Welcome to City-Data.com Forum!
U.S. CitiesCity-Data Forum Index
Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Francisco - Oakland
 [Register]
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
View detailed profile (Advanced) or search
site with Google Custom Search

Search Forums  (Advanced)
Reply Start New Thread
 
Old 10-05-2015, 10:34 AM
 
2,645 posts, read 3,319,578 times
Reputation: 7358

Advertisements

Quote:
Originally Posted by sav858 View Post
I honestly don't get the appeal of McMansions unless you can afford to pay someone to help clean and maintain it or have a lot of spare time to do so. My house is just under 1200 square feet and it's plenty of work to clean and maintain it. Unless if you have a lot of kids it just seems like an unnecessary pain dealing with all that extra space.
I have a friend who grew up in San Diego and moved with her husband and three kids to Austin TX for her husbands job. They have a huge 4,000 sq ft house there, and she said in TX, you need that space because the heat and humidity can get so oppressive that you end up living indoors much of the time. I understand that reasoning. My family would climb the walls if we had to stay indoors for long stretches. That's not an appealing lifestyle. It just depends on how a person is happy spending their time. If one doesn't mind spending long stretches inside, there are definitely cheaper places to live, assuming you can get the job elsewhere.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message

 
Old 10-05-2015, 10:37 AM
 
Location: SW King County, WA
6,409 posts, read 8,252,517 times
Reputation: 6588
Quote:
Originally Posted by clongirl View Post
I'm curious, 04kL4nD, why you think the Bay Area is a terrible place to raise kids? We actually lived in the Sac area for a few years, but we're back in the Bay Area now and my kids are doing very well (all four of them). From my experience as a mother, children do well when they have a stable home life and their parents are happy. Sacramento was no better or worse for kids, imo. Actually, Ireland was preferable since children had a ridiculous amount of freedom, but that's another story.. maybe we'll retire there when the time comes.
I think the biggest reason is that middle class folks have a hard time affording housing, meaning extra long commutes or extra hours at work, and the public schools are generally pretty crappy, given how expensive housing is. Sure, if you live in Palo Alto or Lamorinda, you'll have great pubic schools, but look at everywhere else. I agree there's more to life than living in a huge house, but excellent public schools in the Bay Area are a luxury, not the norm.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2015, 10:49 AM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
18,977 posts, read 32,535,299 times
Reputation: 13625
Quote:
Originally Posted by LoriBee62 View Post
I have a friend who grew up in San Diego and moved with her husband and three kids to Austin TX for her husbands job. They have a huge 4,000 sq ft house there, and she said in TX, you need that space because the heat and humidity can get so oppressive that you end up living indoors much of the time. I understand that reasoning. My family would climb the walls if we had to stay indoors for long stretches. That's not an appealing lifestyle. It just depends on how a person is happy spending their time. If one doesn't mind spending long stretches inside, there are definitely cheaper places to live, assuming you can get the job elsewhere.
That's a fairly reasonable and good point, I've never lived outside of CA so its something I've never had to deal with.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2015, 11:04 AM
 
2,645 posts, read 3,319,578 times
Reputation: 7358
Quote:
Originally Posted by 04kL4nD View Post
I think the biggest reason is that middle class folks have a hard time affording housing, meaning extra long commutes or extra hours at work, and the public schools are generally pretty crappy, given how expensive housing is. Sure, if you live in Palo Alto or Lamorinda, you'll have great pubic schools, but look at everywhere else. I agree there's more to life than living in a huge house, but excellent public schools in the Bay Area are a luxury, not the norm.
There are a number of public schools in Sonoma County that are considered excellent. As for commute, not everyone who lives in the Bay Area commutes to work in San Francisco. I don't know why threads on this forum always make the assumption that there are no jobs outside SV or SF. Just as people have sprawled to the suburbs, many businesses have moved out to the burbs also.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2015, 11:17 AM
 
24,353 posts, read 26,830,821 times
Reputation: 19827
Quote:
Originally Posted by BayAreaDave View Post
Especially since you can own a Mcmansion in the major cities of other states for half the price of a one room shack in a lot of places in the Bay Area. Just curious.
The problem I have with the Bay Area is there are many other cities that provide the same amenities while being a lot more affordable. I can understand the Bay Area being slightly higher than the national average, but not double or triple the national average.

The argument against McMansions or penthouse loft/condo living is the city lacking amenities. However, the Bay Area is going down hill in my opinion. It is way over-crowded, rush hour seems to last most of the day, car break-ins and other petty crime is rampant, it's hard to walk around urban parts without having to smell urine or walk on trash, public schools are terrible and there are so many social problems.

