Why southern California sucks

[Vitoc]

A 3 bedroom starter home on .10-.12 acres still costs $300k-$450k.  A comparable home can be had for $100k-$150k in almost any other state.

A 1 bedroom 700-850 sq. ft. apartment in an ok area still goes for $1200-1700 a month.  A comparable apartment goes for $200-$500 in almost any other state.

With a spotless driving record, it costs an average of $100 a month to insure a single vehicle in California.  In other states you can insure 3 vehicles for 2 people and get 2 life insurance policies all for $100 a month.

So with things being so much more expensive in southern California, you might think salaries are proportional to make up for the higher cost of living, right? 

The median household income in California is $54,000 per year compared with the median household income in the US at $48,000.  Does a 12% increase in income make up for paying 2-3 times as much for housing and insurance?

Ok, so southern Californians have to struggle to live where they live, but surely there must be reasons they're paying so much, right?

The population of Los Angeles County alone (~10.3 million people packed into just ~4000 sq. miles) is greater than the state population of all but 6 states in the US.

None of this even touches on the other crap southern Californians have to put up with.  I've lived there for 30 years and I didn't know any better.  I can now honestly say most people there are rude, selfish, and ignorant.  Maybe it's because of all the shit they have to put up with on a daily basis and how much they have to pay for it, but they need to realize it doesn't have to be that way.  I think southern Californians as a whole think they have it good, but don't realize how much better it really is in other areas of the country. 

Ludicrously expensive housing, non-stop traffic, illegal immigrants everywhere, legal immigrants who haven't bothered to learn a lick of English because politicians are too afraid of losing the Latino vote to do anything about it, stuck-up people in their luxury cars (which don't impress anyone since they're everywhere), tree-hugging whackos in their hybrids, liberal whackos with their anti-Bush and anti-war bumper stickers, smog, non-stop heat and humidity with little to no rain and the lack of any noticable seasons... oh yeah, southern California is awesome.  ::)

These are just a few of the reasons why my gf and I packed up all our stuff and gave the middle finger to California and its people as we left without ever looking back.  It's been just two weeks now, and I can already honestly say it's one of the best decisions I've ever made.

[MudHunter]

Hater.

[Chelm]

Came here to discuss the death of the MajorMUD forums, and this is the first thread I ran into.  Where'd you move?  I left L.A. (at 25 years old) two years ago to a place where I can hardly dream to have an apartment as cheap as I found in L.A.  I love Southern California.

[Vitoc]

Came here to discuss the death of the MajorMUD forums, and this is the first thread I ran into.  Where'd you move?  I left L.A. (at 25 years old) two years ago to a place where I can hardly dream to have an apartment as cheap as I found in L.A.  I love Southern California.

Meridian, Idaho

I'm digging this weather.  No more sweating in hot humid weather year around.

[MudHunter]

Came here to discuss the death of the MajorMUD forums, and this is the first thread I ran into.  Where'd you move?  I left L.A. (at 25 years old) two years ago to a place where I can hardly dream to have an apartment as cheap as I found in L.A.  I love Southern California.

Didnt you move to NY? thats likely the only place in the country more expensive that southern cali...

[Vitoc]

I've been to the DMV a couple times here now, and wow, what an unbelievable experience after dealing with the ones in So Cal.

They aren't over-crowded with non-english speaking Mexicans.  You take a ticket and within 5-10 minutes you're up at the counter dealing with a nice friendly person who helps you take care of anything you need.  Not like California DMVs where everyone there hates their jobs and shows it by being unfriendly and unwilling to help you out.  Our last time we went to the DMV here in Meridian, literally as the ticket was coming out of the machine our number was called.  :o  They literally handed me new Idaho plates for my Trans Am without giving me any troubles over smog, not like California where I had to put it on PNO (planned non operation) because it wasn't going to pass smog.

It doesn't end at just the DMV.  Literally everywhere we go we run into friendly and helpful people who seem genuinely willing to help you out.  It's a complete 180 from the attitude in So Cal.  Home Depot was an experience.  For starters, there weren't any illegals out in front.  If you haven't lived in So Cal maybe you won't understand or even believe me, but every one I've been to in So Cal has had dozens of illegal "day laborers" standing out front every time.  Once inside, the people in there were actually friendly and willing to help.  The guy that helped us buy our fridge and microwave has started friendly conversations with us on our repeat visits.

