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This is exactly why I left Monterey ten years ago this spring (after 11 years in MoCo). I had a small, but brand new apartment in Cannery Row a block from the recreation trail. I knew I would never be able to buy in either Monterey or Salinas on a single income (well, anything I would want to buy). Oroville may not be a gem, but I was easily able to buy a modest 3/2 subdivision home in 2010 (you know, the kind that go for $600,000 in the dumpier parts of Marina ). The Central Coast is the most awesome place I've ever lived, but at some point when planning for your future you have to make a little sacrifice to secure what's really important. Handing someone rent money may be fine in your 20s or early 30s, but by your 40s you start wondering about being financially more secure in your old age.
Then you haven’t been to Washington, where I am now & Derek is considering moving to.
Washington is physically beautiful, but, like the apples it grows, it is pretty on the outside, but frequently rotten on the inside.
I miss California terribly, & I won’t be returning, but for those who leave...don’t be blinded. Choose very, very wisely. And make sure you have a Plan B.
Good advice. Very, very good advice.
We have a Plan B: We're not selling our Silicon Valley house right away. I think we'll be summering here for a few years to escape the Phoenix heat.
Yeah, we're "bitter losers". Bitter losers who made a ton of money here and are taking it out of California with us.
I'm truly sorry your move to Washington hasn't been everything you hoped for.
This is exactly why I left Monterey ten years ago this spring (after 11 years in MoCo). I had a small, but brand new apartment in Cannery Row a block from the recreation trail. I knew I would never be able to buy in either Monterey or Salinas on a single income (well, anything I would want to buy). Oroville may not be a gem, but I was easily able to buy a modest 3/2 subdivision home in 2010 (you know, the kind that go for $600,000 in the dumpier parts of Marina ). The Central Coast is the most awesome place I've ever lived, but at some point when planning for your future you have to make a little sacrifice to secure what's really important. Handing someone rent money may be fine in your 20s or early 30s, but by your 40s you start wondering about being financially more secure in your old age.
Wow, 11 years in Monterey! That will be about the same we are looking. Though I think some would like us to drag out the decision as long as possible. So we'll see. Our kids got to grow up and fully enjoy the wonders of a fantastic place as did we with them. So we'll never regret this season of life, that's for sure. The give and take decision to lease vs. buy somewhere else more affordable was well worth it. Now like you we are considering things for the longer term as our kids grow up and out.
I have thought about the Oregon coast also, BTW. I love those little towns which are really scenic. Our favorites are toward the southern boarder from Bandon down to Brookings (banana belt of the PNW) . That may come at a later stage however as well still want to be nearer some other larger city amenities. The nice thing with Vancouver/Portland is that you can be to the coast in ~ 1.5 hour drive. And you've got the Gorge and other things very close as well.
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
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I stayed in a little oregon town called Florence. The bridge there is awesome to photograph. But you have to be a homebody because after 7 there's nothing to do. I wound up wandering through the aisles of the Walmart at 9 pm just to have something to do!
Portland sounds good though!
You left out the part that you moved to CA with a few kids and wife who didn't work(even though your kids were all in school) and two car notes. NC isn't that cheap, cheaper than CA yes, but I remember well your comments and a lot of your financial difficulties you brought on yourself, but of course much easier to blame CA
Well sorry that I actually have a family you know. I am not some bottom dwelling troll like you. Who cares if my wife works or not because I am making well over $100k there and here in NC. Actually my wife doesn't work because we have a 1 year old now and our 4 year old was in the daily 3 hour long prek program that Pasadena USD has, that I paid full price for as well. Also I paid off one car and all my other bills in June, so that left me with only 1 car payment thank you that will be paid off next month.
NC is cheaper than CA for sure and you actually see what the state does with the tax money they receive. So even though my pay stayed the same my QOL went up and COL went down. So keep dreaming that CA is best but it's not.
I stayed in a little oregon town called Florence. The bridge there is awesome to photograph. But you have to be a homebody because after 7 there's nothing to do. I wound up wandering through the aisles of the Walmart at 9 pm just to have something to do!
Portland sounds good though!
The interesting part of the PNW coast when compared to CA is that there are 'no' large cities. CA is just the opposite. The upside is that the coast is more untouched with plenty of trees and wide open spaces.
