California's future? (on the verge of bankruptcy) (Anderson: home, job market)

[jaynetarzana]

My biggest concern with the California economy is funding for schools. The Santa Cruz area (where we are hoping to get back to) only has a few elementary schools which are considered to be good. The housing in the area is still very expensive so private schools are out of the question for us. With the proposed cuts to the education system, how much worse are the already sub par schools going to get? We can't afford to send our kids to private schools in addition to trying to keep up with our mortgages and taxes (no telling what additional taxes there may be at this point). And there is a good charter school, but there is a lottery to get in and if you don't get in, you have to figure out something else.

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by jkbatca

For a lot of companies, it will not be a situation where they pull up stakes and move the whole operation to another state overnight. It will be a situation where when a new contract arrives, they will choose to build new facilities outside of CA. Workers on existing contracts will stay put in CA until the contract runs out, then that division fades away into an empty building. It's basically a corporate balance sheet thing...

There's other factors involved also. If there aren't a "critical mass" of high tech workers in the area to hire, a company may be forced to move anyways to find workers. Another factor is it's a lot harder to move facilities than workers (in today's economy). Moving lots of CNC machines to another state is a lot harder than a software engineer. Software engineer doesn't want to move? Tell her/him that the company can find 10 to replace her/him, they'll move.

California still attracts some of the best and brightest workers in the US. That's one of the reasons companies are not leaving in droves. I recently met a couple here in Denver that just moved out here with the husband's company from SoCal. He mentioned that most of the employees did not follow the company out here. Some are telecommuting, others just found other opportunities in CA. The company is now having trouble finding solid replacements for the people who didn't come along with them. This is a bio fuel company.

If the companies can find replacements out of state, great. But that hasn't been the case for some of them. The CA workforce remains a big draw for tech businesses. Maybe that'll change eventually.

[cobmw]

California has just about the highest unemployment rate in the country. I wonder why?

If I was employed by a CA company and had to make the choice to relocate or be out of work in the present California economic climate I'd move - even to Alaska.

[BRinSM]

Originally Posted by cobmw

California has just about the highest unemployment rate in the country. I wonder why?

If I was employed by a CA company and had to make the choice to relocate or be out of work in the present California economic climate I'd move - even to Alaska.

i'd like to see a study that showed how which percentage of the population would stay or go if put in a similar situation. Let's not forget how strong family ties and the "home" factor can be for people who have never lived elsewhere.

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by cobmw

California has just about the highest unemployment rate in the country. I wonder why?

If I was employed by a CA company and had to make the choice to relocate or be out of work in the present California economic climate I'd move - even to Alaska.

Michigan and Rhode Island are higher, but CA is close, along with Oregon, South Carolina and Nevada all fighting for 3rd spot.

I'd venture to guess that most people who move to CA do so for employment opportunities. I would imagine it's overcrowded with people there just looking for work, which, when you take the layoffs into consideration, has probably inflated their unemployment numbers some. It's still one of the bigger opportunities for employment in the nation, despite the unemployment numbers. It's just super competitive due to the large number of highly educated professionals. Silicon Valley (SF Bay Area) is at around 6.9%, which is more along the lines of the national average.

[jkbatca]

Originally Posted by Ludachris

California still attracts some of the best and brightest workers in the US. That's one of the reasons companies are not leaving in droves. I recently met a couple here in Denver that just moved out here with the husband's company from SoCal. He mentioned that most of the employees did not follow the company out here. Some are telecommuting, others just found other opportunities in CA. The company is now having trouble finding solid replacements for the people who didn't come along with them. This is a bio fuel company.

If the companies can find replacements out of state, great. But that hasn't been the case for some of them. The CA workforce remains a big draw for tech businesses. Maybe that'll change eventually.

I would have agreed with you if this were 1998 or even 2005, but not today. Not 2009, at least from my perspective. This web site doesn't look to optimistic for the Stanford crowd, nor does this one. Oh I'm sure, you can find some hiring, but I'm talking CA wide trends.

I just don't share in the "rah rah CA" enthusiasm jobs wise. Yeah CA was a trend setter (I was part of that wave coming in), but I'm not seeing that same vibe now. Sorry.

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by jkbatca

I would have agreed with you if this were 1998 or even 2005, but not today. Not 2009, at least from my perspective. This web site doesn't look to optimistic for the Stanford crowd, nor does this one. Oh I'm sure, you can find some hiring, but I'm talking CA wide trends.

I just don't share in the "rah rah CA" enthusiasm jobs wise. Yeah CA was a trend setter (I was part of that wave coming in), but I'm not seeing that same vibe now. Sorry.

I don't think anyone's seeing that same vibe anywhere in the nation. Silicon Valley still has an unemployment rate that is right about inline with the national average, even with its massive population. So though CA as a whole may be among the top 3-4 in the nation in unemployment percentage, there are pockets that are not as bad off as most assume.

CA still probably has the largest population of highly skilled tech workers in the US, and it has a couple of the highest salaried areas in the nation in LA and the SF Bay - that means the jobs are still there and companies are sticking around because the workers they need are there. Sure, the local economy is taking a big hit and many more will be out of work, but I still don't see places like Silicon Valley disappearing because of this. If it does, it probably is a sign that the rest of the nation is in just as much trouble, and that means we'll have a lot more to worry about than where the best places to work are. It's still all relative, and CA is the most populous state in the nation.

It's not going to be a pretty picture and there certainly is no reason to be "rah rah CA", but in this economy, it's still among the better opportunities for skilled workers. Show me one area that is anything like Silicon Valley that is not feeling the same pain right now.

[Huckleberry3911948]

2 budget giants public school system (one of the worst in the nation) and medical.
cutting either would fix the budget.

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948

2 budget giants public school system (one of the worst in the nation) and medical.
cutting either would fix the budget.

That's what worries me though. Will they cut education in a way that doesn't make it worse for kids? As a parent considering moving back, that's a huge concern. I know they need to make the cuts, but I fear that my children might lose out because of it.

[POhdNcrzy]

Ludachris, I see it's 9 dF in Boulder this afternoon. Probably a little cooler in Lone Tree.

Enjoy it while it lasts!