Where does the average person live in this hell hole? (San Jose: mortgages, big house)

[bay090]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

Stats? Numbers?

Biggest losers.

#1 California.

[url=http://money.cnn.com/galleries/2009/real_estate/0912/gallery.State_population_migration__The_biggest_lo sers/index.html]Biggest losers: Where Americans aren't moving - California (1) - CNNMoney.com[/url]

[Yvetta]

Thanks for the info. Hopefully it will assist those who are in need of some accurate information.

[Yvetta]

Originally Posted by bay090

Biggest losers.

#1 California.

Biggest losers: Where Americans aren't moving - California (1) - CNNMoney.com

I would take that with a grain of salt. Most people cannot afford to live here, but those of us who are residents can enjoy the beaches, the mountains, the valleys, the forests, the deserts, the diversity, the perfect weather, the movie stars, and the culture is above board. Not to mention we are the world's largest economy.

Economy of California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[baybook]

For all his trolling and stirring the pot the OP is correct about a few things.

The cost of living in the Bay Area is high compared to other parts of the country. There are a LOT of people that make very good money here, but unless you have lived here a while, you need to make VERY VERY good money to live well.

Case in point. My folks have lived here for 30 years, have a modest home in an excellent neighborhood with a wonderfull view. But they have lived here forever and have a home in a good location. Even with the sift in real estate values, it would take someone close to 600,000+ to buy a comparable home today. Let's say you had 100k cash to put down adn mortgaged 500k. That's approx 3k/month plus all the taxes so let's make it 3500 /month in housing. That's pretty expensive even for someone making 100k a year.

The food is great here. Recreation is great. Lifestyle is great. But realistically, even though I'm from the area, I have to admit that it is difficult for folks to move in and expect to live a middle/upper middle class lifestyle on less than 150k a year. You typically need 2 people working and making good money to do well.

[chaotix]

Originally Posted by baybook

For all his trolling and stirring the pot the OP is correct about a few things.

The cost of living in the Bay Area is high compared to other parts of the country. There are a LOT of people that make very good money here, but unless you have lived here a while, you need to make VERY VERY good money to live well.

Case in point. My folks have lived here for 30 years, have a modest home in an excellent neighborhood with a wonderfull view. But they have lived here forever and have a home in a good location. Even with the sift in real estate values, it would take someone close to 600,000+ to buy a comparable home today. Let's say you had 100k cash to put down adn mortgaged 500k. That's approx 3k/month plus all the taxes so let's make it 3500 /month in housing. That's pretty expensive even for someone making 100k a year.

The food is great here. Recreation is great. Lifestyle is great. But realistically, even though I'm from the area, I have to admit that it is difficult for folks to move in and expect to live a middle/upper middle class lifestyle on less than 150k a year. You typically need 2 people working and making good money to do well.

I agree, $150K minimum. Simple math, the average income in SF is $40K, after tax and basic housing expenses, disposable income takes a huge dive, you are definitely in the poor end.

[Archan]

If you make 120K you should be able to live just fine in the Bay Area. If you are unhappy then you need to re-evaluate your choices. When I lived in the Bay Area I was making the same money, albeit quite a few years ago, I chose to live in a condo in the East Bay. I drove a 5 series BMW and had a 29ft express cruiser docked in Emeryville. I did go to Napa, Monterey, and Lake Tahoe quite a few times.

I could have decided to live in a expensive part of San Francisco in a rented apartment and had no excess money to do other things. It's all about choices.

Don't slam the Bay Area because you make bad decisions. If you chose to live closer to your work just to have a short commute that's your choice.

Take a drive out to Ft. Funston to check out the handgliders - free. Take a drive down Highway One - free. Enjoying the view from the Marin Headlands - bridge toll. Drive up to the top of Mt. Diablo - bridge toll, park fee.

If you add up all the time that you spend on threads slamming the Bay Area, I'll bet you could actually find fun things to do that don't cost a lot of money. It's all up to you!

[BayAreaHillbilly]

Originally Posted by bay090

What don't you understand?

Every single city, with maybe the exception of Detroit has grown in population for the past decades.

The thing is, AMERICANS are moving out and not moving in. The only thing keeping the population figures high is immigration from outside of the United States and high birth rates.

Only people from the third world are moving here. Americans are leaving and aren't moving in.

Understand now?

And other than a few unique subcultures (LDS, minuscule fragments of traditional Catholics and Orthodox Jews, etc) the only fecund groups are the non native born.

[Carrie2979]

I can't believe someone has that much hatred for one city. Seriously if you are that unhappy then move somewhere else. If you think Dallas is that much better move there. Have fun in Texas! Wineries need grapes to make wine. Grapes come from vineyards, not wineries. How many good vineyards are there in Texas?

Sure SF is expensive but so is most metropolitan cities. You're probably just upset because you can't afford to buy that Range Rover you always dreamed or the large 5 bedroom house on a few acres of land. Who needs that crap anyway? Live within your means and i'm sure you will be happy!

[sonarrat]

Originally Posted by bay090

Biggest losers.

#1 California.

Biggest losers: Where Americans aren't moving - California (1) - CNNMoney.com

People who moved to expensive areas in hopes of "starting over" or "hitting it big" have to leave when the surplus of work dries up? In other news, water is wet.

[sonarrat]

By the way, if you take your nice big California dollars and go back to Texas to buy a nice big house, guess what - you're just going to do to Texas what your opportunistic kind already did to California. Unlike you, I don't live here because I'm in the business of raping and pillaging a region and its helpless residents, driving their tax rates insane and then taking the money elsewhere to benefit someone else's economy. I live here because I grew up here. I'm one of the new generation of Californians who has to deal with the crap that every person with a bachelor's degree and dollar signs in their eyes dumped on this state over the past 20 years. You have nothing to blame but your own selfish mentality for the condition this place is in.