I've noticed something about these forums.. (how much, to live, wealthy)

[Donna7]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Basically, that's about it. If you are not scared by the cost of housing (at whatever your price range), and you want to move here, then come on out! Because CA is just another place in the USA with good, bad, and ugly. We got grocery stores and gas stations and the whole deal. It's just a place where people live and all that goes with that.

I love CA and still recommend anyone move here. People on message boards are often negative, it's just the way it is.

Thank you, Sassberto. Good words of wisdom; I agree with you.

[Niners fan]

This thread is pretty interesting. I am a native California, spent my teenage years in Houston, went to college in Utah and have been back in CA for 14 years. Maybe it is just my circle of friends but most people I know would like to leave CA.

There are a lot of positives about CA: it is beautiful, the property taxes are low (and can't increase very much per year as long as you stay in your home), there are a lot of things to do (ie sporting events, amusement parks, beach, ski, etc.).

Here is why people I know (myself included) are looking to leave:

too crowded - the freeways, the attractions, any where you go, especially on holidays.

illegal immigration - without getting too political, it is unsettling to hear Spanish as much as English for one thing. Besides it is so crowded already.

Sacramento - the legislature goes out of its way to accommodate the illegal immigrants. Every year they attempt to give them drivers licenses, health care, etc. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are at least as concerned with Mexico as the US. Plus, they have a habit of trying to override the will of the voters. We passed a proposition defining marriage (and it passed easily) and a few years later the legislature and governor are doing everything they can to circumvent and overturn it.

Rude people - Okay, I know not everyone here is rude, but enough are that it gets old. Where I work some of the salesmen travel around the country and one of the things I commonly here is how nice people are in other parts of the country. (NYC excepted!) Plus from my years in TX I will say there is no comparison to CA. Of course, I think TX is particularly friendly.

Housing costs - Prices are coming down, but if you want a house in a decent area you are still looking at a payment in excess of $1600+ a month. That is a lot of money even if you make a decent wage of $3500 per month or so.

I don't consider myself a California-basher. And to be fair, many of the people that I know who have moved out-of-state did so because they had enough equity in their house that they could buy or nearly buy one outright elsewhere. It just seems like so many people I know would like to leave that I thought I would post what the reasons are.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Niners fan

This thread is pretty interesting. I am a native California, spent my teenage years in Houston, went to college in Utah and have been back in CA for 14 years. Maybe it is just my circle of friends but most people I know would like to leave CA.

There are a lot of positives about CA: it is beautiful, the property taxes are low (and can't increase very much per year as long as you stay in your home), there are a lot of things to do (ie sporting events, amusement parks, beach, ski, etc.).

Here is why people I know (myself included) are looking to leave:

too crowded - the freeways, the attractions, any where you go, especially on holidays.

illegal immigration - without getting too political, it is unsettling to hear Spanish as much as English for one thing. Besides it is so crowded already.

Sacramento - the legislature goes out of its way to accommodate the illegal immigrants. Every year they attempt to give them drivers licenses, health care, etc. It is not an exaggeration to say that they are at least as concerned with Mexico as the US. Plus, they have a habit of trying to override the will of the voters. We passed a proposition defining marriage (and it passed easily) and a few years later the legislature and governor are doing everything they can to circumvent and overturn it.

Rude people - Okay, I know not everyone here is rude, but enough are that it gets old. Where I work some of the salesmen travel around the country and one of the things I commonly here is how nice people are in other parts of the country. (NYC excepted!) Plus from my years in TX I will say there is no comparison to CA. Of course, I think TX is particularly friendly.

Housing costs - Prices are coming down, but if you want a house in a decent area you are still looking at a payment in excess of $1600+ a month. That is a lot of money even if you make a decent wage of $3500 per month or so.

I don't consider myself a California-basher. And to be fair, many of the people that I know who have moved out-of-state did so because they had enough equity in their house that they could buy or nearly buy one outright elsewhere. It just seems like so many people I know would like to leave that I thought I would post what the reasons are.

A lot of it comes down to having kids or not (which is very consistent with the points made my the original poster of this thread). Seems like the biggest polarity on the California forums. I lived in the LA area while I was single and I got my fun out of it. Now I have kids. The cost to live in a kid environment is significantly higher than it is for a single or a DINK. You have to have good schools which in general means expensive neighborhoods. Plus you have to factor commuting from those good neighborhoods to where the jobs are. Singles often are happy renting, living in fun, hip, cosmopolitan areas. It seems it is easier for them to live near where they work too since schools and number of bedrooms aren't as important. People with kids don't have that kind of flexibility. Singles seem to have a lot more disposable time to enjoy all the fun stuff in SoCal. Seems (from the context of many CD posts) many singles (young) aren't thinking of saving for retirement so there is more disposable money for living.

Here's an example, a friend of mine called me this morning to see if I wanted to go see the Cult in Denver tomorrow (Monday night). I almost fell on the floor. I fall asleep around 9pm. (Besides I saw them at Universal in the 90s. Loudest band I ever heard. Louder than Zeppelin.)

The older I get the better I was.

[Fat Freddy]

I don't care if they are Mexicans, Asians, Europeans, or Native Born Californians. There are just too many of them.

Animals studies have shown that the more individuals that are forced to share a living space, the more hostile they become to each other.
When it gets really bad, they kill and eat each other.

I can already feel the breath of the masses on my neck.
I'm getting out before they tear me apart and devour my flesh.

[treeluvr]

Originally Posted by Fat Freddy

I don't care if they are Mexicans, Asians, Europeans, or Native Born Californians. There are just too many of them.

Animals studies have shown that the more individuals that are forced to share a living space, the more hostile they become to each other.
When it gets really bad, they kill and eat each other.

I can already feel the breath of the masses on my neck.
I'm getting out before they tear me apart and devour my flesh.

Yeah, I agree. So why does no one ever talk about population control anymore?

[sonarrat]

So why does Tokyo have such a low crime rate??

[ImRandy]

Originally Posted by sonarrat

So why does Tokyo have such a low crime rate??

Underreporting.

[eekwine]

Yes treeluvr, SB at one time was more supportive of that kind of lifestyle we were able to manage. I watched it change slowly from a small sleepy rural town into a transplanted LA. Fun to visit but not anymore to live in.

[Roaddog]

Originally Posted by TheStarLiesWest

If this sounds redundant or obvious to you, then forgive me. If this sounds true, then you understand. If you don't get it, then you're guilty of it.

California is all about status, and that proves to be true on these forums. I've gotten help from a few great, helpful, insightful people who treated me equally, and then there's everybody else.

If you come onto this forum and you have money, status, and you're not just a nobody, then "WELCOME TO CALIFORNIA!" The welcome committee is preparing a place for you and here's 2 million sites to go find houses on.

However.. if you're normal, young, have a child, and ESPECIALLY young with a child, then you are not going to make it in California. It is the general rule that everyone agrees on. Here's a list of 20 places you should move instead, none in California or even near it, and here's 20 posts about why California sucks.

What i notice is people talk like they have a lot of money but it's probably BS, Any one can make it in California, it just depends on where in Ca. you want to live.

[Fat Freddy]

Originally Posted by Roaddog

...Any one can make it in California, it just depends on where in Ca. you want to live.

I think "making it" depends more on how you live rather than where you live.