Thinking of exiting the rat race - anyone else have similar experiences? (San Diego: amusement park, living in)

[.highnlite]

Originally Posted by blauskies

Flat vs mountainous wow, quite the argument, like I never heard that before.

Kinda a weak comeback there, was expecting more but given the "California attitude" that my $&@! doesn't stink mentality, this doesn't surprise me.

Why would anyone ever want to live on flat ground,, Life is far to short to live on flat ground.

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

Why would anyone ever want to live on flat ground,, Life is far to short to live on flat ground.

To avoid this:

http://www.csmonitor.com/var/ezflow_site/storage/images/media/images/0210-california-mudslides-la-canada-flintridge/7373517-1-eng-US/0210-california-mudslides-la-canada-flintridge_full_600.jpg (broken link)

[user_id]

Originally Posted by blauskies

Flat vs mountainous wow, quite the argument, like I never heard that before.

You probably have heard that before......because its the truth. But its not just about "the mountains", instead the natural landscape in California vs Florida. Florida is, naturally, very ugly......California is the opposite.

There is only one reason I'd ever go to Florida again.....Disney world.

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by user_id

You probably have heard that before......because its the truth. But its not just about "the mountains", instead the natural landscape in California vs Florida. Florida is, naturally, very ugly......California is the opposite.

There is only one reason I'd ever go to Florida again.....Disney world.

Not denying California has some great natural beauty, but you obviously base your opinion on a visit to Orlando which in my opinion is not the most eye-inspiring part of the state.

You obviously never been to South Florida, it's way different along the coastline and that pretty much applies to other parts of the state. The beaches in CA don't even come close to here unless your a surfer. I often see people at the beach in San Diego wearing jackets and this is in the middle of summer, that just plain blows.

[Woof]

Ehh ..... skipped a few posts to make one last almost random observation: young people SHOULD move around every now and then, to test the waters in different places. But it really isn't all that wise to suddenly downshift to a much cheaper area like Boise from a good job and ownership of high-value property in SF ...... because unless you're very careful you're going to blow your asset and wage advantage, and never be able to afford to move back after you realize how much better life is in SF (for most people).

There's a reason why SF is so very expensive ..... it's such a very desirable place to live! The city itself has outstanding amenities, everything you could reasonably hope for from cool dive bars on up to some of the finest restaurants, outstanding park, nudie beach, beautiful vistas, and gentle intelligent people who don't foam at the mouth about "welfare queens" or public health care.

There are also reasons why Boise, Denver, etc are relatively cheap ..... I guess I'm just saying that preserving assets from any move should be foremost on your mind, so that you can be able to move back some day. Don't burn your bridges behind you!

[user_id]

Originally Posted by blauskies

but you obviously base your opinion on a visit to Orlando which in my opinion is not the most eye-inspiring part of the state.

Ummm....except that I've never been to Orlando.

Originally Posted by blauskies

You obviously never been to South Florida, it's way different along the coastline and that pretty much applies to other parts of the state. The beaches in CA don't even come close to here unless your a surfer. I often see people at the beach in San Diego wearing jackets and this is in the middle of summer, that just plain blows.

Don't come close? huh? Yeah....the beaches don't come close unless you actually want to do anything beyond getting drunk and swimming in some water.

There is nothing particularly interesting about the Florida coastline, it, like the rest of the state is ugly.

[scottfreez]

The beauty of Florida is in the eye of the beholder. When I was there as a kid I hiked around in Mayaka Park, and collected shark teeth at Venice Beach. And if one is a boating enthusiast, Florida could be great. Plus Miami is well-known as a fashion/art/design hub. I wouldn't choose to live there personally, but I can understand why a lot of other people from the cold, miserable weather in other parts of the US as well as Europeans would love it.

Beats Vegas, anyway. Until the hurricanes come.

But Woof's right, if you've got something going in SF, don't be so quick to be tradin' your horses for donkeys.

