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LOL!! Southaustingal. I know I always get a little urked whenever it is time for me to take my Suburban for the annual inspection and they hook it up to the emmissions tester. Meanwhile a hunk of junk car that is considered "green" pulls in and because it is of a certain age it does not need the emmissions testing. Then it pulls off belching smoke. On my most recent trip to California I was in the Sacramento area and like I said all I saw were small to mid size older cars. The maintenance on these you could tell was not of the highest so they are not all "green" or that aware of the environment. While my fairly new Suburban gets regular oil changes, new filters, tires at the proper psi all to maintain a quality & safe vehicle and to burn cleaner and last longer.
Oh that ocean you are talking about. Whenever I am there I hear on the news and read in the paper how often their beaches are closed due to high levels of bacteria. So what if you live by an ocean if it is contaminated. YUCK!!!!!!
Oh, keeping up with the Jones' isn't just a Texas import thing. It's prevalent throughout the US and a sad commentary on our society. The only things that worries me is people who can't afford it, who try anyway, and the people who raise their kids to expect to graduate from HS and get all the niceties that I've spent my adult life working toward.
I guess the "good" news is with an housing slowdown and impending risky mortgage backlash, a lot of the plastic people who can't aford it are going to be leaving your neighborhoods through forclosures...
That is why I plan on moving into a some crappy apartment in a "rough" area and drive an old beat up Oldsmobile while my kids are in high school. My oldest thought that parents just automatically bought their kids a car at 16. ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT IN THIS HOUSE!!!!!!!!!! You may get to drive your daddy's pick up and that is it. If you want anything else you better find a job. But it does crack me up and yet make me kind of unsettled when I see high school parking lots or young teens in high dollar cars. They have been handed way too much and will never know how to do anything for themselves. And then the houses. These kids are growing up thinking that when they buy their first house it has to be comparable to mommy and daddy's big, luxury house. Sure, if they hit the jackpot or mom & dad pay for it. But my kids are on their own. I'll get you thru college and you better have a job then. If your daddy and I could handle going to college and working our way thru you can too.
I think we have already been seeing the fall of all of the people that were living way beyond their means trying to be something they were not. I'll never get that. I don't care what someone else has. You know why? CAUSE THEY ARE THE ONES PAYING FOR IT! People that are envious of others because of what material things they have have issues. They will never be happy or have THE right thing if they are not happy with what they have. There will ALWAYS be someone that has more than me/you or something nicer than me/you. Life is not a race to see who has more stuff at the end.
I live in Idaho and we have a lot of Californians we call "equity locusts" who sold for big profits in Cali and came to Idaho and bought a big house, SUVs, plasma Tvs, boats, snowmobiles, etc. Other people around here have bought a lot of "toys" with home equity loans. So, the materialistic keeping up with the Jones is not unique to Texas. In much of the west, housing appreciation created alot of "fake" wealth, so consumption and materialism has increased.
My God, get my out of here. Its still in the 90s and 80s at night. Too hot to go or do anything outside. Will it ever end? Its maddening. And the air polution is always orange or red alert. Worse than Calif. I didnt know Houston has the worst air polution in the country.
BTW, There are not a lot of small cars in Calif. Its the richest state in the country and has more upscale cars per capita than any other state. I have seen so many crappy Olds in Texas its unreal. What good is a cheap house if you cant enjoy where you live and cant go outside for months at a time. Yikes its sooo hot.
My God, get my out of here. Its still in the 90s and 80s at night. Too hot to go or do anything outside. Will it ever end? Its maddening. And the air polution is always orange or red alert. Worse than Calif. I didnt know Houston has the worst air polution in the country.
BTW, There are not a lot of small cars in Calif. Its the richest state in the country and has more upscale cars per capita than any other state. I have seen so many crappy Olds in Texas its unreal. What good is a cheap house if you cant enjoy where you live and cant go outside for months at a time. Yikes its sooo hot.
