US Postal Service: Only 3.7% of Bay Area Address Changes are Out-of-State

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

What is your point?

Cost of living is a HUGE part of life, like besides loved ones, the most important part of life. Sure, it's great you live in beautiful California, but when you are living in a box it sure doesn't seem so great.

I live in a 950 sq ft downtown 2 BR/2BA condo. Those with 3000 sq ft homes in Texas would call it a "box". I call it all the space I want to clean and maintain and plenty of room for just me and a cat. When adding up costs, don't forget to consider the $70/month electric bills (winter/summer--no difference in coastal CA) and lack of need to own a car (if I can't walk, which I often can, I can summon an Uber in minutes and there's a number of ZipCars in the condo garage if needed). There's no yard or roof or other exterior to maintain.

The gorgeous CA coast is minutes away in either direction--north or south. I can be in "wine country" in an hour, the mountains in a couple of hours. World class opera, symphony, ballet and dining are short walks from my door. Professional sports are an Uber or subway ride across town (all barring COVID of course).

From my "box" I have a "city lights view" in 2 directions and I can get anything--literally anything--delivered to me (and the "box" concierge will accept it for me if I don't want to wait around for the delivery).

CA life just ain't so bad and a lot that is free or nearly so would cost plenty elsewhere.

[LosAngelesSportsFan]

Originally Posted by Pedestrian

I live in a 950 sq ft downtown 2 BR/2BA condo. Those with 3000 sq ft homes in Texas would call it a "box". I call it all the space I want to clean and maintain and plenty of room for just me and a cat. When adding up costs, don't forget to consider the $70/month electric bills (winter/summer--no difference in coastal CA) and lack of need to own a car (if I can't walk, which I often can, I can summon an Uber in minutes and there's a number of ZipCars in the condo garage if needed). There's no yard or roof or other exterior to maintain.

The gorgeous CA coast is minutes away in either direction--north or south. I can be in "wine country" in an hour, the mountains in a couple of hours. World class opera, symphony, ballet and dining are short walks from my door. Professional sports are an Uber or subway ride across town (all barring COVID of course).

From my "box" I have a "city lights view" in 2 directions and I can get anything--literally anything--delivered to me (and the "box" concierge will accept it for me if I don't want to wait around for the delivery).

CA life just ain't so bad and a lot that is free or nearly so would cost plenty elsewhere.

Agreed fully. My girlfriend and I plus our cat live in a 750 sq ft apartment in downtown LA. We have everything we need within a 10 min walk and I can be in the mountains / Beach within 30 min. I went up to the top of the San Gabriel mountains in 45 min yesterday and I was in a blizzard at 7500 feet. An hour later I was back in our building, in the jacuzzi 2 blocks from staples center. I have no idea what I'd need a 4000 sq ft cookie cutter box in the middle of suburbia for

[sopas ej]

Mmm hmm. Agree.

Although, if I could afford it, I would love to live in Katharine Hepburn's former LA home. 5,000 square feet, but so much character, plus indoor-outdoor living. I'm sure there's nothing in Texas or Oregon or Washington that looks like this AND is in within convenient (driving) distance of things: https://www.dwell.com/article/kathar...ffSmeeKr57dAdE

I'd get rid of the pool, though. I'm not into swimming pools.

[edale]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Mmm hmm. Agree.

Although, if I could afford it, I would love to live in Katharine Hepburn's former LA home. 5,000 square feet, but so much character, plus indoor-outdoor living. I'm sure there's nothing in Texas or Oregon or Washington that looks like this AND is in within convenient (driving) distance of things: https://www.dwell.com/article/kathar...ffSmeeKr57dAdE

I'd get rid of the pool, though. I'm not into swimming pools.

Lovely property, but that's a bit of a presumptuous claim. The Dallas neighborhood of Highland Park has very fancy homes and a ritzy, old shopping center. No doubt you could find something rivaling this property there, even down to the architectural style.

Residential
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.8323...4!8i8192?hl=en

Highland Park Village
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.8354...4!8i8192?hl=en


...and I'm sure you could find something similar in many cities. The Spanish architecture is definitely more of a SoCal thing (and Arizona, parts of TX, South Florida), but there are luxurious homes across the country within convenient driving distance of things. Feels weird that would even need to be pointed out to someone, though.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Mmm hmm. Agree.

