I'm beginning to realize that I can't afford to live here anymore (San Jose: apartments, HOA)

[newtocolumbia]

Have you guys been to The Real World = Europe? I find the entire US fake. Glad to be back in Europe.
I also find CT, NJ etc. very "affordable"... and NYC is a poop hole, I would rather live in South Carolina or Iowa or even in Misery, its all fake anyway, just less money to pay for the fakeness. Actually Chicago is the best for dating etc. but a bit weird climate as well. Property taxes, food prices and quality are out of control in the US and I won't even mention the (colour of the) sky.

[BicoastalAnn]

I've lived in LA, SF, and Westchester county/border of CT. And was actively looking to buy in both CT and NJ so I'm pretty familiar with the housing markets.

CA, compared to NJ and CT, is only slightly more expensive all things considered. Property taxes are WAY higher in NJ and CT. If you look at comparable areas - eg compare Hartford to Sacramento - it is not too different. Comparing LA county to Fairfield County comes up very similar. Compare Montclair, NJ to Walnut Creek as bedroom communities - not too different in pricing. San Francisco is in its own world and is more comparable to NYC than any town in those states.

Edit to add.. one huge advantage of the NYC metro area, including the bedroom communities in CT and NJ, is it's easier to find an affordable SFH (<$600k) within an acceptable commute distance in a good neighborhood. The public transit is a lot better there. I've been racking my brain trying to find this kind of opportunity in the Bay Area.. looks like you have to go all the way to San Jose for that.

[Chuck5000]

Originally Posted by holycannoli

I was being facetious lol. Still though, I'd look at the east coast. I've honestly never understood the appeal of California. Fake, overpriced, obnoxiously commercialized. It's a state built for soft people who can't live a day without their white picket fence, their land rover, their gated communities. People who haven't been hardened by the real world. Plus, I don't really think you get what you pay for out there.

I prefer the sweat off your brow, working class, affordable states like Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, etc.

This is a silly comment. As if people here are "soft?" What kind of insanely broad generalization is that? Not "hardened"?

As if there aren't real blue collar communities in CA? There are plenty, just mostly not on the coast.

As if everyone here has a land rover? Not even close.

You don't know this state in the slightest. You don't know any state or place, with generalizations like that.

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by holycannoli

I was being facetious lol. Still though, I'd look at the east coast. I've honestly never understood the appeal of California. Fake, overpriced, obnoxiously commercialized. It's a state built for soft people who can't live a day without their white picket fence, their land rover, their gated communities. People who haven't been hardened by the real world. Plus, I don't really think you get what you pay for out there.

I prefer the sweat off your brow, working class, affordable states like Jersey, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, etc.

Soft people don't live in land of random, sudden earthquakes.

[bobby_guz_man]

Originally Posted by BicoastalAnn

However I do agree that a lot of Californians struggle with the COL here thinking it's the best place to be and every other area, outside the major cities of the US, is hicksville. There are many wonderful places to live outside of CA, that cost a lot less and probably still have the things you love about CA.

I agree with this. California is a great great place to live, but it isn't the only place to live. There are many other great places to live in the US.

[OldDocKat]

Originally Posted by ddowns46

I was born and raised in San Jose, graduated from Cal Poly SLO with a Manufacturing Engineering degree, and have worked for a major defense contractor in Sunnyvale for the last two years. I live in San Jose.

I make $63k/yr and have $70,000 in student loan debt. I pay $750/mo on my student loans alone. I live in a small, very low quality house on a busy street with 3 other guys. I drive a $1200 '91 Ford Ranger i have to work on constantly to keep running. My share of the rent including utilities is approximately $800/mo. All my other living expenses are probably similar to most other folks living in this area.

My biggest dream is to own my own house. I'm saving money (~20k in 401k, another $10k in savings), but at the rate I am going, I wont be able to afford a down payment for at least another 5-10 years. Even then, I wouldn't be able to afford a mortgage either. Housing prices are only continuing to go up and thought of renting a small apartment for more than $1000 is very depressing to me.

My dad bought is first house in San Jose when he was 20 years old working as a machinist. What am I doing wrong?

You are saving great! What about sticking it out a few more years, then relocating to a less expensive area? Think about the North Carolina Research triangle and do not overlook the latest tech area, around Lincoln Nebraska?

[holycannoli]

Originally Posted by Chuck5000

This is a silly comment. As if people here are "soft?" What kind of insanely broad generalization is that? Not "hardened"?

As if there aren't real blue collar communities in CA? There are plenty, just mostly not on the coast.

As if everyone here has a land rover? Not even close.

You don't know this state in the slightest. You don't know any state or place, with generalizations like that.

Maybe a minority of the population is, but I think working class people and their contribution to California society both socially and culturally is at a distinct disadvantage compared to many places on the east coast. Moreover, doesn't the coast take up like 85% of the population or something like that?

California is the quintessence of "ideal". The people that live there live there because they can afford to do so, and they live there to achieve the "ideal lifestyle". So the socioeconomic elite, being the bulk of the population, form the culture and determine the standards there. You're left with the golden blonde wonderbread soccer mom who lives in a three floor box in the burbs, drives the Land Rover to her botox appointments, who's husband works in real estate, yada-yada. It may be a bit of a caricature, but a caricature based in a level of truth. California is not "the real world". It's a state that has been engineered for exceptional circumstances. There is a reason that not everyone can live there. That's all I am saying. I can't speak for anyone else but to my way of thinking, whether you have the means to live there or not, I don't know why you would. You can get a lot more for your money elsewhere.

[holycannoli]

Originally Posted by BicoastalAnn

Sorry but what...... 100% agree CA is overpriced but, to me, there is more relief from suburbia in CA than places like Jersey, PA, or CT. And don't get me wrong... I love CT (prefer it over CA) but that is the epitome of a white picket fence type of state. Super NIMBY, especially in Fairfield County - which many people see as just as overpriced, commercialized, and fake as a place like Beverly Hills, Hamptons, etc. CT has a lot of virtues but being affordable is not known as one of them. When you compare to CA, yes, but compared to practically every other state, not really.

However I do agree that a lot of Californians struggle with the COL here thinking it's the best place to be and every other area, outside the major cities of the US, is hicksville. There are many wonderful places to live outside of CA, that cost a lot less and probably still have the things you love about CA.

I was thinking more Hartford/Bridgeport Connecticut. Not so much the Manhattan bedroom communities.

[blueskywalker]

The last sentence in the original post saddened me when you asked, "What am i doing wrong"?
You're doing nothing wrong. It's not you. It's a truly crazy world now and Silicon Valley has changed the entire scene in the bay area and beyond.
I hope you find a better place to be ... to build or buy your own home and have a good life. It's certainly possible for you it seems. You sound like a responsible individual who is living in a city that won't let you breathe ... that's just too darn expensive and impacted.

[mossly]

Guys, the OP made this post in 2013 and has barely been back in the meantime. Chances are good he's either moved elsewhere by now, or he's found a way to make it work in San Jose.

Not that he doesn't bring up a legitimate point...but, this thread has taken a silly turn in discussing it. I've spent most of my life on the East Coast, and still miss it dearly because all my friends and family are still there. I love the East Coast. But I'm laughing at the idea that it is somehow a more "authentic" coast. The Botox class of person exists all over the place now, and they are no different here than in D.C., New York or Boston. And if you get away from the urban centers on the East Coast (and the Midwest, and the South...), people tend to be provincial and distrusting of outsiders. There's nothing noble in that.