How do you afford to live in California? (Fontana, Arroyo Grande: unemployed, school district)

[nullgeo]

Originally Posted by blauskies

I'm an exception, I don't desire a cookie cutter McMansion in Orlando with a BMW and a Porsche in the garage. For me less is more, I'm perfectly happy living on less and do not desire extravagant material possessions or status symbols. Like I said, life is too short to live in some miserable location just to have more money to inflate my status to people I don't even know.

A lot of the junior level engineers at my company have the direct opposite thinking, sooner or later they will wake up or not. Some were spoiled richie rich kids who had everything handed to them on a golden platter, went to a ivy league school fresh out of high school, all paid for with a new BMW 3 series to get them around. So, it's sorta hard to change that train of thought.

Yes. We all have our favorite themes in life. One of mine is: conditioning ... as in brainwashing. While I was raised hiking and camping and fishing, etc. -- in a constant relationship to the outdoors and spartan living -- I was mostly home-based in big cities. I lived Very simplistically and in pretty much poverty there, but happily, with constant escapes to the mountains and forests. I worked at many professions but mostly I specialized in creating print communications for businesses. I wrote their stories and designed and illustrated their various communications pieces. It was very creative work. But all about a pile of bullsh*t. One day someone met me and asked: "what do you do for a living?" And without thinking, out of my mouth fell, "I am a professional liar." The person laughed nervously and asked me what I meant. I explained that I created illusions for companies to use in justifying their pointless existences.

Shortly after that conversation, I quit doing that kind of work and went back to my hammer and nails. Never looked back. Our clever, modern world is a remarkable illusion. And we believe in what we have created, though it is poisoning us and our children, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Basically, we need next to nothing of what we have surrounded ourselves with, and which parasitic toys and functions and habits suck our life's blood from us, leaving us slave-donors to the voracious appetites of inanimate things.

[Fontucky]

Originally Posted by yeahthatguy

^ And yet, another thread has .. Well :

Turned into a clapping black man wearing a flat cap?

[yeahthatguy]

Originally Posted by Fontucky

Turned into a clapping black man wearing a flat cap?

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

What 25 year old would want to buy a house, anyway....much less in that price range? And you picked Irvine, one of the most expensive communities in southern California. There are other cities in this state with much lower housing costs.

Why wouldn't a 25 year old want to buy a house? Home ownership isn't my thing, but it's not a good trend that most of those who want to own a home and have kids can't own a home in any of the coastal areas' median incomes.

Whether he picks an expensive suburb or not, the trend is the same. Housing costs have outpaced income growth in all of the coastal metro areas.

Sure you can live in places like Bakersfield or Fresno or Riverside, but places like Phoenix and Las Vegas are often better alternatives in terms of amenities and the COL is about the same or lower in those areas.

[EdJS]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

That pretty much explains the difference right there. If you're only paying $1,100 a month for housing it doesn't take much financial wizardry to live well on $100K.

Yeah, and that's actually the most I ever paid. I refinanced a few times and got it down to something like $930 per month.

[blauskies]

Originally Posted by nullgeo

Yes. We all have our favorite themes in life. One of mine is: conditioning ... as in brainwashing. While I was raised hiking and camping and fishing, etc. -- in a constant relationship to the outdoors and spartan living -- I was mostly home-based in big cities. I lived Very simplistically and in pretty much poverty there, but happily, with constant escapes to the mountains and forests. I worked at many professions but mostly I specialized in creating print communications for businesses. I wrote their stories and designed and illustrated their various communications pieces. It was very creative work. But all about a pile of bullsh*t. One day someone met me and asked: "what do you do for a living?" And without thinking, out of my mouth fell, "I am a professional liar." The person laughed nervously and asked me what I meant. I explained that I created illusions for companies to use in justifying their pointless existences.

Shortly after that conversation, I quit doing that kind of work and went back to my hammer and nails. Never looked back. Our clever, modern world is a remarkable illusion. And we believe in what we have created, though it is poisoning us and our children, mentally, physically, and spiritually. Basically, we need next to nothing of what we have surrounded ourselves with, and which parasitic toys and functions and habits suck our life's blood from us, leaving us slave-donors to the voracious appetites of inanimate things.

Very good point you made there. I once had the opportunity to work for Lockheed Martin Missle and Fire Control Systems, but turned down the job, not because it was in Orlando but because I realized I could never feel good engineering something that would be killing someone. Turning down job opportunities is something I made a habit of doing based on being happy, but I feel good about it regardless of the salary.

I really do not look at money anymore, I do not desire the big house and the toys, it's all fill and know of people above me that live in these big palaces 3,000 to 4,000 sq ft and wonder if they ever really enjoy it? They are in the office before me and still there when I leave just to have all these material possessions and status.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

Why wouldn't a 25 year old want to buy a house? it's not a good trend that most of those who want to own a home and have kids can't own a home in any of the coastal areas' median incomes.

What makes you think that an average single 25-year old could ever buy a house in "any of the coastal areas" of CA?

[sajae90]

Originally Posted by Mr.Kurtz

To Residents of California:

You can't beat the system. And the unfortunate truth ... if you're not super rich then you will always be a slave to the Dollar. California residents are modern day slaves. They choose to live in the most expensive state in the union and therefore you must accept the negatives that go with that.

I chose to leave CA a long time ago when I saw the sh*t hit the fan.

I'm a lucky one.

You are speaking the truth. California is going "Belly-Up" and no one can afford to live here unless they sponge off of someone else who are already rich. Even the celebrities can't keep up, as many of them are filing bankruptcy and out of work. My cousin just called me yesterday talking about how lucky I was to be able to live in California and how he was planning on moving here. I told him that the reason I was making it was because I worked 20 hours a day, rarely socialized, and was self-employed. Even though I make more than the average person working a regular job, sh*t can get real tight when your car and health insurance is through the roof and the IRS is guaging almost half of your earnings per year.

I told my cousin that there are NO jobs here and breaking into any of the markets was going to be almost impossible unless you had an uncle in the furniture business. He replied, "California does have jobs"...I rolled my eyes. People don't want to listen until they feel the burn themselves. They are caught up in the glitz and glamour and think that they are going to spend the rest of their days looking at palm trees and sipping margaritas on the beach. *rolls eyes*

[.highnlite]

I told my cousin that there are NO jobs here and breaking into any of the markets was going to be almost impossible unless you had an uncle in the furniture business. He replied, "California does have jobs"...I rolled my eyes. People don't want to listen until they feel the burn themselves. They are caught up in the glitz and glamour and think that they are going to spend the rest of their days looking at palm trees and sipping margaritas on the beach. *rolls eyes*

Interesting, my daughter has been back from Hawaii for a little over a week now, the company she worked for before she left re hired her, but since she has weekends free, she picked up a second job, that took a day.

There is a big sign down at the school district bus barn saying, "want a new career, drive a bus".

Seems that there are jobs. Most people seem happy. Here is a slide show, last weekend, happy people.
2012 Arroyo Grande Strawberry Festival - YouTube

[Hawk J]

Very Nice bro. We love festivals.

We used to go to the "Strawberry Fest" in Watsonville.