Originally Posted By trekkeruss <<I was speaking more on a state-wide level, in which studies have shown we're #50.>> California is one of the biggest states, and I'm certain it has the more roads, cars, trucks, and drivers than just about any other. So it seems reasonable its roads would be harder to maintain than the ones in say, Arizona. I think it just depends on what city or area. I was in the San Francisco area last month; the roads seemed fine to me.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>Don't jump into a new mortgage in OC any time soon, your equity will only continue to decline for the next 18 to 36 months. << Good advice. If you rent and decide that SoCal isn't for you after all, its easy to leave. Much better than trying to unload a house that's lost 100K+ in value.
Originally Posted By fkurucz >>I could not believe how bad the roads were in California. they were shocking. I thought they were bad here, but nothing compared to what I found in March.<< What did you expect? SoCal is turning into a 3rd world country. The state gov't is broke, facing deficits in the billions. They can't fix anything and its only going to get worse.
Originally Posted By fkurucz I suppose that I should disclose that I am a former Californian. I only go back to visit DLR.
Originally Posted By mater4 I lived in Ca my whole life until 3 years ago. I have since realized that Ca is a fun place to visit but I am happy with where I live now. The cost of living is much cheaper where I am at.
Originally Posted By Hans Reinhardt "I think it just depends on what city or area. I was in the San Francisco area last month; the roads seemed fine to me." I always thought the streets here in San Francisco were bad - until I went to New York City a few weeks ago. Man, have they EVER repaved the streets in the town?
Originally Posted By crapshoot "In the Pacific Northwest, natural geologic catastrophes may be placed into five categories: floods, landslides, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and tsunamis. All five of these catastrophes have occurred in Oregon within the past century." Oregon Geology by Elizabeth Orr All I can say is: "GET THE HECK OUT OF THERE! The worst danger we face in Orange County is the potential damage from flooding by the Santa Ana River. Rated as the most dangerous river in America, (don't laugh) due to the wide spread damage that it can cause. In the late 1800's, the Santa Ana River flooded all the way to downtown Los Angeles. In the 1930's it flooded well west of Beach Blvd. And today, Prado Dam is being beefed up to handle those potential 500 year floods. But you never know. So bring your waterwings and jump on in, the water's fine.
Originally Posted By rockcow1 ^^What about fire!? I recall quite a few very bad fires while I lived in So Cal. <<I lived in Ca my whole life until 3 years ago. I have since realized that Ca is a fun place to visit but I am happy with where I live now.>> I too was born and raised in Orange County(Also worked at DL in the 80's)and have the same feeling. We were just there in June. I get caught up in the atmosphere of the parks and think how nice it would be to live close again. But then I get back to the reality of what is outside of the parks. I don't think I could put my kids back in a California school. Too many kids per class and not enough money going to them or the teachers. With that said, everyone's needs are different. Have fun with your choice and "Bloom where you are planted!"
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Originally Posted By Dabob2 <I always thought the streets here in San Francisco were bad - until I went to New York City a few weeks ago. Man, have they EVER repaved the streets in the town?> They're repaving the main street in my part of Brooklyn as we speak. Of course, they've been doing it and disrupting the bus line, the parking (there now isn't any) and everything else since January. It is now July. The stretch of road in question is about 3/4 of a mile. I'm not kidding. Of course, it's nothing compared to the BQE. Don't get me started on the BQE...
Originally Posted By crapshoot Brooklyn-Queens Expressway "The expressway is mainly elevated in Brooklyn, with some open-cut sections. In Queens, the expressway is a mix of elevated, open-cut and at-grade sections. The BQE was built from the 1950s, and was completed in 1964 as a crowning achievement of Robert Moses, who still sparks debate today."
Originally Posted By SingleParkPassholder Okay, someone should say the following, might as well be me. If you're going to move here solely to be near Disneyland, think again. And again. Since you asked for opinions, mine is that yours is a fairly shallow reason on the surface, especially if there are no other reasons. I don't mean to be offensive, truly, but to uproot both kids from school and a way of life in an area a lot of people here would love to go to, just to be near a theme park, stop and think and visualize for a moment. How often do you think you'd actually go to Disneyland once you're here? Three times a year is already as much as some of us locals go. My wife and I have no kids, we have premium APs, and we're finidng life intrudes and we're going less and less all the time. (Of course, I'm 50 and she's 42.) Once so far this year, as a matter of fact, and we had to make time to go because we felt bad about not going. Sometimes, once you can have as much of something as you want, it isn't as special. For a family of four you're going to spend about $1500 on premium APs a year, and then there's all the attendant costs that go with each visit. Moreover, since you're in banking, do a thorough check of the job market here. As someone else said, it is a very precarious field here right now. It is also very competitive as far as jobs go, because many of the laid off mortgage brokers (of which there are tons) and out of work real estate agents came from that background and are now looking to get back in due to the housing slowdown. As for H.R., my wife is in H.R. for a large city here. H.R. is an area that both public and private concerns are either contracting out, downsizing or consolidating. Unless both of you can get transfers with your present employers, check that job market inside and out. To say nothing of the housing market in general. Nobody thinks we've bottomed out yet. I bought in 2003, and I'm damn glad I didn't buy later. As I said before, we have no kids. We gross around $183K. We're good, but we don't have two kids. If we did, with gas around $4.50 a gallon, mortgage, property tax, all that, we wouldn't be all that good. Depending on the area, a three bedroom, two bath 1400 square foot home will run you anywhere from $450K to as much $600K. We paid $350K in 2003 for that type of house in Long Beach built in 1943, 25 minutes from DL. We re-financed once, took money out because the place was falling apart, and while we're not upside down, if things gets worse, we can see it from here. Then there's schools, crime, public transit, etc., but enough negativity from me. People move here all the time because their jobs require it, or they've got a support base in case things get rough and they do just fine and prosper. If you make the move, I hope you do the same. But absolutely do your homework on this one, especially right now.
