The Bay Area (Oakland, Berkeley, Walnut Creek: universities, living, restaurants)

[BacktoBlue]

Originally Posted by clongirl

I don't recall the OP asking about San Diego.

That post was in reference to Gentoo.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by Footballfreak

What San Diego does offer that elite places do not is a standard of living that is world class, but attainable to the masses. Yes, we hear people complaining about the high cost of living, but to be honest, there are many decent and relatively affordable spots in San Diego. Vista/San Marcos/Santee, etc may not have the best school systems in the state, but they are all decent places to live and raise a family while still being able to enjoy the other ammenities SD has to offer. I guess it all depends on what classifies as 'affordable'; if you are looking for sub 200k detached housing, then yes, SD is expensive. But high 300s-400k entry level housing is definitely still obtainable in these areas.

If you go to some place like the Bay Area, these average types of areas cost alot a whole lot more than SD. The only affordable places to live in the Bay Area are either 50 miles (Tracy, Stockton, Concord, etc.) from the nearest employment centers OR, they are areas that have been marginalized by crime and lack of lack of infrastructure, such as Hayward, Oakland (south of 580), etc.

I'm not going to turn this into a Bay Area vs. SD discussion. My point in mentioning SD was to "paint the picture" in response to what Ceece was talking about regarding those us us who were born and raised there. It was not meant to turn this thread into a pissing contest.

[andyadhi01]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

Well, you get what you pay for but you're right, can't really argue with the cost of living being high.

The problem is you DONT get what you pay for in this area. If I pay 9.5% in income taxes and another 9.5% in sales taxes, and heavy fees and fines for anything car related, I expect the pavement to be smooth, I expect education to be affordable and I want law enforcement to do their job. If I pay over 2K a month for a small apartment I expect it to be nice and modern. If I have to pay an increasing amount of money for public transit, I expect them to run on time and not deal with worse than third world filthiness! If I have to pay ever increasing tolls on the bridges I expect them to repair/upgrade them in time. Living in bay area is like pouring money in a bottomless pit from which nothing useful ever comes out.

Other than surrounding natural scenery, there is nothing about bay area that is better than any other metropolitan area! It's easy to make blanket statements about how great this place is but try backing it up with facts for a change!

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by andyadhi01

The problem is you DONT get what you pay for in this area. If I pay 9.5% in income taxes and another 9.5% in sales taxes, and heavy fees and fines for anything car related, I expect the pavement to be smooth, I expect education to be affordable and I want law enforcement to do their job. If I pay over 2K a month for a small apartment I expect it to be nice and modern. If I have to pay an increasing amount of money for public transit, I expect them to run on time and not deal with worse than third world filthiness! If I have to pay ever increasing tolls on the bridges I expect them to repair/upgrade them in time. Living in bay area is like pouring money in a bottomless pit from which nothing useful ever comes out.

Other than surrounding natural scenery, there is nothing about bay area that is better than any other metropolitan area! It's easy to make blanket statements about how great this place is but try backing it up with facts for a change!

Andy, many people are willing to pay for that natural beauty and nothing else. It keeps prices high. It sucks but that's how it is. As far as tolls, I cannot comment on the Bay Bridge. The GG bridge is privately owned so that organization may be feeling something from the current economy. Rents are ridiculously high in SF where you live. There's no getting around that. If you think the public transportation is bad try coming to SD where the fares are higher, the service much slower and there aren't even transfers anymore. If you don't have a monthly pass of one or our 5 dollar day passes, you pay another full fare to transfer buses and that fare averages 2.50 (175 on local routes) not the buck 25 or buck 50 muni charges with transfers they don't even enforce strictly. The fees for cars I'm afraid or a state thing for the most part.

[andyadhi01]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

Andy, many people are willing to pay for that natural beauty and nothing else. It keeps prices high. It sucks but that's how it is. As far as tolls, I cannot comment on the Bay Bridge. The GG bridge is privately owned so that organization may be feeling something from the current economy. Rents are ridiculously high in SF where you live. There's no getting around that. If you think the public transportation is bad try coming to SD where the fares are higher, the service much slower and there aren't even transfers anymore. If you don't have a monthly pass of one or our 5 dollar day passes, you pay another full fare to transfer buses and that fare averages 2.50 (175 on local routes) not the buck 25 or buck 50 muni charges with transfers they don't even enforce strictly. The fees for cars I'm afraid or a state thing for the most part.

