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... I tell you this from first-hand experience, by moving to "affordable" areas in CA, that coincidentally also have very low populations of black (because they are not urban and don't have many jobs) and because they also are not Latino (because they don't have the usual agricultural workers, because most pot farmers and their employees are white).
... Oh yeah, and lots of these white, low-income citizens in low-income aka "affordable" areas, are also addicted to opioids.
Yeah, good luck finding your affordable white world, where this doesn't include white trash.
My pension is not high, so obviously I need a low COL area, but I like Winters to be winter-like. I like it when the rivers all freeze over and we can drive across the water.
Just as much as how I like Spring when the maple flows, and Summer and Fall.
This morning when I woke-up I heard a lot of rifles going off, and realized this is moose season! What would life be without moose season?
Seasons suck. Seasons usually mean, a comfortable window in spring and fall, and the rest sucks. Too hot, too cold, too humid. Highly overrated.
My experienced philosophy on seasons now is, if I want to see the snow in the trees, I'll schedule a vacation to see them. Same for any other season. In my normal day to day life, I don't want to deal with humidity, snow, hot weather, ice, etc.
Fortunately, I don't have to. And if I ever feel the need to experience them, I can schedule a vacation somewhere to do so.
As we get older, ice and snow is no joke. Same for really hot weather and humidity. If anyone has the option, I just can't see choosing do deal with it.
Well, hood usually equals black and barrio usually equals Latino. So, yep, Racist.
Sure, you can find lots of affordable white areas, where most of the inhabitants have no front teeth. Ironically, most of them will also be marijuana farmers. Are you okay with that?
I tell you this from first-hand experience, by moving to "affordable" areas in CA, that coincidentally also have very low populations of black (because they are not urban and don't have many jobs) and because they also are not Latino (because they don't have the usual agricultural workers, because most pot farmers and their employees are white).
But, do these white citizens give you more security? Better neighbors?
Hmmmm, life is just so dang complicated.
Oh yeah, and lots of these white, low-income citizens in low-income aka "affordable" areas, are also addicted to opioids.
Yeah, good luck finding your affordable white world, where this doesn't include white trash.
This is why some people don't dare speak about what they want or are looking for in retirement. Would a Black, Asian or any other person that said they would prefer to retire where there are mostly people of their own race receive such a lashing? Is this intolerance, hatred and bigotry put up with anywhere other than maybe the political forum?
Can a post be more vile and say anything else more obvious about the person that wrote it?
Read much of this thread - my thoughts as a Californian soon to retire are:
Most people I know who have retired with strong savings stayed in Calif. Some would have left but for family proximity. My best friend is soon to retire and wants to stay - all her kids and grandkids are here. She has plenty of money. Another close friend is in the same boat - single and no kids but her brother lives here.
Yet another close friend who is middle class and without family plans to leave. One of my aunts, who is very middle class, just moved to Idaho. The other, who has more $, stayed in Calif and downsized. Most of my savings consist of home equity, so I will likely leave the state, as my social security and 401k will go much further in a place with a lower cost of living and cheaper home prices.
So my overall impression of where Californians retire to is: have $$ and family here, not too politically conservative = stay here; conservative and lesser means and no family = leave; everyone else falls in between, depending on how important each factor is.
Weather - Yes, some areas are ideal for most: Nevada City; Napa; Santa Barbara, Orange County, San Diego (though the last 3 lack true seasons). But housing in those areas is really expensive! The Sierras get plenty cold and lots of snow (non-drought years), the desert areas bake, and the inland valleys have very hot summers with sometimes challenging winters (lots of rain/fog/wind). The worst for me is the wind. It's windy here quite often. Although the summer marine breeze is great; the dry north winds and winter storm winds are nasty. The former really drives allergies nuts. And the low humidity in summer might be easier on people but is hell on gardens and yards (and water bills). I lived in North Carolina for 3 years and loved the variety of occasional rains in summer. Sure, some days were quite humid but others were perfect. Wind was a non-issue. So, at least for the inland valleys, the weather is ok/decent but far from great. Now, if I could afford Napa - that's another story!
