It's just getting too expensive in Los Angeles (San Diego, Orange: appliances, cinema)

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by jmac1

Well, if you go major metro, then you are spending a little more cash, so you might as well stay in LA. All of these great priced homes with large lots are not in the metros.

They're not that far off from the cities. House I'm looking at in Austin is 300k next to the lakes on a hill. It's still in the metro area too.

You could find homes in the burbs for 150k in some cities.

So I'm confused as to what your impression is of the heartland??

[Uncle Willis]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

They're not that far off from the cities. House I'm looking at in Austin is 300k next to the lakes on a hill. It's still in the metro area too.

You could find homes in the burbs for 150k in some cities.

So I'm confused as to what your impression is of the heartland??

Only $300k in Austin?,!! Is it somebody's guesthouse?

[Des-Lab]

Considering that the greater LA area is THE world bastion for nice weather, tasty fish tacos, Mongolian art museums, and stigma-free interracial dating, I would think that $4800 a month for a studio apartment or $6.9 mil for a 1200 sq ft single story fixer-upper is both a bargain and just a small price to pay for having the privilege of residing in such a world class metropolis.

[jmac1]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

They're not that far off from the cities. House I'm looking at in Austin is 300k next to the lakes on a hill. It's still in the metro area too.

You could find homes in the burbs for 150k in some cities.

So I'm confused as to what your impression is of the heartland??

I don't have an "impression," I grew up in the Mid-West. I was just there in June. My point is, you lose a lot of things to do, thus there is a fine line between quality of life and long term economic viability.

You have to be careful. You can't live too much of your current life for your future life (good retirement because you moved to the heartland), if that makes sense? Enjoy the now and later, not just the later or just the now.

You can have it both ways in LA and other places I am sure, but for me, LA is the best.

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by Uncle Willis

Only $300k in Austin?,!! Is it somebody's guesthouse?

It's not one of those mansions actually on the hill overlooking the lake. Even though those homes are still a bargain at one million plus.

It's a smaller modern house near the lakes. It's on a hill but it's nothing fancy.

[radiolibre99]

Originally Posted by jmac1

I don't have an "impression," I grew up in the Mid-West. I was just there in June. My point is, you lose a lot of things to do, thus there is a fine line between quality of life and long term economic viability.

You have to be careful. You can't live too much of your current life for your future life (good retirement because you moved to the heartland), if that makes sense? Enjoy the now and later, not just the later or just the now.

You can have it both ways in LA and other places I am sure, but for me, LA is the best.

Did you grow up in the rust belt? There's still places that haven't boomed and developed. The South has but not places like Ohio. I'm talking about places like Atlanta, Charlotte, Denver, Houston, Austin, Dallas, Nashville, Richmond, Seattle, etc. The list isn't too long. I've heard good things about Salt Lake too. Nothing extraordinary but good.

[seain dublin]

Originally Posted by radiolibre99

Translation: get used to your lower standard of living or leave.

Not really. My father had a motto "keep your overhead low". He retired at 55 and lived a very long and comfortable life for almost another 30 years.

Originally Posted by Cardiff Kook

I really don't measure my standard of living by my house size. My family consists of 2 people. Why do I need 3k sq ft? I'll take proximity to the ocean as higher standard of living over a larger house any day. Obviously, everyone's situation is different..

Bingo. I guess it's important to some people to have a McMansion in a lower COL state that they really don't need, rather than have a smaller home in an area that offers better weather, better scenery, and a lot more to do.

I also have to laugh at some of the comments people post on here. There was one guy awhile back who was bragging how he had a huge house in Alabama on 10 acres, he was from CA. How he had a small home in CA, OK, but why couldn't you get the same size home or maybe a little bigger in AL?

And invest or save the difference? Most of these people aren't any better off financially because they don't know how to "keep your overhead low".

They go hog wild and overextend themselves in the new state. It just makes them feel better, in reality if you're smart you by just the size home you need and invest the difference you saved by moving out of CA.

[radiolibre99]

Sorry, Sean but there ain't no amount of thinking that you've found a better standard of living by adopting a mindset that's going to trump the economic reality that you get more bang for your buck elsewhere. The only thing you guys run on is thinking the heartland is boring sweltering undeveloped mess. It's not but if that cushions the economic choices you've made so be it. I do believe it comes down to preference, but the choice is do you prefer to pay more for less quantity to get better quality. If that's you have it, hoss. It's a free country but don't try to say that it's not a better deal cus you guys save on electric bills cus there's less humidity and you don't have to blast the AC. LOL.

If we are talking pure value then most ppl will take a look at LA, see the job figures and the real wages offered and say, "yeah I'll just visit". If they don't share the idea that living in a Ferrari city next to the cool beach is just a value in itself it doesn't mean they're yolkels meant to live out in the sticks. Or heck, you guys don't even use derogatory terms, you guys just use the state itself as a cut down; AL is apparently a dirty word, eh?

It ain't all about you, son.

[jm1982]

That's great your father was able to retire at 55 and have 30 years of retirement.

Reading articles like this in the news are pretty sad..
Retire? Older*Americans Plan to Work Until They Drop - Bloomberg Business

I also read that although many plan to work until their later years...many times this isn't even a possibility for many because of health issues and because of layoffs,etc.

This happened to a former manager of mine .She was planning to continue to work, but the place she works is "going through changes" and pretty much made it clear that they don't want her there anymore.. After over 30 years!
Luckily she has enough saved/invested to retire..

I think a lot of people move out of state just because they can't find anything they can afford in L.A , even a modest or small house..not necessarily that they want a McMansion....there are places you can get a McMansion way less than 1/2 of the cost of a small house in the hood' in L.A though. Some land and property is amazingly cheap in parts of the U.S
I agree though it's dumb to move for economic reasons and then still be broke.

"We moved out of L.A..now we can finally 'afford' , the brand new SUV, the boat and all the toys we couldn't before!"

It's hard to feel too sorry for people that spend their money in really wasteful ways if they can't afford it.
Different than someone that is having a hard time affording the necessities.

[radiolibre99]

This debate reminds me of the spats between luxury car owners and American muscle car owners. The Ferrari owners might ask the guy who bought the mustang cobra, you could afford a Ferrari so why a mustang? Dude looks back and says better deal, cool car and it doesn't break the bank. The Ferrari guy prolly thinks what a yokel, doesn't know true quality when it's in his face. When the other guy just likes his mustang and isn't looking for anything fancy. He just wants a nice car that's fast and prefers American. Some guys just want a Ford Raptor.

I do agree though that the keeping up with joneses is nuts in these booming southern towns.