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I should have mentioned that my relative moved there on a salary somewhere between 70K and 80K and was having the time of her life (still is apparently). She also found a nice 1 bedroom in a good neighboorhood for $1300. That was in 2015. This made me question the negative narrative ? As I said I have no first hand experience with California, but for example my chilhood friend was saying that I would regret it if I moved there.
As another poster alluded to, if you come here with a good income and modest expectations about what that income will get you in terms of housing, then it's a different experience than if you have a low income and/or expect 70k to 80k to buy you a nice single family home (it won't).
As another poster alluded to, if you come here with a good income and modest expectations about what that income will get you in terms of housing, then it's a different experience than if you have a low income and/or expect 70k to 80k to buy you a nice single family home (it won't).
Thanks. I am more trying to get positive feedback about California from the people who made the move there, to contrast with the stories from the natives who move out to other states. Trying to hear from the California dreamers who are lovin' it.
I can’t speak for myself - I’m born and raised California - but I can speak a little bit to my parents’ experience.
My ma married a GI in the early 70s and came to LA from Austria. She actually hates LA due to a pair of gun-related incidents. She divorced him in the late 70s and moved to the Bay Area (San Jose). She adored - and still adores - the Bay Area. It was a lot more quiet than LA, she felt it more cosmopolitan and friendlier. Over time, she was able to get the European goods she missed, and felt at home in a sea of immigrants. The Bay Area is also where she met my Pa...
...my Pa came from Texas to California via the Navy, which shipped him to Vietnam and discharged him in San Diego after a bout with TB. He GI’d his way to Hayward State and made quite a decent career in Silicon Valley. He never made C-suite, being a fairly straight-shooting bulldog, but Summa *** Laude got him in a bunch of Director roles. He didn’t much like “liberal” California, but stuck around because he had a lucrative career and his network was in the Bay Area. Push him hard enough, and he’ll admit he liked pulling down deep six figure salaries, the car culture, being able to ski and go gold panning, but it was never really a home for him. He hated the pace of life - it was almost certainly a contributing factor to his pair of strokes and an episode of heart arrhythmia - and feels like if he had a do-over, the nice salary he had may not have been worth the pace and the push to get things done at Silicon Valley speed.
Born and raised in Kentucky, moved to south Orange County two years ago and plan to NEVER leave.
Great weather, great people... I love it!!
You have to be very affluent, or your experience will not be the same. I recommend accumulating wealth in a low cost of living state before moving out here (Like my wife and I did for 10+ years) and you will be in good shape.
Belated welcome! I'm glad to here something positive from a Republican about California, for once.
I disagree with your boldened sentence, though. Here's why:
1.) I am not wealthy. I'm a public servant.
2.) And this is KEY -- I live very modestly! I drive an older model Subaru from the early 2000s, I live in an older condo complex with a modest association fee. I shop mainly at Target, for clothes and most perishables. I live in an alright part of the San Fernando Valley, not the greatest, but not the worst, by far (Studio City, but near Van Nuys/NoHo border).
3.) I do not carry a ton of debt. I don't live on credit and my student loans (from when I attended CSUN two decades ago) are almost paid off.
4.) I enjoy California for what it can personally offer me: cultural opportunities, zoos, aquariums, art galleries, museums, a short drive to the beach, hiking, good medical care should the need arise, a sense of community where I live. Desert, Snow, Vineyards and Sea -- all within an hour or two.
5.) I am close to my family who live 45 minutes away in the Antelope Valley (aunts, cousins, siblings, neices and nephews, parents).
I am not wealthy, by a long shot, and I have no need to be. California has been good to me, and I appreciate it. No plans to leave the state upon retirement, either.
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
10,394 posts, read 8,632,128 times
Reputation: 16764
Quote:
Originally Posted by kttam186290
Belated welcome! I'm glad to here something positive from a Republican about California, for once.
I disagree with your boldened sentence, though. Here's why:
1.) I am not wealthy. I'm a public servant.
2.) And this is KEY -- I live very modestly! I drive an older model Subaru from the early 2000s, I live in an older condo complex with a modest association fee. I shop mainly at Target, for clothes and most perishables. I live in an alright part of the San Fernando Valley, not the greatest, but not the worst, by far (Studio City, but near Van Nuys/NoHo border).
3.) I do not carry a ton of debt. I don't live on credit and my student loans (from when I attended CSUN two decades ago) are almost paid off.
4.) I enjoy California for what it can personally offer me: cultural opportunities, zoos, aquariums, art galleries, museums, a short drive to the beach, hiking, good medical care should the need arise, a sense of community where I live. Desert, Snow, Vineyards and Sea -- all within an hour or two.
5.) I am close to my family who live 45 minutes away in the Antelope Valley (aunts, cousins, siblings, neices and nephews, parents).
I am not wealthy, by a long shot, and I have no need to be. California has been good to me, and I appreciate it. No plans to leave the state upon retirement, either.
