Living in Southern California or just surviving in Southern California (Beverly Hills: rentals, crime)

[FROMCATOGA]

Originally Posted by thefivefour

I love LA. There is no other town like it in the world. I grew up in Wisconsin/Minnesota area and well, let's just say that -15 weather isn't my cup of tea anymore. I wouldn't say I'm struggling because I don't buy stupid ****. Simple as that. I don't really feel like getting into the details of my financial life but the crazy/random stories that I have over the past five years are amazing. These are stories and experiences that I could never have experienced in the Midwest or anywhere else for that matter. Plus there's no Fred62's or LaCabana in Wisconsin. I love it out here. I'm moving from Van Nuys to Santa Monica this month and I'm sooooo excited. And I just started up a Roth IRA to boot.

Work hard and play harder. Don't be lazy. Don't be stupid.

Although if I had to relocate, I'd probably choose Colorado because, I'm a die hard skier. Always have been. Always will be.

I understand exactly where you're coming from, but my whole point is -- KNOWING that unless I get some major pay increase, so that I am making about $150K a year, I realize that I will NEVER be able to own a home in the L.A. area. The weather just don't warrant me living here just to rent for an entire life... I have a family and we won't more for ourselves...

I say if your annual household income isn't $150K and up, then you will never be able to truly afford that quote/unquote "SoCal lifestyle."

The real life in SoCal is truly for the people who can afford it. And with the gas prices like they are, it's even harder now!

[artichoke63]

Originally Posted by FROMCATOGA

I understand exactly where you're coming from, but my whole point is -- KNOWING that unless I get some major pay increase, so that I am making about $150K a year, I realize that I will NEVER be able to own a home in the L.A. area. The weather just don't warrant me living here just to rent for an entire life... I have a family and we won't more for ourselves...

I say if your annual household income isn't $150K and up, then you will never be able to truly afford that quote/unquote "SoCal lifestyle."

The real life in SoCal is truly for the people who can afford it. And with the gas prices like they are, it's even harder now!

FROMCATOGA,

You can make it work in South California. There's always a way to make things work. But I just think the bottom line is that you get more value for your hard work/money in other states. A lot of it depends on the sort of lifestyle you want and what you're willing to sacrifice to get it. Some folks think Los Angeles is da bomb for it's night life and beaches (where many of the homeless sleep at night). I'm looking for something different, a little more space, a little more green, a little more peace and quiet.

Artie

[SoCal transplant]

My wife and I were born and raised in L.A., both college educated, purchased a started home in 2000, and have two boys. We were making decent money for L.A. ($120k+), but the area soon became a place I didn't want my kids to grow up. There were times when we felt like we were just surviving.

We sold in December 2005 and more than doubled our initial investment. We have since moved to San Antonio, but something is missing. There really is no place quite like L.A. - we miss it so much, that we are considering moving back. Fortunately, we would still be able to purchase, but it won't be the home that we can afford here in TX

[artichoke63]

Originally Posted by SoCal transplant

My wife and I were born and raised in L.A., both college educated, purchased a started home in 2000, and have two boys. We were making decent money for L.A. ($120k+), but the area soon became a place I didn't want my kids to grow up. There were times when we felt like we were just surviving.

We sold in December 2005 and more than doubled our initial investment. We have since moved to San Antonio, but something is missing. There really is no place quite like L.A. - we miss it so much, that we are considering moving back. Fortunately, we would still be able to purchase, but it won't be the home that we can afford here in TX

SoCal,

It can take years to adjust to living in a new area. Before you turn around and go back just remember, you can never go back. You might try moving someplace other than San Antonio. You're in the South remember.

Artie

[cigarfanatic]

Very interesting thread and I enjoyed the arguments from both sides.

SoCal transplant, I almost did what you did, almost convinced my wife to move to Texas and came close to fooling myself.. until i woke up! I don't know anyone close outside of Cali, my family and friends are here in LA.

Yes, traffic sucks, homes are unaffordable, we work hard, blah blah blah, but in the end I am the one enjoying a great dinner at a diverse food place at the end of the night where I can have my choice of Jamaican, Korean, Japanese, Thai, Indonesian, Taiwanese, Chinese, Lebanese, Indian, Ethiopian, Italian, Brazilian, Armenian, Mexican, Southern foods, etc., basically any FOOD of my choice.

