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California's skyrocketing housing costs, taxes prompt exodus of residents

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Re: California's skyrocketing housing costs, taxes prompt exodus of residents

#41

Post by cylinder »

sideband wrote: post #33

There's some sort of Stockholm syndrome prevalent among too many Bay Area residents that compels them to accept the lower quality of life. I lived there for several years until recently, and it was a surreal experience to hear others discuss the sacrifices they were making just to have a roof over their family's head, to provide a half-decent education for their children. And these were well-payed folks at the brand-…

Sounds like they aren't paying enough. If people demanded what they needed to live a decent life, they would either have to get it or the companies would wake up and relocate more quality jobs to lower COL locations.

Re: California's skyrocketing housing costs, taxes prompt exodus of residents

#42

Post by overcast »

sideband wrote: post #33

There's some sort of Stockholm syndrome prevalent among too many Bay Area residents that compels them to accept the lower quality of life. I lived there for several years until recently, and it was a surreal experience to hear others discuss the sacrifices they were making just to have a roof over their family's head, to provide a half-decent education for their children. And these were well-payed folks at the brand-…

It's interesting to hear these experiences from people that live there. Because there is certainly a romanticized version of it we see on the East Coast. Living in upstate New York, we have tons of wilderness areas, and relatively cheap living conditions. The grind out in California, just to say you live there, sounds scary.

Re: California's skyrocketing housing costs, taxes prompt exodus of residents

#43

Post by overcast »

cylinder wrote: post #41
sideband wrote: post #33

There's some sort of Stockholm syndrome prevalent among too many Bay Area residents that compels them to accept the lower quality of life. I lived there for several years until recently, and it was a surreal experience to hear others discuss the sacrifices they were making just to have a roof over their family's head, to provide a half-decent education for their children. And these were well-payed folks at the brand-…

Sounds like they aren't paying enough. If people demanded what they needed to live a decent life, they would either have to get it or the companies would wake up and relocate more quality jobs to lower COL locations.

Problem is, soon as everyone starts demanding more, then the cost of everything else goes up. There is limited space, and those people making the most, will pay the most regardless. Just a never ending cycle.

Re: California's skyrocketing housing costs, taxes prompt exodus of residents

#44

Post by shawndumas »

sideband wrote: post #33

There's some sort of Stockholm syndrome prevalent among too many Bay Area residents that compels them to accept the lower quality of life. I lived there for several years until recently, and it was a surreal experience to hear others discuss the sacrifices they were making just to have a roof over their family's head, to provide a half-decent education for their children. And these were well-payed folks at the brand-…

Having lived in Long Island, NY and Boca Raton, FL I gotta say... I don't think I could leave the Bay Area.

The weather, the geological features, the schools, the meetups, the job opportunities... all factors.

But the biggest is that the people are truly interested in intellectual matters in a way that was not extant in the other places I've lived. My son is a programmer and nobody had a clue what he was talking about--which is fine--but they also couldn't care less to even try to understand.

And also, there is a lot of prejudice that I am glad my kids will not grow up in the milieu of.

Re: California's skyrocketing housing costs, taxes prompt exodus of residents

#45

Post by DougN7 »

overcast wrote: post #43
cylinder wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sounds like they aren't paying enough. If people demanded what they needed to live a decent life, they would either have to get it or the companies would wake up and relocate more quality jobs to lower COL locations.

Problem is, soon as everyone starts demanding more, then the cost of everything else goes up. There is limited space, and those people making the most, will pay the most regardless. Just a never ending cycle.

Yep, supply and demand can't be overcome. I suspect raising minimum wage must have the same effect over time as well.

Re: California's skyrocketing housing costs, taxes prompt exodus of residents

#46

Post by sphinx65 »

This is happening almost everywhere, but at a less frightening pace than CA. And we are told continually by the chattering class and politicians that skyrocketing real estate prices - asset inflation - is a good thing. Since forever a stable residential real estate market was the goal and people understood its value. Now we're all gamblers, meaning losers. When the hedge funds and REIT's stop speculating in residential real estate and pull out, there will be a deafening crash.

Re: California's skyrocketing housing costs, taxes prompt exodus of residents

#47

Post by nfriedly »

My wife and I spent a year in the Bay Area (San Mateo), and there was a lot to love. Great weather, awesome farmers markets, plenty of work, etc.

But holly cow was it expensive! My rent was around $2000/month. I had a co-worker living in SF proper who's apartment was $4500/month. And that was 4-5 years ago, it's probably gone up by now.

After a year, we moved back to Ohio - I now have a good-sized house on nearly an acre of land, and my 15-year mortgage is just over $1000/month.

The difference is going into my retirement savings: I'm on track to have enough to retire at around age 45.

Re: California's skyrocketing housing costs, taxes prompt exodus of residents

#48

Post by netcan »

sideband wrote: post #33

There's some sort of Stockholm syndrome prevalent among too many Bay Area residents that compels them to accept the lower quality of life. I lived there for several years until recently, and it was a surreal experience to hear others discuss the sacrifices they were making just to have a roof over their family's head, to provide a half-decent education for their children. And these were well-payed folks at the brand-…

It's not just SF. It's big cities around the world. They are drawing in more people than ever. Most have housing/transport issues that present as high cost of living. People still keep pouring in and successful cities stand out in terms of household income.

Even as the internet makes geography less relevant, the competition for living in cities keeps growing.

Re: California's skyrocketing housing costs, taxes prompt exodus of residents

#49

Post by sphinx65 »

shiftpgdn wrote: post #29
TDL wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Being from Chicago I say it's a good thing to pay down the pension obligations. Pension obligations can cause a lot of problems in the future. Although I don't believe governments should be growing their budgets aggressively, squaring gov obligations is a good thing.

Why do government pensions even exist anymore? There is absolutely no reason for them and they need to go. The government can pay a reasonable salary if they wanted skilled workers.

Because they were promises made a long, long time ago, when interest rates were high enough to support the idea of pensions and retirement?

Re: California's skyrocketing housing costs, taxes prompt exodus of residents

#50

Post by chiph »

Could there be a brain drain here? I see these people as being the smart ones - those who realize they're in a losing financial situation, and have the motivation to do something about it, even though in the short term it's painful for them (leaving friends & uprooting their family).
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