Forbes Ranked California One of the Worst States to Make a Living in - 2015 (Los Angeles: middle-class, loan)

[LoriBee62]

Originally Posted by bigdumbgod

You do know Texas is turning into California Part 2?

Hmm, maybe there's hope for Texas after all.

[botticelli]

Originally Posted by LoriBee62

Another day, another anti-California post by someone who doesn't even live here. Better question: Why are so many people so fascinated by this state?

to convince themselves (not others) that their choice of not living in CA is wise.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by LoriBee62

Another day, another anti-California post by someone who doesn't even live here. Better question: Why are so many people so fascinated by this state?

Interesting isn't it? Especially when the OP lives in CT, one of the highest COL states in the nation.

I had to laugh when I was back east(NY, NJ) and people talked about how expensive CA must be, it costs me $28 to go over two bridges from NY to NJ for one day. The relatives I was staying with pay $16K a year in property taxes for a nice but nothing spectacular home.

Originally Posted by HumpDay

I'm not Anti-California. Im just curious to know why it's so slow so I posted it here to get responses from in state residents. I want to get a better understanding because I've never lived or visited California.

Why are so many people so fascinated with California?
A majority of USA's population live on the east coast and since so many people have never been to California, it turns so many heads. It's a completely different world from someone who lives on the other side of the country. Plus a lot people are adventurous so the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, Hollywood, Malibu, and Napa Valley are great attractions that many want to see but don't get to see.

Than maybe you should visit and find out for yourself.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Originally Posted by happycrow

Soon2bnsurprise: the question is whether it's the same people, or, as in my family's experience, it became obvious that the kids would never be able to afford to live in the city where they grew up unless they went into a high-earning field. There's always some rich person who can afford to buy in the playground cities. But they used to be just... you know... cities. With kids. Culturally a lot of the coast has grown very comfortable with "earn six figures or you're a loser and should just gtfo." God only knows my state right now has its own problems, but fortunately that's not one of them (or I'd have to move again - though I hear from a lot of folks that people are starting to get priced out of the cities here, too.)

Your points are spot on, still, when I was a kid lots of people were saying the same things, that you need to move somewhere else to enjoy the same kind of life as our parents did. The solution, is as you say, you figure out that you need 6 figures to live in a place that sells 50 year old homes for half a million dollars. We have told our kids all along that certain fields may be better for them than others. Three of our six kids are looking into healthcare related fields, with two wanting to become RN's. Around here that is a field that you can support yourself. If you work hard you can make into the 6 figures.

What I see is that things have changed on the fields that make money. Within those fields is where you want to be. People have to realize that if you want a certain lifestyle you need to be able to support that lifestyle. Economies change, industries change, the kind of industry that pays changes. We need to change if we want to survive and live on the coast.

What I don't see is people telling others to F Off. People I know live their own life. I don't see people in California caring what others do, they just want to live their life. I don't think it is any secret that if you want this lifestyle you will need to work for it.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Ask yourself in your comfy home that has AC.

Do you have to pay for the power to run AC? I live on the coast so I just open a wondow.

Do you have to pay for heat in the winter time? We hardly ever use our heat and when we do it is only in the early morning hours.

Property Taxes are set at 1% plus about a quarter a percent of the baseline value of my home. Baseline was created when I paid for the home. If values go down then my property taxes go down with it. If values go up then the tax can go back up to baseline. ON top of that the homes value can be increased by 2% a year. Property taxes are then assessed at the new value. For example if you had a home worth $100,000 and that is your baseline, and we could only wish prices were that low, you would be taxed at 1% so $1,000 for your property taxes. In our area voters have approved school funding and sewer replacement funding I think. We also pay a quarter percent for that. lets say that the value of that $100,000 home increased to $150,000 or a base tax of $1,500. The owner would have a new value of $102,000. and get taxed off the new value, or in this case $1020.00 a year. I include that because I have heard it is much different in other states.

I can go to the beach every day of the year and we do go all the time. If I want to surf or sail I can do that year round.

I can drive up to the mountains to play in the snow during the winter time. I can do that in the morning, drive home and be back at the beach at the end of the day.

Since I live in Ventura County you may have heard that it is the most desirable county in the nation to live in. The FBI considers it one of the safest counties to live in. The city I live in a year or two ago was rated the 14th safest city of its size in the nation.

I don't agree with the politics of the state. Many that live here don't agree with the politics of the state. Many counties in California are purple and not Red or Blue. People like to say that we are this liberal state and the only reason that it is that way is because maybe 52% of the state vote that way. You have a large segment of Conservatives living here in California believe it or not.

[Ultrarunner]

^^^ Well said in both posts.

[happycrow]

Moderator cut: see note thinks it's funny when people are priced out of their homes because "oh well, I got mine," and think it's great that this is happening in TX, too.... but having lived through it, I don't. And I don't like it happening to locals in my neck of the woods just b/c Toyota decided they didn't want to be in Cali any more, either.

Surprise: well said. CA politics isn't my business, since I'm not there any more. But the "or gtfo" is very real. We have posters right on this board who say that immigrants are living six families to a house because that's how they like to live. If I said that living anywhere near the American South I'd be subject to a two-minutes' hate on twitter that very afternoon.

In my case, humanities guy. Humanities guys don't get to live in 50-year old houses in coastal Cali. Unless they inherit them. So yeah, had to move. I'm in a 50-year-old house here, too - but when my wife wanted to start a side business, it took her forty-five minutes total, top to bottom, and she was good to go. We may not stay here for a long time as this place turns into a hive - but the differences are real.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

I have friends that have sold their homes and left California for other places because of the business we are involved in. One couple is making over $300,000 a year. They were living in the Bakersfield area. They put their home on the market and bought a nicer newer home in Las Vegas. Both places are hot so the change in location was not going to change how they live. They did end up with a beautiful home that is larger than the home they had in Bakersfield. It also has a pool in the back yard. The magic number in California is $250,000. You hit that number and may want to consider other options if you can. No income tax in Nevada. Lots of income tax in California. Some people can up and leave and will, not because they can not afford California, but because California is costing them too much to stay here. You want to get over $100,000 but you want to stay under $250,000. Other people I know max out their retirement accounts and a few people I have found had the pay structure changed so that they may make more but for now it is protected. When you are in Healthcare management it is possible to have chunks of your money placed in a retirement account. The thing is you may want to make sure that you are going to retire from that place, leave and you could leave lots of money on the table.

We have had upper lever employees end up with car allowances to help increase the pay. In another company I knew of structured pay where everything from mortgage, cars, student loan debt has been paid by the employer. Some employers are structuring things so that the benefits draw high level employees in while not jumping over the magic number. I am not smart enough to know how all this works. I can only assume that it is legal. Would love to get in on it.

[incognitoe]

Keep it coming. We don't care. Less idiots from the East Coast and Southern States coming in and destroying our culture with their Racism, Hate and backward way of thinking.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by incognitoe

Keep it coming. We don't care. Less idiots from the East Coast and Southern States coming in and destroying our culture with their Racism, Hate and backward way of thinking.

Too late, that is where most people in CA came from over the years.