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I would say the West Coast fits a certain type of person. If you like the idea of diversity, but not the practice of diversity, it's perfect. You can live in your homogeneous neighborhoods, and slum it up in the "city" scratch your diversity itch. And as long as you believe in having your head up your ass it's perfect. People out West are complete airheads, and can't see a world beyond their nose. California is a tax and spend disaster mismanaged at every conceivable level. California is also magic. Want to make an 100+ salary, but live like someone who make 30k? Go to the Bay, you'd love the housing shortage, not being able to rent a place due to racist private renters (most of all who are Asian flat out say they'll only rent to asian tenants). Want to rent and apartment, with no amenities, and sometimes $5,000 deposits? Go to the Bay Area, where you'd bee paying $2700 rent for a one bedroom apartment. Oh yeah, and I hope you love traffic and love driving, because despite the NYC level rents, it's in no way offset by good public transportation. Nope, the name of the game is SPRAWL. Want to buy a house, better hope you have $1.3 million in the bank at any given time. The only time you're going to see the inside of a house for under $4k a month is if you're renting a room for $1800 a month.
But uh, nice weather though, I guess that's something.
There are many western cities that have very few of the issues eastern cities do. These would be Denver, Salt Lake, Portland and Seattle. San Diego and San Jose have very few issues considering their massive populations.
On the other hand. Phoenix, Las Vegas and Los Angeles have as many problems if not more then eastern cities.
I have lived in Denver and other then lots of cold weather and snow it's just an amazing orderly, clean and well-run city. It is becoming very expensive because people visit once and they tend fall in love with it.
This is Xenia Street that borders the worst section of the infamous East Colfax in Denver. Pretty much all the apartments even the bad sections of Denver have been remodeled and are going for close to 1,000 dollars a month https://www.google.com/maps/place/89...bac4117a08324b
San Diego, Denver, Salt Lake City, Portland and Seattle have all the benefits of a major city with none of the drawbacks except for high cost of living do the demand to live in those near perfect cities.
Last edited by lovecrowds; 04-14-2016 at 10:57 PM..
San Diego, Denver, Salt Lake City, Portland and Seattle have all the benefits of a major city with none of the drawbacks except for high cost of living do the demand to live in those near perfect cities.
That's an overly bold statement to make. I would argue the opposite. They have the many disadvantages of major cities without some of the benefits. All of those cities have a huge problem with homeless and unemployed people living off public assistance. Many of them experience congested traffic whilst not being big enougg to sustain it. They all have some form of public transport that is getting better, but still laughable compared to what East Coast/Chicago cities have. And then the social scenes are often described as weak compared to East Coast cities. Those cities all function for the outdoors recreation and they don't have as much variety in the job workforce. All of those cities cater more towards either very low income paupers dependent on social services or extremely wealthy people. The middle class is better off on the Eadt Coast then out West.
Western cities, in comparison to the East, are ideal for an upper income professional who works from home and has time and money to enjoy all that recreation. Or a retired person. But if you seek job advancement opportunities in a field thats not high demand and you want lots of friends, the East is more ideal. Not to say yoy can never find that out West, but it is comparatively harder or up to luck.
Only reason I am still living out West now is because I have become a reclusive introvert who dislikes the community vibe and the rat race and I'm fine with my low wage job. That's one good thing about the West, especially the intermountain cities - people leave you alone. None of that "I'm gonna blow your ego so you become a productive member of society" tall poppy syndrome crap that yoy have to deal with in bigger cities out East and to some degree in more urban West Coastal cities. If I want to wear a pink jeweled princess tiara out here nobody will say anything.
Last edited by skidamarink; 04-15-2016 at 07:42 AM..
That's an overly bold statement to make. I would argue the opposite. They have the many disadvantages of major cities without some of the benefits. All of those cities have a huge problem with homeless and unemployed people living off public assistance. Many of them experience congested traffic whilst not being big enough to sustain it. They all have some form of public transport that is getting better, but still laughable compared to what East Coast/Chicago cities have. And then the social scenes are often described as weak compared to East Coast cities. Those cities all function for the outdoors recreation and they don't have as much variety in the job workforce. All of those cities cater more towards either very low income paupers dependent on social services or extremely wealthy people. The middle class is better off on the East Coast then out West.
