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To the recycle fee complainers: Just take them to the recycle center and get your money back.
I can't believe how many people buy cases of plastic bottles full of water. Get yourself a gallon container and fill it up when you go to the grocery store for 20 cents. Then get a good plastic water bottle, and fill it up from the gallon container to take with you. Takes all of maybe 30 seconds.
The recycle fee is supposed to be an incentive to get you to do the above. Yet, you choose to buy hundreds of bottles that you're probably putting in the landfill, and complaining about it.
How about a compromise: Pay to have water delivered in 5 gallon jugs, and fill your reusable containers from there.
It just appalls me to watch people load up cases of little plastic bottles filled with water at Costco. And these are often people who say they care about the environment.
I drink tap water. It's actually quite good up here in Del Norte Pole County. And I fill up a reusable plastic container.
I admit the water was horrific in Santa Clara and I actually bought it. At one of those water dispense places where I brought my own jugs and filled them for 20 cents/gallon.
And with all due respect both you and your husband were born in CA, well that means you have parents who live/lived here. Anyone that I have met who is a native Californian has inherited a home at some point. Whether they choose to live in it or not is their decision.
If you had moved here a few years ago from the Midwest I could understand home ownership being out reach, but it's simply not true that the whole state of CA is unreachable in regards to home ownership. It may not be in your area(SD, LA or Orange counties). But you're embellishing.
Don't know old you are, but anyone that was born and raised in Southern CA over 40 has either inherited or will inherit some expensive real estate. I know a few people who live in the homes their parents had or sold them and retired early.
While I agree with you that there are plenty of affordable areas left in CA to buy a home, to say that all native Californians will inherit a home someday is simply untrue. My husband and I are both natives to CA, currently living in OC and saving very slowly for a home for our family. Some days it feels insanely out of reach for us, but we keep trucking along, because this beautiful state is our home. However, we will NEVER inherit a home from either of our parents. My parents don't even live in the United States any more and not all parents have a paid off home, let alone money to leave their children.
It's not just about opening a window in Feb. You have never lived somewhere where you can't open a window most of the year, due to horrific heat and humidity.
Nor have you experienced what the East Coast is currently getting.
And with all due respect both you and your husband were born in CA, well that means you have parents who live/lived here. Anyone that I have met who is a native Californian has inherited a home at some point. Whether they choose to live in it or not is their decision.
If you had moved here a few years ago from the Midwest I could understand home ownership being out reach, but it's simply not true that the whole state of CA is unreachable in regards to home ownership. It may not be in your area(SD, LA or Orange counties). But you're embellishing.
Don't know old you are, but anyone that was born and raised in Southern CA over 40 has either inherited or will inherit some expensive real estate. I know a few people who live in the homes their parents had or sold them and retired early.
^^^ This is a really dumb rebuttal and point of view. My husband and I are both 33 and live in the Inland Empire, NOT the OC or LA or any place like that, and homes are STILL completely overpriced. I am most certainly not "embellishing" when I say that the vast majority of CA is unreachable for most people because the incomes do not match what the COL is here, therefore making home ownership a distant dream.
So, let's see, apparently my other option is to wait until my parents or my husband's parents kick the bucket and inherit their houses? Not only is that also very dumb it's unrealistic- most people have siblings and when parents die estates get liquidated. I'm not going to go to my siblings and say, "Hey, guys, let me have mom and dad's house that's worth a s^&tload of money and you guys just go kick rocks!" Uhh, NO, doesn't work that way, buddy. Not to mention the fact that my parents are going to live for another 20+ years- we should just wait around for them to die so we can achieve our dream of home ownership? Can you not see how wrong and twisted that logic is?
The point I am trying to make is that people like us- hardworking, good, solid people- SHOULD be able to have a slice of that pie that is known as the American Dream. We don't live in Malibu or San Francisco or Silicon Valley where high as hell prices are the norm and almost justifiable. We live in a normal suburb and just want our children to be safe and educated in good schools and be secure. Here in CA the belief is that all of those things are things that you have to pay for and pay dearly, when in so many other states that just isn't the case because they're a given a lot of the time.
The point I am trying to make is that people like us- hardworking, good, solid people- SHOULD be able to have a slice of that pie that is known as the American Dream. We don't live in Malibu or San Francisco or Silicon Valley where high as hell prices are the norm and almost justifiable. We live in a normal suburb and just want our children to be safe and educated in good schools and be secure. Here in CA the belief is that all of those things are things that you have to pay for and pay dearly, when in so many other states that just isn't the case because they're a given a lot of the time.
