California & Texas (San Diego, Nice: real estate, rent, house prices)

[wilkermoo]

I have been reading many of the posts in the Texas forum and was interested in how different Texas seems compared to California. I actually find it shocking to believe that you can buy a nice home in an area outside of Dallas for less than $200,000. How? I found a home in Rockwall, TX that was over 3000 sq ft and had 2 acres of land and it was $195,000. Can anybody tell me how this is possible? Is it a bad place to live? Is this a common price in Texas?

In the SF Bay Area you could not touch a house like that for less than millions. I know we are supposed to have wonderful weather in CA and supposedly we have more work, but I am not sure that it is worth paying triple or quadruple for a home. I do not even think people in other states can really understand how different real estate is here. I work in Real Estate (not as a Realtor though) and I see crappy homes selling for half a million dollars. Has anybody moved from the SF Bay Area to Texas? Can you tell me some of the differences that you have learned?

Or if you live in CA, can you tell me why you are willing to pay so much more to stay here? What is it about Ca that you love and could not imagine living without.

[killer2021]

texas - no questions asked.

[midnightbirdgirl]

We are moving in a couple of months to Texas...good riddance California!!
MBG

[Tool Shed]

I'd probably go to CO or UT, but thats just me, so I voted neither. $300k will get you absolutely nothing in CA and a whole lot in TX. I hear San Antonio and Austin are nice in TX, though.

[BENZBOY15]

For 300K, you could get nothing in San Diego.

[jbear182]

I would rather live in a dump in beautiful so. cal than buy a mcmansion in dumpy texas.

[Westward]

Austin and San Antonio are nice. I would live in TX if it were not for all the family in CA. The people there - many years ago anyway - were very friendly. Nice terrain.

[Winston Smith]

As a cool-weather person, the heat in Texas is just more than I'd want to deal with full time. If TX, maybe west, around El Paso where it's not quite so humid as the rest of the state. But since my ideal weather is something like San Simeon's cool, fog and partial sun, even dry heat leaves much to be desired for me. Guess I'll just have to cough up and vote for CA.

[Caliguy2007]

Even though I live in CA,I definately would not live in a Dumpy House or Area just to stay here,but thankfully I live in a Nice Home in a Good Area.

Originally Posted by jbear182

I would rather live in a dump in beautiful so. cal than buy a mcmansion in dumpy texas.

[BSL63087]

Texas, no doubt. Nice weather all year around and better scenery isn't worth quadrupling the price of a home unless you are a millionaire IMO. If you live in CA, particularly the Bay Area or So. Cal, just think, you could own 4 nicer houses in Texas, rent them out and make even more money. I don't see the point of living in an expensive place unless you can truely afford it and you are totally happy. I don't see any way how I could be happy living somewhere like CA with house prices over 500 grand and cost of living through the roof. I'd rather live somewhere like Texas and be able to save as much money as possible and do more things that I like to do.

To answer the question in the poll, I would take $150 grand and buy a home for myself, and then buy another home with the rest and rent it out.