Is there a place in CA that is, or has: (San Diego: home, living in)

[sprint100]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

Yes. And lots of people dream of fame and fortune more than there is fame and fortune to be had. And thenspend much of their lives trying to emulate the trappings of what they can't afford. Leads to a lot of bitter mumbling doesn't it?

Yet even a poor soul can find ways to live nicely in highly desirable areas, if they are creative. Not too hard to live close by at the fringes either. I've done it in California for 47 years. Now very nicely retired. GED high school diploma, no college, no high-tech career. Worker bee.

Thanks for taking it to another extreme LOL Dreaming of fame and fortune is quit different than being in a place you desire to live. Sounds like you may have an issue with people not wanting to live the way you see fit. As much as you like being retired after 47 years of doing what you did, I wouldn't dream of retiring anytime soon because of different reasons and luckily high cost of living isn't one of those reasons. To each his own, everybody represents their point of view of California then to another he/she is misrepresenting.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

A person is allowed to focus first on where he wants to live in what manner - and then find a way to make that happen.

Sure, they're allowed to but it is 69 times easier to find a place to live after you have found a job than it is to find a job after you've found a place to live.

[Mr5150]

Originally Posted by Charles

Sure, they're allowed to but it is 69 times easier to find a place to live after you have found a job than it is to find a job after you've found a place to live.

I don't understand your reasoning. Places are cheap and plentiful in the 97% of CA of which I speak. You're not fighting with 20 other people for that house on an acre.

Originally Posted by Charles

What's the unemployment rate for your neck of the woods?
What businesses are moving to your area?
A lot of people would hate snow four months out of the year.

And, even if they found a nice job, chances are, should they get laid off, it would be a lot more difficult to have a Plan B job without moving. In job dense places like LA and SF, if you lose your job, there's a much better chance you can find another one without moving.

It all evens out. In LA or SF you have 100 jobs to apply for, but you are competing with 1000 people for each position. Me? I had to compete with five persons for my present position. Hate snow? 80% of CA has no snow issues. Unemployment rates in CA are about the same.

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

And that $165k house sounds great until you find out the median income is $45k.

And it turns out you Can afford a house @ 45K if the median price is 165K.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by sprint100

Thanks for taking it to another extreme LOL Dreaming of fame and fortune is quit different than being in a place you desire to live. Sounds like you may have an issue with people not wanting to live the way you see fit. As much as you like being retired after 47 years of doing what you did, I wouldn't dream of retiring anytime soon because of different reasons and luckily high cost of living isn't one of those reasons. To each his own, everybody represents their point of view of California then to another he/she is misrepresenting.

Dreams of owning most the things that drive peoples' motivations in our society is extreme. Common sense. Millions of kids dream of becoming one of the 2,500 players in the NFL. Ten's of millions of people compete for a small fraction of that number of the best paying jobs. Successful or not most feel bound to try to get as close to such lifestyle as they can - even if by over reaching.

I was a printer. I lived on a boat for close to free. I put my mortgage budget into precious metals instead. By most standards I am damn near rich. I still live on my old boat. Why? I like it. I don't like being employed by a house and nice cars and tv's and lawns and lawnmowers.

I don't care how you live. I'm just making fun of the bunch of you chasing your tails.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by Charles

Sure, they're allowed to but it is 69 times easier to find a place to live after you have found a job than it is to find a job after you've found a place to live.

If all you want is a place to sleep and eat close to work knock yourself out. I'm talking about people who want to create their own reality instead of joining and conforming to someone else's.

[DMenscha]

Originally Posted by Mr5150

I don't understand your reasoning. Places are cheap and plentiful in the 97% of CA of which I speak. You're not fighting with 20 other people for that house on an acre.

It all evens out. In LA or SF you have 100 jobs to apply for, but you are competing with 1000 people for each position. Me? I had to compete with five persons for my present position. Hate snow? 80% of CA has no snow issues. Unemployment rates in CA are about the same.

And it turns out you Can afford a house @ 45K if the median price is 165K.

You Tuolumne County people are sooooooo smug!

[Count David]

I think what it is, is that many other states are monoliths, or near-monoliths, so some may assume that CA is just one big giant beach with movie stars (I'm reaching here, but you get the idea).

In my experience, the Sierra Nevada or Mojave Desert (etc) aren't the first things that pop into a outsider's mind when you tell them you're from California. They usually think LA/SF/SD, and not much else, unless they are intimately familiar with CA.

[Mr5150]

Originally Posted by David Aguilar

I think what it is, is that many other states are monoliths, or near-monoliths, so some may assume that CA is just one big giant beach with movie stars (I'm reaching here, but you get the idea).

In my experience, the Sierra Nevada or Mojave Desert (etc) aren't the first things that pop into a outsider's mind when you tell them you're from California. They usually think LA/SF/SD, and not much else, unless they are intimately familiar with CA.

Exactly.

And the reason for my little rant.

[oldtrader]

California is a large state and very diverse, with opportunities for jobs that vary considerably between areas, from just over 5% to over 25%.

California Counties: California’s unemployment rate by county - Data Desk - Los Angeles Times

And people prospering to others where too many live in poverty, changes due to county you live in when living in California.

USDA ERS - County-level Data Sets: Poverty

And there is a huge variance in cost of living between the different areas of the state. The following chart, will show 31 areas in the state, showing you that the cost of living may be below average for the U.S. and in some others it may be far above average and shows some of the differences with housing costs from below national average to almost 3 times higher than the low cost housing areas of the state.

California Cost of Living

California is many things, and the different parts of the state are completely different from the other parts of the state.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by oldtrader

California is many things, and the different parts of the state are completely different from the other parts of the state.

Except for bad air quality that "forced" you to leave the entire 160,000 square miles or face certain death?