It's just getting too expensive in Los Angeles (San Francisco, Anaheim: middle-class, sale)

[jmac1]

Originally Posted by 909er

You got all these crazy rent increases, it's just ridiculous. Look for a 3/2 house on craigslist...you wont find anything in any kind of family neighborhood for under $2300. That's talking places like Reseda, Carson, etc. Those aren't even "nice/fancy" places.

Are you mid career, experienced, and trying to find a job? These people are offering $18 to $25 an hour and expecting the world of you. Those are Midwest wages. In CA! Who can pay for a house, utilities, car, insurance, etc on that wage? And that's with a degree in a technical field.

The gas prices, car registration and insurance, sales tax, and high rent are unbearable. And the way these employers are acting these days is reprehensible. You can only use the weather excuse so long. Eventually you have to move on, to a cheaper city, and have a better life.

Lol........you sure are promoting the Midwest.

SoCal is overpriced, I'd admit that, but it cost to be the boss.

It is the housing cost more than anything. If you bought your house before 2002-2003 or 2009....you are OK; it is a little tougher on new buyers.

[jmac1]

Originally Posted by cityKing

California is clearly is trying to drive out the middle class, soon there will only be the very poor and very rich living there.

And the rich are going to sell their services to who?

[jmac1]

Originally Posted by 909er

That statement could not be any more false. The wages in other states are not that much lower to make up for the high cost of living in SoCal. Or in other words, SoCal does not necessarily pay enough vs. other states to make up for the high cost of living. (I understand some industries have their top dogs out here in "paradise" and pay more, but not true for J6P)

Went from over $100k to zero this year. Local offers coming in are now around $50k. I'm getting offers from Phoenix, TX, and other places around $50k. It is cheaper to live there, thus the $ goes farther, and your statement is false.

Actually my wife makes more here. If she gets a job in the IE she would take a pay cut....6k If she work's in LA, she will make only 4k more a year....we live in Phoenix and are moving back to LA next May.

[909er]

Lol, that $333 per month raise ain't gonna knock a dent in the COL increase you will experience.

[PDF]

So OP, why haven't you left LA?

[chacho_keva]

Originally Posted by 909er

You can only ride that statement so far. None of that matters if someone doesn't have any money to go out.

Here's a good example. Elon Musk is paying his guys in Reno an average wage of $25/hr at his new gigafactory. That's more than the $17 they get at Testa in SF, and the $22 you get at SpaceX in Hawthorne. And there is no state income tax in Nevada.

That puts you right in line to own a nice average home, good neighborhood, etc

http://www.realtor.com/realestateand...9-32428?row=15


You can't do that in SoCal on average wages.

I hear what you're saying. Thankfully, I may be one of the fortunate few who's income far surpasses what Musk is currently paying his employees in Nevada. But of course, if I were currently being paid $25/hr I would not be living in SoCal.

Best to you friend!

: )

[Marv101]

Look at any COL calculator on a website such as CNNMoney or Bankrate and you'll notice immediately how much the COL out here is compared to most of the feast of the country, starting with gasoline, grocery and housing costs.

It's not a secret folks.

[sdlife619]

California is becoming so expensive that in order for anybody even contemplating on buying a house here, they must be educated and at the minimum, having a degree in something that will pay you close to $100,000 a year salary.

I live down in San Diego, and the prices are similar to L.A., it's even more expensive down here actually since we have much less housing stock to choose from than up there. So it's inflated many houses here, including condo's.

It's basically going to come to a point where we will eventually have a massive exodus of poor people to middle class fleeing the state once they finally wake up and realize that things aren't going to become more affordable here in the future. Gas prices are a joke, taxes are high, utilities are getting more expensive, water is scarce, as nice as it is to live here, sometimes you have to make sacrifices in order to afford things, like paying your bills without going broke, to better yourself, and your family with common sense thinking.

So with that in mind, if you can no longer afford the rent, or the bills, and are fed up with CA's low wages, rules, laws and taxes, you should consider leaving.


As a born n bread Californian, I'm finally ready to leave. I'm done. A lightbulb finally went off. Like, "Why didn't I do this years ago!" I know I will never be able to afford a house or even a condo, and it's not just the skyrocketing rents that have pissed me off, it's the lack of economic prosperity for everyone. High Home prices and rents are slowly eating away at peoples savings, and making people feel poor even if they technically aren't


Only the wealthy or people that are sick and tired of living in the Mid-West or whatever crap boring town your from, will be moving here that are desperate. Including rich foreigners.

It's interesting because within the past month or 2, I've seen 7 homes go up for sale in my neighborhood. Just a few years ago, you never saw for sale signs around where I live. Now they are popping up almost on a weekly basis. It's possible that the majority of elderly people living in these neighborhoods are finally passing away, or they are trying to sell their houses for a high prices before home values start to crash again. Cash out and buy a smaller home and pocket the rest.