One more consideration is the greater amount of rain compared inland areas. I saw this in another thread. "In general, it is less rainy as you go south, but not by much. Brooking has the Chetco effect and is the warmest spot on the coast, but it is also one of the more isolated coastal cities. Astoria averages around 80" of rain a year, Lincoln City averages about 90", Coos Bay averages about 66" and Brooking averages about 75". By any terms, that is a lot of rain, falling mostly in the fall, winter and spring." -- //www.city-data.com/forum/50826788-post8.html
Derek
Last edited by MtnSurfer; 02-01-2018 at 09:23 PM..
Prop 13 is not going away for residential properties, especially for retired folks who have owned for a long time.
It is possible that the current folks running the show in Washington could screw up Medicare, even then I'm not sure where that $25K/year for medical expenses comes from.
What makes you think Prop 13 is safe? Look at the socialist/communist trajectory of California. Its inevitable.
CA's future LIKELY includes all of the following:
-repeal of Prop 13 (we're almost at the demographic tipping point right now that will vote for this)
-Universal health coverage including for illegals.
-Universal basic income (already pilot programs...just a matter of time before this is everywhere)
-mileage tax (floated already....also inevitable due to changes in vehicle mix)
-ban on gas vehicles (floated already....also inevitable)
-wealth tax (already implemented thru income tax...and in the works for estates and home sales)
What makes these likely? Well, look at the craziness of the existing taxes. A "soak the rich" tax. A "carbon" tax. A "cow fart" tax (methane emissions tax). There's Lexus Lanes on every freeway already.
If you take the existing taxes and regulations, the continual assaults on existing taxpayer protections, and the floating and proposal of all the new taxes ....the "big picture" is pretty clear. CA is gearing up to fund hundreds of billions in new welfare and entitlement spending, and that is why there is a constant drum beat of proposals against taxpayer protections and for new taxes.
And yah, insurance for a family of four is about 25K/year in CA, right now.
Quote:
Originally Posted by TacoSoup
I agree with you that a lot of people don’t tie their happiness to financial matters, and that healthy.
I couldn’t disagree more that you need a $5M net worth not to struggle, that’s insane!
I learned a long time ago that some people aren’t happy no matter what they have, while some are happy with what they have.
Well define "not struggle". If you didn't have a job...how much money would a family need to fund their comfortable lifestyle?
Have you ever actually sat down with a financial planner and figured out how much money you would need to retire? The answer will surprise you.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Tulemutt
Sorry but that's just a ridiculous supposition and figure. Don't need much, or any, net worth at all. So many ways to skin a cat. I'm just going to keep right on laughing ...
Don't need much to not struggle? How would that work? Don't need any net worth at all? That's a strange argument. How can people with no net worth not struggle constantly? The only way I know of to live "for free" is to be a guest of the state. And that is a whole different struggle.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Independentthinking
Well, going quite a bit off on a tangent now. But I find it necessary to chime in on this one. That $25k would come from some that are not covered by a corporate plan (that 10% of the population). My wife and I are currently covered by her ex-company's plan on a subsidized basis until April (she received a package when she left). On her company plan, we averaged $5k a year for Med/Dental/Vision. A very good plan as your typical corporate plan for health coverage from the Kaiser Foundation estimate for end of 2016 was $5277 (I'm guessing that's only Medical). To find an equivalent plan to ours on Covered CA, I recall us having to pay between $22k-$24k (needless to say, we made too much to be subsidized). I went into this into detail on another thread and was greeted with pages and pages of argument (which I'm not going to waste my time with). I looked up comparables, and that's what I got for us (if anyone finds the need to call me a liar, feel free...it really doesn't matter to me as I know what I saw and I'm not going to waste my time with anyone that tells me it isn't so just because they're so caught up on the political BS).
Look at the socialist/communist trajectory of California. Its inevitable.
CA's future LIKELY includes all of the following:
-repeal of Prop 13 (we're almost at the demographic tipping point right now that will vote for this)
-Universal health coverage including for illegals.
-Universal basic income (already pilot programs...just a matter of time before this is everywhere)
-mileage tax (floated already....also inevitable due to changes in vehicle mix)
-ban on gas vehicles (floated already....also inevitable)
-wealth tax (already implemented thru income tax...and in the works for estates and home sales)
If you take the existing taxes and regulations, the continual assaults on existing taxpayer protections, and the floating and proposal of all the new taxes ....the "big picture" is pretty clear. CA is gearing up to fund hundreds of billions in new welfare and entitlement spending, and that is why there is a constant drum beat of proposals against taxpayer protections and for new taxes.
