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."
who needs it ? bump
The producers are leaving, the looters are pouring in.
It's just a matter of time now, the "rich" are going to get hit bigtime and than it all falls into the sea.
Adios!
Thank you.
I have one more week until the moving truck pulls up in front of my rented 850 sg ft crackerbox and hauls my stuff to the 3000 sg ft Texas home I bought on Sunday.
bttt
So9
The trends of people leaving have started over a year ago and has been gaining pace.
It was the first signs in the last two decades that came first before there was an economy melt down and real estate price crash.
If you want to know when the homes are going to start having big problems getting sold at a good price, look to condos and town-homes. Condos and town-homes are the last to benefit from the market and the first to go south.
So look for the condos and such to start having trouble selling and know the homes are next.
THE SKY IS FALLING B*U*M*P!
Great, ruin one city, then just move on to ruin another. It is time for people to make a stand where they live because they will quickly find the problems they are running from will just follow them.
I think the snapping point was, after 'Ebonics', the provision of Sex Change Operations as a paid Health Benefit for public employees drove me over the edge.
Is Alec Baldwin among them?
since the last storms, all westside traffic is now funneled at drivetime thru the 405 North thru Sepulveda Pass. The last few weeks have been unbearable. I leave LAX @ 4:30pm and arrive in Northridge around 7pm. (7 mph)
Make a stand ? WE have NO power to do anything, RINOLD is caving in like a cheap tent on almost everything he campaigned for.
Haha, only 33% of them want to leave? Friends of mine in a not so bad section have been mugged 3 times. They think that is good.
OK, HOW THE F-CK DO PEOPLE LIVE IN UPLAND AND COMMUTE TO LA? ARE THEY ON METH OR SOMETHING?
ask someone at UHaul how much does it cost to rent one-way from Calif to anywhere in the midwest? Then ask someone in that midwest city how much does it cost to rent one-way to Calif? Bet you find it is 4 times higher to leave Calif because nobody is moving to Calif to return the empty trailers. Calif land of opportunity exists only for the immigrant arriving with not much on their back or via an airplane from Asia. Same think is true about their companies the big ones are leaving for other places with less regulation and lower taxes. One bonus they find -- better schools, Calif is 47th.
Quote: But there were some silver linings in the survey. For instance, most residents expect race relations to improve
After all the whites and blacks move out...
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 ones that will still keep coming are the illegals. The ones that want to leave are the tax base. Better be nice to the tax base or LA will look like certain places in Northern CA where they are closing schools for lack of students and people are moving far, far away.
Best of luck. Say hi to the steers. ;)
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