The Truth about California from a former west coast Girl... (Riverside: mortgage, credit card)

[skyway31]

Originally Posted by Morphous01

Where are they Skyway?

I can spend all day listing them. Look up and down the entire coast for starters. From San Diego through Santa Barbara and there are very few less than nice communities. One may prefer one to another, but darn near none of the coastal communities are bad. Look at much of L.A. west of La Brea through WeHo, Beverly Hills etc. Actually, one would need to know that the two options you list are the crummy options and most anywhere else would be better than them.

[skyway31]

Originally Posted by Raelyn28

Be careful here. You are telling the truth about the area and you will be called negative, a troll, a lyer, a mental case, and the list goes on and on.

It seems like nobody wants to here these types of things about the area.. Hopefully you won't get nailed for speaking of these things Peace!!

By "the area", he/she is referring to the specific area right at the port. Not all of SoCal.

[skyway31]

Originally Posted by AKgirlinCA

Raelyn,

The BEST part of all this, people like skyway will NEVER move to our idea of "paradise"
It's too "boring" etc.....
Now that's something to look forward to!

This is very true.

[skyway31]

Originally Posted by Raelyn28

Well with a name like Skyward one is tempted to think of someone looking up and never looking forward or to the sides. Kind of like a horse with blinders?? Kind of like being in denial. I don't know maybe people just walk around oblivious to what is really going on... who knows????

LOL. At least I'm not the one altering people's screen name to be something apparently derogatory. I'll leave that to you guys. After all, when you're support for your position gets exposed as weak, what else can you do?

[skyway31]

Originally Posted by dancingirisheyes

California girl my entire life too. I've lived in the San Gabriel Valley, South OC, North OC and my sister's family lives in the Inland Empire.

I'm still surprised that California is so full of its own self-worth that the home prices are what they are EVEN in the middle of our economic crisis. I own my own business and my husband works for the government. We make $160K/year, have no credit card debt and we cannot afford a house. We could GET a house. But we'd be living check-to-check just to make the mortgage payment on anything that is in a modest, safe neighborhood with a decent school district. I think that says a lot when honest, hard-working people can't even get a modest home. My sister paid more than half a million for 1600 sq. ft. in Corona. CORONA! And even though she was able to move into the nicer areas of Corona, there is still crime happening every few months within blocks of her home! (Mainly attackers targeting women joggers or trying to take children). And what happened once the economy turned? Her rate increased, her mortgage went up so high she couldn't afford it and now she's looking at a foreclosure. Her husband has a great job, a higher education and excellent credit. In what world should a guy like that be losing his home?

California needs to wake up and realize its not all that its cracked up to be. The smog, the traffic, the crowds, the over-development, the lack of scenery, the fact that all of the activities are amusement parks and shopping malls, the crime, the terrible schools, the state's financial crisis, the overcrowded jail/juvenile units, the unrealistic social pressures that are poison for today's family unit, the earthquakes (which have been excessive in the past few months??!!) and the fires EVERY SINGLE SUMMER/FALL. Everyone raves about the weather and truly, November - June are beautiful. But the summers are miserable if you don't live near a beach. 110+ and smoggy..... not my idea of beautiful weather. And all of these things really lower the value of California in my eyes. I'm certainly not willing to pay half a million for a mediocre house here.

The bolded comments are enough to discredit anything you post. There is more scenery in California than any other state, by a gaping margin. Of course, if you just hole up in your one ****ty area, you'd not know this.
Obviously you live in or near the desert. Because I don't think I've ever experienced above 90 degree temps here..ever. And probably could count on my hands the number of days over 85 degrees. But, of course, I live near the coast.

[dancingirisheyes]

Originally Posted by JohnG72

You can't possibly be serious. $1590 a month. Thats what a $350K house with 20% down is. Are you seriously trying to tell me that you've been renting a house in a good area of OC with a good school district and I assume is 4 bed/3 bath at least and you have not been paying $2k a month rent? Really? Really?

Yeah, property tax, ins, maintenance blah blah blah, but you also get to write off the interest which at your income level is substantial.

Ya know, go ahead and move...if you don't like so cal, that is plenty fine. Im sure its not everyones cup of tea. But don't come here with your upper middle class income and make up false reasons why you don't like it.

I found a 2300 sq ft house in Fullerton listed at $475K and that does not seem out of whack with other nearby homes. 5 bed/3 bath. Built in the 50's but remodeled and updated with a modern kitchen, hardwood or pergo type floors and a pool.

$2157 monthly mortgage assuming you put 20% down and conventional loan at the current 5.5%. You would probably pay $8k less on your income taxes due to interest deductions....or $660 a month or something like that. Whatever, if a family making $160K a year can't afford that house, they are doing something wrong and I'd suggest that the problem is with the family, not with living in OC.

Is there a reason you're being so defensive and rude? I'm just telling you my experience. I'm sorry if that rattles you up but this has been my honest experience and there is not one false reason listed in any of my posts. I don't need to convince you. If you're content with your situation then I'm happy for you. You're welcome to dismiss my posts. But I'm free to share my experience and this is what I've experienced.

You're making presumptions without all the info. I don't have 20% down. There's no way I could afford to put 20% down. I have two preschool tuitions and two used car payments and a business that requires I pay a staff and substantial taxes. We have not been able to save up to 20% yet. We had two children before we started our business so for 4 years, we were on a single government income. We spent the first two years eliminating our debts. Our business is only three years old. We have 10%. That means you can add on an extra $200/month for the mortgage insurance.

