This is why I'm leaving California (Austin, Clarksville: short sale, houses, bankrupt)

[SickOfCalifornia]

My friends just called me up, super-excited: they finally bought a house. They're thrilled because they got it on a short sale for $500,000... all 867 square feet of it:
GreatHomes.org: 44 MONTEREY Ave San Anselmo, CA 94960 (http://www.greathomes.org/mls/property/21008899 - broken link)

Holy moly, get me out of here!

[Everest209]

Your name is "sickofcalifornia", no agenda there. Live through a Texas summer, and maybe you'll understand why you pay that much in the bay area.

[SickOfCalifornia]

Pfft, it was 96 here yesterday. Even perfect weather isn't worth $600/square foot on a dump!

[neddy]

It's a cute house but I don't know about 1/2 million cute! Ouch!

[slo1318]

Always startling to see bay area prices. There is a balance to cost vs environment/quality of life. You have to find what your balance is. And 96 in the bay area is not the same as 96 in Texas. Summer heat in Texas = relentless

[hoffdano]

Originally Posted by slo1318

And 96 in the bay area is not the same as 96 in Texas. Summer heat in Texas = relentless

Maybe so - but $600 is still three times $200, whether in California or Texas.

[SickOfCalifornia]

I am well aware of the differences in weather between California and Texas... but I ask you: is better weather worth this much of a price? And is it worth bankrupting yourself for a cool breeze? I mean, really. 867 square feet, folks!

The house linked is a bit "cute" in some of the photos, but look again at that kitchen - ick! And this is a steal - you won't find ANY other homes for $500,000 in that area because this is a short sale. Market value adds another $100,000 to the price, at least.

I know there are downsides to Austin vs. California (and Marin County, no less), but still - doesn't that listing kinda make you throw up in your mouth?

[AustinGuy]

Originally Posted by SickOfCalifornia

I know there are downsides to Austin vs. California (and Marin County, no less), but still - doesn't that listing kinda make you throw up in your mouth?

Well, you did pick out one of the most expensive areas in California - Marin County - to compare Austin to. And, I'd say you do need to bring property tax into the equation to be fair.

If you want to compare expensive areas to expensive areas, we have some "cute" houses in Hyde Park, Clarksville, Deep Eddy, etc that are about the same size and will set you back 300k-400k plus a higher property tax bill than that Marin County house.

[eichlerfan]

Well San Anselmo is really expensive even by CA prices, but I can relate to what you are saying. We sold our house in the South Bay for over 500 per square ft. this past March, crazy but we did get an offer the first week and we sold. The sad thing is even at 500 per sq ft, the house was down in value about 125,000 from the height of the market.

The weather is more intense here, but we love Austin and are very happy to be here. There are always going to be some trade offs when you move. In our case we feel the quality of life is better for us here and so we traded the great CA climate for those hot TX summers, and not sorry a bit. And this is coming from a CA and Bay Area native.

[G Grasshopper]

San Anselmo, and that area in particular, is very nice. It is walkable, has really great schools, a close-by very cute and functional downtown, lots of nice restaurants, not to mention the weather. Of course, CA prices are high. We all know that. People live in different places because they have different requirements, life situations, etc. I don't see any need to badmouth any state or location. Are you trying to justify your move to Texas? No need to do that - you probably made a great choice. Enjoy Austin, but it is bad form, and bad for your own health, to carry around a load of anger and resentment at CA. Let it go! You might start by changing from "Sick of California" to "Loving Austin".