Posted on 02/19/2018 10:41:32 AM PST by LibertyFound
You stated;
You can’t buy any house that cheap (500k) in northern CA, even in San Pablo.
There are thousands of homes in N.CA listed for far less than 500K. That's a fact.☺
What percentage of the poverty class are illegal aliens? I would wager that all such illegal aliens are happy with poverty in California as compared with their previous existence in Mexico, Guatemala,Honduras etc.
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You clearly have no idea what anything means.
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Most of the illegal aliens in the East Bay area are living fairly high on the hog. Many families earning in excess of 100K / year. (multiple earners in most cases)
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You're the one who made the above reckless inaccurate statement, then didn't have the honor to admit it and instead attacked me for pointing out your glaring ignorance.
That's very Obama like of you Mr. editor surveyor.
The US average is 64.2% as of Jan 2018
California is one of the lowest, NY is a bit worse.
“The California Paradox: if Immigration Creates Wealth, Why is California Poor?”
...I have a question: “If these immigrants are supposed to be so great for the U.S. economy, then why are their home countries such $hitholes?”
Nope. It is impossible to live as a middle class person here. Not possible. If you make what a middle class person makes in most US states, here you are struggling. You don’t go out to eat unless it’s a fast food place, and you don’t have any vacations. You sacrifice food and medicine to buy extras like sports equipment or braces or lessons. If you earn middle class income, you live a working class life. Your kids don’t have their own rooms either.
The upper middle class here live like the middle class. There are a lot of them. They don’t feel like they are poor, they take vacations, they can afford nice clothes and restaurants, but not too much and not too often. They are mortgaged and have car payments and they live the typical stressed life of middle class people elsewhere, some fun and lots of work. Their salaries would put them in the upper middle class elsewhere.
The poor and the Illegals have it better than the middle class because they get education, medicine, dental, food, all services, free. It can make a lot of resentment for the actual working middle class.
Then the surge hasn't reached the city of San Diego (especially) and the county where it's still a huge problem.
“If you earn middle class income, you live a working class life”
How do you define middle class?
The MEDIAN (50-50) household income in CA is over $67k.
If you live anywhere off the coast, or on the coast north of the Bay Area, you’re a homeowner and decidedly middle class at $67k.
Remember, half of those under $67k are on welfare, or worse. Median household income for those that actually WORK for a living is likely substantially higher.
Teachers are knocking down as much as $75k and cops over $140k. Nurses over $100k etc.
That looks like an old horse stable.
But life is a Struggle at that salary. Much moreso than it is in other states.
“Teachers are knocking down as much as $75k and cops over $140k. Nurses over $100k etc.”
Those salaries are also here in the Boston area but there are still towns,not far from the city, that are affordable.
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Streets that used to be pothole-free easy drives in LA, my hometown, was a nerve-wracking nightmare. We never got over 15 MPH while dodging big holes and cracks in Santa Monica Blvd. It took an hour to drive 5 miles. We had never seen such an obvious collapse of city and State services. Socialism works well to destroy cities and states.
Well, CA leads the nation by $10k per year in real, median household income. Half above, half below.
What good is it if the median income is $10k higher than the national average, if the cost of living is so high that it eats up that entire difference?
I live in Maryland, which has the highest median household income in the US, and the fourth highest median individual income. California, for comparison, is #9 household and #15 individual median income. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._states_by_income)
The largest chunk of living expenses is housing. So, here is a description of my house, which various real estate sites estimate is worth $260-280K:
WELL MAINTAINED 3 BEDROOM 2 FULL 2 HALF BATH COLONIAL IN HISTORIC ________. FEATURES INCLUDE NEW FLOORING & FRESHLY PAINTED, MAKING YOUR DECORATING A BREEZE, NEW CARPET, HUGE KITCHEN NEW A/C 2011, NEW WATER HEATER 2014, NEW ROOF 2014, FULLY FINISHED LL REC ROOM W/ WALK OUT TO FENCED IN PATIO, LARGE DECK WITH NEW SLIDING GLASS DOOR.CONVENIENT ACCESS TO I-95. LOCATED IN QUIET CUL-DE-SAC. (1,574 sq. ft, monthy P&I $1293 estimated) (Plus we have a finished basement, which does not count in the sq. footage.)
Vs. a similar home for sale where we lived when I was a teenager:
San Ramon, CA 94583
3 beds 2 baths 1,361 sqft
For Sale
$840,000
Zestimate®: $870,485
Est. Mortgage $3,345/mo
This wonderful single story family home is located on a premium lot with no direct rear neighbors and easy access to the Iron Horse Trail, K-12 top rated schools and parks. This 1,361 square foot, three bedroom, two bath home features a new HVAC system, an eat-in kitchen with recessed lighting, stainless steel appliances, smooth surface counter tops, pantry and adjoining family room with a brick fireplace. You will also discover a spacious living room with crown moldings, three large bedrooms and a backyard with great potential for a private oasis, this is a must see! (Note: no basement, and the lot is 3,000 sq. feet smaller than ours.)
Holy cow! More than 3 times the price for less house! And it doesn't even have soffits!
How’s that for math and deductive reasoning? Did YOUR school teach either?
My math and deductive reasoning are doing just fine, thank you. And, for what it's worth, I went to high school with that embarrassingly annoying and out-of-touch congressman, Adam Schiff. And I do mean, literally went to school with him, same class and everything. Apparently, I learned the logic and deductive reasoning a lot better than he did. And no, I don't remember him (thankfully).
Perhaps you should try getting out of CA and taking a look at some other states. Maryland isn't the best example (but it is still affordable), but there are many much more affordable states with excellent quality of life.
The whole cost of living/purchasing power vs median income or gdp thing is quite regularized these days.
GDP and median incomes in international comparisons are cited, usually, as PPP - Purchasing Power Parity. In order to even out differences in price levels as well as exchange rates.
Its beginning to be done with US States also, because you are right of course, there are great differences between them, and they are very relevant. I have been doing this for many years now. I like the MERIC (Missouri Economic Research and Information Center) index for cost of living by state. Check it out.
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The only one making absurd dishonest comments is you.
All that I expect from a demopcrat anyway.
You're wrong. There are thousands of homes asking far less than 500k. Much less. You have no clue here.
Thank you, I will check out the MERIC index. It sounds very interesting and informative.
For years, I have picked up local real estate pamphlets whenever we are on vacation somewhere. I like to see how the housing prices are.
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