Originally Posted by zmangt3

Great post!

Originally Posted by robmypro

8. If for some crazy reason have to commute to work, and you don't live within a few miles, god help you. Los Angeles has the world's worst traffic 6 years in a row. How bad is it? Your blood pressure is going to go up considerably. You could be nicer than the Pope, but you are going to learn about your darker side after spending 2 hours in your car. Make sure you have a really good car too, because you are going to be living in it. The last time we visited northern California it took us 4 1/2 hours to go the equivalent of a 1 hour drive. The good news is traffic is pretty light at 3am most of the time.

Originally Posted by robmypro

12. The state is prone to earthquakes. In the 30 years that I lived there we had a few big ones, but overall I would say it is an overblown concern. It shakes for a while, but I would personally rather deal with an occasional earthquake than annual hurricanes. But if you are going to sink $1.5 to $2 million into real estate in the golden state, understand that earthquake insurance is brutally expensive. In fact, unless the fault line runs right under your house the chances of you getting any payback from that earthquake policy are slim and none.

Originally Posted by robmypro

13. The weather is really good. The women are even better.

Originally Posted by rodsky

Rob - your points are valid except, you take data to a hysterical conclusion in some cases.

1. If you think CA is badly managed, last i checked the US is in debt to tune of $20T+ and counting. CA submits more in taxes to the Fed government than we receive vs benefits we get. California is a donor state.

Originally Posted by iczer34

Move to California. It's a no-brainer. High cost of living? Who cares. It's just money, you'll make more.

Pro-Tip: NorCal vs. SoCal is a thing. Pick a side and stick with it.

Here's two humorous instagram accounts to follow: @overheardsanfrancisco // @overheardla

Originally Posted by robmypro

1. A decent home in a decent area is going to cost you over $1 million. If you want a nice home in a nice area, plan on $1.5 to $2 million minimum. And that $1.5 million dollar home is not going to be anything to write home about. These are going to be places within a few miles of the ocean. I don't see any reason to live further away than that, because it is too hot and boring.

Meh, just gotta work at it. We have a very nice house in a good neighborhood, 4 miles from the ocean, only $1.5 mil.


3. You can only deduct the interest on the first $750k, so if you get a loan above that the interest in not deductible on your federal return.

$500k not $750k


5. On your Federal return you can only deduct a maximum of $10k on state and local taxes. So assuming the situation above, you are going to have at least $20k in state income taxes, plus $20k in property taxes. Of the $40k, only $10k is deductible. Plus the mortgage interest on that loan is partially non-deductible. The bottom line is your tax bill is most-likely going way up, unless you lived in NYC.

Mortgage and property tax deduction limit is pretty immaterial. Income tax deduction loss is material, but the new tax law more than offset it. The new tax law didn't screw us, it just didn't give us the big benefit some other states got. Oh and don't forget, California adds another 1% on income over 1 mil.

6. Next, you are going to have to send your kids to private school unless you live in a really good area. Plan on another $10k to $15k per year per student, starting in elementary school. This only gets worse as you get to High School. You will need suitcases of unmarked bills to get into an elite school.

$10-15k? Good private schools in the Bay Area run $30-60k a year per student.

7. Speaking of that, you now know the games that have been played in California regarding higher education. I read that 4,000 applicants with perfect SATs and 4.0+ GPAs were turned away from Stanford last year alone. So if you are thinking about your bright kid getting into one of the top schools, good luck with that.

Not specific to California. Elite schools everywhere have had lower admit percentages. The big issue in California is that the State has allowed some of the better State Universities to sell out to the foreign students, mostly from China, to raise funds. I have a problem with State funded schools like UCLA basically turning into psuedo private schools educating foreign nationals rather than doing what they should be doing, educating the masses of California resident students.

11. California is extremely mismanaged, financially. How mismanaged is the worlds 5th largest economy? According to a January 2017 study, California state and local governments owe $1.3 trillion as of June 30, 2015. On top of that the Bay Area Council Economic Institute pegs the cost of California's unfunded infrastructure needs at up to $737 billion. Why does this $2 trillion matter? Well, with the top 1% paying half the taxes, money will need to be raised to pay for these obligations, and the 1% are the ones with money and very little political power. With so many poor people coming to California from socialist countries south of the border, their attitude is to take from the rich to give to the poor. And yes, even illegals can vote in California. If you belong to the 1%, you officially have a target on your back.

Very true, but there are lots of states that are a mess right now. The coming pension crisis will leave few states untouched.

13. The weather is really good. The women are even better.

For sure. I just got back from lunch spent hitting golf ***** at Pebble Beach on a beautifully sunny 60 degree day. In early March.