Thinking of fleeing California? Top destinations -- (Fresno, Orange: apartment, house)

[Senno]

Originally Posted by MountainBiking

Somehow I can picture folks from UT and ID shaking their heads and saying "please don't come".

-Cheers!

I have family in Boise, Twin, Idaho Falls and Salt Lake.

Here's what will work for ya in Idaho. This is inside info though, so don't let it out.

Tell 'em your favorite candy bar is the Idaho Spud. And that you sure liked Sun Valley/Ketchum before Demi moved up there. Now it's too dang crowded.

Helps to like snow. Don't say "gnarly, dude" like Spicoli. Don't buy the biggest house on the block.

That should work. If anyone asks you where you are from, you are ok to say California, but familys from Jerome. That should cover ya ok while you integrate in. Mention the Outlaw Day parade and Big Jumbo in Richfield for extra credit. (Big Jumbo is an old tractor they maintain and run in the parade every year). Other inside info to mention is that your grandpa worked on Hells Canyon dam when it was being built.

If you go to Salt Lake, tell 'em you are from Idaho and moved down for a job. Liking mormons helps. Come to think of it being mormon helps in southern Idaho alot also. If you can, marry a mormon like my cousin from Idaho did.

This should help you on your journey. Good luck.

PS: Holy cow, I just remembered my dads best man lives in Sandy. He's mormon but tells dirty jokes, so he's ok.

PPS: Don't try to go cowboy, ya don't look right no matter what ya do... Ya just look like a duded up city boy.

[happyinca]

Great article and entertaining thread. I don't think we are fleeing but feel more like being pushed out. Prop. 13 is great is you bought ages ago but our property taxes are over $5,000 annually and go up constantly due to local bonds passing. CA Income tax hits hard if you have a livable wage. Gas is rising daily, yes everywhere but we seem to have much higher gas prices (taxes) compared to other states. We were in Nevada in December and paid $2.99 a gallon. Crossed the border and the priced jumped 70 cents a gallon. Same thing when we are in Arizona. Not to mention at least in San Diego our roads are awful. Pothole city.

We have been to Tennessee and I did not see one pothole in the entire state. We came back and can't drive one block without potholes. Sales tax now 8% here, so combined with property, income, state, and sales about 50% of what I earn goes to taxes. Yes I live close to the beach, and I take one week off in the fall to enjoy it after the tourists leave. In the summer it is so crowded you can't get a parking space. We are both natives and hate to leave but the dream seems to be dying. Love Tennessee but so far away. Most likely will retire in Nevada where we can enjoy being tourists in San Diego. Ideal tourist town, but living here is just too expensive.

[bmw335xi]

Originally Posted by nullgeo

Bingo, sorta ... You've hit on an essential I was hoping would pop up: people go to Texas because they perceive better affordability. Now, aside from the endless and tiresome debate about that, you just mentioned -- in spite of poor weather compared to California -- both Washington and Oregon would be better choices ... But they, too, aren't perceived any longer as affordable!

Why exclaimation point? LIFESTYLE! Yes, folks, lifestyle quality costs more than, oh say certain boring places to remain unnamed (but one of which rhymes with a**).

So, do you future escapees from California want indoor square footage (to spend your time cleaning, fixing, maintaining) and a big lawn ta mow? Or do you want quality, active lifestyle outside of the little box you sleep in? Yes, it costs more to have a real life. You can move to another expensive-ish place ... or you can stay in California and cut the square footage instead of a lawn.

Here's an example of how some of those guys up in Washington state feel about their lifestyle option compared to other places. Got cojones?
CAMP666 : WASHINGTON IS BETTER THAN YOUR STATE

Sorry, I didn't realize you replied to my post.

The trick for many is finding the right balance between lifestyle and living space. I believe a lot has to do with the moment in your life (recent graduate, bachelor, family, retired). At least for me, while I'm young, I don't mind living in a box if my amenities around me are great. Here in San Francisco, I have so many options when it comes to dining, shopping, going out, hiking, traveling etc within minutes from me. When I lived in Florida, my home had a beautiful pool with a jacuzzi on a lake I could go fishing or ride a wave runner, on a 1/2 - 3/4 acre lot in one of the best parts of town. There were also a lot of amenities available such as great shopping, beaches within driving distance, theme parks, boating, fishing, etc, but it required a car to get anywhere. As of right now, I prefer my life in San Francisco more because I'm relatively young and enjoy going out a lot. However, I can see myself wanting to go back to Florida when I plan on having a family or settling down a bit because of those luxuries. It's nice to be able to wake up in the morning and jump in your own private pool or if you need groceries, drive straight to the store and not worry about finding parking. I could never imagine living in say Nebraska no matter how great my home is because of the lack of surrounding amenities. That's why I say it's all about finding your right balance, which usually depends on your point in life.

