The Midwest is the best if... (Los Angeles, San Diego: live in, homeless, clubs)

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by jmac1

Nope, you don't have to be loaded with cash. Occupations of my friends and family here who are making more than 150k (that is not loaded with cash)..

We see this kind of comment from people with above average incomes all the time. "If I can do it, anyone can". Um, no. If it was that easy, other people would be doing it and you wouldn't be bringing in excess of 150K.

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by omnivore

The key to this thread is realizing that everyone doesn't want or value the same things. And that's okay.

I think the other key is you have to compare like with like.

Your "median income" earner is not the same as your highly motivated yuppie from the upper middle class. So to you upper middle class folks, you can't say to all the Joe Sixpack median earners "become upper middle class like me and you'll be fine". That isn't the point. You have to compare like with like.


The fact remains that people in the median income range generally will have less stress in most places affording the basics of life (especially housing) outside California. And that's true even if that median income in the lower cost locale is a bit lower. (And L.A. median incomes really aren't all that high, anyway).

[chessgeek]

Originally Posted by WizardOfRadical

Madison is lame. People hype it up way too much. There's a hill, 2 lakes, a college, and the state capitol.. and people act like it is Big Sur. LoL get real. Minneapolis? You gotta be kidding. Might as well live in Toronto at that point.

Santa Cruz has a very large panhandler/street people/homeless population. For a city of less than 60,000 people, that is sad. I remember going there frequently in the 70's, 80's, early 90's and enjoying it when I lived in San Jose, when that was not the case. It may be wise to clean up one's own act before taking potshots at other places as lame. I prefer Seascape, Aptos and Capitola to Santa Cruz these days. The Monterey Peninsula even more so. Just less hassle, more enjoyable.

Minneapolis is far more prosperous with a significant number of Fortune 500 firms and more affordable with fewer homeless/panhandlers per capita. Suppose someone from Santa Cruz could commute to Silicon Valley, but that is a horrid commute these days. Weather is not overall as good in MN of course, but autumn is gorgeous. On a two week trip to Minnesota (where I lived until age 12) in 2005, I got panhandled once and it was actually in a suburban shopping center near Minneapolis, not the city itself. LOL. In Santa Cruz, it is everyday life. Some people may call that lame, but I am too polite to make that conclusion. LOL.

I am 55 years old, so I stay in California with retirement less than a decade away. Were I 25 or 35, I would most likely move somewhere else and visit CA on occasion.

There is still a lot I like about California, don't get me wrong. Santa Cruz does not make my top ten list like it did in the 70's and 80's. I also apologize for voting for Arnold for governor several years ago. That was a mistake. He embarrassed us and himself further with his affair with the maid. He did not truly care about CA IMO. Heck, he could not pronounce the name of the state he governed. LOL. Jerry Brown has worked hard to get his mess straightened out the best he can, but it might be too late for the younger generation with our looming water crisis and continuing low K-12 educational status. Hope I am wrong and it can turn around though.

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by chessgeek

Santa Cruz has a very large panhandler/street people/homeless population. For a city of less than 60,000 people, that is sad. I remember going there frequently in the 70's, 80's, early 90's and enjoying it when I lived in San Jose, when that was not the case. It may be wise to clean up one's own act before taking potshots at other places as lame. I prefer Seascape, Aptos and Capitola to Santa Cruz these days. The Monterey Peninsula even more so. Just less hassle, more enjoyable.

Minneapolis is far more prosperous with a significant number of Fortune 500 firms and more affordable with fewer homeless/panhandlers per capita. Suppose someone from Santa Cruz could commute to Silicon Valley, but that is a horrid commute these days. Weather is not overall as good in MN of course, but autumn is gorgeous. On a two week trip to Minnesota (where I lived until age 12) in 2005, I got panhandled once and it was actually in a suburban shopping center near Minneapolis, not the city itself. LOL. In Santa Cruz, it is everyday life. Some people may call that lame, but I am too polite to make that conclusion. LOL.

I am 55 years old, so I stay in California with retirement less than a decade away. Were I 25 or 35, I would most likely move somewhere else and visit CA on occasion.

There is still a lot I like about California, don't get me wrong. Santa Cruz does not make my top ten list like it did in the 70's and 80's. I also apologize for voting for Arnold for governor several years ago. That was a mistake. He embarrassed us and himself further with his affair with the maid. He did not truly care about CA IMO. Heck, he could not pronounce the name of the state he governed. LOL. Jerry Brown has worked hard to get his mess straightened out the best he can, but it might be too late for the younger generation with our looming water crisis and continuing low K-12 educational status. Hope I am wrong and it can turn around though.

What's wrong with pronouncing it Kalifornien?

[Mini-apple-less]

Originally Posted by kingdomkz

That's exactly what bothers me about 99% of the Californians I meet in general.