They also make the food much better here because of the cultural diversity in LA. I went to other states and I can't find anything more abundant than BBQ, and if they did make ethnic foods it sucked, period- I wanted to go back to LA quick.

And it's not just the food, the weather is super and the women, OMG, they are the hottest looking here. You really can't beat SO Cal beauty. I know someone made an argument about Colorado but don't make me laugh. I know someone from Colorado who had to come back to LA so he could convince someone to marry him (probably made the same lame argument about how Colorado is better), and now his new wife wants to come back to LA. Can you blame her? Nope!

She missed the food, the culture, the DIVERSITY, the weather, her family, the day to day hustle and bustle because she says life in Colorado is pretty boring and lame. Also, she says there are lots of ignorant, racist trash... I would sure hate it there. The worse thing a person can ever face in life is constant racism.

I am a minority, and as a minority going to some places in Colorado I do not want to see, or my (future) kids to see. Yes, LA has it's own prejudices too, but not as much as Colorado.

[JackSparrow]

Originally Posted by cigarfanatic

I am a minority, and as a minority going to some places in Colorado I do not want to see, or my (future) kids to see. Yes, LA has it's own prejudices too, but not as much as Colorado.

Minority huh? Where? Colorado or Los Angeles... hahahaha, two TOTALLY different definitions when it comes to "minority." Is there even such thing as a minority in LA?

[cazelais]

Originally Posted by JackSparrow

Minority huh? Where? Colorado or Los Angeles... hahahaha, two TOTALLY different definitions when it comes to "minority." Is there even such thing as a minority in LA?

Oh, LOL, that's really funny! So true!

[Spudcommando]

As a college student attending UCLA, there's no place like LA. Where else can I recieve a world class education for a bargain? You'll find no one here that will deny that LA has some serious issues; illegal immigration, crime, horrible public schools, traffic, etc. But seriously, these are issues every major metro in the US have to deal with, it just surprises me to see how some people can act like these problems are unique to LA.

I may be young, but I have traveled the world quite a bit, there's certainly no place like LA out there. Plus this city has everything I'm looking for; plentiful job opportunities, countless recreational activities in the city and the surrounding region, and it's a gateway to Asia.

[cigarfanatic]

There are plenty of minority groups in Los Angeles; if you live in LA you should know who the majority groups are since that is pretty clear. Some of you speak as if there are only 3 or 4 type of nationalities that exist here. Funny thing is, you travel just miles away from the LA county line and you will get to many cities where the term "minority" is very clear.

[Educatorspeakingtruth]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Unless you have some very high paying job that just doesn't exist outside of the LA area, it doesn't make financial sense to live here. $60k is a nice (well above average) income for an individual, but it doesn't even begin to buy a house here. That person could go to almost any other city and make a less money (say $50k) but that $50k buys a house and a much more comfortable lifestyle.

Its a shame when a college educated couple (both working full time) can't afford a house and kids in the area they were raised. We're either going to have to leave the state, settle for a tiny condo for the rest of our lives (bad place to raise kids), or win the lottery.

This is true! Unless you have a high paying job I personally can't see how one could consider living here. Anyone could survive here, many homeless people do it all over Southern California! What do you want out of life? Do you want a nice house in a nice community? Do you want a place where you can be active in you community? Is safety important? Or do you want to be in a place with many things to do? Be involved in the "Hype"? The weather? Try to keep up with everyone around you only to get yourself deeper & deeper in debt? Come to find out that most of the people you're trying to keep up with are in debt too! I would be willing to bet if you looked at the average credit report on people of Southern California; The majority would be considered in debt! I think the real, true, and honest answer to "Living in Southern California or just surviving in Southern California?" The answer would be Surviving! If you do your research, you will discover that more people are moving out of Southern California than the people moving into California. (This excluding the 1,000's of Illegals entering California every year) If you want to live a decent, comfortable typical "Middle Class" lifestyle....? You need to move on and move out of State to do so.