Survey: 27% of Americans Would Live in California If They Could; LA #1 City of Choice (Oakland: transplants, mortgage)

[Thekdog]

Climate, beaches, mountains, food, amenities, etc. Hard to beat it if money is no object.

[blameyourself]

Originally Posted by ben young

And 73 % would rather live somewhere else.

Uh huh. And 75% would rather live somewhere other than Florida. 78% would rather live somewhere other than Hawaii. 81% would rather live somewhere other than New York. 83% would rather live somewhere other than Colorado. Should we continue?

[04kL4nD]

I won't lie: I still love California, but I'm very glad we moved/bought elsewhere when we did. Buying a house in the Bay Area is such a nightmarish and frustrating ordeal, especially if you're a first time homeowner without a huge chunk of cash to help out with a 20% downpayment. We made several attempts at various times over the past 3 years, and we eventually decided that a move up to WA would not only make better financial sense, but the buying process wouldn't be nearly as cumbersome, and it wasn't. In fact, it was a very simple and straight forward process that did not involve bidding wars or 'panic' buying.

I will say that unless you're raking in serious money, or don't mind being poor/living with tons of roommates when you're younger, California can be a pretty tough place to live. If you've got money/family/connections, you may be OK, but otherwise I think there are other alternatives that are just a lot simpler and easier.

[VikingsToValhalla]

California aint what it use to be, sorry folks.
I'll be up in WA state in about two months and I cannot wait to finally leave.

10 or 15 years ago L.A. was much cleaner than it is today.
There was less litter, less graffiti, less riff raff -- it felt like things were getting better, crime was going down.
Now it is the exact opposite. I've noticed a dramatic increase in vandalism and graffiti everywhere, even in nicer neighborhoods.

[sidneyinmyeyes34]

Southern California has nice weather, mountains, and beaches but there are some issues with the freeways being outdated there's traffic all the time and the housing shortage which drives the home values up. Im starting to believe the local government is reluctant to build housing units either because of environmental groups or it would off set the housing market in LA.I think the housing shortage and lack of affordable housing contributes to the homeless problem.

[digitalUID]

It's a beautiful state. I would take the opportunity if it was economically viable for me (i.e. I landed a good paying job).

[ryanthegoldengod]

I dream of moving to CA myself. All about the sunshine. I live in dreary Connecticut.

As far as "Communism", that's the price of success. Look at the blue states. They are all wealthy states. The red states are poor. Or look at Georgia: they used to be poorer and redder but now that the entertainment industry has grown so much there they are getting richer--and more purple.

By and large, educated, successful people want to help others. Struggling people could not care less about helping others. I mean they want government assistance for THEMSELVES because they of course deserve it and "paid into the system" but none of those other bums should get a dime so they will always side with the party trying to kill the social services they depend on.

So the former becomes liberal, the latter conservative.

We can question whether some of that liberal savior complex is quixotic, but that's another story.

[rodentraiser]

Originally Posted by njbiodude

The problem is prop 13 has led to a lot of disgusting housing not being improved. Drive around the Bay Area and look at all the sad run down tract homes ”worth” over a million dollars.

Don't forget, a LOT of empty houses in California belong to out-of-the-country owners. Specifically, China. There were lots of articles on that a couple years ago. Rich Chinese bought tons of housing in Silicon Valley and are just waiting for it to appreciate more. They do no upkeep and the houses just sit empty.


https://www.kqed.org/news/11795988/w...bay-area-homes

[Thekdog]

Originally Posted by sidneyinmyeyes34

Southern California has nice weather, mountains, and beaches but there are some issues with the freeways being outdated there's traffic all the time and the housing shortage which drives the home values up. Im starting to believe the local government is reluctant to build housing units either because of environmental groups or it would off set the housing market in LA.I think the housing shortage and lack of affordable housing contributes to the homeless problem.

Well roads are racist now so traffic isn't gonna get better.

One of the more obvious problems is how the freeway system is incomplete and has not kept up with growth.

[Thekdog]

Originally Posted by VikingsToValhalla

California aint what it use to be, sorry folks.
I'll be up in WA state in about two months and I cannot wait to finally leave.

10 or 15 years ago L.A. was much cleaner than it is today.
There was less litter, less graffiti, less riff raff -- it felt like things were getting better, crime was going down.
Now it is the exact opposite. I've noticed a dramatic increase in vandalism and graffiti everywhere, even in nicer neighborhoods.

Where in WA are you moving? I'm seeing a log l lot of jobs in the Seattle-TAC metro area