Originally posted by JaTo:You are aware that I'm living in KS and that I've lived in other States as well as overseas, right?
Well then that's fantastic.
And I'm sure you have your reasons for settling whereever you settle just as people who settle in CA have their reasons.
I'm a "bang for the buck" type of guy, so I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I run into people in CA that have absolutely no concept of life outside that state in terms of lifestyle and financial considerations; Hell, even transplants seem to get sucked into the "location, location, location" mantra and forget that there are other job markets in nice locations that don't put savings and any sort of decent retirement at risk due to out of control living costs.
Renting to reduce the cost of living hit is just as bad if not worse; you are throwing money away in that no equity is being built. I know of people that have done this just to move out to CA to experience the "lifestyle" and have literally thrown away a fair percentage of their home equity they have built elsewhere because they are stuck renting.
It reminds me of a exhorbant cover charge to enter the latest club "du jour"; short stints and an occasional visit could be nice, but trying to capture the magic of the club EVERY night as if you lived there ruins the pocketbook...
Long-term residents I can identify with; many are sitting on VERY valuable property now in CA. Those that are looking to move there now are plain nuts to me, unless they are seeing a HUGE leap in salary.
To put it in perspective, my salary was to be tripled if I moved to the Bay Area and I still couldn't make the numbers work in my favor, given the absolutely insane housing prices alone and considering nothing else (taxes, commute time, additional neighborhood nazi fees, etc., etc.).
Location and weather are wonderul factors when considering a move, but looking at that to the detriment of financial health just doesn't make sense to me, unless one doesn't mind putting their trust in Social Security.
JaTo
e-Tough Guy
Missouri City, TX
99 Contour SVT
#143/2760
00 Corvette Coupe
