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Unread 01-07-2012, 03:57 PM
 
1,183 posts, read 278,877 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nullgeo View Post
There is only one real Pretenders
And they don't live in California.
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Unread 01-07-2012, 07:26 PM
 
1,160 posts, read 1,395,547 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Cali is not all surfing View Post
People born in CA adjust...people out of state think it is expensive here...we are used to it.
Well, with gathering and selling aluminum cans, stripping copper from streetlights and selling a kidney, we seem to get by. It is all a matter of perspective and frugality.

I was at the 99 cent store yesterday and thye had the most lovely crackers baked in China, that and the fish i caught yesterday will be good for another few days.

I am really not sure what all the whining is about? Asmy granny used to say, "Poor people have poor ways". Live with what you have.
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Unread 01-07-2012, 07:41 PM
 
Location: state of confusion
5,344 posts, read 1,464,145 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean Trails View Post
Well, with gathering and selling aluminum cans, stripping copper from streetlights and selling a kidney, we seem to get by. It is all a matter of perspective and frugality.

I was at the 99 cent store yesterday and thye had the most lovely crackers baked in China, that and the fish i caught yesterday will be good for another few days.

I am really not sure what all the whining is about? Asmy granny used to say, "Poor people have poor ways". Live with what you have.

Forrest Gump's mama said just about the same thing. "There’s only so much fortune a man really needs and the rest is just for showing off."
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Unread 01-07-2012, 08:14 PM
 
6,541 posts, read 3,124,164 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Dean Trails View Post
Well, with gathering and selling aluminum cans, stripping copper from streetlights and selling a kidney, we seem to get by. It is all a matter of perspective and frugality.

I was at the 99 cent store yesterday and thye had the most lovely crackers baked in China, that and the fish i caught yesterday will be good for another few days.

I am really not sure what all the whining is about? Asmy granny used to say, "Poor people have poor ways". Live with what you have.
What? This is City Data forum. This is where people come to whine and dine.
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Unread 01-07-2012, 08:25 PM
 
Location: state of confusion
5,344 posts, read 1,464,145 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nullgeo View Post
What? This is City Data forum. This is where people come to whine and dine.

And, I'll have cheese with my whine, thank you very much.
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Unread 01-08-2012, 02:21 AM
 
10,428 posts, read 6,937,481 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrarunner View Post
I don't know if it would be called normal or appealing... I do know it is more common than many would think....
Well, unfortunatly, it's become normal for a subgroup of people. As you've alluded to in other posts, this often becomes an interngenerational thing.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrarunner View Post
Areas like Hayward, San Leandro, Antioch and others have experienced a huge increase of families with Vouchers transferring from Oakland...

Most of the families that I managed are still with the program in other cities and several have told me changing location didn't eliminate problems as they had hoped.
Yes, I've heard about that, especially in areas like Antioch. Changing location didn't matter because for the most part the housing voucher crowd doesn't realize their habits/values/family structure (or lack thereof) are the problem. They think only other people are the problem.
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Unread 01-08-2012, 02:25 AM
 
10,428 posts, read 6,937,481 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by EdJS View Post
The key is buy a house while you are single or dinks, pay off the mortgage with the stock options you get from working in high tech, and THEN have a family. That's what worked for us.
The problem is that not everyone has the aptitude/skills to work in high tech, so this only works for a small number of people.

I might add that those stock options bonanzas aren't like they used to be, so this isn't even a reliable stratagey for those who do work in tech.

Waiting for all of this to work out can also be a problem. It can take until you're 35 or 40 for this plan to work out. By that age, a lot of women can't have kids any more.

Last edited by mysticaltyger; 01-08-2012 at 02:37 AM..
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Unread 01-08-2012, 02:33 AM
 
10,428 posts, read 6,937,481 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nullgeo View Post
There are an awful lot of families succeeding well without high incomes in California. Millions and millions of them. It's just the simple truth.
Eh...depends on how you define "succeding". If you mean living payday to payday without racking up too much debt, with something, but not much, put away for retirement savings, then I suspect there are a lot of people in that category. I personally wouldn't consider it "successful", but that's just me.

There is another category of folks on moderate incomes who do ok...those with strong family and extended family networks. They don't have to pay for daycare for the kids because grandma/grandpa take care of them during the day etc. Or maybe they get married but still live with their parents, etc. There's nothing wrong with this model, and there's a lot to like about it. The problem is.... if you didn't grow up this way, it feels claustrophobic.

I think Bruin Rick nailed it. For the most part, if you've grown up with the traditional nuclear/single parent/divorced parent family models that are common in America, then most people of modest means in the coastal metro areas of CA are not going to do well financally if they are trying to raise kids in those areas.
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Unread 01-08-2012, 02:57 AM
 
10,428 posts, read 6,937,481 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ultrarunner View Post
Well... there always seems to be a lot of Californians in Las Vegas...

A few years ago... knew quite a few who liquidated and moved to Las Vegas... even a family with 5 households that I had previously mentioned...

Housing dollars go much farther and by the same token... dollars seem to be hard to get... at least the wages for the same work were substantially less compared to the Bay Area...
This really depends. Housing prices in Las Vegas have dropped precipitously, so even if you're not making much, you can probably do better on $8 in Vegas than you can on $10 or $12 in a coastal CA metro area. I know unemployment is high there, but it's high in CA as well.

The median home price in Las Vegas is 123K

http://www.realtor.org/wps/wcm/connect/4cb3128048fdc911a3eeef2e39654e23/REL11Q3T.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=4cb3128048fdc911a 3eeef2e39654e23 (broken link)
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Unread 01-08-2012, 09:32 AM
 
10,727 posts, read 17,059,481 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mysticaltyger View Post
This really depends. Housing prices in Las Vegas have dropped precipitously, so even if you're not making much, you can probably do better on $8 in Vegas than you can on $10 or $12 in a coastal CA metro area. I know unemployment is high there, but it's high in CA as well.

The median home price in Las Vegas is 123K

http://www.realtor.org/wps/wcm/connect/4cb3128048fdc911a3eeef2e39654e23/REL11Q3T.pdf?MOD=AJPERES&CACHEID=4cb3128048fdc911a 3eeef2e39654e23 (broken link)
Didn't realize prices had fallen so much...

The woman I worked with in the Bay Area ran an Orthopedic Office and her husband is a factory trained Audi mechanic...

When I last talked to them about 2 years ago they both found jobs for about half of what they had been previously earning and they had decided to give up their dream home in Iron Mountain because they could rent for a fraction of what they have to pay each month on the mortgage...

Las Vegas/Nevada was definitely the promised land for many... I wonder now Austin/Texas isn't the new promised land?
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