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Old 06-28-2007, 10:43 AM
 
Location: Inland Empire
59 posts, read 606,712 times
Reputation: 109

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Are there more people who feel this way? Or do you feel differently?
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Old 06-28-2007, 10:52 AM
 
30,902 posts, read 33,003,025 times
Reputation: 26919
Quote:
Originally Posted by Educatorspeakingtruth View Post
Are there more people who feel this way? Or do you feel differently?
I personally feel that all the fabulous things people describe are often out of reach, not necessarily financially but just because you're so freaking exhausted after commuting, etc. that you don't get out and do those things like you thought you would.

I can't say this is true for everybody--it's probably less true for single people.

My husband gets home at 8PM. He leaves the house in the morning at 8:30AM. He commutes to Beverly Hills. We have kids and could get a sitter, but he's never up to doing anything after-hours because he's so tired out from the driving. So that's out. Then on the weekends he "wants to catch up on" rest, and also, he hasn't seen the house all week, since he only views it when it's dark out. So he wants to stay local to the house most weekends.

I could get out myself to see all these fabulous beaches and mountains, but frankly, with an autistic 4-year-old and a now very active toddler, it is very hard, and very scary, for me to manage them alone in public places. Actually I have my 4-year-old wear an identification thing on his wrist because he can't really talk and if he got lost, I'd never see him again otherwise. He couldn't even tell anyone his first name; he'd just stand there and scream endlessly in a panic. So that's out for me.

Our situation may be different but I do think an awful lot of people who want to live in safe areas commute. And that they envision all these fabulous places to go to ("and it's all within ONE HOUR of home!"--yes, if all the other drives on the road suddenly get beamed up by aliens and the roads are clear) but find they're so tired and time-constrained that it just doesn't happen much.

It's rough--it's like being a starving person separated from a fabulous restaurant by a sheet of glass. Yes, it's "all here" but it's not always as easy to get to as one might think.
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Old 06-28-2007, 10:16 PM
 
22 posts, read 201,322 times
Reputation: 16
We were fortunate enough to get into the housing market before it really sky-rocketed. We bought our first home for $158k, and it was less than 700 sq. ft. We added on to make it 1,000 sq. ft. and have since then bought and sold 3 more houses. We have a nice comfortable home now for our family. I am a stay at home mom and the only way we were able to do it was to take advantage of the market by using our equity towards the next home. We could never afford to live here if we hadn't bought when we did.
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Old 06-30-2007, 12:16 PM
 
19 posts, read 187,152 times
Reputation: 19
Quote:
Originally Posted by 3tulips View Post
We were fortunate enough to get into the housing market before it really sky-rocketed. We bought our first home for $158k, and it was less than 700 sq. ft. We added on to make it 1,000 sq. ft. and have since then bought and sold 3 more houses. We have a nice comfortable home now for our family. I am a stay at home mom and the only way we were able to do it was to take advantage of the market by using our equity towards the next home. We could never afford to live here if we hadn't bought when we did.
You speak the truth, and your situation describes the percentage of people who can afford to live here....

I was one of the unlucky ones to buy a small condo during peak times; in comparison, my in-laws (who married 8 years earlier) bought their nice, large home before the market "sky-rocketed." So basically, I bought my place many years after them when the market peaked- because I was too young and too broke to afford anything earlier, AND the price that they paid for their home in a nice area equated to my small little condo which resides in a run-down neighborhood.

And to add to that they have made $250k on their equity and can now afford to move up to something even bigger and better whereas I made nothing and have to stay.
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Old 05-07-2008, 09:15 AM
 
22 posts, read 79,763 times
Reputation: 11
Default is la canada nicer for a family than s. pasadena?

After researching on this great site it seems that if I moved a little bit farthr up pass south pas to la canada/flintridge I would be in a safer and nicer neighborhood for my middle school children. The only downfall is that there are not that many rentals in la canada but I prefer that for the low transient factor. Please let me know what you think of la canada verses s. pas. I read in the s. pas newspaper that a high school boy was beaten in the park by local kids who also attended s. pas. On one of you post they say s. pas was "mayberry" in atmosphere but I know from living in the Villanova area of mainline Philly this does not happen so now I beginning to question if s. pas is becoming more urban and crime kreeping in.
Thank you.

Last edited by mainlinephilly; 05-07-2008 at 09:17 AM.. Reason: spelling
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Old 05-07-2008, 01:43 PM
 
Location: Chicago, IL
27 posts, read 86,936 times
Reputation: 11
Just popping my opinion in about gas prices.. in the Chicago SUBURBS they're $3.93..I think we're actually the highest in the country right now. haha..it's quite sad.
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Old 05-07-2008, 02:36 PM
 
2,589 posts, read 8,639,150 times
Reputation: 2644
Quote:
Originally Posted by StacyLee View Post
Just popping my opinion in about gas prices.. in the Chicago SUBURBS they're $3.93..I think we're actually the highest in the country right now. haha..it's quite sad.
no, you're not, but you soon will if you're moving here. CA always has the highest gas prices in the contiguous US because our gas tax is the highest. only HI has a higher base price, for obvious reasons. gas at my local stations are hovering at $3.99 right now, but super and premium grades have been over the $4 mark since the middle of last month. just be thankful you're not moving to san francisco, where gas is even more expensive than in LA.
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Old 05-08-2008, 08:31 AM
 
Location: Chicago, IL
27 posts, read 86,936 times
Reputation: 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by katenik View Post
no, you're not, but you soon will if you're moving here. CA always has the highest gas prices in the contiguous US because our gas tax is the highest. only HI has a higher base price, for obvious reasons. gas at my local stations are hovering at $3.99 right now, but super and premium grades have been over the $4 mark since the middle of last month. just be thankful you're not moving to san francisco, where gas is even more expensive than in LA.
Yeah ours just bumped up to $3.95 in the 'burbs. That's for the lowest grade (which, luckily I use!). It's sucky! We're not even to summer yet and it's that high. I'm scared to think what it might be next month.
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Old 05-08-2008, 01:04 PM
 
2,589 posts, read 8,639,150 times
Reputation: 2644
Quote:
Originally Posted by StacyLee View Post
Yeah ours just bumped up to $3.95 in the 'burbs. That's for the lowest grade (which, luckily I use!). It's sucky! We're not even to summer yet and it's that high. I'm scared to think what it might be next month.
i have friends visiting from chicago this week. they told me that sales tax in chicago is 9.25%, and will be increasing to 10.25% later this year. what the hell is up with THAT? LA's is 8.25%. i'm taking them shopping in orange county, where the rate is 7.75%.
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Old 05-08-2008, 02:01 PM
 
Location: Chicago, IL
27 posts, read 86,936 times
Reputation: 11
Quote:
Originally Posted by katenik View Post
i have friends visiting from chicago this week. they told me that sales tax in chicago is 9.25%, and will be increasing to 10.25% later this year. what the hell is up with THAT? LA's is 8.25%. i'm taking them shopping in orange county, where the rate is 7.75%.

That's just in the city I believe.. otherwise where I live it's still something like 7%. I'm envious of my best friend who lives in Minneapolis - they have NO sales tax!!
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