Thinking of exiting the rat race - anyone else have similar experiences? (Los Angeles: how much, houses)
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I wonder about folks who are native to California Did their ancestors travel in covered wagons only to risk their life to go West and what would they think of their decendents wanting to leave? I'm in Texas and I'd rather live in a 1500sq house in South orange county than in my 3300 one here!
Aside from the weather, this is not the same OC my grandparents moved to.
In what sense is the so called "rat race" a condition that only exists in California? Isn't this something that people create for themselves by the decisions they make? That is, if you're always trying to maximize your income, the size of your home, etc...is it that surprising that you find yourself overworked, with long commutes, etc? But how will moving magically change an individuals decision making?
Didn't people here try to tell you about this before you moved out here?
Yes Escape, and regretfully I was on cloud 9 and didn't listen. Now I fully grasp it all. Been a.hell of a learning experience. But I had to life through it, and find it out on my own.
Isn't the labor pool a huge factor is where a corporation decides to build? If tech companies could get access to the labor they needed in Amarillo, TX, instead of San Jose, I'm sure they'd be there.
Which came first? The labor or the job that laborers work? .. I think its the jobs/corps. There is lots of talent in Texas. Me nor most of my fellow graduates from my University in my class are from California.. We came because of the jobs..
Talent is everywhere.. Many times a lot of jobs being in California has to do w/ middle management and business unit leads forcing centrality here so they have reports and projects to manage and make boat loads from... The talent comes because of the jobs and is many times not native to California.
So, companies set up shop here and pay top dollar many times because bean counters and greedy execs want it here... Talent is everywhere. They build the corps and talent comes.
I wonder about folks who are native to California Did their ancestors travel in covered wagons only to risk their life to go West and what would they think of their decendents wanting to leave? I'm in Texas and I'd rather live in a 1500sq house in South orange county than in my 3300 one here!
A 1500 square foot home in California doesn't cost what it does for a 3,300 sq. foot one in Texas. Many people who have never lived in California say such foolish things as this... In many ways, it goes to show that advertisement and propaganda work quite well...
In what sense is the so called "rat race" a condition that only exists in California? Isn't this something that people create for themselves by the decisions they make? That is, if you're always trying to maximize your income, the size of your home, etc...is it that surprising that you find yourself overworked, with long commutes, etc? But how will moving magically change an individuals decision making?
Cost of living/taxes/insane home prices/rent vs. pay is what drives a rat race here far and above what drives it other places. In other places, you have a choice. here, you mostly don't. So, it's very much something an environment can create and raise the baseline of.
and there goes the tired comment that people outside california are trying to maximize their income .. buy mcMansions/etc .. when in reality, they are living comfortable lives in avg. sized homes.
If a certain area has a high baseline 'rat race' living because of cost of living/etc.. Moving will 'logically' change that.
Escaped the rat race my self. The cost of living in the bay area is down right absurd and that was last decade when I lived there. I could not imagine it now. More expensive, with a worse economy.
Cost of living/taxes/insane home prices/rent vs. pay is what drives a rat race here far and above what drives it other places. In other places, you have a choice. here, you mostly don't.
You are, like always, pretending like the entire state of California is like the Silicon valley. Why do you continue with this foolishness? The bay area, population wise, is only 20% of California...
You have the same choices in California that you do in other states. In California, like other states, you have the choice of living in a cheaper area or the expensive urban cores. Salaries are usually higher in the urban core so this attracts people that are chasing $$$.... What reason is there to believe people won't make the same decisions in other states?
Quote:
Originally Posted by yeahthatguy
.. buy mcMansions/etc .. when in reality, they are living comfortable lives in avg. sized homes.
Except of course that new developments in TX, AZ, etc, etc.....are filled with McMansions just as much as they are in California.
Lastly, if people could magically transport themselves to another area that is vastly cheaper, has the same job, same salary...........then the bay area wouldn't be so expensive. Sorta how economics works...ya know? Sometimes people get the opportunity to relocate to somewhere cheaper and maintain the same salary, same job, etc.....but this is no sense the position that the vast majority find themselves in....
So here's the situation: Young, married professional with a newborn on the way, $130K+ combined earnings (wife only works part time), and renting.
The problem is, my lease just expired, and the landlord wants to bump up rent by $300 / mo. This might be the proverbial straw on the camels back, because it's getting tougher to live in the bay area financially.
It's not that I can't afford to live here - it's just that I'm not sure if I want to anymore. The commute, long hours and stress from the job, extremely high living costs all contribute to an environment that makes it kind of a family un-friendly area.
If I was still single, this would be fine. But trying to start a family in the bay area as a young couple seems very difficult, and so I've thought about going to Boise, ID, or somewhere in Colorado, where cost of living is much more reasonable, and can use some of the money I've accumulated to actually buy a decent home and start a family.
Anyone else been in the same boat? What did you do?
I kind of get a kick out of people saying how much more expensive CALIFORNIA is than other states ..... then when you ask them, the only areas in California they know about are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Sacramento.
It's a huge state. It might be that those are the only places you can find your particular type of work, but if it's a more portable kind of job then there are less expensive places in the Bay Area (just be sure to live by a BART station for the commute), there are much less expensive places in Sacramento, and there are vastly less expensive places north of Sacramento. You could buy very reasonably-priced homes in Weaverville, Truckee, the Mt Shasta area, Eureka, Arcata, Yreka, etc. Also some Gold Country villages are not too expensive.
Where I live in the Mt Shasta area, you can easily find houses that are as cheap as Boise's. During the foreclosure frenzy, I even saw a perfectly good looking little ranch-style house with a view of the mountain going for $10,000! Of course that period is over, but you can still get good places for under $150,000, and some fixer-uppers for around $50,000.
I know a lot Calif. Natives that moved to Florida. Sarasota, Naples, Plantation, Ocala, Jupitor, etc,
Florida now, for the most part is Calif. 25 years ago. In a strange way, the humidity has kept a lot people from coming to Florida.
A lot of Florida is still raw and pure.
I know a 62 yr old fomer Costa Mesa Evil Kneivel ( Moto Cop ). He's since retired, living mostly in Colombia, S.A. But when he travels back to US, he loves Florida, and wants to buy a home/condo in Surfside. He's says, today, Orange County ( CA ) makes him want to vomit.
He has no plans of returning to California.
You won't be escaping "the rat race" moving to South Florida, would be like going from one frying pan to another albeit a smaller pan. You can toss Orlando in there as well. On average, the slow paced areas have less opportunity in the way of careers and are good for the retired and wealthy.
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