You need to look up what "socialism" and "communism" are ... quite amusing you are so afraid of them ... especially when you don't know what they are.
But, anyway ... um ...
- since Universal Basic Income will derive its revenue from replacing welfare ... and those funds are collected federally ... the state of California will only have UBI if it is a federal program
- since UBI will pay everyone exactly the same amount each month, regardless of wealth or income, why would you care anyway? You'll get an equal check.
- mileage taxes are being considered in a number of states right now ... and eventually they will almost certainly be in all states ... so nothing particularly “communist” there
- gas vehicles are also surely going to disappear everywhere ... so nothing particularly “communist” there either
- and if California “is already gearing up for UBI” then how would it also “gear up for billions in new welfare and entitlement spending” since those programs wil be eliminated under UBI? You need to make up your mind which is coming. They are mutually exclusive. Gotta think these claims through before you make yourself seem ignorant through contradiction.
Quote:
Originally Posted by phantompilot
Well define "not struggle". If you didn't have a job...how much money would a family need to fund their comfortable lifestyle?
.
“Didn't have a job?” Whoa! Are you really suggesting that people should be capable of maintaining “a comfortable lifestyle” without working? Who would work at all if they could do that?
Quote:
Originally Posted by phantompilot
Have you ever actually sat down with a financial planner and figured out how much money you would need to retire? The answer will surprise you.
.
Well, I live very happily retired on about 2/3rd's of my military pension and Social Security ... which two incomes total less than $60K annually ... so, about $40K is all I need. And if I had to I could be happy with half that the way I live. But few people are willing to be so simplistic. So ....
Quote:
Originally Posted by phantompilot
Don't need much to not struggle? How would that work? Don't need any net worth at all? That's a strange argument. How can people with no net worth not struggle constantly? The only way I know of to live "for free" is to be a guest of the state. And that is a whole different struggle.
.
Who said anything about living “for free”? No. But why do you need “net worth”? All a person needs is some modest steady income for rent, food, shoes ... etc. For example, I pay $375 monthly for two boat slips where I split my time living. If I had to, I could just live for half at one. I use so little water and electricity it hardly registers on the meters. I splurge about $600 a month on food, which is near twice what I could get by with if I had to ... and boy do I eat nothing but healthy! Don't have any payments for fancy cars ... yadda yadda yadda.
Y'all “struggle” because y'all live high on the hog ... that's a choice ... not a requirement.
Well, going quite a bit off on a tangent now. But I find it necessary to chime in on this one. That $25k would come from some that are not covered by a corporate plan (that 10% of the population). My wife and I are currently covered by her ex-company's plan on a subsidized basis until April (she received a package when she left). On her company plan, we averaged $5k a year for Med/Dental/Vision. A very good plan as your typical corporate plan for health coverage from the Kaiser Foundation estimate for end of 2016 was $5277 (I'm guessing that's only Medical). To find an equivalent plan to ours on Covered CA, I recall us having to pay between $22k-$24k (needless to say, we made too much to be subsidized). I went into this into detail on another thread and was greeted with pages and pages of argument (which I'm not going to waste my time with). I looked up comparables, and that's what I got for us (if anyone finds the need to call me a liar, feel free...it really doesn't matter to me as I know what I saw and I'm not going to waste my time with anyone that tells me it isn't so just because they're so caught up on the political BS).
We have family coverage with Kaiser through my employer. Total costs between our contribution and employer contribution is around $1,600 a month or just under $20K a year. So $25K is reasonably accurate if you are insuring a family in this market. But if you are retired and over 65 you could get Medicare. I don't know what out of pocket costs are but I would guess under $1,600 a month.
We have family coverage with Kaiser through my employer. Total costs between our contribution and employer contribution is around $1,600 a month or just under $20K a year. So $25K is reasonably accurate if you are insuring a family in this market. But if you are retired and over 65 you could get Medicare. I don't know what out of pocket costs are but I would guess under $1,600 a month.
Uh huh. I wasn't questioning it, you were (post #88). I was just answering your question.
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). The Central Coast is the most awesome place I've ever lived, but at some point when planning for your future you have to make a little sacrifice to secure what's really important. Handing someone rent money may be fine in your 20s or early 30s, but by your 40s you start wondering about being financially more secure in your old age.
Bitter losers who made a ton of money here and are taking it out of California with us.
