CA Exodus

[mpeirce]

Quote:

Originally Posted by fh2000 For those of us who immigrated from Asia, California/New York/Houston may be the few choices we have.

I'm not sure I get this.

"Asia" is pretty big, so maybe you're referring to a specific enclave. Around here in central Ohio, we have a health population of south asians. There is both a Hindu and a Jain temple within a few miles of my house. They seem to be happy, productive members of the community.

[fh2000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpeirce I'm not sure I get this. "Asia" is pretty big, so maybe you're referring to a specific enclave. Around here in central Ohio, we have a health population of south asians. There is both a Hindu and a Jain temple within a few miles of my house. They seem to be happy, productive members of the community.

You may be correct. More explanation might cause this thread to be locked. My focus is on foods and easy access to international airport.

[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mpeirce I enjoyed living in Silicon Valley (great work opportunities!) for 15 years, but I was happy to come home to Ohio and especially to raise my son here. Even my DW (born in Cal) likes it here.

I agree. I grew up in SoCal, but I'd never move back due to the crowds, the cost, the crowds, and the congestion (due to crowds). The weather is consistently gorgeous, but I'd rather live in Ohio, have a real yard, and just put on some clothes when it is cold rather than spend 2 hours on the freeway to go 40 miles.

Quote:

I like that the US is varied enough that most people can find the "right place" for themselves.

Amen. I'm glad people enjoy CA, and can understand the attraction.

[irishgal]

I'm a California native. Born and raised in Newport Beach back in the day when teachers could afford a house in the boardwalk. Moved around Southern California- Corona del Mar, Long Beach and up in the North Tustin foothills.
Left two years ago- by no means was it the COL but I just wanted to experience living somewhere else.

I miss the people, but the state is no longer the nirvana I grew up in, which is really sad.


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[mh]

You know winter is over when the California bashing picks up again on early-retirement.org 😀


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[imoldernu]

Mindful of the 1980's, when business sent me to CA, some of the best memories were of places north of Oakland/San Francisco... in particular, Auburn, Grass Valley and smaller towns like Susanville. When it made more sense to stay in CA instead of going back to Chicago for the weekend, I had weekends free to explore.
Many happy times traveling with CA company district managers to see the sights, so had a rosy outlook leading me to tell DW that we would eventually settle in in one of the "then quiet" outlying towns. Spent a weekend at Antelope Lake near Taylorsville... fishing, and thought I had gone to heaven.

So, now, looking at city:data can see that the larger towns have grown in income, housing values etc... and realize that we made the right choice, given our economics.

Still... fond memories of the ocean, Yosemite, and the forests and lakes.

[Accidental Retiree]

Quote:

Originally Posted by samclem I agree. I grew up in SoCal, but I'd never move back due to the crowds, the cost, the crowds, and the congestion (due to crowds). The weather is consistently gorgeous, but I'd rather live in Ohio, have a real yard, and just put on some clothes when it is cold rather than spend 2 hours on the freeway to go 40 miles. Amen. I'm glad people enjoy CA, and can understand the attraction.

I'm kinda like W2R. Most of the time, I don't much want to leave my neighborhood. Also like W2R, I have my Dream House, and there isn't any place else I really want to be. 🌴🌞👙🍊🍷


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[samclem]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mh You know winter is over when the California bashing picks up again on early-retirement.org 😀 Sent from my iPhone using Early Retirement Forum

"Sent from my iPhone --from my car, as I creep along on the 605 Freeway with 200,000 of my best friends"

From a San Gabriel Valley-expat who remembers many aspects of life there very fondly.

[RobbieB]

CA becomes really cool when you are retired. Driving from where I live to San Jose was a 2.5 hour affair when I was working. But the cool thing about CA freeways is they are speed limit (or faster) from 10 to 2. I can easily go have lunch in San Jose whenever I want, it takes less than an hour from 10 to 2.

[Rosie]

Oh, yawn.

People have been bashing California since well before I moved out here from Massachusetts thirty years ago.

Oh, and people used to bash Massachusetts too - is that still a thang?

Whiners gotta whine.

