Am I Crazy for Considering Moving to Los Angeles

[MEH Synergy]

Just now, BigStewMan said:

I'd rent a place until he figured out SoCal -- so many optio

Agreed.   I have coworkers that live in Palmdale and work in Los Angeles.  100+ miles each way if I'm not mistaken. Terrible.   Not for me.  Yet, they have a 5000 SQFT house that is the same price or less as my 1350 sqft home. So I guess, depends on your priorities.   Another buddy of mine bought a large house as such in Ontario and hates the area and the commute, so he's now upgrading area and trying to find what he wants with a realistic 1700 SQFT or so. 

[BigStewMan]

as I get older, I like extreme weather less. When I lived in the OC the weather was ideal for my liking. 

[MEH Synergy]

3 minutes ago, BigStewMan said:

as I get older, I like extreme weather less. When I lived in the OC the weather was ideal for my liking. 

Weather is beautiful, that's a huge part of the equation for why people come when you discuss.  That, the schools, and being in the middle of mountains, desert, ocean and forest is what I commonly hear.  Some people love the big city living. I can't stand it.   I went to school in Hollywood for a bit and couldn't wait to be done with it 

[tigerwoodKhorns]

10 minutes ago, Westcoastdrums said:

What about forested areas in Arizona?  I heard from a guy that bought a car from me and drove it all the way back that the weather there is quote ncie mostly year round?  I can't handle the heat, no go for me. I love being outdoors.  It's hot enough for me here.  I'm a hot weather wimp. 

 

No legal weed.  Deal breaker. 

[JohnJ]

OK, I'll step in it.

There's that one thing that nobody has talked about that is understood by all of you.

 

Quakes.

 

Lived on top of limestone, dolomite and occasional sinkholes before. I never went to the big one in Maitland off the road I lived on to look at the lake that occupies it.

Had the brain in my jeans that kept me there for years. When that wasn't a good reason anymore I left.

 

So the pros & cons list sounds like the ticket.

[tigerwoodKhorns]

7 minutes ago, Westcoastdrums said:

Agreed.   I have coworkers that live in Palmdale and work in Los Angeles.  100+ miles each way if I'm not mistaken. Terrible.   Not for me.  Yet, they have a 5000 SQFT house that is the same price or less as my 1350 sqft home. So I guess, depends on your priorities.   Another buddy of mine bought a large house as such in Ontario and hates the area and the commute, so he's now upgrading area and trying to find what he wants with a realistic 1700 SQFT or so. 

 

I live in a large house and would never buy another one.  Stupid vanity purchase in my 30s.  I love the house and the neighborhood, but it is just a waste and I am not talking about the cost, but maintenance, cleaning, even projects, everything takes a lot of effort because of the size.  1800 to 2500 feet is plenty. 

 

A long commute will destroy your life.  What good is the big house if you are only there to eat breakfast and dinner and sleep during the week? 

[billybob]

Dude...

[MEH Synergy]

11 minutes ago, tigerwoodKhorns said:

What good is the big house if you are only there to eat breakfast and dinner and sleep during the week? 

My thought exactly.   John, yes the quakes.   Honestly, I am I'll prepared and ignore the thought of like any other person in CA. I have my "emergency" supplies in the garage.   My house was built in 57' and it's still standing and never rebuilt (from being completely destroyed) that I saw while signing docs upon purchase.  My foundation had a crack in it that wasn't major.  Taking my chances I suppose.  The big one WILL come again, that is a fact. 

[BigStewMan]

9 minutes ago, Westcoastdrums said:

Honestly, I am I'll prepared and ignore the thought of like any other person in CA.

for sure.  I NEVER worried about an earthquake.  Lived there for over 50 years and been through a few, but devastating ones don't happen with enough regularity to worry me. 

LA will go years and years without a disaster quake, eventually there will be another one -- I'd be more worried about living in Tornado or Hurricane Country. 

 

[JohnJ]

True, everyone is used to & probably prepared for their own familiar problems and issues.

 

[MEH Synergy]

2 minutes ago, BigStewMan said:

I'd be more worried about living in Tornado or Hurricane Country. 

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 

[Islander]

On the topic of real estate, location isn’t just important when you buy, it’s important in the long run as well.  When I was in my thirties and all my friends were buying houses, I bought a nice little brick bungalow in Etobicoke (the”ke” is silent).  It’s one of the old inner suburbs of Toronto, with most houses there built in the 1950s.  The newer suburbs are places like Mississauga, which is further out from Toronto city centre.

 

Some of my friends bought well out of town, a sixty to ninety minute drive.  Sure, they got bigger houses, but that two or three hours a day on the road is time lost from your life.  Not only that, your vehicle wears out faster, and needs to be replaced more often than that of the person who lives much closer to work.  One friend had to buy a new car every five years, which sounds expensive to me.  It took me six minutes by bicycle to get to work.

 

To get to the point of the first sentence in this post, houses that are far from big towns or cities appreciate much more slowly than city houses.  After ten years or so, this becomes really obvious.  When you’re eventually ready to leave the big city, your home now seems wildly overpriced, so you can sell it and go shopping in a lovely place for a home that would have been out of your reach earlier on, and is now out of reach for your friend who’s been living well out of town all these years.

