Grunt, I am sorry for my harsh words earlier.
I am sincerely happy that you can live the California Dream--really. I wish I could. I don't know how $$$ you make, but I'm betting that you could not afford to pay the mortgage if you had to buy your $750k home today or have nothing left over from your salary if you had a $600k + mortgage to pay, assuming you had a spare $160k laying around for the down and closing. If I'm wrong, than doubly good for you!
I have been blessed with a decent job that pays me about 80k a year (after bonus). A $225k house I can afford. I could even go $300k (maybe) There are'nt 3 bedroom homes for that much any more in SoCal. I got sick of waiting. My son and daughter need seperate bedrooms NOW, not when some "bubble" bursts. If it ever does. I am not whining. I am taking the action that I thought through and believe I need to do to take care of my family and give them some good things in life, help with college, and a better moral climate to grow up in.
For me to prosper, that means I buy a home elsewhere. I am surviving now. I want a little more than just survival. I may be wrong, but the way I've seen it, if you did'nt buy a house before the mid 90's, you were hosed. Oh well.
Sincerely, I am happy for you being to enjoy the fruits of your hard work. Maybe I will be able to do a little of that in Texas. Take care.
My points are tangent to my irritation. The evil is not radiating from SoCal, the evil is growing from within, everyplace you look. You may find you run from one boogeyman to encounter another. I choose to stay and face the boogeyman.
Other points, I love Texas and think its the greatest state in the union. Watch out for Texican's though, the greatness of their state is not the fault of many of them, no matter how much they think that may be the case. Ain't nothing in the world as ignorant as a incorrect Texan who is convinced he is correct.
I don't think the real estate bubble is going to burst. I think the whole friggin' thing is going to explode, and after the fallout we'll pick up the pieces and fix it, hopefully rightly. Again, its a sickness that won't be exorcised until it festers.