[Fedup]

After living in the East Coast for 3 years, I moved back to California and never looked back. I'm glad for those 3 years because digging your car under 10 feet of snow after work was no fun. I've bought 4 houses in California so the housing cost never intimidated me. I'm sure I could help my kids buy their starter home, except they are not sure where they would stay yet.


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[Rosie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by imoldernu Mindful of the 1980's, when business sent me to CA, some of the best memories were of places north of Oakland/San Franci sco... in particular, Auburn, Grass Valley and smaller towns like Susanville.

When DH & I retired we briefly considered leaving the SF Bay area for WA or OR, but we found exactly what we were looking for here in CA. Our dream home is a short drive to Auburn, where I often go hiking. We're very close to great bicycling and kayaking too. Home prices are considerably less than the Bay Area. By Bay Area standards, congestion is practically nonexistent. We love it here.

Bear in mind, California is a very large state. It's not just the Bay Area & LA. Here, I have a real yard, & I had to bundle up during the winter.

[W2R]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Accidental Retiree I'm kinda like W2R. Most of the time, I don't much want to leave my neighborhood. Also like W2R, I have my Dream House, and there isn't any place else I really want to be.

I can definitely understand that! (typed while sitting in my favorite easy chair, right here in the den of my Dream House, which is located in my dream neighborhood). With any luck, I'll never move again.

I think that many or most of the retirees on the forum are exactly where we want to be and wouldn't move for the world. I think that is wonderful.

[Clone]

I think it is a bit immature to think that folks who live somewhere else have somehow made a mistake. Yet, it is very popular to declare many places as not fit to live.

I may not understand the motivation of some folks, but I must balance that with the fact that I really do not care if they understand my motivations as well.

[photoguy]

I think the author of the article linked in the OP needs to take a lesson from Louis CK:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FKlu9DJa5PM

[RobbieB]

There is no "California Exodus";

https://www.google.com/publicdata/ex...00&hl=en&dl=en

The state continues to grow.

[daylatedollarshort]

California is a big place. There are many counties with no crowds and not a lot of traffic. We've been happy in the Bay Area and have real yard with trees as do most people we know, at least the ones in single family homes. The lack of housing density contributes to the housing shortage, but between the lower housing density and good public transportation the traffic seems less to me than the busy parts of So Cal.

There is traffic where we live during commute hours but like Robbie posted not so much between 10 am and 2 pm, and I'd add or after 7 pm most week nights and not so much on the weekends except some areas. SF itself seems to have traffic 24 X 7 these days but it also does have a good public transportation system so we usually take the train when we go there. Many SF households (~30%) do not even own cars. We took the freeway to UC Botanical Garden in Berkeley in the East Bay today (Sunday) and there was not a lot of traffic. The botanical garden has a small Redwood grove with a stream and picnic tables and we had it almost to ourselves today, so maybe some places are crowded but we have learned to avoid them.

[Rambler]

Hmmm...I've not been around the forum for a long time, decided to take a peek, and found this thread.

As chance would have it, we are planning a house hunting trip about 10 days from now, to try to find a suitable location in a state that doesn't confiscate so much of my retirement income. In other words, we are looking at leaving California and its confiscatory tax rates. It isn't the rent, for us, that's the problem...it's that the state has such ridiculously high taxes on my income, that when my deferred income from my working days kicks in at the end of 2019, I could literally buy a very nice home in a very nice neighborhood for the income tax I will have to pay on the deferred income over the 10 year payout period. So, we are considering a move to a no or low income tax state. We may keep our California dream home as a vacation home for a few years, but only stay here occasionally, or maybe just sell it and stay in the Motorhome if we come to visit. We love it here, and will miss it if we do decide to leave, but we're simply fed up with the amount we must pay in taxes for the privilege of living here.

[MichaelB]

Hey Rambler, nice to see you back.

We left NY because of the taxes. We still miss it, had a very enjoyable lifestyle there, and did not mind the taxes when I was working. After quitting, however, I quickly saw that as an unneeded expense really related to work, so we moved to Florida.

[REWahoo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MichaelB Hey Rambler, nice to see you back.

Yes, it most certainly is! Why don't you sit and stay a while...