Why do people still want to live in California? (San Diego: neighborhood, buy)

[MIDAYADA]

I have to say, this relentless 'California Bashing' is quite an eye opener - to a Brit who is relocating there next year.

All to their own i guess.

I'd be interested to know how many of Anti-California crowd would still want to get out if miraculously, their housing costs were halved.

[CHRockwell]

Originally Posted by MIDAYADA

I have to say, this relentless 'California Bashing' is quite an eye opener - to a Brit who is relocating there next year.

All to their own i guess.

I am not sure who you see bashing. Is it a great place to live? Yes. Is it costly? Yes.

If that cost means you have to be financially irresponsible then you cannot afford to live there. That isn't bashing. That is just fact.

What is actually happening is that anyone who chooses to compromise their lifestyle less a bunch of CA people want to bash that decision. As I said if you can afford to live there I certainly understand why you do. That number is few and far between however.

[aslowdodge]

There’s some people that if you are talking about facts and some are not glowing positives making California look perfect then they consider it to be bashing.
If you point out that their garden has a few weeds in the corner then they think you are bashing their whole yard.

[emotiioo]

Originally Posted by wac_432

That's literally the nation's capitol. That's a whole different animal. Plus the D.C. area is as expensive as Coastal CA, with the added benefit of being, quite literally, a muggy stinking swamp.


I can't think of a CA city of similar size that is a gross as Philly.


The DelMarVa beaches suck. They are basically mud flats. No surf. Smelly. Brown shallow water. Tons of skeeters. They don't hold a candle to the OBX, let alone ANY CA beach.


Yeah, because the wines of the Smokey Mountains are internationally renowned for their quality.


Can't argue with that. The museums and DC mall are amazing. Totally worth a visit as a tourist. As a reason to move to the most expensive part of district 1 in Panem? Nah brah.


Here's a short list of ski places in the world better than the icy mole hills of the East Coast:
ALL OF THEM.
Even North Korea has better snow.
I guess Michigan or Wisconsin might be worse, but not by much.


All these places are second (or third or fourth) fiddle compared to what you'll find in California.


NYC is a fun town. In the right season, and if you don't mind the snotty yawker attitude.



Because it's not true. LA is crowded, fun, and dirty, but so are DC and NYC. California, itself, is huge and empty. Unless you follow the hordes from the cities to the nearest overcrowded trailhead, you're going to find more pristine wilderness, beaches, mountains, etc. etc. than you can imagine, if you just put in a tiny bit of legwork.

CA (and the West) have had fires since before men crossed the land bridge from Siberia. It's nothing new. Dams, over-farming, oil fields, invasive species, and major geomodification have had some impact on the local flora and fauna, but Californian's, as a whole, are more conservationally-minded than the rest of the country, and we have a lot of NGOs and GOs working to preserve the environment and repair the damage from earlier eras, while taking full advantage of our plentiful renewable resources of sun and fun.

You can't swim at any beach in California without a wet suit. The pacific is cold. You have no argument here about how awful east coadt beaches are. They are swimmable in normal bathing suits. Argument over.

You have never been to a Virginia winery have you? Please educate yourself. The Smoky Mountains are near Dollywood. Which BTW is not in Virginia.

Clearly you don't like walkable cities with history and a vibrant arts scene. You wouldn't disparage Philadelphia if you did.

This entire post smacks of the superiority and provincialism that I see over and over from those who have adopted California as their home. As someone who was born in Stockholm I often wonder that Europeans are called out on snobbery when these types of attitudes are prevalent in certain places in the US.

I see California as a state in serious decline, struggling under the weight if its bursting at the seams population. If a third of the people left it might stand a chance to heal itself. Yet people stubbornly cling to its past glory .

[volosong]

Originally Posted by Durpie

Your happiness is worth money. I don't live in California, but I'm sure its because of just being from there, being used to it and the cost of living, the status of being from California, weather, and the outdoors. Most people don't move to and from somewhere due to the cost of living.

I suppose that I'm not like "most people". Upon retirement, I moved out of California. I was born in SoCal, as was my father. Lived here my whole life and except for vacations, work assignments, and Navy deployments, spent all my days in SoCal. Had a good, interesting career at NASA with a six figure yearly income. Lived a nice life with a new-construction house on a golf course.

However, upon retirement, realizing that my income would be drastically reduced, the cost-of-living in California drove me out. The politics helped, but the main reason was the COL.

Originally Posted by emotiioo

So different question-

Would you leave California?

What would it take?

Where would you go?

"Would you leave California?" Yes, I would, and did.

"What would it take?" Retirement.

"Where would you go?" North Idaho. Love it here, snow and all. No regrets. Wish I made the move decades earlier.

If I were to "hit the jackpot" and finances were of no concern; I would not move back to California. Even though California has some of the best climate in the world, (i.e., San Diego), there are other factors involved. Here, I can have whatever "toys" I desire, the kind that make loud noises, and not be made to feel like I'm a criminal for possessing them. A four-season climate is really a nice change from the two-season SoCal climate, (a warm/hot, dry summer and a not-so-hot, sometimes wet summer).

