Why is California so worshipped by people? (San Diego, Oxnard: how much, townhome)

[orangeapple]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Ah, yes. Only the top 1% of people should be allowed to have a decent life in California. Enjoy you two class society. This kind of elitism is what puts a lot of people off about California and New York.

I am working middle class and lead a pleasant life in Cali. Read my last post in this thread.
Some people struggle, but people struggle everywhere. Then they move to other states and realize that cost of living is cheaper, but that the pay matches it. If you get a marketable skill, then you can enjoy life here easily. Maybe you won't live right on the beach or in some ritzy neighborhood, but you can be like me and live a mere 30 miles from the ocean in a nice suburb. Not all of Cali is LA....

[sav858]

Originally Posted by orangeapple

Then they move to other states and realize that cost of living is cheaper, but that the pay matches it.

Then why do LA and San Diego have a lower average salaries than places like Houston, Dallas, Denver, etc...?

The cost of living and salaries in Southern CA is completely out of whack. The Bay Area is a little better but the COL is still out of line with incomes despite how much people get paid.


Released Apr 24, 2008 by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the US Commerce Department
MSA Ranking
FIPS Area name 2006 Rank
41940 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA (MSA) $75,821 1
14860 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT (MSA) 73,511 2
41860 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA (MSA) 61,031 3
35620 New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA (MSA) 60,544 4
47900 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV (MSA) 57,696 5
14460 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH (MSA) 55,677 6
45940 Trenton-Ewing, NJ (MSA) 53,387 7
25540 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT (MSA) 50,831 8
42660 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (MSA) 50,091 9
26420 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX (MSA) 49,606 10
14500 Boulder, CO (MSA) 49,171 11
31100 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA (MSA) 48,646 12
16980 Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI (MSA) 48,420 13
37980 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD (MSA) 48,053 14
20500 Durham, NC (MSA) 47,994 15
19740 Denver-Aurora, CO (MSA) 47,668 16
19100 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (MSA) 47,297 17
19820 Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI (MSA) 47,218 18
31700 Manchester-Nashua, NH (MSA) 46,965 19
33460 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (MSA) 46,325 20
12580 Baltimore-Towson, MD (MSA) 45,980 21
37100 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA (MSA) 45,884 22
12060 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA (MSA) 45,778 23
41740 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA (MSA) 45,610 24
16740 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC (MSA) 45,503 25
12420 Austin-Round Rock, TX (MSA) 45,341 26
40900 Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA (MSA) 44,785

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by sav858

Then why do LA and San Diego have a lower average salaries than places like Houston, Dallas, Denver, etc...?

The cost of living and salaries in Southern CA is completely out of whack. The Bay Area is a little better but the COL is still out of line with incomes despite how much people get paid.


Released Apr 24, 2008 by the Bureau of Economic Analysis of the US Commerce Department
MSA Ranking
FIPS Area name 2006 Rank
41940 San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA (MSA) $75,821 1
14860 Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, CT (MSA) 73,511 2
41860 San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA (MSA) 61,031 3
35620 New York-Northern New Jersey-Long Island, NY-NJ-PA (MSA) 60,544 4
47900 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV (MSA) 57,696 5
14460 Boston-Cambridge-Quincy, MA-NH (MSA) 55,677 6
45940 Trenton-Ewing, NJ (MSA) 53,387 7
25540 Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT (MSA) 50,831 8
42660 Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (MSA) 50,091 9
26420 Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown, TX (MSA) 49,606 10
14500 Boulder, CO (MSA) 49,171 11
31100 Los Angeles-Long Beach-Santa Ana, CA (MSA) 48,646 12
16980 Chicago-Naperville-Joliet, IL-IN-WI (MSA) 48,420 13
37980 Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD (MSA) 48,053 14
20500 Durham, NC (MSA) 47,994 15
19740 Denver-Aurora, CO (MSA) 47,668 16
19100 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX (MSA) 47,297 17
19820 Detroit-Warren-Livonia, MI (MSA) 47,218 18
31700 Manchester-Nashua, NH (MSA) 46,965 19
33460 Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (MSA) 46,325 20
12580 Baltimore-Towson, MD (MSA) 45,980 21
37100 Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, CA (MSA) 45,884 22
12060 Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Marietta, GA (MSA) 45,778 23
41740 San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA (MSA) 45,610 24
16740 Charlotte-Gastonia-Concord, NC-SC (MSA) 45,503 25
12420 Austin-Round Rock, TX (MSA) 45,341 26
40900 Sacramento-Arden-Arcade-Roseville, CA (MSA) 44,785

Cool Stat.

[orangeapple]

Originally Posted by sav858

Then why do LA and San Diego have a lower average salaries than places like Houston, Dallas, Denver, etc...?

The cost of living and salaries in Southern CA is completely out of whack. The Bay Area is a little better but the COL is still out of line with incomes despite how much people get paid.