So more importantly where are you fixin' to move? Have you made a list of priorities you think will be important beyond what was mentioned here? Because simple, affordable living with decent schools can be had in many, many places if that is all you really want. Most of the time there is significantly more that individuals or families want, both consciously and subconsciously, once the rubber really meets the road. Do you also care are about other things possibly such as climate, job opportunities including decent salaries, proximity to family, distance to the coast, mountains, other areas of interest, subculture (e.g cowboy culture, Southern, Inuit, desert, etc...), cultural diversity, international city proximity, friendliness to outsiders (especially those darn Californians), decent universities to attend once they grow, etc..?
Lastly, what price range would allow to achieve that piece of the American pie you really want? And what if you got that house, could there be anything that would potentially spoil the dream or honeymoon phase once in it? Because these are all the things you will think about once there with CA behind you. Since no place is perfect everything is ultimately a trade off in the end. You will merely be exchanging one set of pros/cons for a new set. And some of those cons you will not have even thought of until living there for a few seasons.
Derek
Last edited by MtnSurfer; 02-15-2015 at 11:15 PM..
The point I am trying to make is that people like us- hardworking, good, solid people- SHOULD be able to have a slice of that pie that is known as the American Dream. We don't live in Malibu or San Francisco or Silicon Valley where high as hell prices are the norm and almost justifiable. We live in a normal suburb and just want our children to be safe and educated in good schools and be secure. Here in CA the belief is that all of those things are things that you have to pay for and pay dearly, when in so many other states that just isn't the case because they're a given a lot of the time.
While I do understand your frustration and the challenge you face in wanting to buy a home here - who, exactly, says you are entitled to find affordable housing wherever you want in America just because you are "hardworking, good, solid people"? This means you should be able to buy in Greenwich, Connecticut? Aspen, Colorado? Manhatten? Beverly Hills? Palm Beach or Coral Gables, Florida? McLean, Virginia?
Etc.
Not everybody gets to live wherever they want just for being "good and hardworking".
Yeah. That WAS the "American Dream" that was fabricated and sold by a variety of marketeers, especially mortgage bankers. And it did have a nice ring to it. But it also has a very nasty side: it is unrealistically unsustainable as a benchmark dream for a world of soon to be 9 billion people. Everything about the materialistic American Dream is unsustainable bull tweet and apple butter. From the square footages, to the inefficiencies of designs, the toxic and wasteful materials, the Ponzi financing, the orientation to outrageously ignorant and wasteful utilities, and more.
But Americans - and now the rest of the world - have been psychologically conditioned to crave this from birth as if it is mother's milk.
You think I am making fun of you? I am not. I am actually DEEPLY sympathetic. I'm sorry this crime has been committed on us all. But you, like millions of others, are going to have to learn this hard way and move on to find what works for you. Or, you can cling to your false dream and remain bitter.
While I do understand your frustration and the challenge you face in wanting to buy a home here - who, exactly, says you are entitled to find affordable housing wherever you want in America just because you are "hardworking, good, solid people"? This means you should be able to buy in Greenwich, Connecticut? Aspen, Colorado? Manhatten? Beverly Hills? Palm Beach or Coral Gables, Florida? McLean, Virginia?
Etc.
Not everybody gets to live wherever they want just for being "good and hardworking".
Yeah. That WAS the "American Dream" that was fabricated and sold by a variety of marketeers, especially mortgage bankers. And it did have a nice ring to it. But it also has a very nasty side: it is unrealistically unsustainable as a benchmark dream for a world of soon to be 9 billion people. Everything about the materialistic American Dream is unsustainable bull tweet and apple butter. From the square footages, to the inefficiencies of designs, the toxic and wasteful materials, the Ponzi financing, the orientation to outrageously ignorant and wasteful utilities, and more.
But Americans - and now the rest of the world - have been psychologically conditioned to crave this from birth as if it is mother's milk.
You think I am making fun of you? I am not. I am actually DEEPLY sympathetic. I'm sorry this crime has been committed on us all. But you, like millions of others, are going to have to learn this hard way and move on to find what works for you. Or, you can cling to your false dream and remain bitter.
I wish I could rep you more for this one. The same Grand Delusion that led to our market crash and subsequent Great Recession is still alive and well in the minds of many Americans unfortunately. This false notion and sense of entitlement in which home ownership is not only of utmost importance but is a birth right for all hard working American citizens is driving many ppls frustrations. So with that as a premise ingrained into the psyche from an early age anything less is just plain wrong, unfair and even possibly corrupt/dishonest. Like a violation of one's innate rights as American.
Even after millions of foreclosures and the huge bubble bursting with all the false hopes that went along with it the buying frenzy continues. I think some best learn via experiences whether good or bad. So I say go and buy that dream house in Mayberry and see what true significance and satisfaction it really brings. The whole notion of buying a house and living in it for 30 years is really a fallacy for most Americans. We are a much more transient society than we ever were, especially when compared to a time that this aspect of the American Dream was concocted in the 1930s. With the median duration of home ownership at 5.7 years according to the US Census Bureau its typically a bad investment or losing proposition. Some get lucky while many lose out or just break even when they go to sell again after paying for needed repairs and real estate transaction fees. Much depends on market timing in this relatively short time span. Many just walk away or short sell when upside down losing all monies invested.