COL - Yes, relatively-speaking, property tax is low. But that's of little comfort if a basic house in a decent areas is 500k, so you end up paying almost 6k a year. Better than New Jersey or Ohio but nothing like the South. The real killer is all the fees and taxes you pay for monthly bills. Take sewer, every bill I get a $50 "infrastructure" fee on top of the connection charge. For electric, there's a $20 monthly fee in addition to the actual Kwh usage. That stuff really adds up over time, and it goes up each year, on top of the rate hikes, etc. Gasoline is a never-ending upward spiral of taxes.
Crime - its everywhere so Cal has no monopoly. But Oakland and Stockton are national top 10 for violence and some other valley and LA areas are trying to keep up. The heavy marijuana grow tolerance creates problems in the northern rural areas, plus the local and state governments really push high-density housing which inevitably spawns higher crime rates. Even first time violent felony convictions sometimes result in no prison time due to all the prison reform mandates.
Traffic - It's the worst - end of story. I have a friend who travels all across the U.S. each year seeing clients and he told me that the Bay Area traffic takes the cake. Even on a Saturday, it often takes 3 hours to travel 90 miles, and that's without even entering the S.F. city limits. I don't take advantage of all the fun and scenic things to do nearly as much as I used to because I don't want to spend all my time snarled in traffic jams. Even shopping on the weekend is an ordeal and I live in suburbs 20 miles from downtown. When I lived in N. Carolina, a jam was 3 cars waiting at the same light. Sure, it's undoubtedly changed now but that's doubly-true here.
The worst part is that Calif has zero senior tax breaks - neither income nor property tax come down one bit after 65 or 70 or . . . . So, although it doesn't tax SSI, it will gladly rip as much of your 401k as it can. I think that indifference really nags at the politically conservative folks, which I understand - the state is willing to fully-subsidize health care for non-citizens and put millions of folks on Medi-Cal but not a single tax break for a life-long resident who paid the highest income taxes in the nation (once you get above say 50k a year) his whole life? I can see why folks get pissed and want to leave, even though they can afford to stay.
Anyhow, it's a great place in many ways - if you have strong $ and want lots of physical and cultural diversity and don't mind arid or can afford to live near the coast (and don't mind fog), it's definitely worth considering. The traffic you can't avoid though.
Read much of this thread - my thoughts as a Californian soon to retire are:
Most people I know who have retired with strong savings stayed in Calif. Some would have left but for family proximity. My best friend is soon to retire and wants to stay - all her kids and grandkids are here. She has plenty of money. Another close friend is in the same boat - single and no kids but her brother lives here.
Yet another close friend who is middle class and without family plans to leave. One of my aunts, who is very middle class, just moved to Idaho. The other, who has more $, stayed in Calif and downsized. Most of my savings consist of home equity, so I will likely leave the state, as my social security and 401k will go much further in a place with a lower cost of living and cheaper home prices.
So my overall impression of where Californians retire to is: have $$ and family here, not too politically conservative = stay here; conservative and lesser means and no family = leave; everyone else falls in between, depending on how important each factor is.
Weather - Yes, some areas are ideal for most: Nevada City; Napa; Santa Barbara, Orange County, San Diego (though the last 3 lack true seasons). But housing in those areas is really expensive! The Sierras get plenty cold and lots of snow (non-drought years), the desert areas bake, and the inland valleys have very hot summers with sometimes challenging winters (lots of rain/fog/wind). The worst for me is the wind. It's windy here quite often. Although the summer marine breeze is great; the dry north winds and winter storm winds are nasty. The former really drives allergies nuts. And the low humidity in summer might be easier on people but is hell on gardens and yards (and water bills). I lived in North Carolina for 3 years and loved the variety of occasional rains in summer. Sure, some days were quite humid but others were perfect. Wind was a non-issue. So, at least for the inland valleys, the weather is ok/decent but far from great. Now, if I could afford Napa - that's another story!
