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Old 05-26-2008, 01:04 AM
 
669 posts, read 1,606,193 times
Reputation: 62

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Quote:
Originally Posted by Soccersupporter View Post
We are a little unique so I don't know if statically we fit in but here goes.

Our daughter went to college at TCU. She tried to live in CA and gave up on a teacher's salary. She moved back to TX, got married and had a baby.

We got to know TX while she was in college and have friends that live in Austin that our kids grew up with in CA. Other than the summer heat we love TX, especially the winter, fall and spring. We just don't have seasons in CA.

We had an opportunity to cash out of a house we had lived in for 27 years in Irvine CA and kind of get a new start in TX. We are older (52 & 49) and although we loved the mountains and beaches in CA, TX is so big, with so many lakes, little towns and miles of open country that we feel it was a good trade off. We just love TX, the people we have met, the beautiful land, wild flowers, farms, etc. Texas is also a great starting point for road trips which we absolutely love. We have taken many road trips from CA to Florida, we just love to see the country. That being said we will probably take our vacations for a few years in CA to see family.

We still have two children at home so we aren't done yet but are in the last innings of our parenthood journey. We just got up to the plate for the first time as grandparents so the next phase in life has begun for us in TX.

Like I said we are probably a little unique. We did not move here for a job. We did not move here to retire. We moved here for family and a new adventure in the later years of our life.
Hey must be nice to cash in that house in Irvine and live very comfortably in TX. But if ya didn't have the cash in the house here.... unlike 90% + would have relocated for a job... believe me.. I'll probably be in that same boat.. cash out here.. and practically retire at 45.

 
Old 05-26-2008, 01:33 AM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
1,108 posts, read 3,310,368 times
Reputation: 1109
Currently even with the market crash, 30 year old apartments converted to condos in marginal neighborhoods are selling for $350k in SoCal.
While $350k buys a nice home in a nice neighborhood in DFW. So that must be what it is - reasonable housing costs and in general affordable living.
 
Old 05-26-2008, 10:28 AM
 
119 posts, read 290,894 times
Reputation: 75
Funny how one of the most liberal states in the country is a giant mess and one of the most conservative states in the U.S. is doing great. I agree with another poster, don't screw it up here!

I lived in California for 12 years - 1994 to 2006. I lived in San Francisco and Sacramento.

California is a great place to live when you are young and single or married without children. But it's a horrible place to raise a family.

As many have pointed out, the price of housing in California is ridiculous. There are a few reasons why this is the case, but the main reason is basic supply and demand. California is liberal, and liberals don't like it when you build homes. They call it "sprawl" and it's really evil. I often thought it was funny that they cared so much for the homeless but fought the building of homes.

So in most places in California, the supply of housing is lower than demand, especially in The Bay Area.

On top of that, the developer fees are just ridiculous there, and those fees get passed on to you and me. In Sacramento, the fees were over $80K. They have a fee where a developer has to buy habitat conservation land for every acre developed. Who do you think pays for that? We do. Lots and lots of fees.

Many of my neighbors in Sacramento were actually commuting the 90 miles to the Bay Area every day. What kind of life is that? They can't afford the over $1 million price tag for a home in The Bay Area.

On top of the housing costs, California has really horrible public schools. There are several reasons. A big reason is your property tax dollars in California go to Sacramento, the capitol, and they distribute those tax dollars out pretty evenly. Here in Texas, the vast majority of your property taxes go to your local school district. Of course, a liberal screwed that up a bit with "Robin Hood", Ann Richards. We are in the midst of reform on that to fix it, though.

California has really strong teacher unions. Texas does not. The result is in Texas, the teachers are a lot more accountable. In California, a teacher would have to commit murder to get fired. It's amazing how many people are teaching in California who have no business teaching.

In California, it's a requirement to put your kids in a private school, if you care about your kids. This price is $1,500 per month in The Bay Area, $700 per month in Sacramento. My child's private elementary school was on par with Plano's schools in regards to academics. However, this private school didn't have a gymnasium or xylophones for the kids to play in music class like my child's elementary school in Plano does.

