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I saw few asians engineers, no indians, no blacks, no hispanics. Just a bunch of white guys who looked like they spent a lot of time prospecting for gold. One resembled the unibomber.
Sounds like the poster brought his own stereotypes with him from Maryland. ANd were any of these- to quote the original poster- UNIBOMBERS from here? Or did you bother to ask?
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Originally Posted by EllenArlingtonPark
I had no idea the CA high tech/ progressive types were this bad. I know this is an old post but I am awe struck by this story and this mans honesty. LandRover if you are out there I want to say thank you for telling this very disturbing work place story, especilly since it comes from what I thought was a liberal open minded city and state. What a shock!
The guy who interviewed him was NOT from here.
Unfortunately, people many times bring their bad stereotypes with them when they relocate. Just because someone Lives here does not mean they think like those who are raised here. They certainly don't reflect the way things are here.
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My lunch was with the hiring manager (a white man from South Carolina) who spent the entire hour trying to find reasons not to hire me.
So you are saying he didn't even bother to hide the fact that he was not going to hire you? So i assume your next stop was the EOE/Labor office right? To report this company for discrimination?
It is sad that this happened whether the people are from this area or not. There is no excuse for intolerance.
I have yet to see any racial discrimination at any of the places I have worked, this would include with people of indian, fijian, asian, african american, vietnamese, egyptians, chinese, japenese, filipino, kenyan, liberians, mexicans, peurto ricans, argentinians, germans, hungarians, and i am sure there are a few others i am forgetting that i have worked with. I work in the media so perhaps it doesn't happen in that field.
Since everyone's talking about home affordability, I have a question for all of you: with the recent crisis, will we finally start to have some regulation in the mortgage industry such that only credit worthy, steady income type folks are the ones that get approved for loans? I think the bubble in CA especially had to do with the fact that many people who were "in the market" for a home, really didn't belong "in the market." This influx of "demand" caused the home prices to sky rocket. Will "demand" down, will housing prices finally start to get back to being somewhat affordable?
Since everyone's talking about home affordability, I have a question for all of you: with the recent crisis, will we finally start to have some regulation in the mortgage industry such that only credit worthy, steady income type folks are the ones that get approved for loans? I think the bubble in CA especially had to do with the fact that many people who were "in the market" for a home, really didn't belong "in the market." This influx of "demand" caused the home prices to sky rocket. Will "demand" down, will housing prices finally start to get back to being somewhat affordable?
If it does... the industry will have come full circle.
It was nearly impossible to get a loan in many urban centers... the homes were older and not updated and those interested in buying often didn't have great credit or moved from job to job... or worse yet... Self Employed.
It was said the only way to get a loan was to prove you didn't need one
Home Ownership was seen as the key to the American Dream and there were always lenders that charge more for non-traditional buyers and often this came to be known as discrimination or Red Lining of certain neighborhoods...
I don't have a problem with a lender granting a loan to someone without stellar credit... I just think the Lender must be held accountable for the result... and NOT ME, a US Tax Payer.
Since everyone's talking about home affordability, I have a question for all of you: with the recent crisis, will we finally start to have some regulation in the mortgage industry such that only credit worthy, steady income type folks are the ones that get approved for loans? I think the bubble in CA especially had to do with the fact that many people who were "in the market" for a home, really didn't belong "in the market." This influx of "demand" caused the home prices to sky rocket. Will "demand" down, will housing prices finally start to get back to being somewhat affordable?
Well I think home prices are already more affordable. However, you have to consider that lower prices will make CA appealing to more people, which will likely still keep the housing market expensive. That is especially true because of geography (limited buildable land), strict land use policies, and tax laws that discourage the building of more housing (keeping the supply limited, and thus, expensive).
I go back and forth with increasing frequency. Cost of living and housing are not issues for me. I find the bay area increasingly a place inhabited by foreigners who barely speak the language, are socially retarded, people who are just faceless figures taking up space and using resources. Friends come and go because the place is so cost-prohibitive. People have to spend an enormous amount of time and energy keeping themselves employable so they can make ends meet. Companies here seem to lay off as the first option, never the last resort. Outsourcing and displacement of American workers is highly preferred as well. I have also never gotten used to the frivolity element that is prevalent here. Listening to morning radio sounds like "listening pleasure for the larks." The humor here is absolutely the worst.
I couldn't imagine Barack Obama calling this place home. Not SF, not Oakland, not San Jose. Wherever Obama would feel comfortable living...that's where I need to be. New York, DC, or even my home Chicago come to mind.
I go back and forth with increasing frequency. Cost of living and housing are not issues for me. I find the bay area increasingly a place inhabited by foreigners who barely speak the language, are socially retarded, people who are just faceless figures taking up space and using resources. Friends come and go because the place is so cost-prohibitive. People have to spend an enormous amount of time and energy keeping themselves employable so they can make ends meet. Companies here seem to lay off as the first option, never the last resort. Outsourcing and displacement of American workers is highly preferred as well. I have also never gotten used to the frivolity element that is prevalent here. Listening to morning radio sounds like "listening pleasure for the larks." The humor here is absolutely the worst.
I couldn't imagine Barack Obama calling this place home. Not SF, not Oakland, not San Jose. Wherever Obama would feel comfortable living...that's where I need to be. New York, DC, or even my home Chicago come to mind.
Well -- don't let the door hit you on your out.....
