Am I Crazy for Considering Moving to Los Angeles

[JJkizak]

A crummy $350,000.00 house here in Ohio would go for $1,200,000.00 in California and that was a while back.

JJK

[babadono]

I live in So Cal. Traffic sucks IF you have to be in it. I live in a semi rural area and have a 17 mile drive down country backroads to/from work. Shopping is about the same, maybe a little further. But it took effort to be in this position. No way I could work in metro LA from where I live, the commute would kill me. And I'm not near the beach so it gets HOT in the summer. but it is usually not humid, that makes the temps a little more tolerable.

I agree with grasshopper once you get used to not having to move snow out of your way there ain't no going back.

[Shiva]

Well, as far as expenses go, since he does want you, if its not already on the table that is, asking for a decent housing allowance and a company car would be a nice incentive to get you to move out here.  Personally, I think you merit that. 👍  Of course,  he's gotta pay moving costs as well, no? 😈     Yeah, that's it. 

[BigStewMan]

2 hours ago, Westcoastdrums said:

Agreed. There was Northridge.... My parents place was fine. Surely depends on how close you are to the epicenter.   I wouldnt want to live down by the docks either with all of those giant diesel ships dumping scented goodness all day long either 

yeah I survived the Northridge quakes.  I was about 40 miles from the epicenter of the 6.9 quake back in 1971.

I worked in the Port for about 15 years ... we'd get all kinds of black gunk on our cars.  No wonder my Asthma was out of control. But that was just at work, at home, no gunk falling out of the sky like we had by those refineries. 

[MEH Synergy]

Come on down to socal.   Don't worry, there is NO crime here and we have the best firearm laws in the nation.  The people are incredibly pleasant and we have plenty of nice green land from all the rain we get.   What's not to like? 

[NBPK402]

Great advice from Pete above.  Make a list on a legal pad, Pros one side, Cons the other.
 
I was making a bunch of money living in San Diego.  Traffic and competition for virtually everything drove me out...even for minor things such as a parking space at the grocery store, restaurant reservations, etc, etc, etc....absolutely ridiculous.
 
Traffic and terrible commute equals stress.  No way I would ever move back to California.

Most people that leave to California, and decide to move back later cannot ever afford it again.

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[tigerwoodKhorns]

1 hour ago, Bosco-d-gama said:

Santa Monica accommodated the homeless by feeding them, which encouraged more, and more to stay in a spectacular setting. This was decades before their now famous homeless crisis and the city became a Mecca for the indigent populations. That oft seen Santa Monica pier sign is adjacent to ocean park which is now a pretty sad sight. Like San Fran the population there is rethinking their approach to these problems. There will always be people whose misfortune is not their own fault. But there were loads of people I knew there whose free and easy circumstances were bolstered by a ‘giving’ community.

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.  Encouraging homeless to make it to a place that has nice year round weather is not a good idea for that place. 

 

 

[MEH Synergy]

3 minutes ago, Negatron said:

Most people that leave to California, and decide to move back later cannot ever afford it again.

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Verbatim what my father said. That's what ultimately got me I think 

[NBPK402]

You can always find more affordable places farther out from town, but then you have to look at how much of your time will be lost in traffic...not to mention how much stress you will have in traffic. Personally I highly recommend getting a house where you like as soon as you can afford it. In the past houses have went down when the economy dumped, but California has always been the one to come out the fastest. If you are in a high income bracket, you are most likely going to want a tax break...real estate in California has always been the best investment IMO.

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[Jeff Matthews]

6 minutes ago, Negatron said:

Most people that leave to California, and decide to move back later cannot ever afford it again.

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I went to LA once a couple years ago.  Less rain. Right on the edge of the desert.   The weather was a hot, like Houston.  Other than that, it's like being anywhere else in a big city.  Walmart right down the road.  Mickey D's.  All the same shite.  I wouldn't pay a premium to live there unless I was paid a premium commensurate with what it would cost.  Houston's sub-tropical climate (with 3 times the annual rainfall) is a lot more desirable, IMO.

[NBPK402]

Verbatim what my father said. That's what ultimately got me I think 

Not uncommon either...we had a lot of friends that moved out, and returned about 5 years later, and had to rent...could not afford to buy again. We moved out, butwe have no intention of even moving back to the USA... if we decide to move again, my wife wants to move to Spain or Portugal.

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[oldtimer]

12 minutes ago, tigerwoodKhorns said:

The road to hell is paved with good intentions.  Encouraging homeless to make it to a place that has nice year round weather is not a good idea for that place. 

 

 

But it's a great idea for the homeless.  Check out Oahu, I know.  If I were homeless, I would do the same.  However, if I (one) is smart enough to think in those terms, I (one) is probably smart enough to not be homeless.  If the stuff hits the fan, and we become once again a nation of -----villes, then all bets are off.  Look what happened the last time.  They all went west to California!  Would anyone here, given worst case circumstances, head east instead?  

[MEH Synergy]

I hear you Negatron haha. OK explain that name... 

[BigStewMan]

19 minutes ago, Jeff Matthews said:

I went to LA once a couple years ago.  Less rain. Right on the edge of the desert.   The weather was a hot, like Houston.  Other than that, it's like being anywhere else in a big city.  Walmart right down the road.  Mickey D's.  All the same shite.  I wouldn't pay a premium to live there unless I was paid a premium commensurate with what it would cost.  Houston's sub-tropical climate (with 3 times the annual rainfall) is a lot more desirable, IMO.

 I've never been to Houston, but I imagine my Asthma would go nuts in that humidity.  I think LA is technically a sub-tropical climate (Mediterranean) but with far less humidity -- and my lungs do call the shots when deciding where I will live. 

[oldtimer]

2 minutes ago, BigStewMan said:

 I've never been to Houston, but I imagine my Asthma would go nuts in that humidity.  I think LA is technically a sub-tropical climate (Mediterranean) but with far less humidity -- and my lungs do call the shots when deciding where I will live. 

Pollution isn't good for asthma.  I drove once in Los Angeles, and the air was so brown and dense you could not read the highway signs until you were right next to them.  I will never forget how gross that was.

[Jeff Matthews]

1 minute ago, oldtimer said:

Pollution isn't good for asthma.  I drove once in Los Angeles, and the air was so brown and dense you could not read the highway signs until you were right next to them.  I will never forget how gross that was.

When I was there, it wasn't as bad as that, but I do remember seeing evidence of the pollution on the freeway signs.  Basically, the signs were covered in soot, and you could see the drip lines going down them from when it rains.  

[BigStewMan]

pollution may not be good, but I can tell you that heat & humidity makes me feel worse ... hands down,  by far. 

[CECAA850]

3 minutes ago, Jeff Matthews said:

When I was there, it wasn't as bad as that, but I do remember seeing evidence of the pollution on the freeway signs.  Basically, the signs were covered in soot, and you could see the drip lines going down them from when it rains.  

Paradise.

[BigStewMan]

10 minutes ago, Jeff Matthews said:

Basically, the signs were covered in soot, and you could see the drip lines going down them from when it rains.  

maybe so, but I assure you when you're running from the fires you don't notice a dirty sign. 

[dtel]

Sounds like a great place.