Living in Southern California or just surviving in Southern California (Los Angeles: transplants, lease)
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i am orig from western penna and i moved out to so.ca in the late 70,s.i did like the winters here but the summers are horrible.its very dry and hot but the nights are cool and humidity is usually low.last summer was terrible plus my cooler motor burned up and it was very hot inside.i somehow survived but today was 95 degrees and i replaced my cooler motor but now the cooler leaks and i just cant adjust the new float.gas prices are out of this world and the state and govt wont do anything bout it.ca state tax on gas is 18% and federal is the same.its all about greed and corruption in ca.the govenor arnold ziffle is not as bright as the org arnold ziffle on green acres.anyways.....illegal mexicans are all over ca and they openly admit it.bottom line....ca is no longer the golden state.
I am out of the L.A. area if I don't get a finanacial increase. My deal is this, my wife is actively involved at our Church, and we have great friends here. All of my family is in Chicago, so I don't have any family out here. My wife doesn't live close around here family, except her brother... Her mother stays in Bakersfield...
We like the Northern Atlanta area, and have talked about relocating there. But my wife feels that God has called her to the church we attend to serve, and until she feels that it's okay to leave, she wants to stay here.
I'm 32, and I don't want to be 40 and still living here, renting and struggling... If we move to Atlanta, we can buy a brand new house (4bedroom, 3 bathroom) for $210K. And the community has tennis courts, olympic pool, playground for kids, and walking trails... Plus it's a whole lot greener and cleaner out there.
I just feel that it would be a much better quality of life there...
I am out of the L.A. area if I don't get a finanacial increase. My deal is this, my wife is actively involved at our Church, and we have great friends here. All of my family is in Chicago, so I don't have any family out here. My wife doesn't live close around here family, except her brother... Her mother stays in Bakersfield...
We like the Northern Atlanta area, and have talked about relocating there. But my wife feels that God has called her to the church we attend to serve, and until she feels that it's okay to leave, she wants to stay here.
I'm 32, and I don't want to be 40 and still living here, renting and struggling... If we move to Atlanta, we can buy a brand new house (4bedroom, 3 bathroom) for $210K. And the community has tennis courts, olympic pool, playground for kids, and walking trails... Plus it's a whole lot greener and cleaner out there.
I just feel that it would be a much better quality of life there...
fromcatoga;
IMO, You and your wife need to sit down when you do your bible study and start quoting references from the bible about the happiness of the home and stuff... look in ephesians, deuteronmy, leviticus for some insight... (sorry don;t know the verses off hand)
IMO, You and your wife need to sit down when you do your bible study and start quoting references from the bible about the happiness of the home and stuff... look in ephesians, deuteronmy, leviticus for some insight... (sorry don;t know the verses off hand)
Good Advice... And we're praying that God will lead us where he wants us.
We are surviving and we make good money. By surviving I mean DH's job is in LA we live 70 miles from his work because we could not afford any closer and have any kind of life. That was okay 7 years ago, when it took him no more that 90 min one way. Now it can take more than twice that, 6 hours on the road every day is not living the life!! So, thankfully we are leaving. If we could live closer to his job we would stay.
MBG
3 hours each way? do you live in Riverside and work in Ventura?
The average person in Southern California spends 18 minutes outdoors per day during the week and 47 minutes outdoors per day during the weekend. For the vast majority of Angelenos, they wake up, get ready for work, sit in their car in traffic, walk to their office, work indoors, sit inside at lunch, walk back to their car, drive home in traffic, eat dinner, and watch TV/go online/watch movies/other indoor activities. The number of times a person visits the beach decreases in proportion to the square of the distance they live from the beach.
Houses are in the $400/sqft price range.
Ninety percent of LAUSD schools are unacceptable so now you need to pay for private schools.
Property taxes on a $700,000 home are close to $8000/year (to help pay for LAUSD that your kids aren't attending). Want to live in Ventura County with good schools? Well you better have a cool $920,000 for a 2200 sqft house (our numbers from when we left back in June 06).
In Colorado (where the job market is at least equivalent per capita to SoCal's) housing is about $200/sqft. Salaries for engineers in Colorado are about ten percent less (I checked.) Traffic is much less, practically a non-issue.
OK, Socal has "A+" weather, but Colorado has "B+" weather. (I lived in SoCal 45 years and just spent a brutal winter in Colorado, living between Denver and Colorado Springs, and my argument is still the same.) It is just as sunny and the snow (most of the time but not this past year) is pleasant and not long lasting. The frequency of clouds/snow in Colorado is about the same as clouds/rain in SoCal. Admittedly, it is more difficult for parents with kids in that there are several days, maybe 10-20, in winter when it is just too cold to go outside and play at the park. OK, it’s a trade off.
So, how much do those 184 minutes per week of near perfect weather cost? (I’ll take a snow storm over Santa Ana winds any day.) That's why we moved. We did the math. Took our equity and ran. Don't laugh, The same argument applies for Huntsville, AL: The second highest ratio of income to housing costs in the nation. Weather is the ONLY thing going for LA. Visit other areas around the country. There are just about as many ethnic restaurants, entertainment venues, clubs, alternative lifestyle opportunities, etc as there are in LA. With the internet, you don’t need (and shouldn’t use) elaborate shopping centers. In reality, how often do you really frequent the truly unique things about LA? How often? Been to a Dodger game lately? Do you want you teenage kids going to see bands in Hollywood (like I did back in the 70s and 80s)? Is it worth $400/sqft?
