More people leaving the state than entering this year (Irvine: fit in, apartment)

[Scott5280]

I am not bashing the Golden State--I am just concerned that it's headed in a dangerous direction..Hopefully things will dramatically improve there.. I Like the weather..the landscape, beauty...The over all culture is in a bit of flux though..
Californian's are strong people--they just need to kick the local law makers in the butt, get back on track, and return to prosperity...

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

All my debt is in Arizona. I rent here in California. Cars and things are paid off. As far as me I am ready for the decline in real estate values and ready to finally buy here in California. If I would have known what the prices were going to drop this far this fast we would have never bought our Arizona home. Like many we just had to have a house. Now I am happy that I never found a job in Arizona and that my company has continued to increase my employment situation here. Most of the people I know live in modest homes and live a normal life. I am sure that those that watch the Hills, 90210, or some other fantasy reality show think that we all live these spectacular debt ridden lifestyles. That just isn't the case with everyone.

[City Boy]

Originally Posted by Scott5280

I am not bashing the Golden State--I am just concerned that it's headed in a dangerous direction..Hopefully things will dramatically improve there.. I Like the weather..the landscape, beauty...The over all culture is in a bit of flux though..
Californian's are strong people--they just need to kick the local law makers in the butt, get back on track, and return to prosperity...

California is too important to the rest of the country for anything devastating to happen. It just will not happen. The Feds would step in.

[Mach50]

Of course California is losing people, people are losing their jobs in this economy and this is an expensive place to live. It is that simple.

All the other factors good/bad also exist in other states. People are just going from: Tier 1 to Tier 2 of the same problems.

Colorado will be the next California...watch it happen. The same issues are there, it is Tier2.

[Scott5280]

Originally Posted by City Boy

California is too important to the rest of the country for anything devastating to happen. It just will not happen. The Feds would step in.

I pay property taxes in California too, and hope that you are correct..

[barryhussein]

I stopped searching for homes in CA (that have become affordable), when I looked at some crime maps.
I do love that asparagus filled ravioli at that Italian restaurant near the San Bernardino Airport. I don't like to be afraid to walk the streets.

[BennyPhoenix]

Originally Posted by Twinkle Toes

Bet you've never paid a 3% property tax on a million dollar property - like we had in Texas. California taxes don't even come close to being raped like that!

The difference is that in general a million dollar property in Texas would be worth about $200,000 in calif.
And I'm talking about total taxes, not just property tax. Texas has no wage income tax. I'd gladly trade a 3% property tax if I didn't have to pay tax on my income. My property taxes last year were about $5,000, my Calif State income tax was double that.

[FresnoFacts]

This article sounds familiar.

The only thing is that it has all been said for many, many years.

This is what Time magazine was saying in 1991:

California's fabled magnetism is reversing itself, repelling as well as attracting many of the get-up-and-go Americans who have flocked to the Golden State in search of the California Dream. The escapees are being driven away by an accelerating deterioration in the quality of life: clogged freeways, eye-stinging smog, despoiled landscapes, polluted beaches, water shortages, unaffordable housing, overcrowded schools and beleaguered industries, many of which are fleeing, with their jobs, to other states. The very qualities that have lured millions to California for 50 years are threatening to disappear.
The Endangered Dream - TIME

Yet the state continued to grow after the above was written in 1991.

In 1991 California faced the largest budget deficit ever seen by any state.
Yet the state survived that, reversed the crisis and grew.

Since 1991 millions more residents have moved here.

In 1990, 23.4% of Californians had a Bachelors Degree or higher
In 2005, 29.1% were estimated to have a Bachelors or higher.

And as Time also wrote in the 1991 issue.

Americans do not refer to the Pennsylvania Dream or the Missouri Dream. California has always been an immaterial, shimmering thing in the imagination, the golden exception, the California Dream.
Special Issue It Is Still America's Promised Land -- a Place of Heartstopping Beauty, Spectacular Energy and Stunning Diversity. But - TIME

Set backs now, yes. Tough times now, yes.

But I think Californians tend to be more optimistic than residents of other states. Rather than give up, Californians find solutions.

Most of us still pursue THE DREAM here.

Its too early to even be thinking about California's obituary.

[Twinkle Toes]

Originally Posted by BennyPhoenix

The difference is that in general a million dollar property in Texas would be worth about $200,000 in calif.And I'm talking about total taxes, not just property tax. Texas has no wage income tax. I'd gladly trade a 3% property tax if I didn't have to pay tax on my income. My property taxes last year were about $5,000, my Calif State income tax was double that.

I don't understand what you're saying. Our million dollar home in Texas - with the square footage and the quality workmanship and expensive textiles sitting high atop a hill in an armed guard gated community with a 360 degree view would be a minimum 5 million dollar property in CA. Not sure where you get $200,000.00 from.

Ever have hail the size of a golf ball destroy your car???

[dweej]

If I had a million dollars (!!!!) to buy a home, I would definitely do it in CA! But since we'll be shopping at the 150K mark, that changes the playing field .