Let's review...not all of Cali is LA (or SD). And people are willing to pay more for "amenities" like fantastic weather, being near the ocean, and access to cities like LA or SF.
I've been to Texas...I can see why it is cheaper there & why salaries are as high....they have to attract people somehow. Now I'm not ragging on TX, I like Austin for example, but I would not want to live there over Cali.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

Cool Stat.

haha, you should think so since it's from a thread you started. I googled "US metros ranked by salary" and it was the first link to appear

[sav858]

Originally Posted by orangeapple

Let's review...not all of Cali is LA (or SD). And people are willing to pay more for "amenities" like fantastic weather, being near the ocean, and access to cities like LA or SF.
I've been to Texas...I can see why it is cheaper there & why salaries are as high....they have to attract people somehow. Now I'm not ragging on TX, I like Austin for example, but I would not want to live there over Cali.

Yes and those other places many times pay even less. CA ranks behind many other states for median income, even Hawaii has a higher median income than CA. Also you act like everyone in CA moved here or is here for the "weather, being by the ocean, cities, etc.." when that is BS. Realize some of us live here b/c it's where we are from, maybe you're a transplant or something, I don't know. But it can be very frustrating to natives to see what has happened to their state and how much it costs just to live here. Also realize that weather, scenery, and cities doesn't put food on the table, a roof overhead, or your child in a GOOD school.

I love CA and being by the ocean, all the things to do, etc.. but I'm young and when it comes time to settle down, this state is very inhospitable to young families and the middle class. This state has just so many problems, more than many other states. If we're going to pay this much to live here then we should have much better schools, better roads, not have $15 billion budget deficits and a overall better quality of life to go along with everything else. I don't mind living in a smaller apartment, condo, or townhome or paying more to live here but we should be getting something out of all the taxes and what not we pay for too. And that is what my gripe about CA is, we pay a lot and receive so little overall.

[18Montclair]

Originally Posted by sav858

haha, you should think so since it's from a thread you started. I googled "us metros ranked by salary" and it was the first link to appear

lol:d

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Ah, yes. Only the top 1% of people should be allowed to have a decent life in California. Enjoy you two class society. This kind of elitism is what puts a lot of people off about California and New York.

It's not a question of being "allowed." It's simple economics and, quite frankly, the fact that a lot of people don't want to update their job skills in the marketplace. Case in point:

Is there anyone who visits places like Monterey Bay and doesn't think to themselves ... gee, I'd like to love here? Which is why, obviously, people who can afford it pay a fortune to live there. That's why the COL is so high in those areas.

But here's the problem: the biggest complainers who can't live there are often people with a high school education who seem to expect to live on beach front property for nothing. (Ok, I might be exaggerating a bit here but, hopefully ... you get my point.)

With today's economy in general ... a high school education just isn't going to cut it anymore. Ok ... you can buy some time by living cheap and moving to places like Texas but ... you're still probably not going to get very far with a limited skill set.

I make good money and live on the Central Coast ONLY because I decided to go back to school and change careers in my '40s. The California community college system allowed me to do that at no cost ... btw.

I did it because I wanted to afford the best that California has to offer and I was willing to work for it. Anyone else can do the same ... but, the fact is, it's not going to be handed to them on a silver platter.

[chuck22b]

Originally Posted by sheri257

It's not a question of being "allowed." It's simple economics and, quite frankly, the fact that a lot of people don't want to update their job skills in the marketplace. Case in point:

Is there anyone who visits places like Monterey Bay and doesn't think to themselves ... gee, I'd like to love here? Which is why, obviously, people who can afford it pay a fortune to live there. That's why the COL is so high in those areas.

But here's the problem: the biggest complainers who can't live there are often people with a high school education who seem to expect to live on beach front property for nothing. (Ok, I might be exaggerating a bit here but, hopefully ... you get my point.)

With today's economy in general ... a high school education just isn't going to cut it anymore. Ok ... you can buy some time by living cheap and moving to places like Texas but ... you're still probably not going to get very far with a limited skill set.

I make good money and live on the Central Coast ONLY because I decided to go back to school and change careers in my '40s. The California community college system allowed me to do that at no cost ... btw.

I did it because I wanted to afford the best that California has to offer and I was willing to work for it. Anyone else can do the same ... but, the fact is, it's not going to be handed to them on a silver platter.

Good for you Sheri257!... you are living proof of the American spirit and that you have to work hard to get anywhere.... even in California.

Only if more industries are doing as well as the nursing industry though... and that companies aren't cutting jobs or shifting them overseas for even the white collar educated... or skilled manufacturing sectors.

-chuck22b

[sheri257]

Originally Posted by chuck22b

Only if more industries are doing as well as the nursing industry though... and that companies aren't cutting jobs or shifting them overseas for even the white collar educated... or skilled manufacturing sectors.

That's why I chose nursing. By the time I hit my '40s I was tired of being laid off. I had a chance to go into real estate during the boom but I figured the market would crash so ... you've got to do your homework.