Posted on 03/17/2005 3:59:11 PM PST by BurbankKarl
Twilight years? Got about 10 to go before its even thought about, however I think all I gotta do is ask the VA and I can go on the dole. I'm kinda enjoying the professional rewards of my sharpness now, and desire to continue to excercise said enjoyment for awhile.
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.
I see 2010 to 2020 period as being an major slowdown on the west coast. Its mostly true in California...but alot of companies are finding Oregon and Washington to be major problem areas as well. I worked with a guy who bought a fantastic house in the late 80s within 40 minutes of the Golden Gate bridge...and he always talked about the view that he had driving into work. But after about seven years of doing that...he started to realize the crime curve, the stupidity of local politicans, and the tax rate....were not improving. He eventually found work in Virginia...sold the house for $100k over what he paid...and walked away to be happy. He still talks to people who stayed...and almost none of them are happy. They all whine...and the tax rate is starting to cut into retirement income. Property taxes are the iceberg to this vessel...and you can't avoid a bad outcome if you stay.
However, IMO The most pressing issue is the rising cost of living coupled with the continuing, unabated onslaught of Illegals is putting the squeeze on whatever Middle class that can stay. It's only a matter of time before the proverbial Rock meets the Hard Place.
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.
...and the majority of those who are looking to get out see no connection between their state's woes and the "progressive" agenda they have been supporting for decades. Prepare to have PRC (People's Republic of California) wisdom exported across the USA, folks!
I drove through CA in January and spent time in Palm Desert and Napa and told my hubby it was a shame such a beautiful place was so screwed up.
I agree with a lot of what you're saying. Have you read Thomas Chitum's book "Civi War II", by any chance?
I know I am not going to heaven -- I want to raise my kids first! -- but just a place where I can buy a house. Godspeed and let Him keep your back strong. Many of the same forces that are pronounced in CA are just a few years away from the same condition in TX.
There, at least, I'll have something to call my own to defend and fight for even harder than I fought for Prop 187, getting decent conservatives elected, and preventing my neighborhood from looking like a 3rd world garbage dump.
Warm becomes relative after a while. It's 45 degrees and sunny in Boston, which means I bought an ice cream cone and ate it outside. Kind of pathetic.
I've been to Dungeness Spit. Isn't the 3 Crabs was nearby?
Yep, just a few miles away. I've eaten there, but not in the last couple years. It was still decent, and still doing pretty well from what I hear.
"BTW how did you come up with your name"
It's from Hamlet's soliloquy. Also was used as a gag name for an episode of an imagined sequel to the Star Trek franchise on a site called brunchingshuttlecocks.com. I think the site is defunct now, though.
heh, I've always thought that's one of the strangest quirks of commuting - lol
Not here in Fresno, the stupid prices keep going up.
I've lived in the L.A. area all my life. I'd love to be someplace else. The only thing that keeps us here is the fact that my wife and I both have elderly parents living here.
Look for an over 1000% increase in foreclosures in the next few years.
Just keep this post in mind and see if I'm right a couple of years from now.
The signs of things going totally south would first show with condos. They are the last to benefit and the first to slide.
I've only been here for 1 year, so I am in no hurry. But, for the people who think real estate can appreciate at 20% a year continuously, I would have to remind them that people said the same thing about stocks in the late 90's. I don't expect anything to crash, but there is no sense buying into a speculator's market. That's just basic investing. With 125% loans at adjustable rates, some people are going to get shook out if any little thing goes wrong. I don't want to be one of them. Also, considering that you need to commit most of your salary to get into anything, you won't have any other investments, so you do have to look at it as a serious investment. No risk, no gain, but following the herd is a good way to get slaughtered.
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