And I have yet to find a nice home for $350K in safe areas of Orange County. Please, link me if I'm wrong. But we've searched the area of Fullerton where we live and the areas of Tustin where we would like to live. We need 3 BRs and either an extra room or office space. We cannot live in certain areas because of the dangerous nature of my husband's job. We are not willing to live in a cramped home. We have three kids and don't want to trip on each other all day long. We make decent money. We think $350K should buy us a little bigger than a shoebox.

You may have your assumptions about my life but I'm living it and I know what I know. We COULD pay for a house that is $475K but we would honestly be living check-to-check and that is not worth it to me for 1600 sq. ft. when I can get twice the square footage elsewhere.

And yes, I am living in Fullerton. A nice area of Fullerton. And I have a 3 BR apt. with a small yard and 1200 sq. ft. I pay $1400. It is a steal (for Orange County) and I know it. We're fortunate enough to be renting from people we know.

[skyway31]

Originally Posted by dancingirisheyes

That means that the IDEA people have of California, the general stereo-type of what people will find here - its far better than the reality.

Just provide the caveat that one should not move to Corona or some desert town worlds away from the coast and cities. If you live in a part of California where the temperature hits 100 degrees with any frequency, you moved to the wrong part of the state.

[skyway31]

Originally Posted by Raelyn28

Wow!! This is the BEST post that I have read by anyone living in the area. I applaude you for your honesty... Be careful though, someone will come along and say that you are me or we are the same person with different user names. LOL, it cracks me up. All I have tried to do is help people who honestly don't know what they are getting into when they are looking to live in OC or any part of Southern Cal for that matter. I have tons of friends there and none of them own homes!! In fact, I have a couple friend (no kids) that live (rent) in an 800 sq. ft. condo and are staying in OC to inherit their parents home someday. They also own their own business. I am not trying to be negative, I just feel sorry for innocent people who come to this forum looking for honest answers and they get a bunch of pics of Malibu. That is just downright wrong and ridiculous to me. If I didn't care about people I wouldn't be here trust me because I don't live there anymore. I am just drawn here to help with all this denial. Thanks dancingirisheyes... You have been refreshing with your honesty.... Hopefully people will read this and do a lot more researching and reconsider...

She was only honest in the sense that she gave her opinion based on her (likely limited) experiences.

[skyway31]

Originally Posted by dancingirisheyes

Well at the risk of people accusing me of being you incognito, I'm gonna say anyway that that is exactly our situation. On my side, neither of my parents have been able to afford a home in California. They were married young and started their family in the 80's when the economy was bad. They had a child with disabilities and were never able to get to a place financially to be able to save for a down payment. But doesn't that seem ridiculous that after all these years they couldn't eventually find a decent home in a safe neighborhood?

On my husband's side, his parents bought their home in the mid-70's and his grandmother bought the house next door. We've been waiting to inherit his grandmother's house but now that the economy is hitting another low, they've had to take out a line of credit against the house just to pay her taxes and medical expenses. So the house won't be able to go to us anymore.

And as I said before, we technically could get a loan for a house here but we'd be living check-to-check just to pay for it. And maybe that wouldn't be so bad if the house we were buying was worth what we'd be paying. But to pay $450K for 1600 sq. ft. when I could pay $350K and get 2500 sq. ft. elsewhere AND not have the smog and fires and social pressure and poor schools, etc etc etc. Its just poor stewardship of our finances to purchase here at this point. Its a shame too. I've lived here my entire life. I feel like my roots are here and I would love to continue that. But what's gonna happen when my children are married and they want to buy a home? If they find themselves in the same situation that we're in now, then maybe THEY'LL be the ones who have to pack up and move to another state. I don't want to risk that. I want to provide a financial situation for our kids that will at least give them the option of staying nearby, raising their kids near us if that's what they want.

If home ownership is essential to someone, then they'll have to assess their finances relative to what places cost. If they don't make enough to buy in a decent area-and home ownership means more than quality of locale of residency-then moving out of California would be a good option. I would not recommend one buying a place in, say, San Bernadino or Riverside counties just for the sake of living in California.

[skyway31]

Originally Posted by pecosbill

Hi all,

I have spent 3 days 2 weeks ago in OC and here is my 2 cents on why I still want to move to OC...
I am french and leaving in NJ (princeton area), I have been in US for 5 years.
I flew from Newark to Orange county airport, this is a very very convenient airport, flight early out with my rental car in 10 min...
Drow to Newport Beach (fashion Island) mid day no traffic. Went running on Balboa Island ( very nice place). Had dinner + movie + shopping in Tustin (former air base) Traffic was very fine for 5 PM, traffic lights but easy drive. Restaurant good nice, outdoor seating, Movie theater great, Whole Food store amazing... Overall very nice people.
Hotel Marriott Newport beach extremely friendly staff +++
Next morning running on the beach (newport Beach) at 7 AM breakfast for 2 (8 USD) at a donnut/bakery shop on the beach. Very friendly people, very safe.
Work full day i Irvine, no traffic going to work.
Next day drove from Irvine to Thousand oaks departure 10 AM very little traffic a few slow downs....
Coming from Europe traffic is good in OC and similar to New York or NJ traffic just being part of a large city. I found everything clean, nice and safe, but maybe because I was on the high priced area. I still consider moving their, the run on te beach wit surfers have no price for me....

Cheers
pecosbill

Exactly. Only worry about what those who live in these areas have to say. The author of this thread titled it "The truth about California...". She offered up a bunch of gripes that are either a) unfounded or b) apply to particular areas that are in many ways different from Newport Beach. She actually went on to say she liked the beach communities. Apparently she doesn't see them as being in California, lol.