California's best years have passed, voters say

[Ludachris]

Originally Posted by Screw Sacramento

I totally agree; you're probably one of the most well-balanced and open minded posters. Living outside someone's home at least once in their life, if the opportunity is afforded, can really give perspective. If you want to return to your original home, it will give you more appreciation for it. If you want to stay in your new location...well, you may have found what you're missing.

When I lived outside CA after 20 years of only living in CA, it was a real eye opener. How can anyone whos only ever had oranges appreciate the contrast with apples and grapes, you know? There's a whole world out there.

Hey, coming from someone I've debated with, that's a huge compliment. Thanks!

One thing I've learned moving out of the Bay Area to a new state - it most definitely changes your perspective. And sometimes that's critical for a person. When we lived in the Bay Area, I remember our view of the Sacramento area (where we're now considering moving to) as being undesirable/uninspiring simply because we were from the Bay Area. I can see now how biased and arrogant we had become living there. It seemed we had taken on the attitude that most other Bay Area residents had about the Sacramento region, and the central valley in general. It seemed like a place for those who couldn't make it in the Bay Area - at least that seems to be the overall view in the Bay Area.

I now realize that a place is what you make of it. And that you have to decide what sacrifices you're willing to make in order to live in any one place, because everywhere requires some compromise. We're at a point in our lives where certain things are more important than they used to be, and other things are less important. An area that we rolled our eyes at might just be the place we embrace as our home, mainly because the time is right and it has "most" of the elements we need for our family, at the price we need it. What I want in an area has changed over the years. And even then, it's less about what I want and more about what my family needs.

CA's best years may have passed for some, but I'm betting there will be just enough left for me and my family to enjoy in the future, especially in the company of friends and family. For me, it's less about the money, politics, and a huge house than it is the people you surround yourself with to enjoy life. It took me a while to figure that out. It's a balancing act. Quality of life means something different to everyone though, and for many, the definition changes along the way. We want a nice area to live in that has good public schools - and is close enough to the Bay Area to enjoy the meaningful relationships we left behind 4 years ago. The Bay Area just doesn't have what we need for our family right now. Despite CA's issues, I think we can still find what we're looking for when we go back. And that's good enough for me.

[Lycanmaster]

It's definitely changed quite alot when I first lived here briefly in the mid-1980's to the present time (OC specifically).

Count me in the yays. Not that ever I thought CA was all that great to begin with, but anyhow...

[Dean Trails]

Originally Posted by Clarks

Just remember what that socialist Schwarzenegger has done to this once proud state, hey he is an Austrian, aren't they socialist by nature?

All I know is the Austrians are always trying to take over the world! A really famous Austrian instigated that world conflict from 1939-1945.

[mtnbkr5]

[quote=esmith143;11532291]80% think that the state is on the wrong track, but there's no consensus over what the right track looks like, and there's probably not a single change to be made that's favored by the majority.

Agreed

Everyone agrees that state budget is dysfunctional, but, when polled about the one measure that hamstrings and disfigures the budget - the infamous prop 13 - the majority of voters believe that it should be left in place.

Property tax hikes would force people out of their homes

Conservatives think that the state is too liberal and it spends too much.

Exactly

Liberals think that conservatives have too much control in Sacramento and therefore the state does not spend enough (especially on K-12).

Are you high? They spend ridiculous amounts per pupil and they come out illiterate.

Whites think that the border is too porous.

We all KNOW the border is too porous

Mexicans think that whites are too unfriendly to them.

Got it backwards again

[V8 Vega]

I hate the Democrat Communist party rule here in this hell hole so much that I'd move except I'm to old. Trouble is I'd move to Oregon and the goverment there is just as bad. It's a 4 million total state so hopefully there would be less of it and the Medford area is conservative.
I hate to be cold and would dread Dec, Jan, and Feb there it doesn't rain that much but looks like its about to start at anytime, overcast, dark, little sun. And a few days its 32 in the morning and stays that way all day. I haven't been that cold since I was a kid.

[marcopolo666]

It is amazing how long the "hate threads" last. You can go almost 5years without a post, but somebody is sure to post if it is about hate. At least this thread wasn't started about racist crap, which is clogging the current CA board.