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Old 06-19-2008, 07:36 PM
 
303 posts, read 843,555 times
Reputation: 119

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Quote:
Originally Posted by karkyco View Post
Oh CalGal, I feel for you. But this place is not what you remember...that wonderland, that golden, perfect promised land, died many years ago.
I still like California far more than I'll ever like Texas, and I've lived in Texas longer. And I'm only 25, so I have not seen the major changes that occurred in the state that a lot of older posters here have.

 
Old 06-19-2008, 08:07 PM
 
3,852 posts, read 12,831,068 times
Reputation: 2529
It is too expensive to live here for the amount you get paid. Even if you do get paid a lot you still have to spend a boat load of money on housing. Forget it. The only reason I live in CA is because my parents let me live rent free and once I get out of school I am outta here. It is pretty bad when your parents, if they bought today, wouldn't be able to afford the home they are living in. 1,000/month for a 3bed/2bath home with a gigantic backyard? That's unheard of.

Here is what I've come down to. LA/OC is a great place to vacation to but not to live. You're better off living in an area where cost of living is cheap and incomes are high. Texas is one of those places.
 
Old 06-19-2008, 08:19 PM
 
148 posts, read 470,304 times
Reputation: 122
Quote:
Originally Posted by CalGal953 View Post
I still like California far more than I'll ever like Texas, and I've lived in Texas longer. And I'm only 25, so I have not seen the major changes that occurred in the state that a lot of older posters here have.
I'm not much older than you - 33!

I guess it all depends on the where. LA for me. Born and reared, been here and there and all over, but here for most of that 33 years.

Killer2021, I hear you. How's this for a trip. My parents' property tax is $770 per year, and that's for quite an estate, in an extremely desirable, upscale area. Apparently the county record for the purchase price is incorrect, because although redfin lists it as $11,000 in 1974, my mom claims it was $34K or so. My dad, however, bought a few houses in the 60's here are there, never for more than 20K, most for well under. Most of these have been liquidated/1031'd into other properties, though. But I can imagine how absurdly low the property taxes would be today, and how much the new rate was for the buyers who bought them, mostly at the peak a couple of years ago.
 
Old 06-19-2008, 08:19 PM
 
303 posts, read 843,555 times
Reputation: 119
Quote:
Originally Posted by killer2021 View Post
You're better off living in an area where cost of living is cheap and incomes are high. Texas is one of those places.
It would help if I could actually find a job here, which I and my boyfriend still have yet to do, and we've been looking for years. For the time being, I plan to move to Kansas City, which has a cost of living similar to Dallas's. And I have no plans on buying a house. Just a modest 1-bed or studio apartment for my boyfriend and I.

And another reason I want to move out of Texas is that I have never been happy here. I do not see the point of staying somewhere I've never been happy in, just to get more bang for my buck. And my boyfriend lives in Texas too, and he is on antidepressants.

Last edited by CalGal953; 06-19-2008 at 08:34 PM..
 
Old 06-19-2008, 09:37 PM
 
Location: Las Flores, Orange County, CA
26,338 posts, read 93,435,175 times
Reputation: 17827
Quote:
Originally Posted by killer2021 View Post
It is too expensive to live here for the amount you get paid.

Even if housing came down to $200-$250/sqft in the Huntington Beaches, Seal Beaches, the Thousand Oakes, and other nice places to live there still are the problems of traffic and public schools. Knowing all the tons of aerospace jobs for me between El Segundo and Irvine, I might consider it but housing would really have to drop to like those levels above.

For example, we paid $331K for our 2200 sqft home in Lang Ranch Thousand Oaks in 1997, that's $150/sqft. OK, with 4% appreciation, that house today would be worth $509K, or $231/sqft. Today our home in TO is probably around $830K (guess) or $375/sqft.
 
Old 06-19-2008, 09:50 PM
 
11,715 posts, read 40,320,496 times
Reputation: 7585
Quote:
Originally Posted by CalGal953 View Post
It would help if I could actually find a job here, which I and my boyfriend still have yet to do, and we've been looking for years. For the time being, I plan to move to Kansas City, which has a cost of living similar to Dallas's. And I have no plans on buying a house. Just a modest 1-bed or studio apartment for my boyfriend and I.

And another reason I want to move out of Texas is that I have never been happy here. I do not see the point of staying somewhere I've never been happy in, just to get more bang for my buck. And my boyfriend lives in Texas too, and he is on antidepressants.
How do two people look for jobs for years in a city of millions of people and not find anything? What's wrong with this picture?
 
Old 06-19-2008, 09:54 PM
 
Location: Boise, ID
1,356 posts, read 6,012,934 times
Reputation: 944
Quote:
Originally Posted by sheri257 View Post
I personally don't want to reverse the trend ... let those people go. If this board is any indication, most of the people who complain so much about this state are very conservative and really belong in those other states anyway.
Sheri - you and I have had some colorful debates but I'll agree with you on this one. The interesting thing is how so many Americans are ending up in states where they "belong" according to their ideology. That will have an interesting effect on American politics in the coming decades and I am going to find it fascinating to see how it plays out.
 
Old 06-19-2008, 09:58 PM
 
11,715 posts, read 40,320,496 times
Reputation: 7585
Quote:
Originally Posted by Niners fan View Post
Sheri - you and I have had some colorful debates but I'll agree with you on this one. The interesting thing is how so many Americans are ending up in states where they "belong" according to their ideology. That will have an interesting effect on American politics in the coming decades and I am going to find it fascinating to see how it plays out.
Can you imagine how bad California will be when there's NO resistance to all the wacky ideas that come out of Sacramento? I hope I'm gone before then or they might put up a concrete wall at the eastern border to keep me and my tax money in.
 
Old 06-19-2008, 10:17 PM
 
303 posts, read 843,555 times
Reputation: 119
Quote:
Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia View Post
How do two people look for jobs for years in a city of millions of people and not find anything? What's wrong with this picture?
My boyfriend has a bachelor's degree in computer science and hasn't had any luck finding work here because his GPA wasn't that great and the competition for the few remaining computer jobs here is extremely fierce, with many applicants having far more experience than him, and he has not had a chance to get any since he started college right before the dot-com boom went bust. And graduate school is out of the question for him since he has more than plenty of college loans to pay off right now.

As for me, I am looking at entry-level jobs suited for people interested in biology and environmental science, and the few jobs I found there, including so-called "entry-level" jobs like lab technicians, required at least 1 year of experience, which I never had a chance to get either. And I am broke, though without loans, so graduate school is out of the question for me too, with tuition and fees at colleges here sky-high.
 
Old 06-19-2008, 10:37 PM
 
Location: Boise, ID
1,356 posts, read 6,012,934 times
Reputation: 944
Quote:
Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia View Post
Can you imagine how bad California will be when there's NO resistance to all the wacky ideas that come out of Sacramento? I hope I'm gone before then or they might put up a concrete wall at the eastern border to keep me and my tax money in.
I was trying to make a point in an apolitical way but I agree with you. I was being honest, however, when I said it will be interesting to watch.

The fact that I will be observing it from Idaho will make it even more interesting.

Last edited by Niners fan; 06-19-2008 at 10:49 PM..
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