For those of you who think California is too expensive... (Redwood City: transplants, house)

[Texas User]

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

You realize that the bay didn't used to be ridiculously expensive... if you bought a house here in the 70's and 80's, then it was about the same as the rest of the country. Cities like Los Altos used to be blue collar... hard to believe, I know.

Hardly any land left now.

[Texas User]

Originally Posted by NorCal77

With the current state of the economy and state deficit California is in big trouble and losing many jobs. The housing real estate has dropped while the rents remain high. I think we have yet to see the commercial real estate drop really set in. Have any of you noticed how many stores are closed on Market St? vacant strip malls/malls? I think over the next few years we are going to see more and more people moving out of the bay. Schools are merging,teachers are losing jobs,fire depts/police depts struggle to get funding,taxes,bridge tolls,parking meters,etc...are all on the rise but there hasn't been anything done to bring back jobs to this state.

Anyone considering moving here in this current setting better be good at planning. California is going to be going through a huge transformation over the next few years.

Its for the people who have lot of money.

[Texas User]

Originally Posted by zitsky

You know there are nice people in California and jerks in Texas. Don't try to over simplify things. I'm sorry if you really moved here and didn't like it. I suppose I wouldn't like Texas if I moved there.

Texas User, is it really necessary to reply to every single person who has posted in a thread, and to reply to each of them individually? Do you think you could try to reply to more than one person in each post????

Its not just me. I have heard from the CA natives themselves that people are not nice over there. NYC and Miami are same too. The places that have high cost of living which means people are earning more and think they are all that?

Texas is southern hospitality.

I have lived in both states.

[whynot1986]

Originally Posted by Texas User

I lived in Cali for 15 years and people were not very nice. They seem to have attitude. Texas folks seem to be humble.

I do miss the climate very much though and the tourist attractions and mountains.

Yes, Texas folks have a lot to be humble about.

BTW I don't live in CA... yet. I know, I belong there, with this attitude, right?

Seriously though, this question has come up in my own mind as we plan our move there. THE major reason for us is the natural beauty of the place, which is something we value MUCH more than any amount of culture, restaurants, etc... but that's available too. So yes, high COL, but I rationalize, it's there for a reason, otherwise it wouldn't be.

[Texas User]

Originally Posted by whynot1986

Yes, Texas folks have a lot to be humble about.

BTW I don't live in CA... yet. I know, I belong there, with this attitude, right?

Seriously though, this question has come up in my own mind as we plan our move there. THE major reason for us is the natural beauty of the place, which is something we value MUCH more than any amount of culture, restaurants, etc... but that's available too. So yes, high COL, but I rationalize, it's there for a reason, otherwise it wouldn't be.

Are you from Texas? I agree that CA has the natural beauty that is one of the best in the world. Climate is probably the best. I won't argue with these. I am talking about the people of CA.

[NorCal77]

Originally Posted by Texas User

Its for the people who have lot of money.

I think this is probably the biggest misconception about CA. There are dozens of cities that are outside the "popular" destinations that are affordable. Problem is many are tempted by higher paying jobs and want to be closer or commute.

Originally Posted by Texas User

Texas is southern hospitality.

does this southern hospitality include people with ethnic backgrounds? or were you not considering them?

[purplerain112]

Originally Posted by ambient

Simple - we're young, we have good careers here, and we're making enough money to rent quit comfortably. Between the two of us, my wife and I are netting about $200K annually.

Netting or grossing? If you are netting $200K a year that means you are making nearly $400K annually? Isn't that more than enough to have some down payment for a decent townhouse in SF?

[andyadhi01]

Originally Posted by Texas User

Its not just me. I have heard from the CA natives themselves that people are not nice over there. NYC and Miami are same too. The places that have high cost of living which means people are earning more and think they are all that?

Texas is southern hospitality.

I have lived in both states.

In CA, or at least in SF, people are not outwardly friendly or talkative. They don't to talk to strangers or unnecessarily chit-chat. It might look rude to someone coming from TX but its just the way it is. The southern hospitality is often very fake!

[Ceece]

The southern hospitality is often very fake!

An often quite invasive too.

I've never found people to be unfriendly. I've met unfriendly people but that has nothing to do with the state we live in, they would be jerks anywhere.

I stay in CA because it's my home. There doesn't have to be another reason.

I do feel bad for low-mid level workers, the COL is crazy even with the burst housing bubble. It's not like it was 25 years ago when we bought our first home. I feel sorry for my own kids too. They have lived a great life with us but it's going to be hard going on their own if they don't make big $$. That's one reason so many kids don't move out of their parents homes until later in life.

[LisainCalifornia]

Originally Posted by Texas User

I also lived in Bay Area for 15 years. I guess you have a high income and good savings, you can live a great life.

You are assuming a great deal. My husband does make a good income--he is in the high tech industry and worked his way up. But I wouldn't call it "high" for the area. I had been a stay at home mom for 15 years before going back to work in education this year. We make enough to pay our bills (including our mortgage) and put a small amount away each month, but like I said--we are not living large like we could be in other states with lower cost of livings. Our home is very modest, but in a very nice, open space area in the east bay hills. We moved here for the good schools and close proximity to to the city.

We do live a 'great life'--but it isn't a wealthy life with a huge house like you are saying. We have the love of family and our roots are in California, and that is what keeps us here. Living in an older, smaller house in a more frugal manner is the trade off for living in our home state. Life is all about making trade offs--and unless you are super wealthy you have to be willing to give some things up to live in certain parts of California.

As a young couple we scrimped and saved and put down enough money to buy a tiny victorian home in San Francisco in 1995. It was under 900 square feet and a total mess when we bought it. For example, I used a chisel to clean the toilet! It was that bad, and we had very little money to fix it up, but it was ours. When we sold it and moved here to the east bay in 2000, we did the same thing--bought what we could, which was a 4 bedroom ranch that smelled like dog and had a kitchen with a portable, fold down stove. It was like something out of a 1950's museum! We remodeled the kitchen right away, but the rest of it we have been doing slowly. Now that the economy is bad, we just live with what is not so great, happy to have a home. It is worth about twice as much as we bought it for in 1999, so that part is good--but we don't plan on leaving anytime soon. This is our home, and my kids have roots here--and that is worth more than a bigger, fancier house.

As far as your insistence that people are unfriendly here, I just don't see it. We have had friendly neighbors where ever we have lived. We make the first step by being a good neighbor, and helping out when we can. Everyone here is friendly to us, from the store clerks to the neighbors to the people in our community. We go to the farmer's market each week and concerts in the park and just generally "live" with good intentions, and that is reciprocated. I am sorry you didn't find that where you lived.