In the United States, home ownership is sometimes used as a proxy for achieving the promised prosperity; ownership has been a status symbol separating the middle classes from the poor. -- American Dream - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Derek
Last edited by MtnSurfer; 02-16-2015 at 12:26 AM..
I wish I could rep you more for this one. The same Grand Delusion that led to our market crash and subsequent Great Recession is still alive and well in the minds of many Americans unfortunately. This false notion and sense of entitlement in which home ownership is not only of utmost importance but is a birth right for all hard working American citizens is driving many ppls frustrations. So with that as a premise ingrained into the psyche from an early age anything less is just plain wrong, unfair and even possibly corrupt/dishonest. Like a violation of one's innate rights as American.
Even after millions of foreclosures and the huge bubble bursting with all the false hopes that went along with it the buying frenzy continues. I think some best learn via experiences whether good or bad. So I say go and buy that dream house in Mayberry and see what true significance and satisfaction it really brings. The whole notion of buying a house and living in it for 30 years is really a fallacy for most Americans. We are a much more transient society than we ever were, especially when compared to a time that this aspect of the American Dream was concocted in the 1930s. With the median duration of home ownership at 5.7 years according to the US Census Bureau its typically a bad investment or losing proposition. Some get lucky while many lose out or just break even when they go to sell again after paying for needed repairs and real estate transaction fees. Much depends on market timing in this relatively short time span. Many just walk away or short sell when upside down losing all monies invested.
In the United States, home ownership is sometimes used as a proxy for achieving the promised prosperity; ownership has been a status symbol separating the middle classes from the poor. -- American Dream - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Derek
Absolutely excellent post, Derek.
And, likewise: out of ammo for reps to you momentarily. But always expecting the supply convoy to be along with more any minute
While I do understand your frustration and the challenge you face in wanting to buy a home here - who, exactly, says you are entitled to find affordable housing wherever you want in America just because you are "hardworking, good, solid people"? This means you should be able to buy in Greenwich, Connecticut? Aspen, Colorado? Manhatten? Beverly Hills? Palm Beach or Coral Gables, Florida? McLean, Virginia?
Etc.
Not everybody gets to live wherever they want just for being "good and hardworking".
Yeah. That WAS the "American Dream" that was fabricated and sold by a variety of marketeers, especially mortgage bankers. And it did have a nice ring to it. But it also has a very nasty side: it is unrealistically unsustainable as a benchmark dream for a world of soon to be 9 billion people. Everything about the materialistic American Dream is unsustainable bull tweet and apple butter. From the square footages, to the inefficiencies of designs, the toxic and wasteful materials, the Ponzi financing, the orientation to outrageously ignorant and wasteful utilities, and more.
But Americans - and now the rest of the world - have been psychologically conditioned to crave this from birth as if it is mother's milk.
You think I am making fun of you? I am not. I am actually DEEPLY sympathetic. I'm sorry this crime has been committed on us all. But you, like millions of others, are going to have to learn this hard way and move on to find what works for you. Or, you can cling to your false dream and remain bitter.
LOL, we're all apparently out of reps. This is what I was thinking exactly, and couldn't have written it with such prose.
For the poster who said everyone in CA over a certain age inherits paid-off homes - wah? My mother has a paid-off home and it will finance her assisted living. I never expected to get it and I won't. I think my siblings held out hope for her large bank account, IRA and paid-off home in Dublin - but the joke's on them.
Most people just starting out can't afford to buy where they grew up. Where do people think all the suburbs in America came from? People who could afford to live in SF or Manhattan, etc.? Nope. Those were built for people who wanted to buy a home and were willing to commute to have it.
What a way to go through life, eh? Angry at the world. People who feel entitled to something they can't have, can't find happiness with the options they have. I find that sad.
What a way to go through life, eh? Angry at the world. People who feel entitled to something they can't have, can't find happiness with the options they have. I find that sad.
Yes. Sad. But I do understand the temptation to be frustrated and angry. Market conditioning is as powerful as religious conditioning. If you want to find truth and essence, you have to get past the dogma and into the inner depths of examining the basis for your desires.
I don't think its an entitlement. Its the fact that people are working hard and increasing the profits and productivity of the people at the top who can afford homes. Big homes. Big giant mansions overlooking the sea. The American working family lost the battle over the American dream.
So in other words you guys are just saying, it is the way it is so just put up, shut up or get the hell outta CA?
It seems like you guys just used a fancier way of saying, "git the hell outta dodge if ya don't like it"
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