The crime rate in California is horrible compared to here. For example, Plano's crime rate is less than 1/3rd of Sacramento's.

We purchased a new house in Sacramento in a new community. The city then built subsidized apartments all around our community and we quickly had rapes, car jackings, graffiti, gang fights in the parks...all in our neighborhood. Isn't that nice? Damn liberals.

You would have to be insane to start a business in California with the fees and costs for workers comp insurance and taxes. Texas is a lot more business-friendly, and thus, the economy here is doing great while California has a huge budget deficit and companies fleeing.

The price for gas in The Bay Area is about $.50 more per gallon than in Dallas. They have a special blend of gas and, again, their taxes are higher.

Most people don't realize that the reason gas is $8 U.S. per gallon in England is because over 80% of that is duty and tax. The price of oil is global. We all pay the same price. It's the taxation that is the biggest factor for the differences in the price of gas.

I like the culture here more too. The people in Texas are more friendly, on average. Here, you can make a comment to someone on the elevator and start a conversation. In California, they think you are insane if you do that.

My neighbors wave to me as they drive by here. I love the waving.

Californians, on average, are a LOT more self-centered. For example, when you invite someone to your place on a certain date, in California it's always assumed that they will attend if there isn't anything better that is offered. Here, we have better manners.

I'm generalizing, of course, but the difference in the culture that you encounter on a daily basis is very different.

The service at restaurants is much better here. MUCH better!

A lot of my neighbors in California are smug. They think they live in the center of the universe. They would make rude comments to me when they found out I was moving to Texas, to my face. Amazing. What's funny is most people in California are house-poor and can't take advantage of what California does have to offer. Lake Tahoe is heaven. It really is amazing. I love Lake Tahoe. I took advantage of it about twice a year.

Moving to Plano means my living expenses are about $3,500 less per month (small mortgage because of home equity from sale of California home, no private tuition needed here, no state income tax, price of gas, price of food, salaries are higher here than Sacramento) and I have a much greater discretionary income now. So, ironically, living in Texas means I can do MORE things than I could living in California.

I won't lie, California offers amazing things within driving distance. The reality is, though, that you don't take advantage of it enough to justify the huge costs. Some people do, though. Some people go mountain biking every single weekend. For those people, it's a requirement to live near mountains, obviously.

For us, though, we went to the same stores to shop that we do here. We went to the movies. We went to restaurants. We went to family places with our kids. In that regard, our life hasn't changed. The Target here is just like the Target there.

We have found some great restaurants in Plano that we love. There are a lot of family-oriented places to go. The schools are excellent. We aren't wary of crime at the local park.

The amount of stress that has been lifted from my shoulders by moving here is priceless.
 
Old 05-26-2008, 02:31 PM
 
Location: Phoenix, AZ
1,108 posts, read 3,310,368 times
Reputation: 1109
Interesting points Tall. I am actually in Phx AZ and things happening with my job could send to me SoCal or DFW.
I have watched AZ make a transition since the 80s and slowly come to resemble CA. It has not been a change for the better.
BTW it is also happening in TX. Housing prices have already exploded in Austin and they are having social problems they did not have before. It just hasn't spread to DFW yet.
 
Old 05-26-2008, 02:51 PM
 
2 posts, read 6,782 times
Reputation: 11
now there's a boom in cultural attraction here in Dallas. Not unlike Austin's cultural booming. I used to think these kinds of improvements helped a city settle rather than grow into a theme park mentality but Austin has proved me wrong. I just hope the remarkable progress in downtown Dallas doesn't spoil the city. I'm sure summers here in Dallas will become even more a destination for tourism. I would like to see more people move in to downtown though.
 
Old 05-26-2008, 09:46 PM
 
21 posts, read 77,019 times
Reputation: 23
Great post, tallscot
 
Old 05-27-2008, 12:06 AM
 
Location: Norcross GA
983 posts, read 4,430,012 times
Reputation: 469
Hey Hey Hey be nice! I'm a liberal , but I do know how to conform.