I guess you missed the point I was making. The cost of living in CA is driven up largely due to high taxes, inefficient govt and anti-development attitudes. So once again, you DONT get what you pay for.

The natural beauty of bay area has very little to do with cost of living. Seattle and Portland are also surrounded by beautiful natural scenery but apparently their govt has not managed to drive up the cost of living yet!

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by andyadhi01

I guess you missed the point I was making. The cost of living in CA is driven up largely due to high taxes, inefficient govt and anti-development attitudes. So once again, you DONT get what you pay for.

The natural beauty of bay area has very little to do with cost of living. Seattle and Portland are also surrounded by beautiful natural scenery but apparently their govt has not managed to drive up the cost of living yet!

I'm not so sure Andy. Go into the Seattle forum and ask anyone if they think the cost of living is high. The taxes you speak of are mostly state taxes and all Californians feel those. However considering that Ca. pays more in taxes than it receives, it's natural to expect the taxes here to be higher,

[Nineties Flava]

Originally Posted by andyadhi01

I guess you missed the point I was making. The cost of living in CA is driven up largely due to high taxes, inefficient govt and anti-development attitudes. So once again, you DONT get what you pay for.

The natural beauty of bay area has very little to do with cost of living. Seattle and Portland are also surrounded by beautiful natural scenery but apparently their govt has not managed to drive up the cost of living yet!

rofl yeah you do. You get one of the best restaurant scenes in THE WORLD, some of the best natural beauty in THE WORLD, one of the most ethnically diverse places in THE WORLD, one of the most unique places in the country, one of the best and most beautiful cities in THE WORLD and plenty of other completely self-sufficient and interesting cities, an entirely self-sufficient infrastructure, California weather, the bay itself, thousands upon thousands of things to see and do and a hundred more that no one knows about... the list goes on. If you don't like it here then why are you here? You're completely missing the point of living here if you can't figure out why someone would like it here.

[andyadhi01]

Originally Posted by Nineties Flava

rofl yeah you do. You get one of the best restaurant scenes in THE WORLD, some of the best natural beauty in THE WORLD, one of the most ethnically diverse places in THE WORLD, one of the most unique places in the country, one of the best and most beautiful cities in THE WORLD and plenty of other completely self-sufficient and interesting cities, an entirely self-sufficient infrastructure, California weather, the bay itself, thousands upon thousands of things to see and do and a hundred more that no one knows about... the list goes on. If you don't like it here then why are you here? You're completely missing the point of living here if you can't figure out why someone would like it here.

You are using "WORLD" a bit loosely here or does world end in CA stateline for you? What do you mean by self sufficient cities and infrastructure? Bay area does not produce anything that it consumes everyday like food, energy and so on. Being 'self-sufficient' is a meaningless word in the the context of describing a city. Every city is connected and inter-dependent with other areas. Coastal CA weather in bay area in general and SF in particular is one of the most boring, cloudy, foggy, cold weather in the US all year long. The weather alone is a good reason to avoid SF. Having that cold, foggy ocean around is more of a nuisance than a desirable thing. I live very close to the beach and except those rare days when a heat wave happens, I would not set my foot on that cold beach! Every major metropolitan area in US is pretty diverse and often more diverse than bay area. There is nothing unique about bay area diversity.

I am not missing any point of living here. You seem to be the one who is believing too much into the hype that surrounds bay area. I am not saying bay area does not have good things but in terms of overall living standard many US metropolitan areas are way better and reasonably priced.

[Ceece]

Originally Posted by Antwuan

I have family there in the Bay Area I have never been there well at least not yet.

I just want to know whats your favorite train station in the Bay Area?

Favorite train station? Whaa?

(although I think the Niles Canyon Railway is pretty neat!!!)

[NorCal Dude]

No way, the best train station is in downtown san jose