Is California a good place to live in anymore? (Twain: mortgage, homes)

[Zapparulez]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

My wife, a teacher, does not make 8k a month. In fact, a few years ago she was making less than half that. I find contempt towards teachers to be a very strange sentiment.

It is not the teachers i have contempt for...it is the bloated
[SIZE=3]bureaucracy built up around them that punishes the teachers and the students for any cuts in their budget. Why not get rid of the 10 adminstrators for every teacher? Screw CaliForniYa as our governor calls it. [/SIZE]

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by karenabcde

It's very difficult for me to believe that California is at the "bottom" for per pupil spending..... If a teacher teaches 9 months out of the year and makes $80000, how much is that per month, class? Over $8000 a month, right? .....Most of the teachers THAT I MET wanted SECURITY. They have convinced THEMSELVES that they are underpaid.

The last I checked, CA ranked in the bottom 20% in per-pupil spending. From what I've read, CA also ranks below the national average in its teacher-pupil and staff pupil ratio. While my kids were in public school here, I was horrified to sit on PTA boards year after year and hear what the spending rates were in CA vs other states. I also don't know of any teachers making anywhere near $80,000 unless they've been teaching for many, many years. Not sure what area of CA you're referring to. (But since the topic here isn't about underpaid teachers, I'll stop here.)

[Cat_Person]

It depends who you are and what kind of finantial situation you're in. Sheesh, think about Bakersfield...really cheap, but who'd want to live there? Like any place else, California has many faces, some great...some positively scary. If you're looking to retire your retirement dollars will not go as far. I live in Central Ca., which is kinda the best of North & South, but it's still gravely expensive here. If you wish to retire in Ca, look to towns like Sacramento, Palmdale/Lancaster, Fresno, etc. When you find cheap here it's because the weather isn't that great...keep that in mind. It may also be ugly too. Taft is like Kuwait.
Schools? We just lost 35 teachers and closed two schools thanks to Ahhnold.
Things is mighty shaky thanks to the housing crisis. Go carefully...

[Soccersupporter]

Originally Posted by GameHog9

The recent gas prices and housing market crisis has affected everyone, to be sure (except, maybe, New Yorkers), but has good ol' Cali lost its splendor?

Here in Washington, I can tell you that Californians are invading the Pacific NW, because of the lowered prices of homes, and I know of many Californians that are coming up here to take a peek.

Is California still a good place to live?

Not according to Forbes if you are a recent college graduate. Texas would be the place to go.

Best Cities For Recent College Grads - Forbes.com

[TristramShandy]

In many ways, the bloom is off the US as a whole - - at least in comparison to where it was 10-15 years ago. The American Dream isn't what it used to be.

For California, the water situation is very scary. For those who own houses, you have to worry that speculation is what caused the price of that house and can people get back what they once paid for their house. The gas prices are making the suburbs financially risky places to be.

But don't overestimate the rest of the country, especially the Northeast. Most New England homes are heated with heating oil. I left Rhode Island three years ago and was paying over $1000 a year for oil. That was when heating oil was less than $2.00 a gallon. And those prices are hitting the schools as well. My sister-in-law teaches in Smithfield, RI and has missed school in winter because of the cost of that oil. Her school district (above average in the state) just dropped a whole elementary school because of budget problems. Her class next year will have 30 second graders in it. And the prices of homes there is not much different than the prices of houses in the communities outside of San Diego. You get some more room with that money - - but you also get horrific humidity and a spring that can come in May.

[shannon94]

Originally Posted by Soccersupporter

Not according to Forbes if you are a recent college graduate. Texas would be the place to go.

Best Cities For Recent College Grads - Forbes.com

Yeah,......but dont tell Sheri257 that!!

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by Soccersupporter

Not according to Forbes if you are a recent college graduate. Texas would be the place to go.

Best Cities For Recent College Grads - Forbes.com

Most recent college grads don't move to a city because it's ranked highly in Forbes.

The reality is that most people moving to CA have zero interest in moving to Texas.

[Melody74]

California is a wonderful place to live. This is my home. I was born and raised here. I have some incredible memories of growing up here, and am
creating new ones that I will look back on and cherish. I am not at all in denial about the many challenges that are facing both the state and the people that live here. Yet at the same time, I am not in denial about the amazing beauty, which causes one to see the good in this world.

I am not in denial about the creative, innovative, optimistic, and diverse spirit of this place either. Because this is my home, I am invested in making things better. I am comitted to focusing on solutions. I love living here. My family and friends love living here also.

[shannon94]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Most recent college grads don't move to a city because it's ranked highly in Forbes.

What a shame though! Instead many will move someplace they can't afford and spin their wheels until they are in their late 30's and then say to themselves "What did I get myself into?"

Not saying they have to move to Texas though!

[FinkieMcGee]

Originally Posted by shannon94

What a shame though! Instead many will move someplace they can't afford and spin their wheels until they are in their late 30's and then say to themselves "What did I get myself into?"

Not saying they have to move to Texas though!

I graduated a year ago and I'm doing ok. Sometimes people don't care about pulling down a high salary and owning a home (as that Forbes article seems to indicate) especially when they're just out of college. California is pretty easy living if you're in your 20s and pull around 50k. I could probably live off of 40k fairly comfortably if I decided to live with roommates.