Hell, we even had a great experience at the post office last week.  The post office in Costa Mesa had screwed up our mail forwarding and we weren't getting any of our mail forwarded.  A call to that post office in Costa Mesa resulted in me being told they couldn't do anything because I wasn't there in person.  So we went to the local post office here in Meridian.  The postmaster himself invited us into his office and called the same lady I spoke with and told her this was unacceptable.  We laughed at the postmaster's amazement at the fact the only thing this lady was authorized to do was answer phones, but she couldn't actually do anything meaningful and said she'd have to wait until a manager got in.  We informed the postmaster this was pretty much the norm in So Cal.  Incompetent people who are unable to help you are the norm there.  Maybe it didn't used to be that way 20-30 years ago, but it is definitely that way now.  I feel like I wasted the last 10 years of my life there. :(

[Eldanti]

And my wife doesn't understand why I refuse to move her back to El Cajon where she grew up.. she thinks it is so much better there (were in Spokane, WA now)... Its amazing how diffrent places can be aint it... next try going out to the Cour'd'lane Lake area.. and see how much diffrent that experience is compaired to the beach in SoCal.. oh wait.. wait untill summer :D

[Trios]

I live in a suburb of Seattle, and unfortunately the Californians who have moved here are making the same problems here (just on a lesser scale). People who sold their modest Cali homes before the mortgage crisis and came up to WA to buy a huge fancy house for the same money, all drove the prices for everything up here way above what they should be. We're planning on moving to Eugene, OR. or someplace like that in the next few years. Fewer people, nicer people, better cost of living.

[Vitoc]

I know what you mean.  It's amazing how many people near Boise are from So Cal.  Just about everyone we've met either is an ex-Californian or has a family member who used to live there.

There are two types that you meet:
1) Cashed in on their house value doubling and in some cases even tripling from 2003-2005, 2 stinking years and they made $200+ grand just for living in their home.  If I owned a home prior to 2003, hell yeah, I would have sold it and moved to another state.  Think about that... if you had just gone out and bought your first home in 2003 and lived there for just 2 years, you could have then turned around and sold your starter home for a $200k+ profit.  You could easily move to another state and pay cash for a home and never have another house payment.  The people who bought prior to 2003 that are still living there had better really, really love living there to

2) Refugees who simply couldn't afford homes there after 2004-2005 because salaries vs. housing costs were (and still are) crazy disproportional. 

It sucks for those areas where these people are moving to because yeah, it does drive up housing prices, but remember you're shouldering just a fraction of the burden would-be firsttime homeowners have had to live with in so Cal for the past 4-5 years. 

[Valiant Lyta]

I'd be too scared to live it Southern California.....after all, it never rains there, right? (Sorry....bad joke on my part  :() Anyway, it's not heaven on earth living in my part of Canada, either, but at least I'm alive, so that's something to be happy about, no?

[Vitoc]

I'd be too scared to live it Southern California.....after all, it never rains there, right? (Sorry....bad joke on my part  :() Anyway, it's not heaven on earth living in my part of Canada, either, but at least I'm alive, so that's something to be happy about, no?

From what I've heard it's fairly expensive to live in Canada as well?  Is that just a misconception?

[Valiant Lyta]

No misconception, Vitoc......gas is about $2.80/gallon or more, cigarettes (at least here in my city) are $8.50 to $9.00 per pack, food is more expensive.....but most salaried workers have health-care plan benefits, so I guess it works out

[MudHunter]

No misconception, Vitoc......gas is about $2.80/gallon or more, cigarettes (at least here in my city) are $8.50 to $9.00 per pack, food is more expensive.....but most salaried workers have health-care plan benefits, so I guess it works out

That in Canada dollars?

Also, that health care thing aint all its cracked up to be. I shudder to think that Osama Obama wants to give us healthcare like canada. guh

[Valiant Lyta]

Mudhunter....yes, that's in Canadian dollars, which is right now about $0.77 US.  As far as the health-care issue, it works pretty well most of the time, if you don't mind sitting in an emergency room for anywhere from 4 to 8 hours.  The best part of it, for me anyway, is the drug benefits, the vision care and the dental care.  So I guess it's pretty much the same anywhere you go.....some ups, some downs :)

[Trios]

"Oh, Lord, I'm bleeding out....Please....Help....Me........"

"We'll be right with you sir, you have to wait your turn. You there, with the hangnail, you've been waiting 7 hours? Come on inside."

"W...Wait......I'm.....dying......How long...?"

"Average wait time is 4-8 hours sir. We'll get to you just as soon as we can."

".....at least....I have vision benefits......So I....can....see your face....and know who to haunt...."