Some of us who were born and raised in California know this isn't true. In fact there are more beater cars on the freeway in Cali because you don't have to have air conditioning there. That was the first thing my husband and I noticed in Texas was that most people seemed to have a descent car. No they aren't ALL Lexus, BMW, etc, but they are not falling apart. Your exaggerating just a bit.
Let's keep in mind that some of those expensive cars on the road in Cali were bought with false equity from peoples homes. In fact I have a few friends that did that. Guess what? Now they are having trouble selling their house. OOPs!! So don't be deceived about how much money people seem to be rolling in in Cali. Alot of it is a facade!!
By the way, what do you mean "get me out of here". I thought you were in Cali now???
LOL!! Southaustingal. I know I always get a little urked whenever it is time for me to take my Suburban for the annual inspection and they hook it up to the emmissions tester. Meanwhile a hunk of junk car that is considered "green" pulls in and because it is of a certain age it does not need the emmissions testing. Then it pulls off belching smoke. On my most recent trip to California I was in the Sacramento area and like I said all I saw were small to mid size older cars. The maintenance on these you could tell was not of the highest so they are not all "green" or that aware of the environment. While my fairly new Suburban gets regular oil changes, new filters, tires at the proper psi all to maintain a quality & safe vehicle and to burn cleaner and last longer.
Oh that ocean you are talking about. Whenever I am there I hear on the news and read in the paper how often their beaches are closed due to high levels of bacteria. So what if you live by an ocean if it is contaminated. YUCK!!!!!!
Don't get me wrong I love California, born and raised there, and I've had my issues with Texas, but what you say is so true. People can't afford to take care of their vehicles in Cali because they are so house poor!!
Shannon94, ROFL, I am not laughing at you but with you!!! It's a **** sad state of affairs in CA. It's hilarious in a way but also very sad at the same time. It's very sad when hard working people with good paying jobs can't even afford a basic home or hope to retire comfortably. There is something very wrong with that picture.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shannon94
Don't get me wrong I love California, born and raised there, and I've had my issues with Texas, but what you say is so true. People can't afford to take care of their vehicles in Cali because they are so house poor!!
Shannon94, what you've just listed is very true. It's false money because it's heavily borrowed money to buy cars. Quite diff from someone who's just going to their local credit union to get an auto loan versus taking out home equity to buy a car. It is the richest state, blah blah blah but that's an accumulative effect of all the industries and business. It does not at all mean the population per capita is affluent like anything.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shannon94
Some of us who were born and raised in California know this isn't true. In fact there are more beater cars on the freeway in Cali because you don't have to have air conditioning there. That was the first thing my husband and I noticed in Texas was that most people seemed to have a descent car. No they aren't ALL Lexus, BMW, etc, but they are not falling apart. Your exaggerating just a bit.
Let's keep in mind that some of those expensive cars on the road in Cali were bought with false equity from peoples homes. In fact I have a few friends that did that. Guess what? Now they are having trouble selling their house. OOPs!! So don't be deceived about how much money people seem to be rolling in in Cali. Alot of it is a facade!!
By the way, what do you mean "get me out of here". I thought you were in Cali now???
What you've seen regarding Californians in TX are not the norm in CA. Also, you've very mistakenly lumped all Californians into one big bucket. Please do not do this. Many Texans tend to do this accidentally. There's 2 different kinds of Californians and here in CA, you'd find people pointing that out very quickly. There's Northern Californians (SF Bay Area and anything north of it) and there's Southern Californians (LA area). BIG BIG difference in culture. Northern Californians and Southern Californians have always had a feud - hence the many cries and debates about splitting the state into 2 parts. Southern Californians love their cars. Southern CA is full of highways, you can't get anywhere without being on a highway. Everything is so spread out for LA County is HUGE. Northern CA isn't quite like that. There are highways here but the way things are laid out here is quite different. We also have less land because we have the bay. Many Southern Californians do like their big things (cars, etc.), flashy life style. Very Hollywood and entertainment industry driven. We Northern Californians call them plastic SoCal people. If you have ever stayed, lived, networked in SoCal, you'd know what I mean. SoCal is also typically more conservative and lean toward being Republican - Orange County is one of the most conservative counties in the state. Many NorCal people would never want to live in SoCal for all the reasons I've mentioned. Historically, NorCal has always been more expensive than SoCal. When I say that Californians are "green", I can't speak for SoCal folks because I don't live there. Here in NorCal, there is a much greater drive toward being environmentally friendly. Sure, there are beat up cars here but you'd see way more Toyotas, Hondas, etc. than you would big pick up trucks with 1 person inside.