It really depends on your situation. I really enjoyed growing up and living in Ca and being single it was not cheap, but I could enjoy life. Being single not trying to raise a family puts a whole different slant on things because you only have to look out for yourself. I was even cheaper shopping at Walmart instead of Target. Target was when I felt well off lol
If you can live modestly on your own and not worry about wife and kids, it's totally doable. Plus if you get a a public service job, you probably have good benefits so some major savings there.
I agree there is a lot to avail oneself to in most of Ca.
The only thing at that point is if you are making enough to put away for your future and public service jobs can help you out on that. They may not pay the best but the benefits often counter that.
There is a lot to love about Ca and sometimes you may have to sacrifice some things to be there, but only you can determine if the tradeoffs are worth it to you.
The younger people I know here in Ga ask me about it and I tell them if they can afford it, it would be nice to at least live there for a few years to experience it.
It really depends on your situation. I really enjoyed growing up and living in Ca and being single it was not cheap, but I could enjoy life. Being single not trying to raise a family puts a whole different slant on things because you only have to look out for yourself. I was even cheaper shopping at Walmart instead of Target. Target was when I felt well off lol
If you can live modestly on your own and not worry about wife and kids, it's totally doable. Plus if you get a a public service job, you probably have good benefits so some major savings there.
I agree there is a lot to avail oneself to in most of Ca.
The only thing at that point is if you are making enough to put away for your future and public service jobs can help you out on that. They may not pay the best but the benefits often counter that.
There is a lot to love about Ca and sometimes you may have to sacrifice some things to be there, but only you can determine if the tradeoffs are worth it to you.
The younger people I know here in Ga ask me about it and I tell them if they can afford it, it would be nice to at least live there for a few years to experience it.
There are families in my condo complex too...very young, I'd say mid-to-late 20s with 2 kids. One couple has 3. These are Anglo families, too. I only mention that because a lot of people seem to think there are no Anglos in LA or Southern California anymore. Or that they all live along the coast in the South Bay?
These young dads work in the TV industry, while the mothers are leading yoga and spin classes at the local gyms. One is a preschool teacher in Toluca Lake.
To be honest, they seem just fine. I'm sure a few of these young families will move out to a more distant suburb for a larger home eventually. Others won't.
The thing about millennials though, is that I don't see the same amount of excess in their generation as I did in amongst the Gen Xr's and Boomers. There isn't the same push to rush out to places like Simi Valley or Valencia and buy the McMansion and jet skis. They have a very different view of debt, excess and materialism than previous generations.
Location: Formerly Pleasanton Ca, now in Marietta Ga
10,394 posts, read 8,632,128 times
Reputation: 16764
Quote:
Originally Posted by kttam186290
There are families in my condo complex too...very young, I'd say mid-to-late 20s with 2 kids. One couple has 3. These are Anglo families, too. I only mention that because a lot of people seem to think there are no Anglos in LA or Southern California anymore. Or that they all live along the coast in the South Bay?
These young dads work in the TV industry, while the mothers are leading yoga and spin classes at the local gyms. One is a preschool teacher in Toluca Lake.
To be honest, they seem just fine. I'm sure a few of these young families will move out to a more distant suburb for a larger home eventually. Others won't.
The thing about millennials though, is that I don't see the same amount of excess in their generation as I did in amongst the Gen Xr's and Boomers. There isn't the same push to rush out to places like Simi Valley or Valencia and buy the McMansion and jet skis. They have a very different view of debt, excess and materialism than previous generations.
I can see young families making it if they can keep the cost of housing down and it sounds like they can do so at your complex. I actually never even gave thought to the notion that there were no anglos in la. I thought they still had a pretty good presence there.
I totally agree that overall the younger generations are much more different than the older people. Different priorities and desires. As they age out they might change though.
I was born and raised in Santa Barbara County. When I was in college at UCSB, my mom and family moved to Orange County. I met my husband in Santa Barbara and we moved to Ventura. He is in the Navy, so we moved away from CA several times over the next 16 years - currently in Maryland. We decided after initially moving back to Maryland that we would set up shop here after he retired from the military. Fast forward to 3.5 years in and we are planning a move back to Ventura County this summer. We are not going into it blindly - we are aware of how much housing costs etc. but we also know what we can get in California that we can't get in any other place! There is no place like it. Sure, we could stay in Maryland and get a 4000 square foot home etc, but those things don't make us happy. Sunshine, ocean, mountains, great weather and great food do! Will we stay there forever? Who knows! But my husband has a job offer, he will pull military retirement and we hope to give our kids a great life there while we can!
Transplant from Rhode Island by the way of Arizona (13 years there). Yes, I moved OUT of AZ......... TO CA. Very happy now that I corrected that big mistake in life!
we are planning a move back to Ventura County this summer. We are not going into it blindly - we are aware of how much housing costs etc. but we also know what we can get in California that we can't get in any other place! There is no place like it. Sure, we could stay in Maryland and get a 4000 square foot home etc, but those things don't make us happy. Sunshine, ocean, mountains, great weather and.....
Good luck!
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I'm glad to here something positive from a Republican about California, for once. 
