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If you're an illegal alien, you can get a driver's license.
yep...just like Nevada, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, New Mexico, Utah, Vermont, and Washington! Imagine that, all those "illegal licenses" and the sky hasn't fallen yet
Wow...not just that, they are all in SOUTHERN California. I lived in Orange County for 30+ years, now live in Ventura County. Previously lived in Tucson, AZ for 7 years.
California is not that expensive for the most part, except vertically along the ocean up to about 10 miles inland. For example, in LA many people live in Riverside, Ontario and Corona. It's a miserable drive if you work downtown, but still there are many lovely family neighborhoods in those towns. I have a friend who lives in Camarillo and commutes to Los Angeles for work. He takes the train. Flex hours, so he goes in early and leaves early.
I think the economy is pretty strong, and the pay tends to be higher here than in other states. For example, if you are in construction, there is a LOT of work with remodels and new construction. Plus, you can work 12 months per year. If you are an experienced, licensed contractor, drug free and extremely detailed....you can easily make $200,000 + here. The keywords being "drug free, and detailed."
Due to the temperate weather, utility bills are lowerall year round. Clothing expense is lower because you wear the same things year round. Add a pair of boots and a jacket or sweater and you can wear most of your summer and spring clothing all winter. Your car will last longer because there is no snow to eat up and rust your car. As for bugs, I have none. Never have. No flies, certainly no roaches, no ants. A scorpion crawled into my shoe when I lived in Tucson, and I branded myself when I sat on the male end of my seatbelt.
I'm about done. But I will say that living in Southern CA is easy. It's an easy lifestyle for the most part. Traffic? I'd love to hear of areas in the country that DON'T have traffic. LA is worse, probably, but I have never been close to a major city where I was not sitting in my car on a freeway beginning at 3 pm. I don't know of any city that spends properly for infrastructure.
I would hate it if I had to move back to Tucson, simply because of the heat. The economy is not growing either, based on what my friends who live there tell me.
I live in Ontario and work in Downtown LA and ny commute is not bad at all. I get to work faster than many people that live on the west side. Oh yea, I take Metrolink train rather than driving.
Wow...not just that, they are all in SOUTHERN California. I lived in Orange County for 30+ years, now live in Ventura County. Previously lived in Tucson, AZ for 7 years.
California is not that expensive for the most part, except vertically along the ocean up to about 10 miles inland. For example, in LA many people live in Riverside, Ontario and Corona. It's a miserable drive if you work downtown, but still there are many lovely family neighborhoods in those towns. I have a friend who lives in Camarillo and commutes to Los Angeles for work. He takes the train. Flex hours, so he goes in early and leaves early.
I think the economy is pretty strong, and the pay tends to be higher here than in other states. For example, if you are in construction, there is a LOT of work with remodels and new construction. Plus, you can work 12 months per year. If you are an experienced, licensed contractor, drug free and extremely detailed....you can easily make $200,000 + here. The keywords being "drug free, and detailed."
Due to the temperate weather, utility bills are lowerall year round. Clothing expense is lower because you wear the same things year round. Add a pair of boots and a jacket or sweater and you can wear most of your summer and spring clothing all winter. Your car will last longer because there is no snow to eat up and rust your car. As for bugs, I have none. Never have. No flies, certainly no roaches, no ants. A scorpion crawled into my shoe when I lived in Tucson, and I branded myself when I sat on the male end of my seatbelt.
I'm about done. But I will say that living in Southern CA is easy. It's an easy lifestyle for the most part. Traffic? I'd love to hear of areas in the country that DON'T have traffic. LA is worse, probably, but I have never been close to a major city where I was not sitting in my car on a freeway beginning at 3 pm. I don't know of any city that spends properly for infrastructure.
I would hate it if I had to move back to Tucson, simply because of the heat. The economy is not growing either, based on what my friends who live there tell me.
Great post. I was visiting Greenville,SC and at 3pm(the time you mentioned) their one freeway was bumper to bumper in both directions. Other cities are worse.
Great post. I was visiting Greenville,SC and at 3pm(the time you mentioned) their one freeway was bumper to bumper in both directions. Other cities are worse.
Southern CA isn't the only place with traffic.
The biggest difference is the total area as SoCal has bumper to bumper traffic not just a city. I currently live in TN near Knoxville and even at peak traffic hours it takes about 20 minutes to drive to and through Knoxville. It seems bad in the city but takes about 10 minutes to go through it. In LA and OC you are in heavy traffic for a long time.
I used to live in the SFV and worked in LA and it was a 45 minute drive. I also ran a route from SDC through OC and LA and it was a pain. Now DC or NYC are bad for sure, but for most areas the smaller population size makes it a shorter trip and in SoCal it is a pain. Don't know about the Bay area as I never lived there.
I have an interesting question.
I did answer some though any more.
California is often known as the state whose looks to legislate excessively thinking that they can legislate their state into a "utopia"
Though I would like to ask what types of legal rights are unique to those in California which are rare in other parts of the nation.
