Why is the Bay area more expensive than So Cal when So Cal is nicer? (August: wages, taxes)

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

I never get the vibe that LA or Southern Californians in general hate NorCal. They really don't seem to care one way or the other. It's the NorCal people (not all, of course) who seem to thumb their noses at SoCal.

Oh, I spend most of the year in San Diego, and San Diegans hate LA as much as San Franciscans. Poor LA gets it from all sides.

[bigdumbgod]

Originally Posted by LexusNexus

Because the bay area is increasingly about EXCLUSION.

It strives to he a high-tech haven, full of Indians on visas, academically-impressive Asians, and whites who control things, to the exclusion of everyone else, especially blacks, Hispanics, non-techies, non-hipsters, and those older than 35. If you are over 35, you better be white, be firmly entrenched in a good old boys club, exceptionally skilled or from Stanford or Berkeley, and/or perceived as being irreplaceable in your profession.

Well, nope, plenty of us "exclusions" are doing just fine out here. Enjoying the great weather, and planting spring gardens in the Valley of Heart's Delight, in fact! (Master Gardeners' Spring Sale on April 11, btw)

[Tulemutt]

Originally Posted by LexusNexus

Because the bay area is increasingly about EXCLUSION.

It strives to he a high-tech haven, full of Indians on visas, academically-impressive Asians, and whites who control things, to the exclusion of everyone else, especially blacks, Hispanics, non-techies, non-hipsters, and those older than 35. If you are over 35, you better be white, be firmly entrenched in a good old boys club, exceptionally skilled or from Stanford or Berkeley, and/or perceived as being irreplaceable in your profession.

Or be an old salt living on a boat laughing at all you just described.

[Raziel]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

A lot of people actually prefer the Bay Area because it's urban. If they want a beach lifestyle, SoCal actually is disappointing because the ocean is dull and cold. They may as well move to Florida where it's a fraction of the cost and the ocean is crystal clear, blue and warm.

huh? SoCal disappointing..wha? Florida..huh?

[Raziel]

Originally Posted by tstieber

Oh, I spend most of the year in San Diego, and San Diegans hate LA as much as San Franciscans. Poor LA gets it from all sides.

I honestly don't think LA gives a s**t

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by Raziel

I honestly don't think LA gives a s**t

LA is too busy hating OC to notice.

[Trae713]

Originally Posted by AnthonyJ34

Oh, So. Cal has many ghetto areas, so let's be real. I live in So. Cal (have all of my life), so I know a thing or two or three about many of the cities in So. Cal (LA, OC, IE).

Yes, some cities (or parts of them) have improved over the years, but many other cities (or parts of them) have gone downhill.

I live on the LA/OC border (in Cerritos), which is a nice suburb, but just a few miles away are areas that are not so nice (and they haven't been in years).

Hawaiian Gardens (directly south of here) has improved immensely over the last decade; prior to that, it was a gang-infested area with a high crime rate; now, thanks in part to the casino, the city has more money to spend on infrastructure improvements; and much of the crime has been reduced thanks to sweeping law enforcement raids and crackdowns over the last decade that put a serious dent in the membership and livelihood of the local gang and criminal underworld.

But just a few miles north (in Norwalk), specifically in a section called 'The One-Ways', crime is alive and well, and that part of Norwalk hasn't changed at all in the last 20+ years; and Norwalk has a lot of nice areas as well; it's sort of like Long Beach in that it has a mix of everything: good, bad, and ugly.

And Long Beach has some areas that are GHETTO to the extreme, as do parts of the South Bay (Wilmington, San Pedro, Harbor Gateway)….

Areas like Huntington Park, Maywood, South Gate, Vernon, Bell/Bell Gardens have plenty of ghetto-ish areas, as do cities like Pico Rivera, Whittier, and Montebello/East LA…..

The City of Los Angeles has many bad areas (and many nice areas, as well), but it's far from being a pristine city with only pockets of bad; the bad pockets are numerous.

And the list can go on and on………..

Then there is the Inland Empire, which has large swaths of rundown, ghetto areas filled with lowlifes…….Areas like Moreno Valley and Perris and Hemet (Hemet is Heaven?) -- which used to be nicer, rural areas (maybe not upscale -- but solidly middle-class) have seen a huge influx of Section 8/welfare people (plus many ex-cons/parolees) who moved to those areas from the LA metro areas, partly because of parole restrictions, and partly because of the cheaper housing/rent. And of course, many of them bring their ghetto/thug mentality with them, which infects those areas to which they move………Hemet used to be mostly retired folks and lower-middle/middle-class white families; now, many of the seniors have died off, and hood rats/ghetto people are taking their place (which is a shame, because Hemet was a quaint town). So now it's mostly low-class white folk (meth addicts/bikers), low-class ghetto transplants, and a shrinking pool of retired folks and middle-class people.

Well to be fair, you are talking about an area (LA) with nearly twice the population of another area (the Bay), so you are going to get more rundown and upscale areas in LA vs the Bay.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by Bonez765

With Hispanic households, they are taking a while to build up wealth. Think of the situation of what happened with Irish and Italian immigrants and their children.

There is truth to what you are saying in many ways I admire the Hispanics way of life. However, there is no monolithic group of Hispanic immigrants. They come from different countries, have continued coming whereas other groups came in one large wave, they have differing backgrounds; some are not legal, or in many cases, only the US born children are. Thus comparisons to other groups is tricky.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by Raziel

huh? SoCal disappointing..wha? Florida..huh?

If you are moving to California because you want to play in the ocean most people will be disappointed because the ocean temperature even in August is COLD. You need a wetsuit to stay in the water for extended time unless you have a very thick skin. If someone is imagining swimming every weekend, then Florida would be the better choice because the ocean is actually swimmable.

I love SoCal, so don't think I'm "hating" on it. I think La Jolla is probably the nicest part in the entire country. However, the ocean is way too cold for swimming bare skin for most people, so people should know that going in.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

If you are moving to California because you want to play in the ocean most people will be disappointed because the ocean temperature even in August is COLD. You need a wetsuit to stay in the water for extended time unless you have a very thick skin. If someone is imagining swimming every weekend, then Florida would be the better choice because the ocean is actually swimmable.

I love SoCal, so don't think I'm "hating" on it. I think La Jolla is probably the nicest part in the entire country. However, the ocean is way too cold for swimming bare skin for most people, so people should know that going in.

LOL no kidding. On the other hand, it gets warmer on average in So Cal (never mind inland places like Dublin) and therefore people seem to tolerate and even enjoy the cold water.