Someone explain the appeal of the Bay Area to me. (San Diego: condos, how much)

[smashystyle]

Originally Posted by Hemlock140

I agree. I was born in San Francisco, lived in San Bruno, Lafayette, Oakland, and Castro Valley and decided to move at age 40 in 1993 with a wife and 3 kids in tow. Much as we liked the Bay Area (still go back often to visit family and friends) the move has worked out great for us. I would still consider it a very desirable place to live if you can afford it, but for now we are happy to live in Sammamish, WA.

Sammamish is nice, but it's an example to me of how other, desirable metro areas aren't the amazing, affordable options people make them out to be. Sammamish -- a nice suburb 20 miles outside of Seattle with good schools -- has average housing prices of $735k. Yes, that's slightly cheaper than similar options in the Bay Area, but it's not half as cheap like the people saying that you are paying 2 to 3 times as much to live in the Bay Area. As with Seattle, San Diego, Los Angeles, DC, Boston, and even Denver and Austin, have high (and rising!) housing prices that make them a relative bargain to the Bay Area but not a bastion of affordability.

[smashystyle]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

I was referring to working in the evenings. I manage a global team and have global business partners, so this is a frequent occurrence.

I don't doubt that you need it (as do others in your circumstances). I just think that most people aren't in your circumstances. I would like a fourth bedroom for a home office, but I make do without it. I am glad not to have another room in the house to clean.

[FC76-81]

Originally Posted by mickdoo

I lived in the Bay Area for 31 years and just left. The bay area at one time was a great place to live. Now it is a pit, I sold my house for a huge profit took my money and left the arm pit of the bay area. If you are young you might like it for a while. Besides that I see no reason to live there. Unless you have some scam of a business and participate with the other scammers that reside there. You need a minimum of 100k a year to just be ok. You want to live good there I would say 25k a month minimum. I hated it there at the end and would't even leave my house. Bay Area as California as a whole is on the down hill slide. Many individuals are moving at an alarming rate. All that will be left is the haves and have nots. Jerry Brown adds to the Joke of the state. A life long politician that never held a normal job. The crime is through the roof. It got to the point I would carry a gun where ever I went. I don't want to live like this. You know what the weather is nice though. Do not look for any rain either, its not coming. I am so glad I do not have to pay the place a single penny in taxes.Oh yea did I say the weather is nice.

Did I say the taxes were high. The highest in the nation. A lawyer I know was making 2 million a year and quit. He quit because he was only taking home 900k. So now he works for himself making muck less. So if you make good money be prepared to pay for the have nots. If your a liberal move there.Oh yea did I say the weather is nice.

You're right. When the time comes and I get too old to deal with the place, I will most likely relocate as well. But that will most likely be when I retire and have limited income.

[Bonez765]

Originally Posted by 2sleepy

You must be talking about Armijo? That's the only IB school in FF that I'm aware of, but I always thought Vanden was the better High School. I think grade and middle schools are hit and miss in FF, those on the west side of I80 are generally better than on the east. One sucky thing about Solano County schools in general is that there are no school buses so if you have little ones who can't get themselves to school not only do you need to find daycare but you need to find daycare with transportation to your kid's school.

Bingo. I wouldn't say Vanden is better than armijo. The problem with Armijo is that Armijo gets students from all over Fairfield and Suisun, which means you also get a lot of the undesirable students who don't aspire to much or are in street gangs. But, a lot of academic serial types go to Armijo as well because of it being an IBO school (I only graduated high school 3 years ago and I knew plenty of people who went to Armijo; lots of people who I grew up with and went there ended up going to Berkeley, Davis, UCLA, and even the service academies). Go ask that to the Vanden or roid meathead central, Vacaville High school.