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by user_id

Ummm....except that I've never been to Orlando.


Don't come close? huh? Yeah....the beaches don't come close unless you actually want to do anything beyond getting drunk and swimming in some water.

There is nothing particularly interesting about the Florida coastline, it, like the rest of the state is ugly.

Have you ever even been to Florida period? I highly doubt it? If you never been to Orlando then how would you even assume Disney World isn't ugly too?

Sure, getting drunk is all I ever see people in San Diego doing along with the open bit bonfires on the beach. Can't swim in the water, too darn cold!

It sucks knowing your beaches blow, hurts doesn't it? Your bitterness rant is flowing in your **** poor attempt to make yourself feel better.

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by scottfreez

The beauty of Florida is in the eye of the beholder. When I was there as a kid I hiked around in Mayaka Park, and collected shark teeth at Venice Beach. And if one is a boating enthusiast, Florida could be great. Plus Miami is well-known as a fashion/art/design hub. I wouldn't choose to live there personally, but I can understand why a lot of other people from the cold, miserable weather in other parts of the US as well as Europeans would love it.

Beats Vegas, anyway. Until the hurricanes come.

But Woof's right, if you've got something going in SF, don't be so quick to be tradin' your horses for donkeys.

The beauty of anything is in the eye of the beholder. Not just here. Some people could careless about what FL or CA has to offer and are happy living in Nebraska.

[yeahthatguy]

Originally Posted by Woof

Ehh ..... skipped a few posts to make one last almost random observation: young people SHOULD move around every now and then, to test the waters in different places. But it really isn't all that wise to suddenly downshift to a much cheaper area like Boise from a good job and ownership of high-value property in SF ...... because unless you're very careful you're going to blow your asset and wage advantage, and never be able to afford to move back after you realize how much better life is in SF (for most people).

There's a reason why SF is so very expensive ..... it's such a very desirable place to live! The city itself has outstanding amenities, everything you could reasonably hope for from cool dive bars on up to some of the finest restaurants, outstanding park, nudie beach, beautiful vistas, and gentle intelligent people who don't foam at the mouth about "welfare queens" or public health care.

There are also reasons why Boise, Denver, etc are relatively cheap ..... I guess I'm just saying that preserving assets from any move should be foremost on your mind, so that you can be able to move back some day. Don't burn your bridges behind you!

Sometimes some places can be expensive because everyone buys into the silly hype advertised w.r.t to the locations.... The biggest reason is the supply constraining geography (in that it doesn't afford for many homes) .. Supply is limited and thus decent demand drives up prices. Expensive doesn't always equate to better ... Anyone who understands anything about real world markets would understand this... and from the level of ignorant comments people are making about states they've never been to, you can see how brainwashed a lot of the demand side is ...

-> dive bars, parks, restaurants, views, people .....
I've been many places in the world and have found this almost anywhere.

If you are renting, your asset is cash .. In my case I generally trade/invest my cash positions. I have no hard assets tied to California as I never intended to make this home after observing the prices. Capital Gains money goes a much longer way when it is not subject to California's 9% income tax.

Cashing out and never coming back after having a wealth of experiences while you are young sounds like a good strategy. The dollars will translate .. The experiences will translate... and get you something in cash somewhere and there is no need to come back except for the occasional vacation. You have a family at that point and their well being and a big chunk of your life centers around them.

Jobs are everywhere.. As much as people try to act like opportunities are boiling over in CA, it has the 1st or 2nd highest unemployment among states in the country ...

Long term, the habits and mindset of this state spell problems for people w/ homes (Prop 13 changes) ... and spell problems for people who make decent money (tax hikes) ...

As gentrification spreads as it has to SF, the many characteristics that define the interesting culture disappear anywhere and what you are left w/ is a bunch of people whom, while I enjoy working with, are turds when it comes to social interaction ...

Meh, my best times were in Europe in various places in Germany ...