What is the "robin hood" yall speak of? I am assuming that someone decided to take money from the nicer school districts and give it to the poorer school districts? That's just my guess since Robin Hood stole from the rich and gave to the poor.
 
Old 05-27-2008, 03:19 AM
 
669 posts, read 1,606,193 times
Reputation: 62
Great post indeed, a few comments....
Quote:
Originally Posted by tallscot View Post
Funny how one of the most liberal states in the country is a giant mess and one of the most conservative states in the U.S. is doing great. I agree with another poster, don't screw it up here!

I lived in California for 12 years - 1994 to 2006. I lived in San Francisco and Sacramento.

California is a great place to live when you are young and single or married without children. But it's a horrible place to raise a family.

Couldn't agree w/ you more. Well, unless you're extremely well off and can afford a great neighborhood, (which less than 5% of the pop can) you're better off elsewhere. But yes, single or married w/ no kids... it can't be beat

As many have pointed out, the price of housing in California is ridiculous. There are a few reasons why this is the case, but the main reason is basic supply and demand. California is liberal, and liberals don't like it when you build homes. They call it "sprawl" and it's really evil. I often thought it was funny that they cared so much for the homeless but fought the building of homes.

So in most places in California, the supply of housing is lower than demand, especially in The Bay Area.

On top of that, the developer fees are just ridiculous there, and those fees get passed on to you and me. In Sacramento, the fees were over $80K. They have a fee where a developer has to buy habitat conservation land for every acre developed. Who do you think pays for that? We do. Lots and lots of fees.

Many of my neighbors in Sacramento were actually commuting the 90 miles to the Bay Area every day. What kind of life is that? They can't afford the over $1 million price tag for a home in The Bay Area.

True true... excellent facts

On top of the housing costs, California has really horrible public schools. There are several reasons. A big reason is your property tax dollars in California go to Sacramento, the capitol, and they distribute those tax dollars out pretty evenly. Here in Texas, the vast majority of your property taxes go to your local school district. Of course, a liberal screwed that up a bit with "Robin Hood", Ann Richards. We are in the midst of reform on that to fix it, though.

Well I bed to differ. Sac is renowned for horrible schools, it's grown much too fast lately. San Jose however has the best schools in the state- I believe all are in the 90% of the state. So does many communities around the bay area. Again, problem here is if you can afford it. LA has great schools too, but just naming some of the neighborhoods will blast a huge price tag to live there.

California has really strong teacher unions. Texas does not. The result is in Texas, the teachers are a lot more accountable. In California, a teacher would have to commit murder to get fired. It's amazing how many people are teaching in California who have no business teaching.
Yes - good and bad thing here... u have bad teachers who are living rich in this state.

In California, it's a requirement to put your kids in a private school, if you care about your kids. This price is $1,500 per month in The Bay Area, $700 per month in Sacramento. My child's private elementary school was on par with Plano's schools in regards to academics. However, this private school didn't have a gymnasium or xylophones for the kids to play in music class like my child's elementary school in Plano does.

In Sac - I would put my child in private school. but other places, they'll do just fine. Not that $700 more a month gets you much more of a house or better area in CA, but maybe a little better school district.

The crime rate in California is horrible compared to here. For example, Plano's crime rate is less than 1/3rd of Sacramento's.
Sac is about as bad as it can get. Go to Riverside, Bakersfied, Fresno, it's all bad there. Then again, of largest 100 cities, LA, SF, SD, OC all rank significantly higher than DFW, Austin, or Houston... El Paso surprisingly enough is safe (maybe all the crime went to Juarez?) Point being, unlike in TX, our cities our safer than our sprawling areas. In CA, sprawl is the "hood"

We purchased a new house in Sacramento in a new community. The city then built subsidized apartments all around our community and we quickly had rapes, car jackings, graffiti, gang fights in the parks...all in our neighborhood. Isn't that nice? Damn liberals.
I wouldn't doubt it - that's Sac for you

You would have to be insane to start a business in California with the fees and costs for workers comp insurance and taxes. Texas is a lot more business-friendly, and thus, the economy here is doing great while California has a huge budget deficit and companies fleeing.
That's liberalism at it's best

The price for gas in The Bay Area is about $.50 more per gallon than in Dallas. They have a special blend of gas and, again, their taxes are higher.
I'm actually surprised it's only 50 cents!

