Millennials simply can't afford to live in OC (Irvine, Richmond: earthquake, salaries)

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by CLT4

I'm a millennial. I didn't expect anybody to do anything for me and am not a socialist. I moved out of OC though and took the $20,000 I had saved to move and eventually buy a house out of state. Probably would not have happened until I was 40 in OC and it certainly would not have been as nice a neighborhood to be raising my young kids.

It was a tough decision... spend $1,400 a month on rent and have little left over to save for a down payment someday (let alone saving for grad school, kids' college, etc...) or move out of state. It sucks to leave parents behind, but it had to be done for my personal financial situation and the well being of the kids we were planning to have at the time. It turned out to be a blessing though because even if I work my way up to making $250k per year someday, I'm not moving back to OC. We found a home and a community we love. The obsession with money and real estate prices is a huge turn off every time I'm back.

You made a wise decision.

You are also right about the obsession many have.

[SportyandMisty]

Originally Posted by majoun

But that's OT for the thread.

Which didn't stop you from bringing it up. But I agree with you: it belongs elsewhere. Say in a Fiction thread in the Writing forum. http://www.city-data.com/forum/writing/

Originally Posted by majoun

It's too bad that we can't just lift all zoning requirements or at least do away with minimum lot sizes and R-1, that would solve a lot of problems with housing affordability.

There is a very good article on this very topic:

Why Housing Is Unaffordable in California


It starts out:

Why Housing Is Unaffordable in California
What could really help is deregulation, but residents aren’t likely to get it from Democratic lawmakers.

By Allysia Finley
Sept. 29, 2017 6:22 p.m. ET
Los Angeles

Democrats in Sacramento celebrated earlier this month when they passed a raft of bills intended to redress California’s so-called housing crisis. Sorry to spoil the party, but their legislation will do little to address the real problem and could even make things worse for poor and middle-income residents.

Like so many of the state’s problems, the crisis has political and regulatory origins. California’s housing prices have always been high, but the gap has grown amid an increasing mismatch between supply and demand. Between 1950 and 1970, home prices were about 30% above the national average. By 1980 that had widened to 80%. In 2015 it was 150%...

...California’s Department of Housing and Community Development estimates that home construction needs to increase 80% to meet demand. Achieving this would require bulldozing regulatory barriers, which Democratic politicians are loath to do.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by CLT4

It worked out for me - relocating isn't for everybody depending on their family situation and it is hard to see how much more blessed my peers are here than back in OC. They might live an hour from their hometown and can see family more easy. Almost all of my peers here own there own home or rent a nice apartment here while they save to buy a home. I know one person here that still lives at home under 25 years old compared to at least 20 in California still living at home at 30 years old. They aren't up to their eyes in debt here and aren't completely stressed out about their financial future. In fact, there is this bizarre set of optimism that they will be financially secure.

When I'm back in OC meeting with old friends, 90% of the conversation becomes about how expensive rent is, they will never own a home, they don't make enough money to save, they still live with their parents, the traffic just gets worse, they need to meet a guy/girl with a high paying job so dual incomes help them buy a home, all the schools are bad and the good ones have expensive homes, they don't know how they can afford kids, have no money left to save for their kids college, etc... and I'm ready to get back on the airplane and leave.

So then why do millennials think it is better to rent? Is this applicable to OC?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/more-pe...ing-1508842803

[CLT4]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

So then why do millennials think it is better to rent? Is this applicable to OC?

https://www.wsj.com/articles/more-pe...ing-1508842803

I don't subscribe to the WSJ, so I can't read the article. I would wonder how they controlled for "apples to apples" comparison. For example, I used to rent a 1 bedroom apartment and now own a single family home. The 1 bedroom apartment was obviously cheaper. So if I planned to live in a 1 bedroom apartment for the rest of my life with my wife and two kids, that would be the "better deal." I also think renting an apartment makes more sense than owning a condo.

However, at least in my market, renting a single family home is not a very good deal. Landlords charge way more than if you bought it yourself for a SFH. So it depends on what the comparison is to.

In the metro I moved to, 36% of millennials own their own home. My gut feeling, is of these 36%, most are 28 or older and in that age, over 50% are homeowners. That 36% home ownership rate compares to just 17.7% of millennials owning in LA/OC.
https://www.abodo.com/blog/millennial-homebuyers/

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by majoun

The problem is that we Boomers have really messed up subsequent generations and codified our privilege into law that cannot be changed easily. We have resisted the natural tendencies of communities to densify and have actively sought to screw the generations that came after us via land use regulation and tax laws.

^^^Finally, someone who gets it and is honest enough to admit it.

[CaliRestoration]

Originally Posted by SportyandMisty

Which didn't stop you from bringing it up. But I agree with you: it belongs elsewhere. Say in a Fiction thread in the Writing forum. http://www.city-data.com/forum/writing/

Sometimes I feel like City-Data is on its last legs, then I read a post like this.

[man4857]

Originally Posted by CLT4

I'm a millennial. I didn't expect anybody to do anything for me and am not a socialist. I moved out of OC though and took the $20,000 I had saved to move and eventually buy a house out of state. Probably would not have happened until I was 40 in OC and it certainly would not have been as nice a neighborhood to be raising my young kids.

It was a tough decision... spend $1,400 a month on rent and have little left over to save for a down payment someday (let alone saving for grad school, kids' college, etc...) or move out of state. It sucks to leave parents behind, but it had to be done for my personal financial situation and the well being of the kids we were planning to have at the time. It turned out to be a blessing though because even if I work my way up to making $250k per year someday, I'm not moving back to OC. We found a home and a community we love. The obsession with money and real estate prices is a huge turn off every time I'm back.

Basically did the same as you, but I could have made it even though it would have taken longer if I really skimped on all expenses.

But the effort to do that, just for LA/OC didn't seem worth it to me when I can live in a great neighborhood of similar qualities in AZ and pay 30% of the price of what it costs to buy a home in the OC. So it was a no brainer. I don't have to work as hard to save and for as long. Hell I might be able to retire early.

Many of my friends back in CA always ask me, how could you live by yourself like that? And my response was pretty simple, I made a choice in the best interest of my financial future. Money = freedom, the more you have, the more freedom you have. Living in a high COL area limits your freedom and enslaves you to work for decades just because of "being around" everyone. That trade off is not worth me slaving away for an extra 10-15 years when I could have a paid off property in less than 10 in AZ.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by man4857

Basically did the same as you, but I could have made it even though it would have taken longer if I really skimped on all expenses.

But the effort to do that, just for LA/OC didn't seem worth it to me when I can live in a great neighborhood of similar qualities in AZ and pay 30% of the price of what it costs to buy a home in the OC. So it was a no brainer. I don't have to work as hard to save and for as long. Hell I might be able to retire early.

Many of my friends back in CA always ask me, how could you live by yourself like that? And my response was pretty simple, I made a choice in the best interest of my financial future. Money = freedom, the more you have, the more freedom you have. Living in a high COL area limits your freedom and enslaves you to work for decades just because of "being around" everyone. That trade off is not worth me slaving away for an extra 10-15 years when I could have a paid off property in less than 10 in AZ.

A lot of the younger people are not concerned about the size of where they live or even if they share a unit, they want the fun of living where they do. They are in effect paying for their fun. That changes as you get older.

[man4857]

Originally Posted by expatCA

A lot of the younger people are not concerned about the size of where they live or even if they share a unit, they want the fun of living where they do. They are in effect paying for their fun. That changes as you get older.

I guess I'm mentally an old man then.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by man4857

I guess I'm mentally an old man then.

Not a bad thing either.