Although, if I could afford it, I would love to live in Katharine Hepburn's former LA home. 5,000 square feet, but so much character, plus indoor-outdoor living. I'm sure there's nothing in Texas or Oregon or Washington that looks like this AND is in within convenient (driving) distance of things: https://www.dwell.com/article/kathar...ffSmeeKr57dAdE

I'd get rid of the pool, though. I'm not into swimming pools.

Not saying if I were mega-rich I wouldn't have 2500 sq ft on the 30th floor or above in a new building, but with what I have I have no desire to move to triple the space for half the price in anybody's suburbia.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by edale

Lovely property, but that's a bit of a presumptuous claim. The Dallas neighborhood of Highland Park has very fancy homes, and I'm sure you could find something similar in many cities. The Spanish architecture is definitely more of a SoCal thing (and Arizona, parts of TX, South Florida), but there are luxurious homes across the country within convenient driving distance of things.

Oh but the weather, the weather! I'm really into the indoor-outdoor living. And the mountain hiking and beaches all in the same day...

I like that ADUs are now allowed in LA (and the rest of California?). This would be perfect for my partner and me; we watched this video and were thinking 'HmMmmm...'

• Video Link

I don't like his idea of the artwork they're gonna put on the walls, though. And putting up pictures of people on the walls. I'm really not into displaying photos of people/portraits on walls... or anywhere else, really.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by edale

Lovely property, but that's a bit of a presumptuous claim. The Dallas neighborhood of Highland Park has very fancy homes and a ritzy, old shopping center. No doubt you could find something rivaling this property there, even down to the architectural style.

...and I'm sure you could find something similar in many cities. The Spanish architecture is definitely more of a SoCal thing (and Arizona, parts of TX, South Florida), but there are luxurious homes across the country within convenient driving distance of things. Feels weird that would even need to be pointed out to someone, though.

Got a second home in Arizona--couldn't live there in summer. Anywhere that requires A/C feels to me like being sealed in a box much more than having less space but windows that can stay open year around in Cal.

I don't mind colder weather so much--a fireplace can be cozy--but I hate heat and humidity. If I were determined to leave California for some reason, it couldn't be to Texas for exactly the reason of HEAT. A small college town in New England has always seemed attractive but not necessarily cheaper. Maybe a small college town in the northern Midwest.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by LosAngelesSportsFan

Agreed fully. My girlfriend and I plus our cat live in a 750 sq ft apartment in downtown LA. We have everything we need within a 10 min walk and I can be in the mountains / Beach within 30 min. I went up to the top of the San Gabriel mountains in 45 min yesterday and I was in a blizzard at 7500 feet. An hour later I was back in our building, in the jacuzzi 2 blocks from staples center. I have no idea what I'd need a 4000 sq ft cookie cutter box in the middle of suburbia for

I don't get it either. Never have. I would die alittle for a big house in a place I wouldn't be happy in.
Not everything is about a bigger house, and some people find out the hard way.

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by edale

The Dallas neighborhood of Highland Park has very fancy homes and a ritzy, old shopping center. No doubt you could find something rivaling this property there, even down to the architectural style.

Residential
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.8323...4!8i8192?hl=en

Highland Park Village
https://www.google.com/maps/@32.8354...4!8i8192?hl=en


...and I'm sure you could find something similar in many cities. The Spanish architecture is definitely more of a SoCal thing (and Arizona, parts of TX, South Florida), but there are luxurious homes across the country within convenient driving distance of things. Feels weird that would even need to be pointed out to someone, though.

Not the same feel at all, though.

I'm not just talking about the architecture of the house (which I love, not overly ostentatious... it's even only a single story), I'm talking about the setting, too---in the hills, yet in the middle of LA, with all that entails, including the mountain hiking, the beaches, the weather, the shopping, the multicultural dining and people, etc. etc.

[DCReid]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Not the same feel at all, though.

I'm not just talking about the architecture of the house (which I love, not overly ostentatious... it's even only a single story), I'm talking about the setting, too---in the hills, yet in the middle of LA, with all that entails, including the mountain hiking, the beaches, the weather, the shopping, the multicultural dining and people, etc. etc.

While TX has no income taxes, I think their real estate taxes are higher than average. I think they are in the 2-3% range. So as prices zoom up, owners will be faced with higher property taxes that will hit the $10K deduction limit.

[Pedestrian]

Originally Posted by DCReid

While TX has no income taxes, I think their real estate taxes are higher than average. I think they are in the 2-3% range. So as prices zoom up, owners will be faced with higher property taxes that will hit the $10K deduction limit.