Family were not an issue or a reason to remain in SoCal. They had all left decades ago. I guess they saw the 'writing on the wall' a lot sooner than I did. Then again, I had that awesome career, which is reason enough to stay. No career. No family. No real reason to stay.

Your characterization of most people living a life of being in an air conditioned building, then going to an air conditioned car, ad infinitum, is incorrect. I venture to say that most people, given the time opportunity and mobility to do so, spend time in the "great outdoors". At least I know that I did, and do.

- - - - -

I do not intend to bash California. It has its problems, as does all places. However, despite its issues, it is a pretty awesome place. Up here in 'lily white' North Idaho, I miss the Hispanic influence and culture. I yearn to hear Spanish on the streets and the opportunity to keep my language skills proficient. I miss the museums that California has. And I miss opera, from community productions to those at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. And the Hollywood Bowl. There is no place in the universe like that place. Simply magical. I miss the 320 days of the year when I can just grab one of my bicycles and take a ride in either the mountains or the many bike routes/paths available. (Those other few days, it is either raining or in triple digits.) California has a lot it can give to someone. I'm just ready to experience a different style of life for whatever days are left to this wretched body of mine.

Zzyzx

[emotiioo]

Originally Posted by MIDAYADA

I have to say, this relentless 'California Bashing' is quite an eye opener - to a Brit who is relocating there next year.

All to their own i guess.

I'd be interested to know how many of Anti-California crowd would still want to get out if miraculously, their housing costs were halved.

We lived in La Jolla for 4 years. Theres no amount of money you could give either of us to move back. My mate was born in San Diego and has relatives in Santa Barbara, Temecula, Los Angeles, and SLO. Even he says that barring an elderly parent who needs live in care he would never consider moving back.

We aren't bashing. We found it to be overcrowded, overrated and overhyped. There's far more interesting places to live in the US from our perspective. Sunshine is great but there's a huge trade off to get some nice weather.

[TheseGoTo11]

Originally Posted by emotiioo

You have never been to a Virginia winery have you? Please educate yourself. The Smoky Mountains are near Dollywood. Which BTW is not in Virginia.

Moved to California from the DC area.

High end jobs here pay much more and involve a ton more innovation. Tyson's Corner Cube Jockeys surfing the web and spending an hour a day reviewing government contracts isn't much of an economy.

Living four hours from the ocean only to arrive at Do-me Beach Delaware and Oeewshin City is not much of a lifestyle. Yes, great wineries in Virginia, especially Loudoun County, which is also the world capital of ugly brickface homes with vinyl siding, built 5 to an acre. But don't worry, excitement awaits at chain restaurant strip malls with one walkable, privately owned road down the middle like Loudoun One.

For a high end professional, California's silly politics are far outweighed by the weather, the scenery, the activities, and the interesting job opportunities.

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by emotiioo

You have never been to a Virginia winery have you? Please educate yourself. The Smoky Mountains are near Dollywood. Which BTW is not in Virginia.

I haven't been to a winery in Virginia but I have been to wineries in Georgia, Michigan and New York State. All of the wineries I visited were beautiful and had great settings (reason alone for visiting). However, the wines in these regions in no way compared to what I could get in Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino, Livermore, Monterey, Paso Robles, Santa Barbara or a myriad of other wine regions in California (or Oregon/Washington for that matter).

In general, some of the whites were drinkable and were ok to good (none were world class). The ice wine in Michigan was actually pretty good, although not as good as what I'd had in the Niagara region of Canada.
Most of the reds were not even drinkable. Heck, at the winery in Georgia, they had a jar of sugar at the tasting table. I asked what that was for and the employee told me it was to make the wines taste drinkable. Sure enough, it worked, although just barely.

If you look at the best wine growing regions of the world, they tend to be in Mediterranean climates. The rest of the US just can't compete with this.

[CHRockwell]

Originally Posted by TheseGoTo11

Moved to California from the DC area.

High end jobs here pay much more and involve a ton more innovation. Tyson's Corner Cube Jockeys surfing the web and spending an hour a day reviewing government contracts isn't much of an economy.

Living four hours from the ocean only to arrive at Do-me Beach Delaware and Oeewshin City is not much of a lifestyle. Yes, great wineries in Virginia, especially Loudoun County, which is also the world capital of ugly brickface homes with vinyl siding, built 5 to an acre. But don't worry, excitement awaits at chain restaurant strip malls with one walkable, privately owned road down the middle like Loudoun One.

For a high end professional, California's silly politics are far outweighed by the weather, the scenery, the activities, and the interesting job opportunities.

And yet most high end professionals live outside of CA so go figure

[ZeApelido]

People seem to be trying to compare big day trips they can take in California vs East Coast etc...

That's not the big difference.

The big difference is daily access to outdoors.

We just drive 1/2 hour to the beach on a whim, for a few hours in the afternoon.

We can go on various hikes in just a 15 minute drive. I have access to beautiful trail runs and cycling mountain roads nearby.

We can be outside basically anytime of the day because the heat is generally dry and not oppressive.

Kids can be outside any time of day.

There's so much to do outside and its so comfortable to do it most days of the year, we don't need to spend much time inside.

Of course, you can be outside in almost any climate if prepared for it. But not as comfortably.