Originally Posted By LPFan22 A lot of good points have been made here but I'll chime in anyway... Me and hubby moved to Anaheim from San Jose, CA almost 4 years ago (just 2 months shy now). We came here because of job opportunities. We were starting over and knew there were plenty of jobs down here. The big plus is living close to DL. If it weren't for that I would be completely miserable. There is plenty of good AND bad here, just like anywhere else. It boils down to what makes you happy and what you can tolerate if not everything goes your way. MY PROS... Disneyland! Old Town Orange San Juan Capistrano Coastal areas Main Street in Tustin, Garden Grove, and other communities. Lots of charm in these little niches. Many tourist attractions Nice people (most any CM or LPer at the DLR or an occasional neighbor passing by for the most part. I usually work alone but hubby loves most of his coworkers so you could get lucky in that area too. Never at a loss for where to shop or see a movie. Several good libraries. The nicest one in my area is in Orange. Great restaurants, and more. MY CONS... Anaheim is a concrete jungle (as well as several other areas) High population (too high for me anyway) Traffic Rude/Selfish Drivers Humid summers Smog (not as bad in OC as in LA) Graffiti Gangs (although that can be a problem anywhere) It's very hard to make friends here. Cost of living/housing I'm not trying to discourage anyone. These are just the things that we deal with on a daily basis... and that matter the most to me. We were only planning on living here for 2 - 3 years but we've decided to hang tight a little longer. We plan to move to Central CA in the next year or two. I'm a small town girl at heart so I'm looking for more open spaces, closeness to family and other things that living in a higher populated area can't offer me. The first year we lived here was DL's 50th Celebration. It was the best time I'll probably ever have as far as Disney goes. After a couple of years the magic started to wane. The rudeness of people, the crowds and the heat during warmer months started getting to me. I missed that 'vacation' feel. I'm a 20-30 minute walk or a 5 minute bus ride from the DLR and while I was thrilled with that in the beginning, I'm not anymore. It could be different for someone else but this is how living here this long has affected me. I'm ready for a change. I realize (and many people have told me this, but I had to find out for myself) that for me, Southern CA is a place to visit, not to live. I wish you the best in making your choices. If you move here, it sounds like you'll really enjoy it. It's just not for everyone.
Originally Posted By friendofdd I'm in a different position than most local LPers. DW and I are both retired and our family is grown, so we don't worry about commuting or schools. We chose Orange County, having lived here a couple of times. We also have lived in most of the major metropolitan areas in the western states. Our selection was based, first of all, on climate. Then on city amenities such as medical facilites, cultural events, etc. Our family is scattered, so that didn't enter into it much. Living near DL, 15 minutes freeway and 30 minutes surface, is like icing on the cupcake. We love having it near, but it wasn't our highest priority by far. If you have good reason for wanting to live in SoCal, do so and welcome. But DL is not really a good reason. Just the money you may save on housing alone would probably be sufficient to pay for your family annual passes and several visits a year. I would be most concerned with the impact on the children in such a relocation. SoCal is my favorite place, generally, and I won't discourage any from moving here, but there is much to be considered for a family.
Originally Posted By rockcow1 Coolhand, did you say you were in banking? The news just said Pasadena based IndyMac bank was just shut down. The Feds are taking it over on Monday. 4000 people will be laid off. Be Careful!!!
Originally Posted By LuLu Out my way, we have Countrywide. Lots of banking people looking for work. As far as the 13 y.o. wanting to move - we moved across town (like 4 miles) when my daughter was 12 and that seemed to totally disrupt her life. Let me just say in brief that it was traumatic. I would explore with her why she thinks moving would be good for her. When I was a kid and my family moved, I always thought I could get a fresh start and things would be different for me. But, they never were. Because I was still ME! I don't know if you're still reading, but I'd be very cautious about this move.
Originally Posted By dsny1mom I have found this thread to be very interesting. I have been watching the housing market in So Cal and it looks as if the prices will be even more reasonable in the next year or two. My question is where besides Anaheim Hills is a safe area to look? I want to be no more than a 30-45 minute drive, not counting heavy traffic times, away from DLR on surface streets. Is this possible? Currently at realtor.com you can find decent looking 2 bedroom town homes within a few miles of DLR in the mid 300's. How safe is the area surrounding DLR? It would be awesome to be able to walk over to DL!!!! Sorry for my ignorance about this, but we stay on property when we go to DL, rarely leave the resort anymore and are in the airhead vacation mode when we arrive and leave! dsny1mom
