Cannot afford to live in Southern California anymore - where to move? (Oceanside: salary, move to)

[pittsflyer]

Originally Posted by expatCA

That is a problem in any popular area of the world. Enough people willing and able to pay the price and ...... they become the residents and those with less either rent or move. CA as usual is setting the example in suburban price growth rather than just big city areas. Not all the examples CA sets for the rest of the Country are good.

Yep, you have to bring in some undesirables to create some violence or threat of violence to make the area temporarily less desirable. Look at the beautiful parts of Mexico that are super cheap.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by pittsflyer

Yep, you have to bring in some undesirables to create some violence or threat of violence to make the area temporarily less desirable. Look at the beautiful parts of Mexico that are super cheap.

Or certain parts of CA that are cheaper than the better areas due to ......................... violence and gangs.

[lvmensch]

Originally Posted by pittsflyer

Yep, you have to bring in some undesirables to create some violence or threat of violence to make the area temporarily less desirable. Look at the beautiful parts of Mexico that are super cheap.

The beautiful parts of Mexico that are livable are not cheap. Come up almost to CA prices. Try good Puerto Vallarta or the area to the north or Chapula or Ajijic. You are in for an education.

[pittsflyer]

Originally Posted by expatCA

Or certain parts of CA that are cheaper than the better areas due to ......................... violence and gangs.

Yea but are those areas directly on the beach (nice warm sandy beaches)?

[pittsflyer]

Originally Posted by lvmensch

The beautiful parts of Mexico that are livable are not cheap. Come up almost to CA prices. Try good Puerto Vallarta or the area to the north or Chapula or Ajijic. You are in for an education.

What about Guatemala?

[AnthonyJ34]

Originally Posted by FirebirdCamaro1220

Exactly, no one argued that Phoenix has Santa Monica weather for 8 months, but I would definitely say we have Castaic or Ontario weather for 8 months

More like Palm Desert or Indio weather for 8 months. Ontario and Castaic are more moderate I believe — definitely hotter than downtown LA most of the time, but not as severe as Palm Desert or Phoenix.

[AnthonyJ34]

Originally Posted by Californiaguy2007

California is a huge state and their really is a lot of areas that's worth it,and I also don't think it's overrated,but everyone does have their own preferences.

Just earlier today I went on my bike/walk exercise despite the heat we've been having and I was looking at all the green rows of agriculture fields and the mountains in the distance and I said to myself i'm so proud to live in such a beautiful state

California is a beautiful state — probably the most beautiful state, in my opinion, with Hawaii and Alaska following close behind. California has so much geographic diversity as well as climactic diversity that it offers something for everyone — but not always at an affordable price, of course. I was born and raised in Cerritos, California, site of the infamous 1986 Aeromexico plane crash. It’s a nice city, but it’s expensive as hell to live here. Most homes are 600-750k just for a normal 3/2 bath home. The big two-story homes are pushing 850-900k. The location is nice being so close to the beach (about 8 miles from Seal Beach), and the city has great amenities. But the real estate here is ridiculous, as it is in most of Southern California. My dad and stepmom moved to Tulsa and bought twice the house for half the price (and the house is much newer as well).

As beautiful as California is, relocating sounds appealing.

[phantompilot]

Originally Posted by coast69

I only have around 5K in savings, am in my early 20's - lost my job - lease ran out around the same time. As of right now I'm living with a friend. My GF is working but also can't afford to rent here.

Where should we go? I have been thinking of just staying and renting a bedroom but I have done that before and privacy is always an issue.

I have been looking into Arizona/Pacific Northwest.

I really love SoCal (living in south orange county) but even some people I know who are making 60,000+ a year as a couple are struggling.

I am taxed like crazy on my income, taxed on everything and paid low wages. I hate to leave since family is here plus we grew up in the area but it just doesn't make sense anymore especially since I am practically homeless. Being denied as a couple on a 400 sq ft, 1350$ studio in San Juan Capistrano is a shock as well - getting denied by landlords and hearing "you must make 3.5 times monthly rent" is getting old as well.. I never thought growing up that both of us would be kicked out of what is home to us.

Any advice is welcome.

First of all, sorry for your situation. You've gotten hosed, not just by this temporary setback but also by the crappy decisions of your fellow citizens, many of whom are horrid people, and the crappy public "servants" they have supported or tolerated....that have allowed illegals to flood the California labor market and depress wages for blue collar jobs across the board, but especially for the construction trades. When people say immigration doesn't hurt Americans - they should remember your story, and the identical stories of millions of other Americans who have gotten rear-ended the same way.

But you can get thru this. You CAN get another job, a better job, and hopefully one where you don't have to compete against hordes of invaders willing to work for cash/no benefits.

First, the construction was only paying $90/day? That sounds low to me. Is there any way you could find a higher paying gig? I know there are higher paying jobs in construction where you can earn $20/hour even under the table - not sure in your area specifically but I know it is $15-20 here in the SF Bay Area, depending on the trade and the job of course. Even the handymen who advertise on Craigslist or Nextdoor are charging far more than that.

Barring that, even In-n-Out pays over $12/hr starting. I think its 12.50 actually, and would provide benefits. Or have you considered doing Uber? In a four hour shift, you could earn $60-100 depending on the area you are driving in. It might not be a great full time job but could be a great way to earn enough extra money to cushion you if you have to take work that isn't much better than the job you just had. You will need a qualifying car of course....so that would reduce those earnings by up to $10-20/day (for the car payments and insurance)

In the short term, moving to a low cost area might seem like a solution, but you have to remember that those areas tend not to have a lot of economic opportunity either - that's the reason they are cheap - because the people that live there don't make much money themselves.

That being said, minimum wage goes a lot further in nearly the rest of the entire country than it does in a place like SoCal, which is a high cost of living area. But you can see how people can easily get "stuck" in a situation they're unhappy with - they don't make enough to move or improve their situation and there are not many opportunities where they live. You want to avoid situations you could get "stuck" in...you might feel stuck now...but you're not.

If you're set on relocating, which again, might seem like some immediate relief, is ultimately just exchanging one set of problems for another set, you could certainly do worse than AZ or TX. Texas has a more robust economy than AZ, and the construction trades there are healthy in the major metros, particularly Austin.

In the meantime, and I'm sure I don't have to tell you this - but if you haven't already, batten the financial hatches until you have steady income again. That means cutting out meals out, smokes/alcohol, luxuries of any kind, until you have income and have replaced your savings that you have been drawing on. With only 5K in the bank, you have to get into "crisis mode" and cut out all unnecessary spending. Yes it sucks...but remember its only temporary.

Good luck to you sir.

[phantompilot]

Originally Posted by pittsflyer

What you are saying is we need a purge, possibly WW3 could fix that.

The meta message is that this is what overpopulation does.

The scarcity of [insert whatever you need here] is due to excess demand for it.

You can't increase the US population by 50% in 50 years (most of it due to immigration) and not expect bad things to happen.

Well...this thread is one of those bad things.

It isn't a mystery. It was predicted, people warned against it, nobody listened, and here we all are! Congrats!

[FirebirdCamaro1220]

Originally Posted by AnthonyJ34

More like Palm Desert or Indio weather for 8 months. Ontario and Castaic are more moderate I believe — definitely hotter than downtown LA most of the time, but not as severe as Palm Desert or Phoenix.

Castaic and Ontario see highs in the 90s and 100s during the summer, that is similar to May and October here