Why is the Bay area more expensive than So Cal when So Cal is nicer?

[sav858]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

If you are moving to California because you want to play in the ocean most people will be disappointed because the ocean temperature even in August is COLD. You need a wetsuit to stay in the water for extended time unless you have a very thick skin. If someone is imagining swimming every weekend, then Florida would be the better choice because the ocean is actually swimmable.

I love SoCal, so don't think I'm "hating" on it. I think La Jolla is probably the nicest part in the entire country. However, the ocean is way too cold for swimming bare skin for most people, so people should know that going in.

I suggest you spend some time down there if you think the ocean is too cold for "most people" in summer. Sure 70-72 is cold for Florida or Hawaii but it's not for a lot of people. Once the water temp gets to 67/68 or higher you see A LOT of people in the water in Southern Ca. Not sure why some of you are acting like the ocean is too cold in summer there for "most people" just because you personally find upper 60's to low 70's too cold, the ocean has tons of people swimming and surfing w/o wetsuits in summer in Southern CA.

[8to32characters]

Originally Posted by bmw335xi

If you are moving to California because you want to play in the ocean most people will be disappointed because the ocean temperature even in August is COLD. You need a wetsuit to stay in the water for extended time unless you have a very thick skin. If someone is imagining swimming every weekend, then Florida would be the better choice because the ocean is actually swimmable.

I love SoCal, so don't think I'm "hating" on it. I think La Jolla is probably the nicest part in the entire country. However, the ocean is way too cold for swimming bare skin for most people, so people should know that going in.

As if people move to California to "play in the ocean."

This isn't Florida, where people move with no job lined up, no cash, no personal or professional connections, no formal education, and no marketable skill or trade to live a "laid-back" beach-bum lifestyle of "sun and fun."

Perhaps decades ago, when the COL in coastal California was much lower, that may have been the case, but definitely not anymore. In 2015, all of coastal California is prohibitively expensive, which greatly deters the average Joe from [insert just about any Midwestern, Southern, or Southwestern State here] from moving here to be a "beach bum."

In this decade, more than half of the people who move to California from another US state have at least a bachelor's a degree, one of the highest percentages of any state in the nation. So it's safe to say that the majority of people who move to California from other states -- and even other countries -- do so for educational and/or professional pursuits *IN ADDITION TO* the mild weather, spectacular scenery, cultural diversity, endless travel and recreational opportunities, etc.

But to assume that people move to California just because of the beach is misguided and disillusioned at best.

OTOH, that wasn't the case in your beloved Florida, where I lived for 12 years previously. People there claimed they moved down for the warm weather (which they complained about ad nauseum from March-November for being too hot, too humid, too stormy, etc.), proximity to the beach (that they rarely ever visited), and low taxes (even though they demanded social services and complained about the low wages, lack of unions, limited educational and infrastructure-related investments, etc.).

But after all, they moved down to lead a "beach-oriented" lifestyle.