Harris poll: California rated most desirable state (Paradise: find a job, standard of living)

[Curmudgeon]

Oregon has it's own special charm but especially now as a transplant to other climes, I can understand California's place on the list. Don't misunderstand me, where we are in the Ozarks on the shore of a large and beautiful lake is charming and meets our needs, wants and desires in almost every way but a lake isn't the Pacific Ocean and that I do miss, having been born and raised on it.

California is unique in ways very different from where now but it also has social and fiscal problems we don't have here and the very much higher cost of living, especially housing, was off-putting to us.

Still, as native Californians with children and grandchildren still there, we have to admit it has a whole bunch to recommend it.

[Obi_Wan_Kenobi]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

California is expensive precisely because it's so desirable (the lib haters will say otherwise). The demand far exceeds the supply so those with something to sell or rent can charge whatever they want to an extent.

Really.

So real estate prices have not dropped a dime in the past 2 years?

That's news to me. I heard otherwise.

[.highnlite]

I am continually mystified by those who say the Social and Fiscal problems of California make them want to leave. I fail to see any social conditions that are not replicated throughout the nation, and the fiscal problems really don't affect ones daily life.

Housing is just a matter of planning well.

The idea of living in some eastern state, where no matter where you go, you are still in the same mix of farms and hardwood forests composed of small trees would bore many of us Californians pretty quickly.

If you rode in a car traveling expressways from Main to Georgia, and you napped, when ever you woke up and looked out the car window, the view would be the same, for a thousand miles.

Whereas California changes landscapes constantly. If one does not care about landscape, or ones personal geography, then those Eastern states (that is, east of Kansas) would suit.

[.highnlite]

Really.

So real estate prices have not dropped a dime in the past 2 years?

That's news to me. I heard otherwise.

Huh, economies are cyclical, that has nothing to do with the desirability of California, You may have noticed that housing across this republic lost value, but, those values will rise again, and the more desirable areas will rise faster than say, Missouri

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by UNLV09

They must have never heard of Fresno

Most bad things you hear about Fresno come from people who live in the other parts of CA that most would consider to be more desirable. Compared to other parts of CA, Fresno isn't so popular. But compared to the rest of the nation, it's probably not a bad place to live. If you were moving to CA would you pick Fresno? Probably not. But it's tough to be subjective about it when you have so many other popular places in the state to choose from.

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

California is expensive precisely because it's so desirable (the lib haters will say otherwise). The demand far exceeds the supply so those with something to sell or rent can charge whatever they want to an extent.

Exactly. The state has its problems and is worse off financially than many other states, but the bottom line is it's still one of the most desirable states to live in for several reasons, and likely always will be.

Many will always point out that it's too expensive. And I can agree to an extent. But if it wasn't so desirable the prices would have dropped long ago. Hell, for as much as housing prices have dropped in the past 5 years, try doing a search for a home in a nice area with highly rated schools within 30 minutes of a major airport and tell me what you find. I tried doing this in the Bay Area and found that the prices are still far above the national average. So even though the prices have come down, it's not like it's cheap now (maybe by CA standards). It's all relative.

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by NewToCA

That is partially what I wanted to get across.

When folks want to relocate to a different area of the country, a place like Fresno should actually get some consideration. Many folks have limited financial means, especially with all of the economic problems that have occurred the past four years. A place like Fresno, or other Central Valley areas, may actually be a great option for some of these folks, giving them a decent place to live at reasonable cost, yet be able to get to many of the attractions that make California desirable.

After all, though metro areas such as San Francisco and Los Angeles may be difficult for most folks to afford, it doesn't mean California can't be a good residential alternative. We have a lot of other choices too, and many are just as nice, safe and "inexpensive" as places in other regions of the country.

True. Strangely enough, when we lived in the Bay Area and were looking for a new place to live we didn't consider any of the inland parts of CA due to our snobbish attitude towards any area that wasn't the Bay Area in NorCal (when you're raised there it's built-in). When you move away and change your perspective it's easier to see those areas with less bias.

However, had we chosen one of those areas we likely would have ended up losing a lot of money in equity from then to now. As they were hit much harder by the price drops than the part of Denver we chose. So in hindsight we made a great investment decision moving away from CA in 2005. But now that the market correction is leveling out some of those areas that we dismissed aren't looking so bad. We're actually looking at the Roseville area outside of Sacramento as a possible destination this year or next. And we never would have considered that area 6 years ago being Bay Area natives.

[beenhereandthere]

Originally Posted by nmnita

these types of polls or surveys mean abolutely nothing. Many who are asked have never been to the place they think they would like to live. They are basing it on movies, what they have read and what they have heard, some propaganda and some true. It is always fun to have the place you love on a "most loved" list, but it is only good for bragging rights. The little town we live in, on about every study and survey done, it rated in the top 10 places to retire and Fayetteville is rated consistantly as one of the best small cities in the country. We love to brag about this, and we love our home, but I have seen many cities and towns that seem to be just as disirable.

Nita

Your assumption....I've been in all but 2 states and I would have voted for CA as well.....

[RCCCB]

Originally Posted by 18Montclair

STATES WHERE MOST PEOPLE WOULD LIKE TO LIVE - APART FROM THEIR OWN STATE

"If you could live in any state in the country, except the state you live in now, what state would you choose to live in?"

Base: All U.S. Adults

1 California
2 Hawaii
3 Florida
4 Colorado
5 Arizona
6 North Carolina
7 Oregon
8 Texas
9 New York
10 Washington

These are some of the results of The Harrris Poll of 2,620 adults surveyed online between Sep 14-20, 2010 by Harris Interactive.

Read more: California, Hawaii and Florida the States Where the Most People Would Like to Live - PR Newswire - sacbee.com (http://www.sacbee.com/2010/10/19/3114666/california-hawaii-and-florida.html#ixzz132mv0pb9 - broken link)

Paid for by the state of California no doubt.

[Californiaguy2007]

California is such an amazing place with all the Diversity/Variety in practically everything,and Despite the problems we face in the Golden State,California is still a great place to live,and no i'm not Rich and I don't live in a Ghetto either.

California is a Paradise for some and not for others,but for me I love it here and i'm happy here too :-)