I think selling now is nice since the tax free gains are guaranteed and it’s hard to know what will happen in the future. Having a large amount of cash in the bank is more flexible.

Lastly, without knowing where your family is, reason for move, why you’d even want to come back here, etc…it’s really going to depend on you and your spouses personal details as to if/why you’d move back to CA.

It’s also hard to put a price on the hassle of having to manage a rental far away.

Another thing for people to consider is that as great as CA is (it’s over-rated unless you are part of the 1% working in an industry that can net you millions/billions I feel and you have to be here), places like TX has no income tax so if you’re high income, saving that 10% could net 20-30k or more a year. Prop taxes are higher, but properties are typically lower in places like TX and NV.

Family/friends are probably also a bigger factor than pure $$ as well.

Knowing people who has left CA, they all seem happy enough and come back whenever they please to visit if they want.