But in general (I'm speaking in generalities here), I'm not at all surprised that Californians come to Texas and want it all. Why not when you've been denied financially all the things you crave - big house, big car, boat, the whole nine yards.
Quote:
Originally Posted by southaustingal
I'm finding the conversation about SUVs and huge houses interesting. I was just wondering the other day--after a soccer mom in a Ford Expedition with California plates nearly ran me over in the Target parking lot--why people think Californians are so green.
Sure, lots of Texans have trucks. It's a throwback to the days of cattle and oil. But I'm sitting here thinking of the Californians I know (mainly SD area), and they *all* have SUVs, at least two per family. And one family with teenagers just bought their kids SUVs. And CAs here *love* their huge houses. Many of the neighborhoods building gigantic houses are being bought by Californians and other "outsiders." Twenty years ago, a 2400 square foot house was large. The Californians I know would snub anyone living in anything that small, which is why I'm snubbed. That and I drive a small import car--definite no-no by California standards, as far as I can tell.
The most environmentally conscious, down-to-earth outsiders I know are coming from the Northeast. Just my personal experiences.
And what I dislike about Texas: All of the "plastic" folks moving in here. I'm seeing a serious increase in materialism around here.
Last edited by speedoflight; 10-06-2006 at 02:49 AM..
Also, you've very mistakenly lumped all Californians into one big bucket. Please do not do this. Many Texans tend to do this accidentally. There's 2 different kinds of Californians and here in CA, you'd find people pointing that out very quickly.
I agree with you, but Californians also love to lump themselves in the "green" bucket. Most I know love to spout on about how environmentally aware they are compared with us in Texas--right before they jump into their huge SUV to run home and turn on the heater in their outdoor pool. The few Northern Californians I know (not natives but lived there long enough to have the culture rub off on them) are very environmentally sensitive and not materialistic. Not that they don't love money, cause, hey, who doesn't love being able to pay the doctor when they're sick or pay the rent on time? But they don't go around buying a bunch of stuff to show their neighbors and friends. These are the folks you'd never guess have anything when in fact they're doing quite well.
I can see why people buy stuff when they've never had it, but it's the message that goes with it. The Californians I know rent limos for their middle school kids to take to dances (oh, wait, limos aren't cool anymore--they rent Hummers), and they send their fifth- and sixth-grade daughters to spas and their sons to personal trainers. I know one family who's high school daughters are already planning their boob jobs.
It's insane.
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Then it pulls off belching smoke. On my most recent trip to California I was in the Sacramento area and like I said all I saw were small to mid size older cars. The maintenance on these you could tell was not of the highest so they are not all "green" or that aware of the environment. While my fairly new Suburban gets regular oil changes, new filters, tires at the proper psi all to maintain a quality & safe vehicle and to burn cleaner and last longer. 
So what if you live by an ocean if it is contaminated. YUCK!!!!!!
My oldest thought that parents just automatically bought their kids a car at 16. ROTFLMAO!!!!!!!!!!!! NOT IN THIS HOUSE!!!!!!!!!! You may get to drive your daddy's pick up and that is it. If you want anything else you better find a job. But it does crack me up and yet make me kind of unsettled when I see high school parking lots or young teens in high dollar cars. They have been handed way too much and will never know how to do anything for themselves. And then the houses. These kids are growing up thinking that when they buy their first house it has to be comparable to mommy and daddy's big, luxury house. 
