yours truly, California is where we feel most rooted and connected. But it's not for everyone. California will always have its draw and its drawbacks. We’ve moved young people to California to pursue new job opportunities, and we’ve moved retirees out of California looking to stretch their savings or enjoy a slower pace of life. But ultimately, people tend to create their home where they feel most connected.
While Camelot's immediate calling is to move one's house, calls like these remind us that we're also helping move a home. We’re always rooting for a successful transplantation, and we're happy to help when it's time to move a house back home.