Did anyone move out of Cali for a lower cost of living state and then moved back to Cali? (Nice: vehicle registration, car insurance)

[waltchan]

Originally Posted by saibot

We live in Orange County, not the Bay Area. And market prices looked like this.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ATNHPIUS06059A

There was no recent precedent for the steep rise in the early 2000s. Sorry if I wasn't paying attention before the 1980s; I was in elementary school.

I remember in 1994-1995 (like the chart says) when all the brand-new homes in Aliso Viejo started at $179,999 for 1,800 sq. ft. single family detached homes. Today, you don't want to say the price.

Who miss these deals? I still have my vintage 1995 New Homes magazine today that I picked up from 5th grade.

[settled00]

Originally Posted by ysr_racer

I lost 535 million by not picking the correct Power Ball numbers.

you obviously made the wrong decisions then.

Don't worry, you're in good company, lol

[settled00]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

I’m curious as to what COL is high other than housing? (Which costs, if “neighbor” had stayed in house he was buying, would have remained stable, not rising.)

Gas? Yes. Maybe $80 a month higher than a cheap gas state.

Food? Um, no.

...

So what else drives up the COL so much that the costs of moving are worth it?

Don’t get me wrong, I LIKE people moving away. As many as possible as soon as possible.

Gas, yes, close to 2X the rest of the country. Food, yes, increases in prices by 20% in over less than a year. Many things add up. I guess you're not a math person huh? Or maybe someone else it taking care of you that you don't have to worry about it.

It seems every time I get a raise, it goes to all the other items that eat that raise up year after year.

Let me guess, you like it when people leave so that we'll make room for all the poor, uneducated, disabled, unlawful, uncivil, pregnant, helpless people with zero to contribute who are currently pouring over the borders into California and will immediately require $$$ tax dollars from us.

Well, the rest of us don't. But that's another thread.

[JJonesIII]

Originally Posted by saibot

We live in Orange County, not the Bay Area. And market prices looked like this.

https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/ATNHPIUS06059A

There was no recent precedent for the steep rise in the early 2000s. Sorry if I wasn't paying attention before the 1980s; I was in elementary school.

Uh, you must have missed this (even though you quoted it)...

"The million dollars the OP is talking about is over a longer period of time than 7 years, so yeah, most could have anticipated that"

I'm not cherry picking some 7 year period. Get back to me when you can find a period of time where the actual home price didn't go up substantially in any metropolitan area of California over the 21 year period the OP is talking about. You do understand Prop 13 is based on acquisition cost?



Oh and while you were in elementary school, the median price home in LA country in 1970 was $24,300. In 1990 it was close to $200k (as per the above chart). See any similarity?

You clearly weren't paying attention, but feel free to cherry pick some more.

[alanadoodle]

Originally Posted by expatCA

Plus other costs of living are better in other States and while some are individually small, the total can be damaging to many in CA.


I currently live in FL.


No State Income Tax


Lower car registration fees by a LOT


Lower gas prices by a LOT


My utility bill, which includes trash 3 times a week is lower than my CA one was, even with A/C on all day now as mu new home is built with block and solid with Cement for good insulation..



Lower housing costs and lower property taxes due to that, even with the higher % charged,


Lower rent costs for non homeowners.


Lower parking costs at the beach (Note $25.00 a year to park on the beach in Volusia County and no charge in the city parking lots if a resident).


Lower sales tax, though CA has a few things not taxed that FL does tax, but overall better at least for me.


My insurance is about the same as it was for my home in CA as I do not need hurricane or flooding insurance though just 8 miles fro the ocean and a lot closer to the inlets.


Less congestion when driving so less gas burned


I am sure there are other things as well, but in just this areas we are speaking of thousands of dollars in after tax income saved. If someone has the money CA can be a nice place to live if you are selective (Note that applies to any State) and a lot of things to do. You just have to be able to afford it all.

That's why we are probably retiring post-Navy to Florida instead of back to CA. When you add it all up, it's a lot. Plus they tax military retirement.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by saibot

Well, I understand Prop 13, but back in 1997 when we bought our house I guess we didn't understand the market either, because we had absolutely no idea it would take off the way it did. People were supposed to know that housing prices would more than double in seven years?

No, they weren't. Contrary to what some post here, no one has ever had a crystal ball that actually worked.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by saibot

There was no recent precedent for the steep rise in the early 2000s. Sorry if I wasn't paying attention before the 1980s; I was in elementary school.

I was an adult in the 1980s, and we bought our first home in the early part of that decade. In the late 1980s, home prices soared, then peaked around 1989, and by 1990, were declining again. They reached a low in the mid-1990s, then started to rise again the early 2000s.

[ysr_racer]

The biggest differences I see in living in California are the cost of homes, gas, vehicle registration, and food. You know, the unimportant stuff

[JJonesIII]

Originally Posted by ysr_racer

The biggest differences I see in living in California are the cost of homes, gas, vehicle registration, and food. You know, the unimportant stuff

Yeah, who cares about that stuff!

[saibot]

Originally Posted by JJonesIII

Uh, you must have missed this (even though you quoted it)...

"The million dollars the OP is talking about is over a longer period of time than 7 years, so yeah, most could have anticipated that"

I'm not cherry picking some 7 year period. Get back to me when you can find a period of time where the actual home price didn't go up substantially in any metropolitan area of California over the 21 year period the OP is talking about. You do understand Prop 13 is based on acquisition cost?

Oh and while you were in elementary school, the median price home in LA country in 1970 was $24,300. In 1990 it was close to $200k (as per the above chart). See any similarity?

You clearly weren't paying attention, but feel free to cherry pick some more.

Yes, yes, I'm sure I'm an absolute idiot, but my post was about the 1990s. For almost the entire decade, prices stayed about the same or dipped slightly. Young couples who had bought their first house in, say, 1993 and sold in 1998 for about their purchase price, so they could move elsewhere "for a while," did not anticipate that during the subsequent five or six years the price of that house would double. Yes, surely they were idiots too and you would never have made that mistake.