Getting out of Cali

[Leopardos]

I dont live in the US, So i dont know about each different state.

I wanted to live in the UK -> London since i was a kid.
I have been there many times, Best place in the world, ever.
But LIVING there is not a vacation, its will be tough times to get used to it as your city, renting, working, blablabla , no friends ( i mean real friends and family ) and everything related to real life...

I came up with : " I dont want to live anywhere which i would feel a stranger or just ONE number of the total population, i want to live with my family and friends, No one else is worth more than them"

Just a little story about me, No on care here i know, but i had to say it.

So, my msg is, Just stay with your friends and family, dont waste your life living with strangers.

 

[Vic Vega]

I'll start by saying I love San Francisco and I love Silicon Valley - heck I pretty much love the entire bay area and really enjoy going there.

Back in 2011 I took a job with a large computer OEM which had offices in guess where, Silicon Valley and RTP, NC. I would be paid to relocate to either location.

After spending two weeks looking all over the bay area and two weeks in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill the choice was clear, and I've been in NC two years now.

It's not a tough choice really. My home in Hope Valley (SW Durham County) is 5 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom, 2 car garage, screened porch, deck, finished walk out basement and 3,600 s/f. To buy this home practically anywhere in the bay area is well over $1,000,000.00. If you're talking San Francisco make it two million. Honestly, there is no way. If you're born there and somehow inherit property then it's an awesome place to be, I'm sure.

For my line of work (and I've check quite a bit) the salary difference between RTP and the bay area is around 20 to 25%. That doesn't make up for the 4x to 5x difference in property price.

California also has many governmental aspects I would find difficult to deal with.

 

[edro]

Thank god for living in Oregon.

I gained a ton of respect for Oregon when I was there... same for Washington.
Northern Cali is really nice too.

 

[trmiv]

I was really surprised when you moved to NC. I suspected that you wouldn't be happy long term. Yes, there's a lot to like about the Carolinas...but there's a lot to dislike too. (damn if it doesn't seem like you can say that about almost everywhere.)

Yea. I mean I don't hate nc. There are definitely positives to the move and things that have happened that wouldnt have been possible if we didn't move. But in the end California will always be home and where our hearts are. I guess we miss more about California than we like about nc.

 

[Anubis]

$8k/yr property taxes?

Sheeeeeit

property taxes in CA are high just like in NY
i live in the boonies in a ~200k house
6k a year in property tax

 

[Sluggo]

It's not a tough choice really. My home in Hope Valley (SW Durham County) is 5 bedroom, 3.5 bathroom, 2 car garage, screened porch, deck, finished walk out basement and 3,600 s/f. To buy this home practically anywhere in the bay area is well over $1,000,000.00. If you're talking San Francisco make it two million. Honestly, there is no way. If you're born there and somehow inherit property then it's an awesome place to be, I'm sure.

What was the price in NC, about 300,000-350,000?

 

[Anubis]

What was the price in NC, about 300,000-350,000?

where i live in NY that would be under 3

 

[Craig234]

By all means, please start naming those places. The Central Valley smog bowl doesn't count, either.

Sure, name an area.

You can do it yourself easily too.

 

[PricklyPete]

I love the Monterey/San Fran Bay areas and had planned to move to Santa Cruz when my wife and I were ready to Seattle down. That time came last summer when we decided not to go overseas with my old company. After really thinking it through and discussing it with my wife, we decided on Colorado and we could not be happier.

 

[soulcougher73]

Sure, name an area.

You can do it yourself easily too.

Ok. Try Millbrae, CA with no more then 45 mins drive away. GO!

 

[Fritzo]

I was just saying to my wife yesterday that we should put everyone in Florida and California on an island and see what happens.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Sure, name an area.

You can do it yourself easily too.

Monterey. A minimum of a 2800 sq. ft house with a minimum of a 1/2 acre lot. Go!

 

[Brovane]

Lived in CA all my life.

However I own property and I am secure in my current location with my current job.

The thing about property taxes in CA is that with Prop 13 you don't have much change from year/year since the home value cannot go up more than 2% a year for assessment. Which is nice to be able to budget based on this. However new people that are buying a house get screwed. You can have two people living to each other with the same property and the new person pays several times what the older person pays if they have been living in the same house for several decades.

 

[Greenman]

Lived in CA all my life.

However I own property and I am secure in my current location with my current job.