[SageCats]

I've only been here a couple of weeks and I don't like it at all. I moved here because of a fantastic job opportunity. I plan on giving this place a try for 3 to 5 years and then put in for an inter-company transfer. Let's see if I last that long in the Bay Area! I moved from a beautiful place with no job opportunities and low cost of living to the east bay and don't like it one bit. I hate how expensive my tiny, crappy 1 bedroom apartment is, I hate how there is a law, rule, and regulation for everything and I hate how rude people are because it's so crowded and cramped here.

[LoriBee62]

Originally Posted by ramoscats

I hate how there is a law, rule, and regulation for everything

Pray tell. What is it you would do here if there wasn't a law preventing it?

[sn63]

Originally Posted by ramoscats

I've only been here a couple of weeks and I don't like it at all. I moved here because of a fantastic job opportunity. I plan on giving this place a try for 3 to 5 years and then put in for an inter-company transfer. Let's see if I last that long in the Bay Area! I moved from a beautiful place with no job opportunities and low cost of living to the east bay and don't like it one bit. I hate how expensive my tiny, crappy 1 bedroom apartment is, I hate how there is a law, rule, and regulation for everything and I hate how rude people are because it's so crowded and cramped here.

Where did you move from? It does not have to be bad, there is a lot to do if you get free time.

[SageCats]

Originally Posted by LoriBee62

Pray tell. What is it you would do here if there wasn't a law preventing it?

For starters, have pets (cats) that I have to overvaccinate, register with the city (fee for that, of course), and pay a ridiculous amount in pet rent. I found out that if you have an aquarium or a rabbit or iguana, you need to let your city know, register, and pay a fee! Also, It was a shock to me to be charged extra for plastic bags at the store and to be taxed extra (CVR or something like that?) because I bought water in a plastic bottle. It seems like there is a tax for everything. It seems like for every little thing you do, you need to let the state or city know, first, and then pay a fee, tax, or be fined. I think it's very excessive. Perhaps you're used to it but as someone who is a new-comer, this is a shock to me.

Originally Posted by sn63

Where did you move from? It does not have to be bad, there is a lot to do if you get free time.

New York City --> Phoenix (was there for almost a decade) --> Fremont
I know it's not bad. I guess I'm just new but I'm having a hard time adjusting here. I joined a few meetups to try to get out and meet people. What bothers me the most is the cost of living, I guess.

[sn63]

I can empathize with your concerns. However, once you accept those things are not going to change than maybe it will be easy to focus on all the positive aspects of living in this thriving area. There is always a lot going on, great places to visit, things to do, people to meet and great food and culture. Fremont is a nice community but,its a little sleepy. Have you had a chance to explore some surrounding communities? I may add that a lot of what makes the Bay Area is that some of the best things are free, like access to hiking, mountain biking , trips to the beach, access to world class cities,weather ect. Use us on the board as a resource to tap into and use our knowledge to help you get acclimated.

[LoriBee62]

Originally Posted by ramoscats

For starters, have pets (cats) that I have to overvaccinate, register with the city (fee for that, of course), and pay a ridiculous amount in pet rent. I found out that if you have an aquarium or a rabbit or iguana, you need to let your city know, register, and pay a fee! Also, It was a shock to me to be charged extra for plastic bags at the store and to be taxed extra (CVR or something like that?) because I bought water in a plastic bottle. It seems like there is a tax for everything. It seems like for every little thing you do, you need to let the state or city know, first, and then pay a fee, tax, or be fined. I think it's very excessive. Perhaps you're used to it but as someone who is a new-comer, this is a shock to me.


New York City --> Phoenix (was there for almost a decade) --> Fremont
I know it's not bad. I guess I'm just new but I'm having a hard time adjusting here. I joined a few meetups to try to get out and meet people. What bothers me the most is the cost of living, I guess.

Huh? I've owned cats and had fish tanks in California for 35 years. No one has ever forced me to vaccinate them, pay "pet rent", register them with the city or pay any sort of fee for owning them.

As for CRV, you get that back if you choose to return them to a recycler. And registering with the state or city for everything you do? I register my car annually. That's it. WTF are you having to let the city know about?