That arguement about the lack of land seems to be true. It seems lack of land means that there is a restricted area and hence real estate prices go up. But I just went to San Jose from Santa Rosa. I was expecting nothing but sprawl between San Francisco and San Jose, I was shocked to see what seemed like 10 miles or more of open space between cites on that corridor. What land shortage?
I'm sure most of these people fleeing these area's will end up back in them after realizing the places they think are cheaper are cheap for a reason. Not to mention you're salary will go down dramatically in another area because the cost of living is lower. I'd rather pay more and enjoy what california has to offer than be able to buy a huge house and be bored to death.
That's a purely person-by-person statement. If you feel the need to be entertained and use the metropolitan experience as the primary stimulus in your life, then ure- Atlanta will not be as exciting as LA or SF.
I grew up in the sticks. I actually enjoy being home, working in the garage, raking leaves, swimming at the lake, camping on the weekends, growing vegetables, and going to music festivals. So I have absolutely no need to have a big city in my back yard.I bet you find those things BOOOORING. I can entertain myself. So again- different people have different requirements.
As far as salaries go... nope can't agree with you there. The BLS.gov site shows that job per job pared to the cost of living, many places in the Southeast actually pay more per cost of living than California. In other words, a teacher in CA might make 65k- but this isn't enough to buy a home, and it will get you a so-so lifestyle versus in NC where the avg 45-50k teacher salary will allow you to buy a home and live a fairly comfortable lifestyle. Dollar per dollar comparisons don't work in this argument at all simply because the cost differentiation between these 2 regions is so severe.
The locus of economic growth in the US has moved two distinct times. Initially it was in what Joel Garreau titled "The Foundry" - e.g. the NE US. Then it moved (not completely, but enough to matter) to the SW US (In Garreau's schema, "Mexamerica" plus the southern end of "Ecotopia"). It is now nearly moved again, to Dixie (Per Garreau, by that same name, "Dixie"). Within Dixie, there are two emerging sub loci - one involving Texas and spilling into NM and even parts of OK, AR and LA, and another centered roughly along the I-85 corridor between Richmond and Atlanta spilling Westward into parts of the Mid South. People here in the SW US are in massive denial of this, and will persist in the old negative stereotypes about the South, until it's too late, and the SW US has become Rust Belt II.
Merle Haggard. and his many imitators. Sadly, probably only a single digit percentage of present day "Californians" (most of them in reality either carpetbagger transplants, immigrants or members of former splinter groups now writ large) would appreciate that type of music!
One thing you need to recognize is that TX has close to a 3% property tax. So that 300k house will come with a 10k tax payment every year. Just be aware of that.
I have a few general comments regarding people that are moving.Indeed.. as a native of the Southeast, every time I go home and visit, I drive through NC, TN, GA, and parts of SC and these areas are getting inundated with people from the whos' who of expensive places. It seems like the trend to "go west young man!" has reversed into: " Go South or TX... young man/family" I saw an awful lot of CA, NY, MA, CT, and FL plates last time I was home. They're building houses faster than people can buy them. HUGE houses too with 3 car garages, 8 rooms, giant kitchens, and tiny little yards. All smished together in huge subdivisions. None of these are for the natives. They're for the New Yorkers and Californians who were used to living is a dilapidated crappy house they paid 500k-600k for who can now pay 300k for a monster sized house.
This is in some ways good. Many of the cities there are growing rapidly. Some of you in SF would probably be amazed at how clean, pretty, and new these places feel.It also means that business and fresh minds are becoming ever present. The overall population is younger too, which is a refreshing change.
But I have some general advice for some of you who are looking to move. There is more to an area besides cheap(er) prices. First of all, 300k is NOT cheap. Of course to you,a Californian/New Yorker/ 300k will seem like a steal. But to natives, 150-200k is a lot of money. If tons of people move in, tripping over themselves to pay 300k for a house in an area that typically has 150k homes, what will that do to the local social fabric? It means that there is a potential to import the same problems to a region not accustomed to viewing houses as so precious.
Secondly, these areas are different from where you came. TX is not and will not be CA. Neither will NC, TN, GA, WA, AZ, or whatever. They have their own unique cultures, atmosphere, food, people, and political interests. If you don't like change or want to pretend that you packed California in your suitcase, then you should think about moving their twice.Be aware that you might actually NOT like the area you move to, which is why I always suggest that if you move, RENT for a year first before you buy.That way you'll know if you are going to like it or not People in my neck off the woods resent people who move in and do not respect the culture already present. The South in particular has people that have been there hundreds of years. So they aren't changing for you.
lastly, make a realistic assessment of how good a move it really is to a new region. Of course the obvious thing in people's minds are the housing prices. But beyond that, you will be at the mercy of whatever the economy will be there. You will likely be making less money.This is becoming less and less true these days, and some professions actually pay more outside of CA, but the fact remains that even though you paid less for a house, perhaps your lifestyle is also being run in an expensive manner. A BMW will still cost you 60k in TX as it would in CA. Beyond housing and a few other things, the cost of living in most places are about the same. If you can barely manage life in CA now, then there is no guarantee that you'll be high and dry elsewhere.
Good luck to all the new pioneers. Its a big country out there. Enjoy it.
As for me, I have in mind a moderately sized old craftsman in a hood that's bubba enough to remind me where I am at, but is funky and artsy fartsy enough to make life interesting. Thinking of Augusta, Columbia, The Triangle or Richmond ... I've always been a Fall Line kind of guy.
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The humor here is absolutely the worst.