Most people don't realize that the reason gas is $8 U.S. per gallon in England is because over 80% of that is duty and tax. The price of oil is global. We all pay the same price. It's the taxation that is the biggest factor for the differences in the price of gas.

I like the culture here more too. The people in Texas are more friendly, on average. Here, you can make a comment to someone on the elevator and start a conversation. In California, they think you are insane if you do that.

My neighbors wave to me as they drive by here. I love the waving.

Californians, on average, are a LOT more self-centered. For example, when you invite someone to your place on a certain date, in California it's always assumed that they will attend if there isn't anything better that is offered. Here, we have better manners.

I'm generalizing, of course, but the difference in the culture that you encounter on a daily basis is very different.
All above true to certain points and all depends on where you live in CA. It's all very very different. NoCal to SoCal, inland valley to beaches or heck SD/OC/LA are all very different and thing is you can just feel the difference and not have to notice

The service at restaurants is much better here. MUCH better!
Probably bc in TX all you get is your tips. In CA you're making close to $8 a hour anyways, in TX isn't it like $2? Probably a good reason for the better service I'd say

A lot of my neighbors in California are smug. They think they live in the center of the universe. They would make rude comments to me when they found out I was moving to Texas, to my face. Amazing. What's funny is most people in California are house-poor and can't take advantage of what California does have to offer. Lake Tahoe is heaven. It really is amazing. I love Lake Tahoe. I took advantage of it about twice a year.

Moving to Plano means my living expenses are about $3,500 less per month (small mortgage because of home equity from sale of California home, no private tuition needed here, no state income tax, price of gas, price of food, salaries are higher here than Sacramento) and I have a much greater discretionary income now. So, ironically, living in Texas means I can do MORE things than I could living in California.

I won't lie, California offers amazing things within driving distance. The reality is, though, that you don't take advantage of it enough to justify the huge costs. Some people do, though. Some people go mountain biking every single weekend. For those people, it's a requirement to live near mountains, obviously.
I think that's the breaking point for many of us in CA. It is endless things to do close and never far. Surfer's, bikers, adventures, it's what pretty much keeping people here. If you aren't into that stuff, TX is a far better shake for you esp if you have a family.

For us, though, we went to the same stores to shop that we do here. We went to the movies. We went to restaurants. We went to family places with our kids. In that regard, our life hasn't changed. The Target here is just like the Target there.

We have found some great restaurants in Plano that we love. There are a lot of family-oriented places to go. The schools are excellent. We aren't wary of crime at the local park.

The amount of stress that has been lifted from my shoulders by moving here is priceless.
 
Old 05-27-2008, 03:25 AM
 
669 posts, read 1,606,193 times
Reputation: 62
Quote:
Originally Posted by _Charles_ View Post
Interesting points Tall. I am actually in Phx AZ and things happening with my job could send to me SoCal or DFW.
I have watched AZ make a transition since the 80s and slowly come to resemble CA. It has not been a change for the better.
BTW it is also happening in TX. Housing prices have already exploded in Austin and they are having social problems they did not have before. It just hasn't spread to DFW yet.
Social problems in Austin? AZ yes has changed much since the 80's -resembles LA of the 80's I would say! Alot of CA moved their business there. Where in SoCal however are you looking to go? Keep in mind it's nearly 20 million people squeezed into less land than the DFW metro. So things differ from one place to the other greatly! Good luck though on your search.
Housing explosion in Austin, well if you call a jump from 120-175 an explosion, but I guess it's adjusting to the wages, but again - catching up to other metros.
 
Old 05-27-2008, 07:12 AM
 
Location: Lake Highlands (Dallas)
2,394 posts, read 8,566,457 times
Reputation: 1040
This subject is like beating a dead horse.

Calgon - take me away!
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