Honestly, is California really worth it anymore? (real estate, daycare)

[aslowdodge]

Originally Posted by PerditaPanthera

Yikes. How horrible--from Cali to Missouri. Skip Arizona, too.

I lived in Ojai, California most of my life. LOVED it. Gorgeous valley, great peeps mostly (a few liberal tree-hugging nuts) and safe safe safe for raisings kids. Just a hop and a skip to Carpinteria or Ventura beaches, Santa Barbara for excellent Mexican and Cajun.

Try it out. If you are young, don't even touch down in Arizona on a layover. Ventura, Ca is a great starter. Ignore naysayers-they are ignorant; weather and sunshine--you can't beat it.

Being that the poster listed 3 things he would hate about California, great weather isn’t necessarily something that outweighs the three things he dislikes. Already he knows there are 3 things he dislikes but hasn’t mentioned anything specific he does like about California. He just has a vague idea that at one time it seemed like a decent place to live. Note he didn’t say perfect or great place.
If you are calling his family ignorant naysayers to be ignored, keep in mind several members who know him better than you do. It’s possible they know his personality is not a good match for living in California.
I am not denying the coast has appeal, but seeing how the op hasn’t been back to discuss, it sounds like it was just a passing thought.

[OC4life]

Originally Posted by Sparrow_temp

Maybe ABQ has gotten a lot worse in the past 4 years but when I was there last, I felt much more safe there than cities like Detroit and Flint in MI or LA in California.

Another city that didn't seem that bad to me was El Paso, TX. Still in the southwest but with the advantage of being in TX.

Aside from the climate that the ocean gives the central coast of CA, I don't see the huge appeal. The beaches and views in MI of the inland lakes and Great Lakes were better but they just weren't available for use except in the summer.

Rofl. Did you just compare safety of Flint, Michigan to Los Angeles, California? Well, now we know not to take anything you say seriously. Clearly you know nothing at all about crime stats.

[OC4life]

Originally Posted by Tulemutt

Ummm ... you’ve lived through upper mid-west winters? All 8 months of winter ? I grew up in MN and MI. 2-3 fun months a year.

Exactly. Snow is on the ground from Oct/Nov to April/may.

[PerditaPanthera]

Originally Posted by aslowdodge

Being that the poster listed 3 things he would hate about California, great weather isn’t necessarily something that outweighs the three things he dislikes. Already he knows there are 3 things he dislikes but hasn’t mentioned anything specific he does like about California. He just has a vague idea that at one time it seemed like a decent place to live. Note he didn’t say perfect or great place.
If you are calling his family ignorant naysayers to be ignored, keep in mind several members who know him better than you do. It’s possible they know his personality is not a good match for living in California.
I am not denying the coast has appeal, but seeing how the op hasn’t been back to discuss, it sounds like it was just a passing thought.

Nah, family members don't know what they are talking about. Shadowmoses is young. Now is the time to fly out of the nest. Explore. Too many young people lack courage and independence. Can't grow up and be counted among adults if you can't learn to make your own decisions.

[dvxhd]

Originally Posted by shadowmoses

Hello all, let me explain my question. See, I was born in Monterey county but my parents moved me to Missouri when I was only 1 and I was raised in both Missouri and Northwest Arkansas. Growing up I always dreamed of moving back because I saw the pictures of my mothers life in California growing up in the 60's and 70's and the place looked like a very decent middle class place to live. Definitely the sweet life.

However, most all of my family has moved away and they tell me that if i'm wise i'll go to Arizona or elsewhere instead. I currently live in New Mexico and I still have some desire to move back to California, but i'm also not a fan of super high taxes, the nanny state, or high crime. So....are they right?

If you're still checking on this thread, I can say from experience that I lived in Arizona. You mention California and Arizona, but not specific areas; bear in mind that both are two of the largest states in the country (second and fifth, respectively if you consider only the lower 48).

You may want to post what you really want out of a city. I moved out of Arizona and I'm thankful every day I did, and there's no reasonable offer anyone could provide that would make me move back. I'm not going to dig into every major California city, but I do know Phoenix and Tucson have higher crime rates than LA. I don't know what you mean by nanny state either, but just know Arizona has some pretty invasive laws, though it brands itself as being "libertarian." All in all, LA provides far more to me than Phoenix ever could, I think in the long-term its future is more secure when Phoenix looks like it's showing cracks (and that town carries the state), and I just felt like I owed more to myself in life than to resign to awaiting death in Arizona.

In sum: I don't know if your family is right. You left WAY too much to the imagination and just about every response you're getting is through the lens of someone's psyche. I despise Arizona, so I'm going to give you that perspective. A lot of people are fixated on proximity to the ocean, so that's probably pretty telling on what they want against what they can afford. Others are focused only on the state government. The reality is that you provided inadequate details.

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by Axxlrod

CA really is all about the ocean. Ask any random person in any other part of the country to imagine a beautiful CA scene, and I guarantee it will involve the beach and palm trees.

Raise your hand if you've been to the beach since last summer. (Yeah, I didn't think so.)

[CA4Now]

Originally Posted by worldcitizen10

Because they don't abolish Prop 13, you mean, and you pay almost no taxes on that house?

World, many of us are paying thousands of dollars in property taxes here....and have for eons.

[Bolanders]

Originally Posted by worldcitizen10

Because they don't abolish Prop 13, you mean, and you pay almost no taxes on that house? Wish for the 2nd party and you might have it the Texas way...and be taxed out of your house.

Had you actually run the numbers it would take 45+ years for taxes in TX to be more than taxes in CA on like type situations.

[Axxlrod]

Originally Posted by CA4Now

Raise your hand if you've been to the beach since last summer. (Yeah, I didn't think so.)

Since last summer?

Many, many times.

[OC4life]

Originally Posted by Bolanders

Had you actually run the numbers it would take 45+ years for taxes in TX to be more than taxes in CA on like type situations.

But it's not just generic "like type" situations. It's V8Vega buying a house in the SFV in probably about ~1975 and holding it until present day. So we are talking 45 years.

I'm sure V8 won't give us his number but my mom's first house in CA was a 3/1 in Valley Village for $40,000 in 1973. It's worth about $1M today.

Property tax with prop 13: $1,250 per year.
Property tax without: $12,000 per year

You can go and calculate the equivalent in Dallas, but I already know the answer. The Dallas owner will be getting taxed through the nose right now in 2020 and have a crappier asset at the end of the day. Anybody that bought ANYTHING in populated parts of California prior to about 1995 hit the jackpot and is protected by prop 13.