Posted on 03/17/2005 3:59:11 PM PST by BurbankKarl
The talk in Los Angeles is the talk of getting out In fact, a third of the residents surveyed said they want to move away, up more than 20 percent from 2003. The mood here in the South Bay, however, is slightly rosier.
Fed up with traffic, crime and skyrocketing housing prices, a growing number of Los Angeles County residents say they plan to move away within five years, according to a survey released Wednesday.
Although the mood in the South Bay area was slightly rosier, the report by the Public Policy Institute of California calls the county's 10 million residents "stunningly unhappy with some key indicators of quality of life and paints a picture of growing concern for any chance of long-term recovery."
"I spend all my money on rent," said San Pedro resident Janelle Anderson. "And now with gas prices going up, I'd love to find a cheaper place to live. But it's not that easy to leave your job and family."
The number of residents who plan to leave the county almost doubled in two years. A similar survey in 2003 found that 17 percent of residents did not see themselves staying in the county. The number is now 33 percent.
In fact, more people in the city of Los Angeles say they plan to leave than the 26 percent who voted in the recent mayoral election, said Mark Baldassare, the survey's director.
"It seems they plan to vote with their feet," he said.
For Torrance resident Gary Webb, it's the unrelenting traffic that makes him ponder leaving.
"It seems like I'm always in my car," he said. "And it keeps getting worse. I can't go anywhere without getting stuck in traffic."
The third annual survey found traffic, lack of affordable housing and low-performing public schools as reasons for the bleak outlook -- 74 percent of the 2,000 participants said congestion on freeways and main roads was a major problem. Another 64 percent said a lack of affordable housing was a big problem in the county. Both those figures have significantly increased from two years ago, when 67 percent cited traffic woes and 54 percent mentioned housing.
"So many dimensions of people are more negative today," Baldassare said. "The way they rate housing problems, the way they view race relations, and increasing negativity were certainly important things we noted."
In all, 58 percent believe race relations were not so good, compared to 53 percent in 2003. Different races also had varied outlooks. Only 21 percent of blacks -- compared to 50 percent of all residents -- say police in their community treat all racial and ethnic groups fairly most of the time.
But there were some silver linings in the survey. For instance, most residents expect race relations to improve.
"There are areas that have optimism," Baldassare said. "Most people believe race and ethnic relations will improve. And we're seeing improvements in the economy and the general belief that the quality of life is still good."
Dowell Myers, a professor of urban planning and demographics at USC, suggested that the survey include a question about whether people planned to move. He said he was a little surprised at the results, but he also cautioned about reading too much into them.
"It's a little higher than I would expect," he said. "It's not clear people are going to act different. People complain about traffic, but don't leave."
But if people do follow up on their plans to move, it could spell trouble in the future.
"The danger is people will still keep coming, but the ones you want to keep might go away because they've got other choices," he said. "You might be keeping the wrong kinds of people. Middle-class taxpayers might get up and go. That's the key. Who are the ones leaving?"
The survey divided the county into four parts. The area that includes the South Bay -- which stretches from Long Beach to Malibu -- was more optimistic about many trends. While generally unhappy with traffic, two-thirds of the area's residents said things were going well. They also gave the highest rating to the economy (40 percent) and expressed strong approval of local parks (68 percent).
"Some of the optimism in the region reflects the fact that people have good air quality, good job opportunities," Baldassare said. "Many people are in good economic shape compared to other parts of the county."
Great post.
Bought it and its free and clear. 26 Grand then 3/4 million now. Prop 13 tax rate. Ride a motorcycle to beat the traffic.
You got yours so everyone else ("losers" in your eyes) can F off?
Your words comma man, not mine. Leaving because you're too tender for LA is prudent, LA is not for the weak. Leaving Lalaland doesn't make you a loser, perpetual whining does.
BTW, what is a "non-hacker"?
HACK: Whack at sumtin with a sharp instrument.
HACKER: Someone who hacks
NON-HACKER: Someone who can't hack, often because his instrument isn't sharp enough.
I enjoyed your post and agree with you.
LA has ONE asset: the weather. It has several liabilities:
Hollywood
Ridiculous Housing Prices
Earthquakes
Illegal Aliens
Crime
Smog
Crowding
Traffic
In light of that, Akron, Ohio looks like a better place to live to me.
Yeah...our weather up here (I'm just under you in Ohio) isn't the greatest, but, honestly, from late May thru late Sept. it isn't too bad.
This year has sucked, however-I don't think it's been 50 degrees once this March yet...sigh...
Texas is looking better and better. I live in Ohio, and I love it but the weather leaves much to be desired. Texas has better weather (is much more politically and socially up my alley too) and housing seems CHEAPER than here in Ohio even, let alone in S. Cali.
So will LA elect a Giuliani for mayor at some point?
A lot of LAers are moving to Vegas too, it seems.
While Las Vegas has it's own issues, its not a bad town overall IMHO. A friend of mine moved out there last year from Akron, OH and said that 90% of the people she talks to are from Los Angeles or San Francisco.
Ohio sucks too. No room here. Try the Cayman Islands.
When the CA real estate bubble bursts, a lot of people are going to lose a lot of money. However, a lot of other people will make out like bandits.
bookmarked for later
You got that right. The weather HAS sucked. We still have some 3' deep snow left and it's Spring. Not a decent thaw ALL Winter. :-(
Quick comparison
Weather:
Akron OH-
July - Average High 83 Average Low 62 4.00 inches of rain
Can be as hot as 100 or as cool as upper 40s on a cool night-usually quite humid.
January - Average High 32 Average Low 17 Average Snowfall 12 inches
Wild changes are common-can warm into the 60s on brief occasions or get as cold as 20 below
Los Angeles:
July - Average High 75-83 (depends on distance from coast) Average Low 62 generally no rain Can be as hot as 100 or in the 50s at night-low humidity
January - Average High 65 Average Low 47 Average Rainfall 4 inches
But-look at this also:
If you make $65000 a year in Akron-to move to LA and keep the same lifestyle you need to make about $115000-and that doesn't even consider housing costs really. In the Akron metro area the average home price was about $110,000 and in LA its over $300,000-and that $300,000 gets you a smaller home in LA than $110,000 gets you in Akron.
LA has 17 murders per 100,000 people. Akron had 17 overall with a population of 220,000-or under 8 per 100,000-half LA's rate.
I don't have exact data but that's pretty close based on the last reports I've seen.
I am not sure if I would trade affordable housing and a better lifestyle overall for good weather.
Add Vegas to that list.
No, but a good guess. Fox Island is nice.
The photo I posted was from the coastline near the Dungeness Spit; I'm a bit eastward along that shoreline.
I don't own a home, and at the current prices, it doesn't seem like a good investment. No one can afford homes at these prices as we'll see for sure if/when the bubble bursts.
I did it for about a week...I'm from Riverside County, moved to Upland for a job, then got a job in West LA (near UCLA)I moved to West LA after a week of commuting from Upland...its CRAZY. I have NO idea how people do it.
By the way - hope your new job improves..I know how hard it is to start over in a new state. Hang in there, it does get better!
Im proud to say, I lived in Van Nuys until January 17th. I was a California resident for 14 years and now IM FREE the bonds of Kalifornistan. I am now a proud resident of Utah and wouldnt go back to California for anything.
I snapped when in my last few days there I got a $111 jaywalking ticket.
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