Why do people suffer through cold wet winters when they are`free to live in Southern California?

Suffer NOT wrote:

You only live once.

In the end it does not matter little one,

Winter isnt wet

because some of us have been to southern california

Expensive.

Mexicans

Too many leftists.

southern california is an awful place to live. Having lived there for 6 years, I could go on for pages why is sucks to live in El Cajon (outside of San Diego) and near USC in LA. But number one reason we moved is the personal income tax of 13 cents on each $1 of taxable income. To make it worse, the knuckledheads in Sacremento waste most of it on stupid projects.

We moved back 'home' to PA that currently has a flat income tax rate of just over 3%. Plus, we are so happy to see the seasons change again and get some decent easy-to-access skiing.

http://taxfoundation.org/article/state-individual-income-tax-rates-and-brackets-2016

Because while cold wet winters may make people miserable, it doesn't make them crazy.

Where California lacks weather problems, it makes up for in crazy people problems.

halffast wrote:

Expensive.

That's my answer. I'd love to live somewhere with year-round warm weather, but the cost of living is too high.

Lack of money.

Because I don't want to blow $1 million on a house the size of a shoe box in SoCal when $400K buys me a 4000 sq' home with an acre of land in Central Pa.

I personally love the snow and cold. If I had enough guts to give up my job and house I would move even further North. Alaska is gorgeous and has just the temps I like. Southern California is dry and way to warm for my taste.

Because suffering through smog, endless traffic jams, gangs, bizarre people, fake people, 13% state income tax, over priced housing etc. seems worse.

I just wish Californians would stop moving into western WA and creating all the same problems here.

To be fair, not all places in CA have all that. I've gotta admit LaJolla, CA is a pretty awesome place to visit. I couldn't afford a home there though.

I will never live somewhere with a state income tax. The federal government already takes way too much of my income.

Kranky wrote:

Because I don't want to blow $1 million on a house the size of a shoe box in SoCal when $400K buys me a 4000 sq' home with an acre of land in Central Pa.

This. I bought a house in SoCal. Not worth it.

Not in a million years. Your premise is that 365 days of warm, dry weather is desirable. I'd call that hell.

SoCal Shack wrote:

Kranky wrote:

Because I don't want to blow $1 million on a house the size of a shoe box in SoCal when $400K buys me a 4000 sq' home with an acre of land in Central Pa.

This. I bought a house in SoCal. Not worth it.

This. Plus my wife and I love the snow. Helps when neither of us commute via car.

Unlike most of the people posting on this topic, I don't hate California with white hot seething anger that is probably just a projection of standard conservative views on political ideology, immigration and bohemians.

I grew up in SoCal and moved to the Bay Area. I live in the Bay, which is even more expensive than SoCal. The only deeply compelling reason that anybody's given for anti-California bias on this board is the expense, and that much is true. Land speculation (and some other factors) has long driven housing prices here out of control. Love it or leave it, as one group of Americans is fond of saying.

Overall, Southern California is a cool place to be, far better, in my experience, than 95% of the country, which is a weather nightmare lacking on so many levels (natural beauty, commerce, infrastructure, variety of experience, industry, the ability to make a ton of money, college choices, entertainment choices, to name a few) that myself and 40 million others like me would rather deal with the price gouging than leave for more desolate pastures.

That said, the Bay has a far more deeply entrenched intellectual culture than does SoCal. It has some of the East Coast's ease of transportation, energy and population density, combined with better weather than NYC and far more options for jaw-dropping natural wonder than you'll get in SoCal or many of the East Coast metro areas.