What types of legislation puts residents of California in advantage over that of other states?
One thing I can think of is the Unruh Civil Rights act that prevents discrimination in commercial businesses,
The school makeup day exemption which I mentioned appears to be rare in other states as well. As I see its always other states that scramble to makeup school days due to force majeure.
Another thing is that major rental car companies must allow additional drivers for free.
There seem to be quite a few articles about why I should'nt move to/live in,California. Many reasons I've come across for people leaving/wanting to leave/hating it there(both from articles&comments therein&actual people I know),are: being heavily taxed for everything except breathing,having daily in your home encounters with scorpions,centipedes,roaches,etc¬ being able to walk barefoot inside your own home due to that,infestations of dogs&immigrants&crime/criminals,that you are essentially told how to live your life there(a babysitter/nanny state)&that you are hassled/ostracised(Sp?)if you don't do as they say concerning your own life,that there is a lot of hidden stress&pressure in those who live there,that they are reusing sewer water&dirty water,ridiculous amounts of 'parking lot traffic',that everything is off the charts expensive(food,bills,etc),too many 'eco-nuts',that cops will follow you around for no reason no matter your race or what you're doing,that animals have more rights than do the people that live there,smog,homeless people/drug addicts everywhere,that it is a cesspool,that California is no longer America/American,among other things that people have expressed a lot of unhappiness about&have given as reasons why they don't care for California living at all/why they moved ASAP. So what I want to know is...are there any pros to living in sunny California,besides the beautiful ocean views,mostly warm temperatures year round,nice beach homes&good food? Quality of life&such? Because it has been something I have wanted to do for a while(move to central coast California,that is),but going by what many others say about it,both those that do live there now,or have,that I would'nt really care for it,at all. I ask my question of those that do live there now&those who have lived there for at least 5 years within the past 10 years...is it worth it in any way for me to move there,or should I stop 'California dreaming'&move elsewhere?
There are lots of perks. I absolutely love where I live. I moved here for college from the east coast. I lived in a beautiful town right on the beach, where I could surf several times a week despite a small swell window.During the winter I drove to one of the best mountains in North America, Mammoth, 2-3 times a month. UCSB had a ski team so for 300$ I had a place to stay any weekend I wanted there. I spent my last winter living in Tahoe skiing Squaw Valley everyday, a mountain that is steeper than anywhere in Colorado or Utah and makes places like Vail and Aspen look very flat. If you like ledge-to-ledge billygoating and cliff drops Squaw is up there with Jackson. After a few years skiing everyday I decided to go to grad school. I now live 6 hours from one of the best mountains on the continent, Mammoth again, so in the winter I still get to ski great terrain 3 weekends a month, although I do spend about 35 hours a month driving there. In the summer I am 8 minutes from a great surfing beach which gets consistent south swells. Additionally, the weather is beautiful, there is a crossFit gym on every[ corner, and I am 10 minutes from work. If I had to live in Colorado and ski Abasin on the weekends and mountain bike in the summer I could. I could also do the same in Seattle. But there really is nowhere like California. Having said all that, where I live is one of the most expensive places in the country. My house is worth about 1.7 to 1.75 and it is only 2300 square feet with no view. In much of the rest of the country it would be 300k. I don't have to deal with the nightmares much of the state deals with, like I said I'm only 10 minutes from work and about the same distance from the beach, but if you don't make multiples of 6 figures it is very hard to make it work. There are lots of other good things, but living in the pricey parts of the state is very hard, and for many people that means a hellish commute. Those of us who don't have to deal with that are very lucky.
The central coast is less expensive than coastal Orange County, but still pricey compared to the rest of the country. Also, there is less of an economy there, so it is harder to make reasonable money, meaning the lower cost of living is offset by the difficulty making good money. North of Marin County things start to get less expensive. The coastal far north is beautiful, but not the sunny beach climate people think of when they think of California. It seems like a different state.
California is truly one of the great places to be a weekend warrior. Like I said, the skiing is arguably the best in the country, debatable but very possible, and the surf is great too. I know lots of people here who also love mountain biking, fishing, hiking and other outdoor pursuits. If I had to leave and move just about anywhere in the country that would be tough. Like I said, other than Seattle or Denver I would have a really hard time. I mean, moving to Cleveland? Philadelphia? I would lose my mind. I would almost tell people to not get into skiing or surfing, because once you do it really limits where you can live. I grew up in the Hudson Valley of New York, and while I love the city I would hate to have to ski those tiny mountains again.
If you don't love the outdoors I really question why people are here. I guess if you are super into fitness, but unless it is a job opportunity unique to California why come here if you don't want to play outside? It can be a real nightmare here unless you have money. There are some nice spots inland as you go north, but for people who want to live the coastal California dream in the bay area or south of Point Conception good luck. I know people who have left because of the expense, and many of them make good money.
Churches are located on street corners and not in my bedroom or bathroom.
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