A Gen Xer moved to North Carolina to save money for retirement. Her beachfront home cost about half as much as her California property, but the weather doesn't compare.

• Sandra, a Gen Xer, recently moved from the Los Angeles area to the beaches of North Carolina.
• She said California's rising cost of living pushed her toward the East Coast for her retirement.
• While the weather isn't as ideal, North Carolina has been a pleasant surprise.

Sandra decided that instead of retirement by the beaches of Los Angeles, she'd instead enjoy life by the North Carolina shore.

Sandra, who is in her early 50s and is originally from California, met her Massachusetts husband while in the Navy, and at the time she knew she never wanted to move to the East Coast. It was too cold, she said, and it didn't have the same charm as California. Sandra, whose identity is known to Insider, chose to use just her first name, citing privacy concerns.