I recently moved from California to North Carolina and suddenly realized I knew absolutely nobody. It was a horrible feeling.
My rent tripled in three years. I couldn't afford to stay - just too expensive. Anyway, a friend had driven across with me and it wasn't until he'd gone that I realized I was alone. Silly, huh?!
The two things I found that were really bad were rents and gas. Everything else was pretty much the same as other places I've lived. So sad - where I lived was lovely.
The North is my favorite area - north of San Francisco. Where did you go?