Where do tree hugging, vegetarian liberals belong in OC? (Thousand Oaks: high school, tile)

[DinsdalePirahna]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

But I moved away none the less, bought the big house, lived the American dream... only discover it wasn't my dream in its truest sense. Home ownership in nice suburbia didn't compare to the quality of life I experienced growing up near the sea.

Derek

Yep. I traded in a 2500 sqft + Home on 1/2 acre of land with a lake in the Midwest for a 1200 sq ft condo with an HOA by the beach.

Couldn't be happier.

[jaynetarzana]

Most of the time, the extra space just allows people to accumulate more stuff they don't need. It is amazing to me the amount of effort people will put into obtaining and maintaining their stuff rather than living. We have lived in a home as small at 720 sq ft when we had two kids and two dogs. I think we could probably make 1500 sq ft work with four. You have to get creative with space and it makes it impossible to accumulate stuff you don't need.

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by jaynetarzana

Most of the time, the extra space just allows people to accumulate more stuff they don't need. It is amazing to me the amount of effort people will put into obtaining and maintaining their stuff rather than living. We have lived in a home as small at 720 sq ft when we had two kids and two dogs. I think we could probably make 1500 sq ft work with four. You have to get creative with space and it makes it impossible to accumulate stuff you don't need.

Yes, I agree. We had finally furnished our formal living room in CO before selling our home and moving back to CA. So we basically bought a bunch of stuff we didn't need to fill up a room we hardly ever used only to turn around and sell it on craigslist.

Although I grew up in an expensive area it was on very humble means in a single parent home. So we always rented. Yet somehow my mother always managed to keep us very near the ocean because we both loved it so much. I didn't mind the small places we lived it all. In fact I hardly thought twice about it while growing up. This was my back and front yard.







Derek

[MtnSurfer]

Originally Posted by DinsdalePirahna

Yep. I traded in a 2500 sqft + Home on 1/2 acre of land with a lake in the Midwest for a 1200 sq ft condo with an HOA by the beach.

Couldn't be happier.

Cool story, DinsdalePirahna. Glad to hear you are fully enjoying life on the coast.

Derek

[oc919]

Originally Posted by DinsdalePirahna

Yep. I traded in a 2500 sqft + Home on 1/2 acre of land with a lake in the Midwest for a 1200 sq ft condo with an HOA by the beach.

Couldn't be happier.

I have a 5 bedroom house on almost an acre in central NJ. After all these snowstorms and now ice, I'm fed up maintaining it. Renting a small condo with fees in SoCal sounds like heaven to me now!

[ExeterMedia]

Originally Posted by MtnSurfer

Yes, I agree. We had finally furnished our formal living room in CO before selling our home and moving back to CA. So we basically bought a bunch of stuff we didn't need to fill up a room we hardly ever used only to turn around and sell it on craigslist.

Although I grew up in an expensive area it was on very humble means in a single parent home. So we always rented. Yet somehow my mother always managed to keep us very near the ocean because we both loved it so much. I didn't mind the small places we lived it all. In fact I hardly thought twice about it while growing up. This was my back and front yard.







Derek

You should be thankful. Some people never get to the state of mind you've gotten to. They still believe having a "bigger" home landlocked in the burbs, with garages full of stuff they've accumulated over the years, is the way to live.

[DinsdalePirahna]

Originally Posted by oc919

I have a 5 bedroom house on almost an acre in central NJ. After all these snowstorms and now ice, I'm fed up maintaining it. Renting a small condo with fees in SoCal sounds like heaven to me now!

Although I like Central Jersey, I left NY because I just got tired of winter. I feel your pain.

Condos have an appeal to me since I am not a slave to a house.
My weekends/evenings are free.
The Honey-Do list is minimal.
The lawns and pool are well maintained. HOA is about 425 /month (when I owned a home I would be spending at least that much monthly + my time for various external home projects/maintenance.

[jaynetarzana]

This is a very good point, DinsdalePirahna. So many people think that SFH's are the only way to go, but so much of your life is given up in order to maintain it. When our kids are grown, we will happily leave the SFH behind. I wish higher density housing was more family friendly, especially with regards to proximity to schools. There is still a stigma around families living in apartments, condos, townhouses, even duplexes which I think is one of the reasons they shy away from it, I can speak for us personally.

[MtnSurfer]

There can be some really nice condos near the coast, especially those with views. Townhouses are also very common due to the limited real estate. Some of these can be very well laid out for their smaller size. But yes, living in them with in a larger family can present certain challenges. I can't remember if you also have dog(s)? But that is also a problem with limited to no yards. Though some townhouses have a little yard.

Derek

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by Mach50

We met a few people like this in OC, who claim to be "tree hugging vegetarian liberals"....However come to find out, they aren't really being "tree hugging vegetarian liberals" to help others, they are basically just trying to limit how many times they eat junk food and want to shop at the latest store with "Green" or "Environmental" in the title...

Nothing like NorCal can be found down in SoCal...trust me it's 2 completely different souls.

I know this comment is a few years old, but it's priceless and the perfect way to explain the difference between so cal and nor cal, as far as so many posters who come looking for 'like berkeley or sc but in warm weather'.

so cal liberalism is more like being into yoga and artsy stuff, maybe health food, but not really political. Then again, so cal as a whole is more live and let live-people don't put their politics in your face, and i personally have grown to really appreciate that, despite all of the challenging aspects for me [mainly air quality, traffic, lack of depth in coversations...]. I have not, however, ever cared for the berkeley or sc brands of liberalism, anyway, and I've lived in SFO, boulder and missoula, for comparison.

I've met/seen people move to SD from berkeley, for example, and they assume that anyone they meet who 'seems diverse' or 'is into yoga' or a lifestyle that would normally be attributed to 'liberals', and frankly, people were confused b/c the language and behaviors are really not the same at all. It was kind of funny to hear them talk with big assumptions.

I like the live and let live attitude that has become more and more the norm in so cal. But it's a relatively apathetic place-people are busy with their own lives to be particularly concerned with someone else's. self-absorbed, i suppose. I don't think most people in so cal are actively 'accepting' of everyone=just can't be bothered to care. lol. But it rubs off and becomes the dominant vibe-it's a lifestyle!

So, anyone thinking about moving to so cal from nor cal: If you want to adapt, you might enjoy it, but if you want what you have now, in a different location, it's not going to happen. compromise will be essential, in your paradigm, in order to be happy with that kind of transition. Think of it as moving to a foreign country, and you're an expat, getting the most out of your time in this different culture-b/c you'll probably only be here temporarily anyway. And your kids may have other plans with their lives and end up benefiting from living in so cal [if you have a family'].

Then again, this advice true for people moving anywhere-people often want a brooklyn hood in SFO for example...Not. Going. To. Happen.

Anyway, good luck with your moving research, for anyone reading this post!