I think most people who choose to stay here for 10 years or more, do so because their family is here or they are very politically driven. I think a lot also has to do with some ignorance as well. Many people in the Bay Area view 99% of the country as backwoods.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2015, 11:19 AM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
18,977 posts, read 32,535,299 times
Reputation: 13625
Quote:
Originally Posted by LoriBee62 View Post
There are a number of public schools in Sonoma County that are considered excellent. As for commute, not everyone who lives in the Bay Area commutes to work in San Francisco. I don't know why threads on this forum always make the assumption that there are no jobs outside SV or SF. Just as people have sprawled to the suburbs, many businesses have moved out to the burbs also.
And what about all the other counties in the Bay Area?

I agree that options for middle class people overall when it comes to schools are pretty terrible for what you pay. I'm sure for some that live in the Lamorinda bubble it's easy to forget just how bad schools are for most other communities around the Bay Area.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2015, 11:38 AM
 
2,645 posts, read 3,319,578 times
Reputation: 7358
Quote:
Originally Posted by sav858 View Post
And what about all the other counties in the Bay Area?
ALL the other counties in the Bay Area? What one individual on this forum could answer that?

Here's the voice of reality: Some areas have bad schools. Other areas have good schools. Some areas with good schools are affordable. Some areas with bad schools are cheap. Some wealthy areas have good schools. Some wealthy areas have bad schools. The statement that EVERY middle-class town has bad schools is absurd. As would be the statement that EVERY city in the Bay Area has good schools. It is the gross generalization about an area as widespread as the Bay Area that is the problem.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2015, 11:47 AM
jw2
 
2,028 posts, read 3,259,064 times
Reputation: 3386
Quote:
Originally Posted by BayAreaDave View Post
Especially since you can own a Mcmansion in the major cities of other states for half the price of a one room shack in a lot of places in the Bay Area. Just curious.
In major cities of other states, you are paying for what is inside, in San Francisco, you are paying for what is outside.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2015, 11:54 AM
 
Location: Sacramento
572 posts, read 596,257 times
Reputation: 1100
Quote:
Originally Posted by aramax666 View Post
1. Jobs . Lots and lots of new startups. Lots of old school employers. Exploding growth.
2. Money. Between Housing and Company Stock, You can make a LOT of money, if you are lucky. Everyone thinks they will get lucky
3. Weather. Most days of the year, I could deb outside playing with the little one. It does get a bit hot for my liking though
4. Outdoors. Tons of parks, Wineries, biking hiking trails within 20-30 minutes.
5. Diversity. In cuisine and people.
6. Parking is not too bad in most establishment in the south bay. Getting worse.


Hope that helps.
not sure parking would feature in my top 6 list of things to love about the bay area
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
 
Old 10-05-2015, 11:56 AM
 
Location: SF Bay Area
18,977 posts, read 32,535,299 times
Reputation: 13625
Quote:
Originally Posted by LoriBee62 View Post
ALL the other counties in the Bay Area? What one individual on this forum could answer that?

Here's the voice of reality: Some areas have bad schools. Other areas have good schools. Some areas with good schools are affordable. Some areas with bad schools are cheap. Some wealthy areas have good schools. Some wealthy areas have bad schools. The statement that EVERY middle-class town has bad schools is absurd. As would be the statement that EVERY city in the Bay Area has good schools. It is the gross generalization about an area as widespread as the Bay Area that is the problem.
But overall the vast majority of areas affordable to the middle class have mediocre to bad schools. Sure you can find some areas affordable to the middle class with good schools, Martinez for example, here and there but they are far and few between. They are the exception rather than the norm.
Reply With Quote Quick reply to this message
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.

Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.


Reply
Please update this thread with any new information or opinions. This open thread is still read by thousands of people, so we encourage all additional points of view.

Quick Reply
Message:


Settings
X
Data:
Loading data...
Based on 2000-2020 data
Loading data...

123
Hide US histogram

Over $104,000 in prizes was already given out to active posters on our forum and additional giveaways are planned!

Go Back   City-Data Forum > U.S. Forums > California > San Francisco - Oakland
Similar Threads

All times are GMT -6. The time now is 05:33 AM.

© 2005-2024, Advameg, Inc. · Please obey Forum Rules · Terms of Use and Privacy Policy · Bug Bounty

City-Data.com - Contact Us - Archive 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37 - Top