Western cities, in comparison to the East, are ideal for an upper income professional who works from home and has time and money to enjoy all that recreation. Or a retired person. But if you seek job advancement opportunities in a field thats not high demand and you want lots of friends, the East is more ideal. Not to say you can never find that out West, but it is comparatively harder or up to luck.
Only reason I am still living out West now is because I have become a reclusive introvert who dislikes the community vibe and the rat race and I'm fine with my low wage job. That's one good thing about the West, especially the intermountain cities - people leave you alone. None of that "I'm gonna blow your ego so you become a productive member of society" tall poppy syndrome crap that you have to deal with in bigger cities out East and to some degree in more urban West Coastal cities. If I want to wear a pink jeweled princess tiara out here nobody will say anything.
I think your post is spot on with one small problem. The retirees of whom you speak must have a lot of money, I mean a lot of money saved up in order to live on the West Coast or PNW. As one who became a retiree living in Portland after many decades, I found I had to relocate back to the Midwestern area due to the ever increasing high COL in the PNW.
I was living happily on one of those modest wage jobs then I retired. Like many retirees, my savings which I had diligently stashed away over the years were not enough. I began reading articles that middle income older people like me were fast become Portland's new poor. So I relocated to Cleveland a couple of years ago and now live very comfortably and have just as good a lifestyle as I ever did in Portland with worrying about my savings draining away.
So what I am saying is that, beware, while you are enjoying your nice life with your low wage job now, and I get the reasons why you are, you may someday have to move on because you can't afford it. But don't worry, there are plenty of mid-size cities in the Midwest where you can maintain that lifestyle. You can even wear your pink tiara if you want.
Why houses in west are so expensive? I`ve been reading this topic some time and i`ve just looked up to real estate of houses in west (for fun) on zillow in Orance county, Portland and SD. If i said i was surprised i`d say nothing! For whatr?? People are selling the hangars for over 1 million dollars. Amazing..
It is really due the climate only eithes there are other reasons? show me a secret!))
Actually just only FL has an adequate cost of houses (but not in the first line along lakes)..
Denver isn't on the West Coast anymore than Phoenix is. Isn't LA, rightly or wrongly, basically the poster child for most of the issues mentioned above? About Portland and Seattle, I think it helps that in both cities, over two thirds of the population is of one race, White, and that the largest minority in both, Asian Americans, with Whites representing nearly 90% of the population, hardly have racial tensions with any other racial group throughout the nation. That, along with a relatively small Hispanic population, may have helped prevent or alleviate racial tensions and white flight, which in turn may have helped prevent urban decay.
Actually, Seattle had plenty of White Flight and, among large West Coast cities, had one of the highest percentages of African American residents in the 1990 Census (about 12%). Neighborhoods like the Rainier Valley very much experienced White flight - it went from almost entirely White to almost entirely minority in the period of a few years during the late 1960s. The Central District is also a historically Black neighborhood. Both areas are now being gentrified and there is plenty of racial tension.
But most of South Seattle and portions of West Seattle are at least 50% minority - it has areas that feel very diverse. North of the ship canal is very White
Despite being about 65% White, Seattle has relatively strong diversity among the remaining 35%. A South Seattle zip code was the most diverse in the country several years ago, with most languages spoken. According to the census, 33% of Seattle residents are "people of color", with only 13% of those being Asian.
The West has a lot of homeless people because of the high price of housing. Parts of it are also very close to running out of water.
It has its merits, but it's definitely not a wonderland.
That's unfortunately true. Too many people still believe that just because they see a video of some silliness going on in the street of some West Coast or PNW city they decide it's fun time 24/7 and want to live there. At one time that may have been the situation but today they are more than likely to find overcrowded, overpriced, polluted and overly competitive places when they actually see these places for themselves.
The thrill is gone because of the abundance of people who have flocked to these places before them and still they come.
There are a few still untouched but they don't advertise.
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