Is the SoCal hype really worth it (Huntington Beach, Irvine: 2015, how much)

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by NorthAtlanta

The 39.2% asian statistic was from the 2010 census.. The current population is close to 50%. The way Chinese and Koreans are snatching up houses there it will be 70% by the 2020 census..

Unlike your description of the asians I found the asians I met in Irvine to be first generation, closed and snobby ..

Let's stereotype all people there.

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

Let's stereotype all people there.

Ok. Starting with CD posters .........

[nslander]

Originally Posted by bpeeps

If you are actually an ally, don't call their lifestyle alternative and imply that a gay spouse isn't a spouse through the use of quotations.

Si. To clarify: that wasn't me.

[nslander]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

Ok. Starting with CD posters .........

Shiftless Funyon munchers?

[MtnSurfer]

Visit several times first. Check out the various communities you may want to live in. Look at the types of homes you may live in including their cost both to rent or buy. Then read the threads on here of people complaining about the high COL which really boils down to housing for them. If you can live with a smaller home, the possibility of renting and not owning right away (a good idea anyway) or not buying a home at all then it could work out fine.

Much boils down to your own perspective and associated expectations. If your expectations are realistic then its a great place to live. However if you feel disenfranchised/frustrated because you can't buy that house you think you are entitled to then you will not be happy. That is also a primary driver for many folks leaving CA for cheaper places to buy a home like the South, to fulfill their idea of the American Dream. Enjoying the SoCal lifestyle is *so* much more than home ownership. But for some that's all they can think about to the point that is overshadows everything else. So they cannot enjoy the rest of what they have all around them. What is wonderful for some regardless of income level is unbearable for others.

Derek

[NorthAtlanta]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

Let's stereotype all people there.

Go through these threads..

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed


http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php?topic=12372.15

[SoCalbound12]

I love a lot about Southern California but I dislike a lot about it as well. I guess that's life though.

[bpeeps]

Originally Posted by NorthAtlanta

Go through these threads..

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed


http://www.talkirvine.com/index.php?topic=12372.15

Are you actually attempting to prove a stereotype? Loool.

[8to32characters]

Originally Posted by SkyIsTheLimt

+1. I would rather buy two houses and rent one out and live off of it rather than paying 800k plus for a 2000sqft home with literally no back yard and try to get by in a SoCal.. With the income taxes, housing cost and taxes on gas, groceries etc even the upper middle class get reduced to paycheck to paycheck families in California.. Unless you have a grandpa that just died and left you a couple of million in inheritance there is no point living paycheck to paycheck when with the same qualifications you can have a rather well to do life in Atlanta.

Just because you can't afford your desired lifestyle in coastal California, don't jeer those who are getting by just fine and living quite comfortably here.

Also, I don't know a single upper-middle class family in California -- or anywhere else, for the matter -- that's living "paycheck-to-paycheck." The very virtue of being upper-middle class allows one to avoid the unfortunate disposition of living paycheck-to-paycheck.

I've lived in Georgia, and I'll have you know that aside from the cost of housing, almost everything costs about the same or less in California. Utilities, food, and auto insurance in particular are a few costs that are -- hands down -- more expensive in Atlanta than LA/OC.

Not only are cooling expenditures much higher in Georgia given the higher summertime temperatures and especially humidity levels, but heating expenditures are much higher as well. Lots of people in SoCal seem to focus on the hotter, more humid summers in Atlanta as opposed to LA/OC/SD, but often forget how much colder and icier winters are there. Ice storms and snow events are regular winter occurrences in the Atlanta area, and the propensity for wintery precipitation begins in November and lasts until March. Also, Atlanta has many more dark, gloomy days than SoCal, especially in the wintertime, so your lights will be on more often, increasing your household's electricity consumption rate.

In addition to higher utility bills, food is much more expensive in the Atlanta area. Unfortunately, Atlanta doesn't have the climate to sustain the same level of agricultural output as SoCal -- not to mention less support for organic, locally grown produce and farmers markets -- so food tends to be more expensive in Atlanta, especially produce and meat products. Like seain dublin mentioned up-thread, Publix, the most prominent grocery store in Metro Atlanta, neither prices its products all that competitively nor offers any type of coupon/discount programs/incentives.

Auto insurance premiums are significantly higher in Atlanta, too. I attribute that to a few things -- LA traffic, but with much more volatile weather (rain, ice, snow, hail, tornadoes); lots of newcomers from states with very expensive auto insurance premiums such as NY, MI, and FL; shoddy underwriting practices due to little oversight, common in low-cost, conservative states; and a strong culture of suing/lawsuits (attorneys are a dime-a-dozen everywhere, but this especially pronounced in Atlanta).

Oh, yeah -- there's no "ad valorem" car tax in California, either.

[MrsApt]

Originally Posted by NorthAtlanta

I currently live in Atlanta and have been living here since the last 10 years.. Originally from a Midwestern town.. We both have well paying jobs here and have no major gripes about living here.. The traffic is bad but my line of business lets me work from home half the time and spouse's commute is 12 miles so it's not that bad.. Winters are mild with occasional cold spells..housing is affordable..We both have a progressive and liberal outlook and like diversity.. Atlanta may not be NYC but still is diverse and the city is very progressive and liberal unlike the rest of the state of Georgia ..

We have some family that recently moved to SoCal(Irvine) and have all good things to say about life over there.. The sunny mild weather the proximity to beaches the diversity the liberal life style etc...Made us wonder if we should move there. Yes it is expensive but we both should be able to get gainful employment in SoCal and afford the lifestyle there.. Our savings rate might go down because of the taxes and expensive real estate but we should still be able to afford the life in SoCal.. I like beaches and warm weather but have only visited such places and have never lived in a setting like that before.. We are unable to decide if it's a good idea to uproot us from here and move.. Cali gets a love hate reaction from most people I spoke to. some just love it and would move there given a chance and some just hate it and want to stay away from it..

so with all this background I wanted to see if anyone was in a situation similar to this before and if the SoCal hype is really worth it????

No my opinion is it's not worth it unless you have kids who would benefit from being near grandparents
The air quality is not good, there is a drought. Southern California is generally very expensive and very crowded