US News: SF-Oakland Metro Area ranks 7th Best Place to Live (Modesto: renting, taxes)

[mysticaltyger]

Originally Posted by ssmaster

I post about the high cost of living and how much money it takes to be comfortable here because cost of living is why the overwhelming majority of people relocate from the Bay Area.
Study after study.article after article. They are not leaving because:
A homeless guy crapped in an alley
the liberal politics
The weather

It's home prices, rental prices and cost of living that are driving people out. In the end that is what will make people leave so that is what I focus on. People should have a realistic expectation prior to moving or they will leave and end up bitter in Texas or Georgia or wherever


https://www.inc.com/andrew-thomas/5-...francisco.html

Well, yes the cost of living is the main driver. But the liberal politics contributes to the high
cost of living because liberals tend to favor things like being a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants while at the same time complaining about how crowded it is and how they don't want to build any more housing. Or they believe in high taxes to help the homeless but refuse to accept the fact that some people need to be forced into accepting 'help' to deal with the problems that made them homeless in the first place, etc.

Even liberal leaning publications have started to admit these things, but many liberal voters still do not want to concede that many of the policies they promote hurt the poor and the middle class.

Blue America has a problem: Even after adjusting for income, left-leaning metros tend to have worse income inequality and less affordable housing.

https://www.theatlantic.com/business...rdable/382045/

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by JoeSmow

https://www.epi.org/resources/budget/

https://www.epi.org/press/epi-update...opolitan-area/

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/th...ica-2018-03-06

San Francisco topped the list of most expensive metro areas, with a basic budget of $148,439 a year for a two-parent, two-child household. However, with a median family income of $108,822, incomes in San Francisco are higher than most.

Feel free to argue all you like with them.

I love reading your posts, JoeSmow, and of course we know San Francisco is far over-priced. Like you, I'm also of the opinion that over-pricing lowers quality of life. But there are those who think differently. Many people think Switzerland has one of the highest quality of life in the world despite Switzerland being vastly over-priced. Or how even in the same city, the best neighborhoods are typically the most expensive.

[Scott456]

The best neighborhood is the most expensive neighborhood because it's the most desirable neighborhood. Duh....

[LittleDolphin]

Just in my lifetime:

Our first house in the Bay area, in the Sunset @ 46th & Lawton, cost us all of $30,000. This was in 1972.

Today, Zillow estimates the price of the same house as over $1.3 million.

I find this astounding!

[CorporateCowboy]

Originally Posted by LittleDolphin

Just in my lifetime:

Our first house in the Bay area, in the Sunset @ 46th & Lawton, cost us all of $30,000. This was in 1972.

Today, Zillow estimates the price of the same house as over $1.3 million.

I find this astounding!

It is astounding! I scraped together the funds (and a hefty mortgage) to buy my first luxury high-rise condo here about 15 years ago. What had the potential to become a foolish mistake - turned into the best personal financial decision I’ve ever made when I sold (and reinvested in this market, again).

[LittleDolphin]

Yep, the REAL Gold Rush in SF Bay area is real estate...

[Scott456]

Originally Posted by LittleDolphin

Just in my lifetime:

Our first house in the Bay area, in the Sunset @ 46th & Lawton, cost us all of $30,000. This was in 1972.

Today, Zillow estimates the price of the same house as over $1.3 million.

I find this astounding!

Yes, on the average, the real estate property values un SF double every 8 to 10 years. It is good that you are living (and dying) in a piece of gold. Now, at this old age of you, I am sure your heirs are waiting patiently.

[skygazer1]

Originally Posted by mysticaltyger

Maybe the ordinary folks getting priced out are just 'sour grapes', or 'losers' or whatever. But they're also pointing out the blatant hypocrisy of a state the holds itself up as a champion of the poor and the middle class. In reality, it's one of the most difficult states for the poor and middle class to live. And even the liberal think tanks admit as much.

That's not true! Only the coastal areas and large metros have the very high housing costs. Where do you think all the million undocumented farm workers live? Not in SF's Pacific Heights, that's for sure...

[Scott456]

Originally Posted by skygazer1

That's not true! Only the coastal areas and large metros have the very high housing costs. Where do you think all the million undocumented farm workers live? Not in SF's Pacific Heights, that's for sure...

Can you please explain how the undocumented farm workers in central valley benefit from high cost of living in SF?

[LittleDolphin]

Originally Posted by Scott456

Yes, on the average, the real estate property values un SF double every 8 to 10 years. It is good that you are living (and dying) in a piece of gold. Now, at this old age of you, I am sure your heirs are waiting patiently.

Wish we were that fortunate. We sold the 30K SF house for 79K a few years later when DH took a position in NY.

When we returned to Bay area a couple of years later, we bought in Oakland. That place we sold for 6x its price and that enabled us to pay cash for our coastal home in NC.

So we did okay, no complaints...

But had we stayed in place, we'd be millionaires -- on paper! Could never move from the original home though--the prop taxes would have done us in!