The thing about property taxes in CA is that with Prop 13 you don't have much change from year/year since the home value cannot go up more than 2% a year for assessment. Which is nice to be able to budget based on this. However new people that are buying a house get screwed. You can have two people living to each other with the same property and the new person pays several times what the older person pays if they have been living in the same house for several decades.

Prop 13 is the reason I still own property in California. If not for that, I'd have been forced out long ago. When your tax payment is larger than your mortgage payment, something is seriously wrong.

 

[GTaudiophile]

I love the Monterey/San Fran Bay areas and had planned to move to Santa Cruz when my wife and I were ready to Seattle down. That time came last summer when we decided not to go overseas with my old company. After really thinking it through and discussing it with my wife, we decided on Colorado and we could not be happier.

Aren't you in Vienna? Why not stay in Europe?

 

[vshah]

move to pittsburgh!
can buy a nice 4br house for 300-400k in the middle of town

 

[rh71]

pretty sure there are starter homes in CA. LI here is expensive but you can still find starter homes of 3 bed, 1.5 bath for $350k and $8k taxes. Since these are starter homes for young people (kids not yet in school), school districts shouldn't play a big role yet.

BTW, my brother just sold his house in San Diego for $390k and it was pretty nice for young couples.

Lots of people here in NY leave because of the excessive taxes (we are up to 15k). It's not going into the home value so unless you have kids taking advantage of school districts, it's not worthwhile.

 

[Chapbass]

Yeah, taxes are a real bitch. I live outside Chicago, and the taxes here can be unbearable. northern suburbs you're talking >10k on a 330-350k house. Property isn't as expensive as Cali, but the taxes are just as bad, if not worse, IMO....which sucks because at least you can re-sell property for (hopefully) a similar price...taxes is just money down the drain.

 

[Vic Vega]

Just for reference, this is currently THE CHEAPEST single family 3/2 in San Fran listed on Realtor.com

http://www.realtor.com/realestatean...Ave_San-Francisco_CA_94124_M23163-99430?row=1

Go ahead and take a look on Google street view and let me know if you'd buy this "starter" home for damn near $300K and be prepared to put another $100K to $150K in it immediately before you move in.

 

[Vic Vega]

http://www.realtor.com/realestatean...ve_San-Francisco_CA_94122_M28580-69473?row=10

$500K 3/2 920 s/f

 

[Trey22]

I lived in the Bay Area (San Jose) for 22 years (1988 to 2010). I worked for a security company and the wife worked for Apple. We made plenty of money, no debt, but still couldn't afford to buy a *decent* place.

We moved, bought a house cash, are now surrounded by family and friends, and don't regret the move. I kept my job and work remotely, the wife was able to start her own home business.

Don't get me wrong, there are things I miss about CA, mostly the weather and food (In n Out, Teske's, House of Genji, Sushi Boat, Pho, Omagari's Korean, Super Taqueria), but the tradeoff was worth it... even if the winters can be brutal in Dearborn Heights, MI.

 

[Agent11]

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/3509-Southvillage-Dr-Medford-OR-97504/48359919_zpid/
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/6470-13th-Ave-SE-Salem-OR-97306/53031148_zpid/#map
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1304-NE-76th-Ave-Portland-OR-97213/53892370_zpid/

Oregon>California

 

[PricklyPete]

Aren't you in Vienna? Why not stay in Europe?

Decided all the traveling I would be doing would go against our plan to start a family. Switched jobs and moved to Colorado instead. A bit of me will always regret not living over there, but I know we ultimately made the better decision. I leave work at 3pm and have a MUCH better work/life balance than I ever would have had at my old company.

 

[Slew Foot]

The nice parts of CA beat the shit out of anywhere else in the country. But yeah, its pretty expensive. Probably why its so nice, all the losers leave.

 

[natto fire]

There is no perfect place to live in America. People will leave one place and then soon after they move to the next, they will find something else to bitch about, whether it be taxes, the population that lives there, the weather...You name it.

I think if I had to pick some place ideal, maybe SC, along the coast.

So much this. I was born and raised in Ohio, have visited over 40 states, and lived in New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, and they all had positives and negatives. I came back to Ohio to be with family, but am getting the itch to move again, because honestly Ohio is probably my least favorite of the places I've lived. I like Columbus, it is a pretty cool city, but the topography and lack of distinct culture here is not my cup of tea. I am more of a mountain dweller and will probably end up moving west again some day.