This 81-year-old still works at Home Depot to support herself and her 90-year-old husband
Bay Area, California. And before you tell me to move to a place where I can afford a cheaper home, I don’t want to live in any of those places. I’ve lived in them and I hated them for various reasons. This is the one place in the USA where I feel absolutely at home.
One reason is jobs. People with skills in tech can’t always work full-time remote and have to come to the office at least enough to have to be able to drive there (and honestly, the best jobs are here by multiple definitions). Another is the culture. I literally feel absolutely at home here in a way that I might only experience in a few other places in the country (maybe Portland, for example, but there’s a lot of racists in that state). Another is the weather. After living in places with ultra hot summers and ultra cold winters, I don’t have any tolerance for dealing with that shit again. It’s a nice trifecta of what I want / need to live the life that I want to live.
As an aside, living here also exposes me to a ton of live music that isn’t accessible in other parts of the country. Take bands that come from oversees. Where are they almost guaranteed to play? Large coastal cities like NY, SF, LA. There are so many bands that come here that can’t make a profit playing any but the largest cities because they aren’t super popular in the states, but they can draw enough people in large urban areas to make it worth their while. Examples that I’ve seen recently (last few years): Air, Kula Shaker, Lords of Acid, Ladytron, Ott, The Presets. Good luck seeing all of them in Denver or Houston.
There are plenty of more affordable places to live in CA. I finally moved to one of them during the Pandemic and its prob one of the best decisions I ever made. I’ve had a lot of job offers since then, but most have been dependant on moving back to those expensive areas. I’ve turned down a lot of jobs.
I have a cousin who lives in LA. He rents a studio for something like $1100 a month, in a decent part of the city. Apparently it’s rent-controlled, which is something I’ve never heard of as far as Los Angeles is concerned.
To be honest, I heard of all this through his mother. I kind of suspect he’s lying to her and is actually a drug dealer and his place costs a lot more than he’s letting on.
man… i remember paying 800 a month for a studio in the bay area in 2006. And that studio was right on the water with an ocean view. $3200 is absolutely disgusting.
is it not possible to move to a place with houses which are lower in price?
In Australia it’s not really possible because everyone did that and now houses are high in price literally everywhere but surely in America they would have more states and places that have lower house prices?
You are in a dual income no kids situation and think you’ll never own a home? Where do you live where a dual income can’t support buying a house…
Bay Area, California. And before you tell me to move to a place where I can afford a cheaper home, I don’t want to live in any of those places. I’ve lived in them and I hated them for various reasons. This is the one place in the USA where I feel absolutely at home.
it’s cool but so far 4/4 people have said they live in california, it’s clear it’s expensive for a reason
One reason is jobs. People with skills in tech can’t always work full-time remote and have to come to the office at least enough to have to be able to drive there (and honestly, the best jobs are here by multiple definitions). Another is the culture. I literally feel absolutely at home here in a way that I might only experience in a few other places in the country (maybe Portland, for example, but there’s a lot of racists in that state). Another is the weather. After living in places with ultra hot summers and ultra cold winters, I don’t have any tolerance for dealing with that shit again. It’s a nice trifecta of what I want / need to live the life that I want to live.
As an aside, living here also exposes me to a ton of live music that isn’t accessible in other parts of the country. Take bands that come from oversees. Where are they almost guaranteed to play? Large coastal cities like NY, SF, LA. There are so many bands that come here that can’t make a profit playing any but the largest cities because they aren’t super popular in the states, but they can draw enough people in large urban areas to make it worth their while. Examples that I’ve seen recently (last few years): Air, Kula Shaker, Lords of Acid, Ladytron, Ott, The Presets. Good luck seeing all of them in Denver or Houston.
Ever been to Cali? I love it here but good god it’s crazy
There are plenty of more affordable places to live in CA. I finally moved to one of them during the Pandemic and its prob one of the best decisions I ever made. I’ve had a lot of job offers since then, but most have been dependant on moving back to those expensive areas. I’ve turned down a lot of jobs.
Cali, Colombia?
-Fornia
Californian here. Studios are starting around $3,200 where I live in socal.
I have a cousin who lives in LA. He rents a studio for something like $1100 a month, in a decent part of the city. Apparently it’s rent-controlled, which is something I’ve never heard of as far as Los Angeles is concerned.
To be honest, I heard of all this through his mother. I kind of suspect he’s lying to her and is actually a drug dealer and his place costs a lot more than he’s letting on.
He’s a drug dealer. There’s nothing in LA for anything near $1100 lol. $3k is the minimum for a 2 bedroom place absolute minimum.
man… i remember paying 800 a month for a studio in the bay area in 2006. And that studio was right on the water with an ocean view. $3200 is absolutely disgusting.
is it not possible to move to a place with houses which are lower in price?
In Australia it’s not really possible because everyone did that and now houses are high in price literally everywhere but surely in America they would have more states and places that have lower house prices?
not for a lot of people when every single fuckface ceo is trying to get people to RTO.