You'll be surprised on how fast homes sell around here once they're advertised to market. Buyers will have bidding wars and the home will be sold in a day or 2. It's crazy fast. You wonder who are the people buying these houses especially when there $500,000.

Your average plumber, auto mechanic, even construction worker probably would have to pass up on it.

The market needs to correct itself for being so unrealistic and unobtainable when it comes to reality. Things aren't right nor are they fair in this time.

Nobody could give a rats a$$ about the people working in fastfood, retail, or the tourism industry, because if they did, the wages would be more inline to COL index.. nobody can live off minimum wage, the people you see working them unfortunately they are probably living with roommates/ parents they can't stand, and can barely afford to feed themselves or gas their car up in order to get to work throughout the week.

It's a shame.

California still needs desperate people like this, but if there's a movement for change, and if the change was for immigrants and poor people in general to leave CA altogether for other states, then maybe that will put a huge dent into low paying wages because no one will be willing to work for something if they know it won't improve their lives financially, socially and economically.

It's simply not worth it.
So it's time to move on to greener pastures in the very near future.

[MItoBH]

Originally Posted by sdlife619

California is becoming so expensive that in order for anybody even contemplating on buying a house here, they must be educated and at the minimum, having a degree in something that will pay you close to $100,000 a year salary.

I live down in San Diego, and the prices are similar to L.A., it's even more expensive down here actually since we have much less housing stock to choose from than up there. So it's inflated many houses here, including condo's.

It's basically going to come to a point where we will eventually have a massive exodus of poor people to middle class fleeing the state once they finally wake up and realize that things aren't going to become more affordable here in the future. Gas prices are a joke, taxes are high, utilities are getting more expensive, water is scarce, as nice as it is to live here, sometimes you have to make sacrifices in order to afford things, like paying your bills without going broke, to better yourself, and your family with common sense thinking.

So with that in mind, if you can no longer afford the rent, or the bills, and are fed up with CA's low wages, rules, laws and taxes, you should consider leaving.


As a born n bread Californian, I'm finally ready to leave. I'm done. A lightbulb finally went off. Like, "Why didn't I do this years ago!" I know I will never be able to afford a house or even a condo, and it's not just the skyrocketing rents that have pissed me off, it's the lack of economic prosperity for everyone. High Home prices and rents are slowly eating away at peoples savings, and making people feel poor even if they technically aren't


Only the wealthy or people that are sick and tired of living in the Mid-West or whatever crap boring town your from, will be moving here that are desperate. Including rich foreigners.

It's interesting because within the past month or 2, I've seen 7 homes go up for sale in my neighborhood. Just a few years ago, you never saw for sale signs around where I live. Now they are popping up almost on a weekly basis. It's possible that the majority of elderly people living in these neighborhoods are finally passing away, or they are trying to sell their houses for a high prices before home values start to crash again. Cash out and buy a smaller home and pocket the rest.

You'll be surprised on how fast homes sell around here once they're advertised to market. Buyers will have bidding wars and the home will be sold in a day or 2. It's crazy fast. You wonder who are the people buying these houses especially when there $500,000.

Your average plumber, auto mechanic, even construction worker probably would have to pass up on it.

The market needs to correct itself for being so unrealistic and unobtainable when it comes to reality. Things aren't right nor are they fair in this time.

Nobody could give a rats a$$ about the people working in fastfood, retail, or the tourism industry, because if they did, the wages would be more inline to COL index.. nobody can live off minimum wage, the people you see working them unfortunately they are probably living with roommates/ parents they can't stand, and can barely afford to feed themselves or gas their car up in order to get to work throughout the week.

It's a shame.

California still needs desperate people like this, but if there's a movement for change, and if the change was for immigrants and poor people in general to leave CA altogether for other states, then maybe that will put a huge dent into low paying wages because no one will be willing to work for something if they know it won't improve their lives financially, socially and economically.

It's simply not worth it.
So it's time to move on to greener pastures in the very near future.

Raises hand as Midwesterner escaping the dreariness of Michigan.

I appreciate all that you have written, and people planning to move to CA, or those who need to move out of CA because they can't afford to live there, should read your post.

I have a MA degree and I can't find a new job here in MI in the media industry that I want. Those jobs are prolific in SoCal. Here in MI, there are these jobs, but my MA degree scares them, so they want the kids with a mere BA that they can pay less than 40k for. So, I'm saving up for my move to an environment where I know my skills and education will pay off. I know I'll be ok because I have the drive and will to make it be ok for me. I feel bad for those native Californians who have to contemplate leaving that beautiful state. But it makes no sense to stay somewhere that you cannot afford, it's not fun. The USA is a huge country and there are places that people can move to with a lower COL and a higher quality of life than CA for their circumstances.

It sounds like you're throwing in the towel and it sounds like a smart idea. I wish you the best of luck!

[Mr_Geek]

Wait, gas went up $1 in 2 days? Why didn't I see this?