This morning the New York Times released an article in their popular “36 Hours in…” series, this time Carmel-by-the-Sea in Northern California. Though I’m often romanced by images of other cities and far-off places, the thought of moving to the Golden State has taken up way too much space in the back of my mind lately. And, I can’t say I’m alone.

One of my 24 year-old friends who works in Project Management in Architecture has been steadily looking into Southern California real estate for the past four months. She’s engaged to walk down the aisle next year, and instead of putting up an investment in New York housing, she’s been renting a tiny railroad-style two bedroom in Dyker Heights for the past year or so, in an effort to save up for the big move. Her fiance would prefer Central or Latin America but considers SoCal a good medium between both of their needs.

Another friend, 26, the Web Editor of a popular magazine, lives outside of New York City has been seeking other areas for awhile now. Dallas… Atlanta… Montreal… Yes, at this point, we are even fleeing to Canada! In fact, another 20-something Office Manager friend who just bought a swanky townhouse in a chic Connecticut town just outside of New York confided in my yesterday that her and Dear Hubby had their hearts set on Toronto; he’s actively seeking employment in the area already. So, what’s scaring us out of NYC? Is it the cost of living here? Is it Bloombergs incredulous tax raises? Is it the natural human yearning to have a small personal space of our own without having to fight a HOA for it?