I find Californians in general are quite parochial, and not particularly curious about the world. Of course, there are some exceptions, but it seems like a good fraction of the people living there basically live in a bubble.

[WizardOfRadical]

Originally Posted by chessgeek

Santa Cruz has a very large panhandler/street people/homeless population. For a city of less than 60,000 people, that is sad. I remember going there frequently in the 70's, 80's, early 90's and enjoying it when I lived in San Jose, when that was not the case. It may be wise to clean up one's own act before taking potshots at other places as lame. I prefer Seascape, Aptos and Capitola to Santa Cruz these days. The Monterey Peninsula even more so. Just less hassle, more enjoyable.

Minneapolis is far more prosperous with a significant number of Fortune 500 firms and more affordable with fewer homeless/panhandlers per capita. Suppose someone from Santa Cruz could commute to Silicon Valley, but that is a horrid commute these days. Weather is not overall as good in MN of course, but autumn is gorgeous. On a two week trip to Minnesota (where I lived until age 12) in 2005, I got panhandled once and it was actually in a suburban shopping center near Minneapolis, not the city itself. LOL. In Santa Cruz, it is everyday life. Some people may call that lame, but I am too polite to make that conclusion. LOL.

I am 55 years old, so I stay in California with retirement less than a decade away. Were I 25 or 35, I would most likely move somewhere else and visit CA on occasion.

There is still a lot I like about California, don't get me wrong. Santa Cruz does not make my top ten list like it did in the 70's and 80's. I also apologize for voting for Arnold for governor several years ago. That was a mistake. He embarrassed us and himself further with his affair with the maid. He did not truly care about CA IMO. Heck, he could not pronounce the name of the state he governed. LOL. Jerry Brown has worked hard to get his mess straightened out the best he can, but it might be too late for the younger generation with our looming water crisis and continuing low K-12 educational status. Hope I am wrong and it can turn around though.

Santa Cruz has a large homeless population, because places like your hometown back east send them here. Unlike your hometown, we are willing to help them, which attracts more of them from your hometown, which is back east as you are not a native and simply not from California.

And really, you live in Salinas. The armpit of the central coast. Where is real estate the most valuable, Santa Cruz, Salinas, or your home town back east? Answer=Santa Cruz, and for good reason.

Minneapolis is for people who can't hack it in Chicago or Toronto, so they settle for a mid sized cheap metro. YAAAAAAAWN.

[radiolibre99]

Wizard, quit trolling.

Minneapolis is a nice city. Why do you expect every city to be comparable to a CA town? And you're from Santa Cruz, lol. Small city trying to tell a mid size city it's no good. You're laughable bud.

[HyperionGap]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

Wizard, quit trolling.

Minneapolis is a nice city. Why do you expect every city to be comparable to a CA town? And you're from Santa Cruz, lol. Small city trying to tell a mid size city it's no good. You're laughable bud.

Quite.

I'm fairly certain Minneapolis has the biggest job growth in the Midwest. It's definitely only second to Chicago for banking and finance but it doesn't have all of its problems.

[dexter14]

Originally Posted by 909er

That is actually a very false statement. I have friends and family that own a home, nice car, and boat making $20/hr. Thats a household income around $80k. You cant do that in CA. Its also easier to find a job over there, and if you lose your job, you can go to a temp agency and get by on $10/hr temporarily. In CA, you can't do that. Lose your job, you can be in serious trouble quickly. Go to a temp service to get by, nobody speaks English at the temp jobs out here, and wouldn't make enough to get by anyway.

And the lower taxes, registration, gas, and no smogging makes that Camry cheaper to run in the Midwest.

Oh look, another person who thinks CA only consists of expensive areas like LA, SF, OC and SD There are plenty of places in CA you can own a nice home, car and a boat making $80k a year or even less.

[znlwovuhrjw]

Originally Posted by dexter14

Oh look, another person who thinks CA only consists of expensive areas like LA, SF, OC and SD There are plenty of places in CA you can own a nice home, car and a boat making $80k a year or even less.

https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q...average+salary

On Numbers looked at Bureau of Labor Statistics data to compare average pay for all employees across the country. The average salary is about $51,910, or an average hourly pay of $24.96. That covers 14,038,950 workers.

Top 25 Fastest-Growing Jobs in California

Where the Most Jobs are In California During 2015

These cities offer the largest number of jobs in California:

1. San Francisco,
2. Los Angeles,
3. San Diego (a good recovery from the decrease shown in 2013),
4. San Jose,
5. Sacramento (State Capital),
6. Irvine,
7. Palo Alto,
8. Oakland,
9. Mountain View, and
10. Fresno.

1. Lol, nope.
2. Hahaha... yeah no.
3. Even more expensive than LA.
4. A long commute, lol nope.
5. Literally the best "good" choice.
6. Nope.
7. Nope.
8. Don't get shot.
9. Nope.
10. The only other good choice.

Lots and lots of commuting, but yeah sure that sounds like fun.