[Shiva]

  As said, earthquakes are fairly rare and when they do happen, it is usually a 5 to 10 second event.  Compare that brief time to 9 months of winter weather.  I also find hurricanes and tornados to be a bit more concerning.   Also as said,   being able to choose ones freeway driving times is a huge advantage and changes the whole experience of driving on them.    On the other hand,  I would much prefer a beautiful blacktop empty road, winding through the forests of the eastern states.  That is the way to enjoy a drive.          

[Jeff Matthews]

I have heard accounts by 2 different small business construction contractors from CA.  They said the regulations and red tape are just out of this world.  Plus, endless permit fees of all kinds and (so they said) all kinds of small business taxes that just want to make you say, "%&^(   it!"

 

Check it out, though, if you really think you'll regret not knowing.

[Dave A]

My Dad moved to Westminster in 1981. Loved the weather and retired with enough money he did not have to worry and a house he owned free and clear. Before he died 8 years ago he told me how fast the whole area was going downhill compared to when he moved there. Crime, traffic PC correct interference in every aspect of your life. He had fruit trees in his yard and the other culture people would just go and take what they wanted and I saw that in person. He told me later that the city advised people NOT TO PLANT TREES THAT WOULD BE A TEMPTATION TO OTHERS!!!!  The whole state is so screwed up by the big cities.

 

  My brother moved out there in 1982 and now has three houses one in Palmdale, Ridgecrest and Dad's old house.  He was here for a visit last fall and one of his first comments was "do you have a homeless problem here"?  I laughed and told him no that is a psycho CA political thing and we don't do that here. LA is rapidly becoming a third world nation  along with San Fran with pockets of extreme wealth surrounded by poop and crime. I saw a video of people just walking in and stealing stuff because the state passed a law where less than $950 theft is not a felony now and in truth they rarely get in trouble or spend time in jail. Societal breakdown is full speed ahead out there is going to accelerate rapidly and you don't want to be tied down in any way. I would rent to and take into account all the utter crap you will have to deal with and expect to earn a TON of money for being there. Do not get tied down to that state with a mortgage.

  I worked on a job out there in 1984 and it was a great place. Watched the decline and after Dad died I don't think I have any reason to go back to a place that is not recognizable. I am a free man here in Tennessee and that is worth much more than weather and beaches. My state is passing constitutional right to carry and in CA illegals can carry and shoot and no jail time but don't you do that. Everything is backwards and CA is being used as a giant petrie dish for social engineering to overthrow a stable society and replace it, I guess, with Venezuala.

 

 Money is a lot of things but not everything and you can sure give up a lot to pursue it. I would have to earn at least triple what I did in TN to have a house and forget the spring fed gravity flow water, 56 acres of woods and pasture with lots of critters and no crime and no one to tell me what I have to do all day every day. Chicago is right behind CA  and so is NY. They offer you these big wages because they know you have no idea what the true living costs are until you go there and get roped in or so they hope.

 

  I have a different attitude than many about where to live. I have lived in the country for over 30 years now and can't conceive living stacked up on top of each other with neighbors who won't say high buy will call the cops for code violations like a shed 1' to close to a property line.

[seti]

Sounds like the place to be for that line of work. Don't have to stay forever. Make the money and run 8-)

 

I've had a few friends live there and love it very much. The driving and traffic is what made them leave. It is rediculous.

 

 

[Bosco-d-gama]

I lived in California for 40 + years through earthquakes and quite a shift in the economy and most of that in west Los Angeles. I last came through there 15 years ago. It was not the traffic, nor the costs.... it was the degradation of the community. The cities I grew up in are now human cesspools that we’re once encouraged by the liberal groups who now regret those choices. Like San Francisco where public defecation covers city streets Los Angeles has become a social tragedy. Places I once routinely frequented I’ve seen on television covered with encampments. IMHO the entire state seems ready to implode. Going to Disneyland is now $$$$$$$$. Car registration....... in the thousands per year per vehicle. Housing costs, income taxes, property taxes........ yikes. For me to visit Santa Monica where I grew up, for just one week...... and do what I used to do...... I’d guess at least $5,000.00. 
 

Maybe there’s a way you could accept the work and stay there for just the work week. Honestly it’d be cheaper to live in another state and fly home. Earn the big paycheck and use the income in a better economy. 

[tigerwoodKhorns]

3 minutes ago, Bosco-d-gama said:

 It was not the traffic, nor the costs.... it was the degradation of the community. The cities I grew up in are now human cesspools that we’re once encouraged by the liberal groups who now regret those choices. Like San Francisco where public defecation covers city streets Los Angeles has become a social tragedy.

 

Sounds bad.  What policies did they encourage that failed? 

[CECAA850]

10 minutes ago, tigerwoodKhorns said:

 

Sounds bad.  What policies did they encourage that failed? 

I'd say pretty much all of them.

[Bosco-d-gama]

6 minutes ago, tigerwoodKhorns said:

 

Sounds bad.  What policies did they encourage that failed? 

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.