Courtesy of Mike Bloom.
- Danielle Elderkin and her husband grew weary of the grind of life in Temecula, California.
- In 2019, their family packed up and headed to Pennsylvania but arrived to a cabin in disrepair.
- The experience bonded them: They spend more time together and have money for family vacations.
This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Danielle Elderkin, who, along with her husband and two sons, left Southern California for Pennsylvania in 2019. The essay has been edited for length and clarity.
My family and I lived in Temecula, which is between San Diego and Orange County. For a long time, we loved it there. We enjoyed the food and being close to the beach and mountains. But there were a lot of downsides to living in the city.