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

My wife and I finished our professional educations in Boston in 1985 and chose to take jobs in Pittsburgh instead of staying in New England.

We grew up in the Midwest.

We thought that living better, affordable day to day living trumped entertainment but Pittsburgh does have plenty of big league arts and entertainment.

We also knew that travel times to Europe would only increase flying times for European travel by about an hour.

The political and thought conformity on the coast, especially in Boston, were also big turn-offs.

We are now in our mid-fifties and I am planning on retiring this summer.

My wife has been able to stay home for years to home-school our kids.

The house is paid off, having cost only 160K in 2000. A friend who visited in 2000 after moving from Southern Cal. told me at the time that the house would have cost 900K in his suburb.

Before I turned on the computer this morning, my wife and I were discussing how our plans this year and over the last 15 years could never have happened had we not made the decision to try a place that was not considered chic in 1985.

I live in the Bay Area.

My grandparents moved here in the 60's. Bought a house for $16,000. It is valued not at 2.4 million. Same crappy house from the 60's but hit the real estate jackpot: location.

Which sums up the problem here. There's too many people that make a lot of money. They're willing to pay that price. Normal people are forced to squeeze 2-3 families in a house to survive. Everyone is working, there's no community and you are hard pressed to see kids playing outside in your neighborhood.

Traffic is terrible.

And that's the Bay Area. As for SoCal I don't live there because there's no trees and traffic sucks.

I stay for my pension. When I retire I can move and live well.

blahblah wrote:

Murder Dubs wrote:

It's really something how this thread has devolved into people from around the country simply spewing anti-Cali vitriol. And, yes, most of it has a political derivation...

Anyway, you all are welcome to stay where the f^^k you're at. We don't need you clogging up the freeway and bitching about how much better your life in Grand Rapids used to be.

No, what started this is one Californian moron wondering why anyone would ever live anywhere else than SoCal.

And you're welcome to stay where the #### you're at. There, problem solved!

We are in agreement.

In 10 years, your $1M SoCal house will be worth $2,000,000 and you will have access to a lot of money (enough to buy two of those PA houses for cash!).

In 10 years, your $400,000 PA house will be worth $475,000.

Depending on other factors, such as Location, Location, Location, YMMV:

In 1990 SoCal (Burbank) condos were selling for $60K. Now they sell for 10x that, $600K!

My $225K SoCal house (Valencia) in 1991 is now worth $565K.

My $225K SoCal house (Fullerton) in 1998 is now worth $650K.

My $520K SoCal house (South Orange County) in 2002 is now worth $1.25M

Granted, there are other reasons to not live in Kalifornia, and I encourage everyone to move away and no one else to move here. However, the expense of real estate will almost always be worth the investment.

RealEstate wrote:

In 10 years, your $1M SoCal house will be worth $2,000,000 and you will have access to a lot of money (enough to buy two of those PA houses for cash!).

In 10 years, your $400,000 PA house will be worth $475,000.

Depending on other factors, such as Location, Location, Location, YMMV:

In 1990 SoCal (Burbank) condos were selling for $60K. Now they sell for 10x that, $600K!

My $225K SoCal house (Valencia) in 1991 is now worth $565K.

My $225K SoCal house (Fullerton) in 1998 is now worth $650K.

My $520K SoCal house (South Orange County) in 2002 is now worth $1.25M

Granted, there are other reasons to not live in Kalifornia, and I encourage everyone to move away and no one else to move here. However, the expense of real estate will almost always be worth the investment.

How are housing prices in Riverside county these days?

RealEstate wrote:

In 10 years, your $1M SoCal house will be worth $2,000,000 and you will have access to a lot of money (enough to buy two of those PA houses for cash!).

In 10 years, your $400,000 PA house will be worth $475,000.

Depending on other factors, such as Location, Location, Location, YMMV:

In 1990 SoCal (Burbank) condos were selling for $60K. Now they sell for 10x that, $600K!

My $225K SoCal house (Valencia) in 1991 is now worth $565K.

My $225K SoCal house (Fullerton) in 1998 is now worth $650K.

My $520K SoCal house (South Orange County) in 2002 is now worth $1.25M

Granted, there are other reasons to not live in Kalifornia, and I encourage everyone to move away and no one else to move here. However, the expense of real estate will almost always be worth the investment.

The market is a cycle. I know folks who moved to the coasts in the mid-1980's to early nineties and bought at what was at the time the peak before the next downturn and they ended up way under water. They had to turn in their keys to the bank but were still paying what was left on the mortgage.

No market always goes up.

One of the most reliable troll topics is to post a regionally biased statement or question. The angry replies will come rolling in.

Well played, OP. 9/10.

13 cents wrote:

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

Top *maerinal* rate is 13 percent. Your effective tax rate at 200,000 (I presume you are a high earner) is about 8 percent or so

L.A. is where the future is being made. Hell, even Nazis like Trump and Bannon learned how to use social media on-the-job while working in L.A.

I aint no engineerring material. Have to stay at home.

Dreamin of the beach, sun, bikinis.

I need a winter coat.

The only people who hate SoCal are the ones who can't afford to live there. They also prefer their dodge to a bmw. It's just sour grapes.

Cold winters>100 degree summers

Taxes. Don't want to watch MNF at 5:30

My opinion wrote:

Cold winters>100 degree summers

That's your opinion because you are too poor or too stupid to leave where you are. Like the other guy said, sour grapes. Make yourself believe SoCal is undesirable by making sh1t up. Average high temp for San Diego in August in 78.

Southern California is not undesirable. But it's not the only place to live. But this is LRC, the home of untalented trolls.

Too much traffic.

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.

My brother sold his house in Mission Viejo to move to Georgia a few years ago. His 1200 sf 2br/2ba on a postage stamp lot brought in enough to buy a 4000sf house on 3/4 acre in the Atlanta 'burbs, and he had enough left over to get a small beach condo in Panama City.