The average person in Southern California spends 18 minutes outdoors per day during the week and 47 minutes outdoors per day during the weekend. For the vast majority of Angelenos, they wake up, get ready for work, sit in their car in traffic, walk to their office, work indoors, sit inside at lunch, walk back to their car, drive home in traffic, eat dinner, and watch TV/go online/watch movies/other indoor activities. The number of times a person visits the beach decreases in proportion to the square of the distance they live from the beach.
Houses are in the $400/sqft price range.
Ninety percent of LAUSD schools are unacceptable so now you need to pay for private schools.
Property taxes on a $700,000 home are close to $8000/year (to help pay for LAUSD that your kids aren't attending). Want to live in Ventura County with good schools? Well you better have a cool $920,000 for a 2200 sqft house (our numbers from when we left back in June 06).
In Colorado (where the job market is at least equivalent per capita to SoCal's) housing is about $200/sqft. Salaries for engineers in Colorado are about ten percent less (I checked.) Traffic is much less, practically a non-issue.
OK, Socal has "A+" weather, but Colorado has "B+" weather. (I lived in SoCal 45 years and just spent a brutal winter in Colorado, living between Denver and Colorado Springs, and my argument is still the same.) It is just as sunny and the snow (most of the time but not this past year) is pleasant and not long lasting. The frequency of clouds/snow in Colorado is about the same as clouds/rain in SoCal. Admittedly, it is more difficult for parents with kids in that there are several days, maybe 10-20, in winter when it is just too cold to go outside and play at the park. OK, it’s a trade off.
So, how much do those 184 minutes per week of near perfect weather cost? (I’ll take a snow storm over Santa Ana winds any day.) That's why we moved. We did the math. Took our equity and ran. Don't laugh, The same argument applies for Huntsville, AL: The second highest ratio of income to housing costs in the nation. Weather is the ONLY thing going for LA. Visit other areas around the country. There are just about as many ethnic restaurants, entertainment venues, clubs, alternative lifestyle opportunities, etc as there are in LA. With the internet, you don’t need (and shouldn’t use) elaborate shopping centers. In reality, how often do you really frequent the truly unique things about LA? How often? Been to a Dodger game lately? Do you want you teenage kids going to see bands in Hollywood (like I did back in the 70s and 80s)? Is it worth $400/sqft?
I love living here. I've moved away twice in my adult life and came back. I'm not leaving again. I'm well traveled and have never found a place with the opportunity, cultural mix, entertainment (after all, this is the entertainment capital of the world), awesome weather and sensational vibe. The pulse and energy is what really draws me. This works in reverse for some. Just about everything is available to us. I love NYC but generally in the months of April, May and October. I've always taken advantage of cultural and entertainment opportunities here. Last night I took a walk from my place to Hollywood Blvd and then to Sunset. I listened to great jazz music at 11:30 on a Sunday night for free at Cat & the Fiddle. The night before, we went to a great comedy show that was not only free, we got paid for being there. I tried living in a smaller "city" (usually applied to a town with tall high rises in the center) and mostly found myself bored and wanting to return to a large city which resulted in multiple trips to L.A. and NYC. I moved to paradise and was nearly bored to death. I'm serious. Moving back to L.A. cut my cost of living by 2/3.
Regarding statistics, I have a heavy background in psychology and know they can be used to prove many things. I find daily opportunities here in L.A. that I've never seen in other places. For those who never go outside and only go to their cubicle, to their car and then to the condo and all over again, I understand why they might be miserable. You can find these people in any city. I could never live that way. I firmly believe the way one lives is up to them and only them. Since I don't base my decisions on statistics, they don't mean much to me. I hear lots of miserable people blaming L.A. and all of us who live here for their problems. Can you buy cheaper houses elsewhere? Absolutely. I know of a gorgeous fixer victorian in Cincinnati for $50,000.
People should go wherever it is that makes them happy. I would never, ever expect someone to stay in a large city who doesn't want to be here. Almost always, I see people shoving off for burgs and giving all of us the finger because we somehow failed them. A few times I've seen NYC natives move back, this is a very, very different place and their city is already amazing. Usually when someone leaves, it's for the boonies. Wherever people want to be, that's where the should live. We are all different and different things resonate with us. Your idea of heaven may be my idea of hell and vice versa.
The Sorcerer works his magic on the benefits of L.A.
Sorcerer, you rock, dude. I can't wait to get to L.A. I hope I can make it over to some oddball circle-jerk or something without getting shot first.
Charles said traffic is a non-issue in Colorado. Hah! Yeah, everywhere except Colorado's Front Range where most Coloradans reside. Traffic is a serious issue in many Colorado cities including Denver (pretty bad), Boulder (bad), and Fort Collins (way bad).
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Southern California isn't worth it
The Sorcerer works his magic on the benefits of L.A.