COL - Yes, relatively-speaking, property tax is low. But that's of little comfort if a basic house in a decent areas is 500k, so you end up paying almost 6k a year. Better than New Jersey or Ohio but nothing like the South. The real killer is all the fees and taxes you pay for monthly bills. Take sewer, every bill I get a $50 "infrastructure" fee on top of the connection charge. For electric, there's a $20 monthly fee in addition to the actual Kwh usage. That stuff really adds up over time, and it goes up each year, on top of the rate hikes, etc. Gasoline is a never-ending upward spiral of taxes.
Crime - its everywhere so Cal has no monopoly. But Oakland and Stockton are national top 10 for violence and some other valley and LA areas are trying to keep up. The heavy marijuana grow tolerance creates problems in the northern rural areas, plus the local and state governments really push high-density housing which inevitably spawns higher crime rates. Even first time violent felony convictions sometimes result in no prison time due to all the prison reform mandates.
Traffic - It's the worst - end of story. I have a friend who travels all across the U.S. each year seeing clients and he told me that the Bay Area traffic takes the cake. Even on a Saturday, it often takes 3 hours to travel 90 miles, and that's without even entering the S.F. city limits. I don't take advantage of all the fun and scenic things to do nearly as much as I used to because I don't want to spend all my time snarled in traffic jams. Even shopping on the weekend is an ordeal and I live in suburbs 20 miles from downtown. When I lived in N. Carolina, a jam was 3 cars waiting at the same light. Sure, it's undoubtedly changed now but that's doubly-true here.
The worst part is that Calif has zero senior tax breaks - neither income nor property tax come down one bit after 65 or 70 or . . . . So, although it doesn't tax SSI, it will gladly rip as much of your 401k as it can. I think that indifference really nags at the politically conservative folks, which I understand - the state is willing to fully-subsidize health care for non-citizens and put millions of folks on Medi-Cal but not a single tax break for a life-long resident who paid the highest income taxes in the nation (once you get above say 50k a year) his whole life? I can see why folks get pissed and want to leave, even though they can afford to stay.
Anyhow, it's a great place in many ways - if you have strong $ and want lots of physical and cultural diversity and don't mind arid or can afford to live near the coast (and don't mind fog), it's definitely worth considering. The traffic you can't avoid though.
This is a very honest and accurate post as far as I'm concerned. Being a Californian, I can't disagree with anything you wrote.
This is a very honest and accurate post as far as I'm concerned. Being a Californian, I can't disagree with anything you wrote.
Me as well, except for the part about traffic. The traffic in the Bay area can be bad, and the worst spots are as bad as anywhere, but in my experience, LA has worse overall traffic.
Me as well, except for the part about traffic. The traffic in the Bay area can be bad, and the worst spots are as bad as anywhere, but in my experience, LA has worse overall traffic.
It's close - both are horrendous. I give the nod to the Bay Area due to the toll bridges, which create extra problems not found in L.A.
people want to move where they are comfortable. If that is within their own race, so be it.
there is nothing racist about it unless you yourself, are a hater and discriminatory.
So mirror, look and see yourself
I don't disagree. Nonetheless, it's one thing to seek a community that matches your economic and cultural (i.e., customs, academic, social behavior) demographic. It's quite another to exclude those communities that don't, based primarily based upon race.
How did you end up in the place you are living? A job? People are funny. They find a job and then move into a home whether they like the area or not. It becomes "home". Others find a place they love....things to do, amenities that are important to them, and then they find a job to support that lifestyle. I have moved more times than I care to count for a husband's job, position, transfer. Oldest son went to 6 different grade schools. My next move will be location first where I want to be....structures can be changed and as long as UPS can find you, shopping is no problem. If you can drive to medical care, that is good enough. I would like to be someplace that feels like the "home" I have always imagined. Which I suppose would be inside one of "Thomas Kincaide"s paintings".
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