I know they are higher than I pay on my "box" (about 0.6% of current market value). Thank you Prop. 13.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by sopas ej

Not the same feel at all, though.

I'm not just talking about the architecture of the house (which I love, not overly ostentatious... it's even only a single story), I'm talking about the setting, too---in the hills, yet in the middle of LA, with all that entails, including the mountain hiking, the beaches, the weather, the shopping, the multicultural dining and people, etc. etc.

Yea, that Dallas shopping center doesn't look amazing.
I'm sure it's upscale and popular there but I wouldn't consider that interesting to walk around in. What is it? Stores next to a giant surface parking lot? It looks like something you'd see in Calabassas.

[bossabreezes]

I personally think it would be great if like 20 million people left California.

It's completely unsustainable to have a 40M+ population with the 20 year drought that just keeps getting worse. Yesterday there were ''Storms'' in the Bay Area that dumped .75 to 1.5in of rain, which I'm very happy about, but will likely be the last big one until at least November or December and this rainy season only produced less than half the 30 year average of precipitation.

I personally absolutely love California for its nature, which occurs nowhere else on earth mind you. It can't sustain its current population let alone more, so let them move wherever they want to move. And if they aren't moving, lets make sure we densifiy the currently developed areas and move away from the environmentally sensitive backcountry. Eventually its beauty will be ruined by people if the status quo isn't changed. My stance has absolutely nothing to do with the vapid political vibe of the current era and all to do with longevity.

All that aside, the California lifestyle cannot be replicated by any place in the country and that's why people who have the means will always stay there. Who doesn't like 300 days + of springlike weather, beautiful scenery, etc? I don't think much will make people leave, unless crime gets out of control.

[edale]

Originally Posted by LA21st

Yea, that Dallas shopping center doesn't look amazing.
I'm sure it's upscale and popular there but I wouldn't consider that interesting to walk around in. What is it? Stores next to a giant surface parking lot? It looks like something you'd see in Calabassas.

My point was that you can find spacious, historic neighborhoods with proximity to amenities in many cities. It was claimed that you couldn't find such places in Oregon, Washington, or Texas. I was never claiming that Dallas can match all that LA has to offer, or that the weather is comparable or whatever.

There are things that other cities can offer that LA cannot, too. What would the point be in posting some beautiful Brooklyn brownstone and saying "California could never!"? That's essentially what sopas_ej did in his post, hehe ;-)

Like where you live...that's great. I enjoy living in Los Angeles myself. But there's no need to disparage, or make wildly inaccurate statements, about other places. The defensiveness of some Angeleno forumers here is really weird.

[jtown,man]

I should have been more specific. I didn't mean a box as in a small place, I meant a box as in a box lol

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by edale

My point was that you can find spacious, historic neighborhoods with proximity to amenities in many cities. It was claimed that you couldn't find such places in Oregon, Washington, or Texas. I was never claiming that Dallas can match all that LA has to offer, or that the weather is comparable or whatever.

There are things that other cities can offer that LA cannot, too. What would the point be in posting some beautiful Brooklyn brownstone and saying "California could never!"? That's essentially what sopas_ej did in his post, hehe ;-)

Like where you live...that's great. I enjoy living in Los Angeles myself. But there's no need to disparage, or make wildly inaccurate statements, about other places. The defensiveness of some Angeleno forumers here is really weird.

Because people like to discredit the place all the time here.
It's treated differently, for whatever reason. Or they discredit it to pump up their city, usually from Texas. It's crazy annoying.

And if I make one small comment about a Dallas shopping center, I get a response about disparaging. I didn't even say anything bad, or untrue about it.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

I should have been more specific. I didn't mean a box as in a small place, I meant a box as in a box lol

Uhh... what.
Yea, my point stands. Isn't this disparaging?

[jtown,man]

Originally Posted by LA21st

Uhh... what.
Yea, my point stands.

Being homeless in California is awesome I am sure.

[LA21st]

Originally Posted by jtown,man

Being homeless in California is awesome I am sure.

I'm pretty sure most people aren't living in a literal box. Yes, for the homeless, they wouldn't care about scenery. But what about the rest of the population?

Being homeless sucks anywhere, so what is your your point?

[sopas ej]

Originally Posted by LA21st

I'm pretty sure most people aren't living in a literal box. Yes, for the homeless, they wouldn't care about scenery. But what about the rest of the population?

Being homeless sucks anywhere, so what is your your point?

I think he's implying that he has it better.