| Topic Name: |
California back to Southeast? |
| Message Name: |
Stay |
| Date Posted: |
05/13/2005 |
| In Reply To: |
I too fled Cali...for a medium-sized market outside of Cali.
I don't mean to sound rude...but in SoCal 85K isn't considered "good money" at all.
I should know, because that's what we both were making combined--and we too couldn't afford to buy anything, either (it's actually worse up in the Bay Area, where we last lived in Cali.)
Yeah, I went "backward" in terms of market size...yeah, my pay was cut by about a third...and yeah, I don't live near the ocean anymore.
BUT...
We bought a brand new 4BR 3BA home for $220K...no ocean, but snow-capped peaks and skiing about 30-minutes away...and face it: TV News is TV news, no matter where and what market. I'm still doing the same type of stories (live-shots, pkg's, vosot's...features, crime, sports, etc.)
Hell, making $85K would've allowed us to rent forever in California. We couldv'e done it quite comfortably.
But we needed to be homeowners (growing family, tax purposes, etc.) As renters we usually ended up paying about $2k every April 15th. Nowadays, we end up GETTING A REFUND of about $2k every spring!!!
An added bonus: No more traffic jams...no more pollution...a helluva lot less people...LOTS more open space.
GO FOR THE NEW JOB OFFER! Do it for your kids' sake...your family's sake. Nowadays, Cali is for young-and-single "playuhs" or biotech/lawyer/doctor/"yuppies."
You've had your fun runnin' around/foolin' around in California....bar-hopping...beautiful single people galore...the latest trends and fashion at your disposal.
It's now time to move on to the next chapter in your personal life: You're a family man (or woman) now.
Take that job offer--it makes TOTAL sense.
Don't mean to sound preachy...but I can't tell you how SO SIMILAR your situation is to what we faced a few years ago.
We're TOTALLY happy we bit the bullet and fled California (we still go back to visit family, friends, etc.)
You can, too. |
| Message: |
You're living in paradise now, why the hell would you want to leave.
Home prices might be cheaper elsewhere, but look at property taxes and the higher insurance rates. CA beats most states in this. It all evens out in the end.
Don't leave, or your kids will look at you someday and wonder what the hell their parents did to them. There is so much opportunity here, go for it!
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