The California Dream (Palo Alto: transplants, house, to buy)

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

I would question the American Dream Part. In the Bay Area I meet people from every corner of the world... The American Dream has come true for many.

The Bay Area is far more optimistic about the future then the rest of the state.

[Ultrarunner]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

The Bay Area is far more optimistic about the future then the rest of the state.

No doubt the Bay Area is rather unique. I do meet a lot of people in my position working in Health Care and the medical field is extremely diverse in terms of people's back ground and county of origin. I would agree that many are optimistic.

[Jakehorror]

On the SF forums I find alot of more optimistic people. I'm moving to L.A. for the entertainment industry, if it wasnt for that I'd move to SF.

[shannon94]

You beat me to it Zenjen!! We live alot better since leaving California too....not sure why people think the only place to make good money is Cali. What a joke.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by shannon94

You beat me to it Zenjen!! We live alot better since leaving California too....not sure why people think the only place to make good money is Cali. What a joke.

Actually, aerospace engineers do make more in LA than in Houston, Huntsville, and Colorado. A whopping 6.8% more. I checked.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by Ultrarunner

In the Bay Area I meet people from every corner of the world... The American Dream has come true for many.

You have an excellent point here. When I lived in the Bay Area, I learned about a group of Silicon Valley millionaires who met monthly to finance new ventures for entrepreneurs. They would take risks on business ideas that the venture capitalist firms wouldn't touch. Entrepreneurs from all over the world would come to the valley to pitch their ideas to this unique group of investors.

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by zenjenn

This is not necessarily true. Find a lower-cost of living place with a strong industry in your field.

True. I think Charles makes an excellent point. If you're in a field like engineering where there's not much pay difference then, moving to a cheap place makes a lot of sense. That's not the case with my profession, where I'd have to take a huge pay cut if I moved.

Obviously the problem with California is that housing prices increased way too much in relation to salaries but, at least the incomes were there to begin with. When you look at places like Texas, you gotta wonder why housing prices hardly appreciated at all even during the housing boom. Even the midwest saw more housing appreciation than Texas did.

The reason is: generally, the incomes just aren't growing much and are actually decreasing in some cases. IMO, while you don't want the cost of living to get too high, you also don't want the cost of living to be too low either because if the cost of living is staying low for lengthy periods of time in comparison to everywhere else then ... people are obviously making less money overall.

[shannon94]

The only MAJOR difference between California and Texas in regards to the cost of living are the home prices. So you make more in California (in some fields)....you also have to spend 3-4 times more for LESS home. There goes the extra pay. What's the point of making more if you have to SPEND every dime??? ( I know Sheri is in a unique situation)

I just visited the cost of living calculator here are my results:

We made 123k last year. To live the way we live here in Texas we would have to make 205K (not going to happen)
if we moved back to San Diego

Groceries would cost 26.5% more
Housing 199% more!!
Utilities 3% more
Transportation 16% more
Healthcare 30% more

[Jakehorror]

In Northern Indiana the RN's pay is 30% lower than California RN pay. Also, Indiana has no limit on how many patients a nurse can have so they are all overstressed and ALOT of mistakes are made. My friend took a nursing job in CA 5 years ago and never came back here. She said it is far better pay and working conditions. I dont know about the rest of the jobs though. I do see most non-education jobs start between $9-$12 an hour. In Indiana they start around $6.50-$8.50 and if you make 9 or 10 an hour you are doing "great" in most peoples eyes.
California does cost more, that cant be argued with, but from my friends and families experience they claim the midwest is unlivable compared to CA. Thats partially why we're moving-nobody is coming back here!

[Charles]

Originally Posted by shannon94

The only MAJOR difference between California and Texas in regards to the cost of living are the home prices. So you make more in California (in some fields)....you also have to spend 3-4 times more for LESS home. There goes the extra pay. What's the point of making more if you have to SPEND every dime??? ( I know Sheri is in a unique situation)

I just visited the cost of living calculator here are my results:

We made 123k last year. To live the way we live here in Texas we would have to make 205K (not going to happen)
if we moved back to San Diego

Groceries would cost 26.5% more
Housing 199% more!!
Utilities 3% more
Transportation 16% more
Healthcare 30% more

Not disagreeing with you....But I've found those calculators and statistics from the Dept of Health Education and Welfare a little off. For instance, it says it costs $156,000 to raise a kid through age 18. According to my calculations, I plan on doing it for $973.