Thinking of exiting the rat race - anyone else have similar experiences? (Ridgecrest: apartments, rental)

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by Woof

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.

Thing your missing is, the majority of the jobs are in the areas where it's expensive. Unless you work for yourself and can sustain it, are wealthy or retired with a decent nest egg, places where it's cheap are often not even obtainable or often desirable.

[DMenscha]

I'm with highnlite. I can't figure out why anyone lives in the cities. You don't have to leave CA to get out of the rat race.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by jc76

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.

So it's back to Indiana for you?

[Cyberfire]

Originally Posted by user_id

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?

You're right, I'm generalizing a bit - the Bay Area is much different from other sections on California, which does have cheaper areas.

However, there is a key difference - in Idaho for instance, you can a decent COL, and still be close to the city for jobs. Same for Colorado. It's not really the same with CA. Outlying areas for the Bay Area are still overpriced (in my opinion, for what you get), requires a very long commute, and you're still dealing with the negatives of the city.

If you can show me an area in California that has a COL in line with those other states, with job opportunities, and in a decent neighborhood, I'm all ears. I've traveled the state pretty extensively, and haven't spotted that.

Someone else asked what I do - I'm in sales, which means I can work pretty much anywhere, so I'm not too concerned about work.

Also, if you haven't lived in the Bay Area, then you probably don't understand the "rat race" that it is here - unless maybe you live in NY or another very large metropolitan area.

[.highnlite]

Originally Posted by blauskies

Thing your missing is, the majority of the jobs are in the areas where it's expensive. Unless you work for yourself and can sustain it, are wealthy or retired with a decent nest egg, places where it's cheap are often not even obtainable or often desirable.

Even rural areas have jobs, find where you want to live, then find a job. Work for Cal Trans, drive a school bus.

the problem is, that people want high paying jobs to support an expensive lifestyle.

I bought a backhoe loader, work 2 or 3 days a week. My wife has a holistic health business, she works about the same. Oh, as I type this? I am recovering from the sun burn I got yesterday sailing the Na Pali coast on Kauai..... We had to attend a 90 minute timeshare presentation to get our free gift, the nice lady asked us how many weeks of vacation we took each year and we said, about 52.

Your are going to die one of these days, ain't nothing you can do about it. If you are miserable, or stressed, or frustrated, change.

[Cyberfire]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

Even rural areas have jobs, find where you want to live, then find a job. Work for Cal Trans, drive a school bus.

the problem is, that people want high paying jobs to support an expensive lifestyle.

I get your point, and you're right - as long as you're willing to accept any type of work, and it sustains the basics, you can live anywhere.

I'm not looking for a high paying job to support an expensive lifestyle - I actually think my lifestyle is pretty frugal, compared to many other debt laden people living in the Bay Area.

So why did you end up moving to SLO? Were you ever living in the Bay Area?

[Sealtite]

Originally Posted by DMenscha

I'm with highnlite. I can't figure out why anyone lives in the cities.

Because they're city people. Some people like living in huge cities. Without them, the city areas would be...well, country areas.

Some people like that ****. Being clustered and stacked on top of each other, huge crowds, big metropolitan areas, etc. Others don't. Personally, I hate city life, but I like to be close to everything. Small cities or rural areas close to them are good for me. Screw living in a concrete jungle though. No thanx.

[Woof]

Originally Posted by Cyberfire

You're right, I'm generalizing a bit - the Bay Area is much different from other sections on California, which does have cheaper areas.

However, there is a key difference - in Idaho for instance, you can a decent COL, and still be close to the city for jobs. Same for Colorado. It's not really the same with CA. Outlying areas for the Bay Area are still overpriced (in my opinion, for what you get), requires a very long commute, and you're still dealing with the negatives of the city.

If you can show me an area in California that has a COL in line with those other states, with job opportunities, and in a decent neighborhood, I'm all ears. I've traveled the state pretty extensively, and haven't spotted that.

Someone else asked what I do - I'm in sales, which means I can work pretty much anywhere, so I'm not too concerned about work.

Also, if you haven't lived in the Bay Area, then you probably don't understand the "rat race" that it is here - unless maybe you live in NY or another very large metropolitan area.

First of all, apologies to highnlite for missing his post.

As mentioned, the COL is only that high in San Francisco ..... therefore, since you have a "portable job" for which you can find work anywhere, you're free to live in one of the cheap areas. You don't have to live in a city if you're a very good salesman. For example, you could be a pharmaceutical rep with a district or whatever you call them, centered in a more rural area - and still make one hell of a living. With low rent and low home prices, you could do very well for yourself. The wife could teach at a community college or perhaps the universities at Chico or Arcata if you end up there.

The other costs are quite low compared to Boise. For example good cheap organic food is available here, quite a selection that you won't find in any other state.

I recommend looking into Chico, where you have a livable small city with educated people and an art scene. You'd be bored if you lived in a more rural area.

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by .highnlite

Even rural areas have jobs, find where you want to live, then find a job. Work for Cal Trans, drive a school bus.

the problem is, that people want high paying jobs to support an expensive lifestyle.

I bought a backhoe loader, work 2 or 3 days a week. My wife has a holistic health business, she works about the same. Oh, as I type this? I am recovering from the sun burn I got yesterday sailing the Na Pali coast on Kauai..... We had to attend a 90 minute timeshare presentation to get our free gift, the nice lady asked us how many weeks of vacation we took each year and we said, about 52.

Your are going to die one of these days, ain't nothing you can do about it. If you are miserable, or stressed, or frustrated, change.

Point taken, we all can live on less and some people live in excess. I'm not one of those, but I did invest in myself with a thing called College years ago and want a return on my investment, hard work and time. I'll settle for a happy medium, but unfortunately they are few and far between.

Most Engineering/Tech work resides in places where it's expensive, at least those places that may offer future growth at least in my sector which is very specialized. Also I have no desire to live in some places where there is work either due to the weather or location.

I'm not ready to throw in the towel just yet and settle in some fictitious Lifetime movie plot as a City Slicker who ends up moving to small town America and stocks shelves at the local General Store, oh that's right, I mean WalMart or who buy's a old run down house and turns it into a Bed & Breakfast.

I would be lying though if the thought of some grand scheme to jump off of the corporate boat doesn't pass through my head on a daily basis.

[yeahthatguy]

Originally Posted by blauskies

Thing your missing is, the majority of the jobs are in the areas where it's expensive. Unless you work for yourself and can sustain it, are wealthy or retired with a decent nest egg, places where it's cheap are often not even obtainable or often desirable.

Pretty much