[Leonard64]

Originally Posted by MamaRed

Yeah, see, you think you're joking. I could only do 3 days of snow if everything closed down and I could stay home.

The snow on the ground after the 1st day was melting and almost totally gone by day 3, except in shady areas.

[Leonard64]

Originally Posted by welshb2

My wife and I will be leaving CA 2014. We're retiring and will need that extra 10% that CA is going to take away in income taxes. Also add on all other taxes that CA imposes on it's "working class" and it's pretty high. States like WA, SD, TX, FL don't have income tax. OR has no sales tax but property tax is VERY high. Will need to do further investigation before retiring.

No Income tax in TN and the property tax is based on 1/4 the value of a home. Sooo my home here, of the same value as the one I sold in CA is taxed at $3000.00 a year less AND is nearly as large and is on 1/2 acre of land and was built the same year (2000). I spent 3 years searching and settled here as the overall best for COL, Crime, Weather, Friendly people and a host of other things.

[Senno]

Originally Posted by Leonard64

No Income tax in TN and the property tax is based on 1/4 the value of a home. Sooo my home here, of the same value as the one I sold in CA is taxed at $3000.00 a year less AND is nearly as large and is on 1/2 acre of land and was built the same year (2000). I spent 3 years searching and settled here as the overall best for COL, Crime, Weather, Friendly people and a host of other things.

Leonard, how did you manage to buy a smaller home in TN than you had in CA for the same price? Custom home and amenities? Even accounting for land, which is called "excess" around here if ya ain't working it.

[Senno]

Originally Posted by Leonard64

NO, its Californians who were in the Big House and now are in their neighborhood.

Sorry I missed this.

My response is:

We paroled them to TN.

[tijlover]

Originally Posted by Senno

Been like that my whole life. They've always hated Californians that bought the big house.

Jealousy and anger that they couldn't figure out why Californians could buy a bigger house elsewhere.

"Now why didn't we think of that!!! Stupid us!!! We could have done that, too! Turn our thumbs down any new development, for whatever reason, re-zone, re-zone, keep the housing market as tight a stretched rubber band, housing prices go up up and up and up, due to shortages, then sell the house some day and move somewhere where there's no Nimby's, like Las Vegas, and then buy a 4,000SF'er, and with the extra money, buy a condo in Baja to escape those cold winters in the desert!"

If only Las Vegas had thought of that 30 years ago!

[Senno]

Originally Posted by tijlover

Jealousy and anger that they couldn't figure out why Californians could buy a bigger house elsewhere.

Generally agree somewhat. There are other reasons. /shrug

Originally Posted by tijlover

If only Las Vegas had thought of that 30 years ago!

How's the Colorado river water supply holding out? Gonna get thirsty out there in the desert, I'm afraid.

In the meantime the central valley is relatively cheap.

[oldtrader]

I keep seeing the California Cheerleaders that run down other places in the U.S., especially in the South. They keep saying that Californians are so much smarter, etc. Lets look at the FACTS.

Fact: California is full of Illiterate People, and leads the pack for illiteracy around the U.S.

Go to this Site by National Center for Education Statistics, and click on California. You will find that 23% of the people in California are Illiterate. Check other states such as Tennessee which some try to make sound backwards and only 13% of the people are illiterate.

ttp://nces.ed.gov/naal/estimates/stateestimates.aspx

Top Cities for Literacy. Best in California 12th place for San Francisco, but as you move down the peninsula to San Jose it is in 56th place, San Diego was second best in California at 33rd place.

Central Connecticut State University (CCSU): Overall Rankings

California Literacy Rate Tumbles, Symptom of State's Education Ills? | California Progress Report

Capitol Alert: California's literacy drops in national rankings

Math and Science literacy and education considered the most important measure of a states education, California is 34th out of 50.

State Education Rankings: The Best And Worst For Math And Science

It has gotten worse in California for a long time now, year after year.

Maybe one reason is that California has the highest number of students per teacher rate in the U.S.