Born and raised here in Cali for most of my life. I absolutely love this place.
I went in to the Army and was stationed in Missouri, traveled throughout the Midwest and South.
I went to college in Oregon.
Why I love this place, well over 4yrs ago when I gradauated college I had a tough choice to make. Work in Portland or work in Cali. I chose Cali. Same job, same company, different locations. $18,000 difference in pay! Of course I chose to live in the most expensive part of Cali so my pay refelected the increased Cost of living.
Alos because the weather is better. Sure its the 7th straight day above 75 degrees and the rest of the nation is expecting snow or near freeezing temps. Its a rare occasion we hit below 35-40. My duaghter loves the weather here so much more than living in Oregon. The freedom that sunshine brings is tremendous for her.
The level of educated people here is awesome! Silicon Valley is home to a lot of smart people and I even think the teenagers know that college is not an option, its mandatory unless you want to work at Burger King. Last I checked we pay HS kids $9.25/hr to flip burgers at the In-N-Out.
So everyone can gripe about he high cost of living and damn it if I don't! Bu in reality our Utilities are really low because the lack of seasonality in the weather. Groceries are a bit cheaper and the abundance of fresh veggies right from the farm is amazing! So that leaves housing, and sure I livein San Jose, the 11th largest city in the nation at just under 1 million and the average pre-owned house is $520K with a new home costing in the $750K range but the PAY is much much higher! Rundown neighborhoods are a rarity as even living in the bad part of San Jose is gonna net you a $350K house at the minimum! So the trash doesnt live here, they all moved to the Central valley. The pride in ownership really shows. Sure I've saved some cash and sure I can afford to own a home in just about anytown outside of Silcon Valley and Manhattan at my current salary, but ya know I just really like it here. Same thing goes for the CSVT, I still have it becasue I like it!
I think the schools here are fabolous compared to Missouri and Oregon. I think its great my child has friends who were born in HK, Japan, Korea, India, Mexico and are now living in the states. It has given her a grasp of the globalness that is the world and how people are different.
I live 30 minutes from the Beach, Santa Cruz. And yes, I was there this past weekend on Sunday with my shirt off in shorts checking out the bikini clad babes sunning and watching my daughter build sand castles and playing in the surf. The Boardwalk is open year-around! and both of our big theme parks (Six Flags and Great America) open the last weekend of March. Of course, I can drive 4hrs and be in Lake Tahoe for some of the grestest slopes in the nation.
We havent had a major earthquake in 17yrs and our reservoirs are full of fresh drinking water with the snow pack being above average. No drought problems.
National & State parks are abundant here and can be used year-around. When Cali was being populated in the late 1800's they had already formed conservation groups which had started buying up land for parks, big national parks. So now, we have beautiful cities that are well laid out with lots of open spaces. We have urban growth boundaries which means little sprawl. Check the Coastline of Cali on a state/national park map some time. Over 50% has been reserved as park areas which means NO HOMES! This is why traffic is bad, were all packed into these urban growth areas with no room to grown. Guess we have to build up.
Most people in Cali don't give a F about politics. Why? Were too damn busy trying to get ahead by working our asses off to even care. Of course we have the Govenator, and were proud to be a PROGRESSIVE state in our political views and thoughts. I don't really care about the Gays getting married, hell my Godfather died of AIDS in the 80's. I would prefer the term Civil Union, tho. I'm not married but me and ol girl have been shacked up for the past 10yrs. No one hassles us and my firm recognizes her as a spousal equivalent so she can have my dental benefits.
I did drive 18miles to work today and it did take 45 minutes with $2.27/G gas
Overall I cant complain, it's the old adage, You Pay to Play. Life is good and damn-it I don't mind living in an Apt and not owning my own home. If I owned my own home it would take away from my PLAY TIME!
So set your priorities and if you cant handle the lifestyle don't move here.
Don't forget this is from me who lives in the Bay Area- Silicon valley. Those who live in Fresno can buy houses all day and night for $200K
