Let's hope this never happens in Houston (Briar, West: real estate, rentals)

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by jek74

Look, if this makes you feel any better, if my net worth was 10 million plus, I would choose CA over TX 100 times out of a 100. I would probably choose San Diego over San Fran. But if you want to play the fantasy game, then sure, Cali it is. While we are at it, give me a live in super model girl friend as well. Why not right?

So we agree that California is an excellent place for rich people.
The next question is "Why isn't trickle down working?"

[Dopo]

Originally Posted by justme02

In Houston, no one is fighting for space the way they are in San Francisco. Because there are no geographical boundries for the most part, they probably wont resort to that.

I find it hilarious when people talk about how expensive San Francisco is compared to other cities.

Has any of these people EVER looked at a map of San Francisco?
That might be why is expensive there.

[jek74]

Originally Posted by Dopo

I find it hilarious when people talk about how expensive San Francisco is compared to other cities.

Has any of these people EVER looked at a map of San Francisco?
That might be why is expensive there.

Yeah dude, I hear Pala Alto is cheap too. Hell of Marin County is a bargain. Please.

[jek74]

Originally Posted by Dopo

So we agree that California is an excellent place for rich people.
The next question is "Why isn't trickle down working?"

I'll help you out here. Here is the problem with the people's republic of CA. You have socialism in the state but you allow capital to flow out. What happens is people technically reside in CA and move their assets out of state. How many rich Californians claim FL as their home state? Or TX? How many of those rich Cali people have their assets in offshore trusts?

See what you guys don't get is, in order to make the full on Marxist model work, is you cannot allow capital to roam freely. If you do, people will always move their capital where it has the most amount of freedom while living where they want to.

CA learned this lesson during the whole Enron energy debacle where CA put price ceilings on the cost of energy while being forced to buy it in the free market in the surrounding states. The net result was they sold energy cheap to residents at low fixed costs and paid a fortune in the open market when they ran out of it.

This hybrid model where we have free markets over here and state controlled economies over there doesn't work. Stalin knew this all too well. Capital cannot be free to leave if you want that model to work. So capital is indeed trickling down, just not to Californians, it's going to TX and FL while CA gets stuck with the bill. Really neat model they have over there huh?

[UpstaterInBklyn]

Originally Posted by GeorgiatoChina

I guess if you live a southern or boring lifestyle where you sit in the house all day the. You need 900sq apartment.

The difference between California and NYC is people have many more option and activities to have a life and things to get into in those places then Houston or other cheap places to live. You pay a premium to live in a fun exciting place that will keep you OUT of the house.

Houston doesn't offer what San Fran or NYC does. That means its cheaper becuase not as many people willing to a lot to live in Houston. The walk ability, density,mass transit and weather alone make San Fran more desirable than Houston without even getting to culture and activities.

The bottom line is you get what you pay for. Houston does not have the culture and activity to justify San Fran rent costs.

This notion of living in a "cool city" is driven by a lot of young adults buying into a kind of fantasy lifestyle seen on TV and in movies. Moving out of their parents homes in "boring" areas, they picture themselves hanging out in cool places with interesting people and being the envy of their friends back their boring hometown. The reality of living on an entry-level salary in a place like SF or NYC is quite different. Typically it means living with multiple roommates, often in a "transitional" area. Doing all of these "cool" things costs lots of money too, so that often translates into credit card debt, although many enjoy their lifestyle with financial support from Mom and Dad.

Jek74 pointed this reality out beautifully in his earlier post. My wife and I used to live in NYC, and dealt with a similar reality for a while (our "roommates" were mice and bedbugs ). We quickly decided to live in a distinctly "uncool" part of Brooklyn to be able to have a little more space and a car. We paid the price with a 90-minute bus/subway commute to Manhattan and still dealt with realities like living in 750 square feet ("big" by NYC standards) and not having "luxuries" like a dishwasher or washer/dryer.

Eventually, people grow a little older and their priorities change and the daily grind of living in these conditions wears on them. Maybe they get married and start thinking about children or they just want to start building some real net worth. Maybe they want life to just be a little more convenient and comfortable. I believe this is a big driver of growth in Houston and why so many people from "cool" places are moving here.You can still pursue a lucrative and interesting career and get big city amenities like access to culture, diversity, entertainment and cuisine, but do it more affordably and with more space and a few more amenities at home.

[stan4]

I find the concept of 'cooler' cities to be laughable and outdated.
More amenable to walking and good public transportation?
That I totally buy.
But that only matters if you care about it. Which I don't.

[westhou]

Originally Posted by GeorgiatoChina

Of course you get a few country or introverted young folk would choose Houston so they can buy a big house and a truck.

That's very narrow thinking. You should really get out more and expand your mind to what the world is really like. Everyone doesn't fit into the small boxes you wish to put them in.

[crone]

Upstater, it is more a of lifestyle preference. My daughter moved to Manhattan 25 years ago. She loves to visit but would never move back to Texas, even if we gave her a million dollars or held a gun to her head. She wants no part of suburbia or cars.

She bought an 1200 ft. apartment in what was a not so good neighborhood on CPW and 96th.for $225000. She sold it for a million and bought another up by the Godbox. She will do it again. No rats, roaches bedbugs or rotten room mates. In her opinion it is a wonderful place to raise a family.

She has about convinced me that Manhattan is a great place to be an old woman. It is hard as hell to find a place to live in Houston when the kids take your car keys. I want to walk to the grocery, bank and restaurants. I'd have to spend nearly a million to pull that off in Houston. Manhattan, just walk out the door of your apartment. Anything needed is right there or a short cab or bus ride away.

[GeorgiatoChina]

Originally Posted by stan4

I find the concept of 'cooler' cities to be laughable and outdated.
More amenable to walking and good public transportation?
That I totally buy.
But that only matters if you care about it. Which I don't.

How is it out dated in your opinion?

[GeorgiatoChina]

Originally Posted by crone

Upstater, it is more a of lifestyle preference. My daughter moved to Manhattan 25 years ago. She loves to visit but would never move back to Texas, even if we gave her a million dollars or held a gun to her head. She wants no part of suburbia or cars.

She bought an 1200 ft. apartment in what was a not so good neighborhood on CPW and 96th.for $225000. She sold it for a million and bought another up by the Godbox. She will do it again. No rats, roaches bedbugs or rotten room mates. In her opinion it is a wonderful place to raise a family.

She has about convinced me that Manhattan is a great place to be an old woman. It is hard as hell to find a place to live in Houston when the kids take your car keys. I want to walk to the grocery, bank and restaurants. I'd have to spend nearly a million to pull that off in Houston. Manhattan, just walk out the door of your apartment. Anything needed is right there or a short cab or bus ride away.

Basically. This is why people pay premium to have all that.