I moved from Southern California to Michigan so I could afford to buy a home. Living here changed me in surprising ways.

captionTK Kristi Valentini I grew up in Orange County and never considered living in any other state besides California. After getting married, though, we couldn't afford the kind of house we wanted — so we moved. At first, living in Michigan was a culture shock, but being here has made me a better person. Born and raised in Orange County, I never considered leaving California until I got married. We wanted to buy a house and start a family, but generally, the ones we could afford were fixe...