California lifestyle?
03-15-2019, 09:24 AM
#286
In the 90s I remember hearing about people leaving California, and my first thought was that they left because they couldn't make it. I think this is a very common perception. But the more you live and learn, the more you realize that there are other reasons why people leave a place like California. In our case, we owned our home 2 miles from the ocean, owned a good business, and really had no financial pressures to leave. A big part of it was because we felt that our daughter was on the fast track to junior college, as she was unable to get AP courses in HS. I guess we all think our kids are special, but we really felt like she was being held back in California. Evidently Google agreed. So leaving was much more about the lack of opportunity than anything else.
But don’t you think you sort of proved the first point you were trying to make? Your daughter wasn’t “making it” in the school system (it sounds like at no fault of her own) so you felt pressured to leave. As others have pointed out, there were other possible solutions to the problem but you decided to leave anyway.
I don’t have kids so I really can’t comment too much more on the education system or how frustrating it must be like to have a child that is clearly being held back by a poorly run public system. My wife and I plan to send our kids (if we have them) to private school and we realize the high costs associated with doing so.
Again, not attempting to strike a nerve here but I can’t help but point out that it seems that you sort of proved the point that most people that do leave CA do so because they couldn’t or didn’t want to “make it” in one way or another.
I guess I just don’t see how that is much different than someone not making it in a particular profession or as an actor or as whatever here. There are lots of very talented people here that just don’t make it at not fault of their own.
Again, no offense intended. Just continuing the friendly debate we are all having here
I’m 33 and I guess I’m technically a millennial. So everything I have stated on the topic comes from that perspective I guess.
Last edited by phow; 03-15-2019 at 10:52 AM.
03-15-2019, 10:55 AM
#287
2nd Gear
Join Date: Sep 2018
Location: Los Angeles
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. Graduated from UCLA, lived at home for a few years during my first job to save up, and bought two homes in last two years, 1 for investment 1 for myself. Just recently (aka one week ago, still super excited!!) got my first Porsche--997.1 gt3. Yay! It's so fun to drive!!Like I said above, I love LA and will pay all the tax in the world to live here. I have a side biz on top of my day job, and I just love the hustle of the city. Everyone here wants to be something, everyone you meet knows someone who knows someone who is somebody, and you can't get this anywhere else. And when you want to relax, so many options. Yoga, food culture, racetrack(!!). We have the best sports teams. You can go snowboarding, hiking, or to the beach--all viable choices on the same day, to boot. I love it!!
Wow my age really shows in my post haha. I'm definitely a millennial....
03-15-2019, 11:13 AM
#288
Race Car
Join Date: Jan 2013
Location: The way to hell is paved by good intentions “Wenn ich Purist höre...entsichere ich meinen Browning” "Myths are fuel for marketing (and nowadays for flippers too,,,)" time to time is not sufficient to be a saint, you must be also an Hero
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From tax pov isn t better Florida?
03-15-2019, 12:31 PM
#289
Race Director
Rob I absolutely respect your opinion and I think you make some very valid points that absolutely should be considered.
But don’t you think you sort of proved the first point you were trying to make? Your daughter wasn’t “making it” in the school system (it sounds like at no fault of her own) so you felt pressured to leave. As others have pointed out, there were other possible solutions to the problem but you decided to leave anyway.
I don’t have kids so I really can’t comment too much more on the education system or how frustrating it must be like to have a child that is clearly being held back by a poorly run public system. My wife and I plan to send our kids (if we have them) to private school and we realize the high costs associated with doing so.
Again, not attempting to strike a nerve here but I can’t help but point out that it seems that you sort of proved the point that most people that do leave CA do so because they couldn’t or didn’t want to “make it” in one way or another.
I guess I just don’t see how that is much different than someone not making it in a particular profession or as an actor or as whatever here. There are lots of very talented people here that just don’t make it at not fault of their own.
Again, no offense intended. Just continuing the friendly debate we are all having here
I’m 33 and I guess I’m technically a millennial. So everything I have stated on the topic comes from that perspective I guess.
But don’t you think you sort of proved the first point you were trying to make? Your daughter wasn’t “making it” in the school system (it sounds like at no fault of her own) so you felt pressured to leave. As others have pointed out, there were other possible solutions to the problem but you decided to leave anyway.
I don’t have kids so I really can’t comment too much more on the education system or how frustrating it must be like to have a child that is clearly being held back by a poorly run public system. My wife and I plan to send our kids (if we have them) to private school and we realize the high costs associated with doing so.
Again, not attempting to strike a nerve here but I can’t help but point out that it seems that you sort of proved the point that most people that do leave CA do so because they couldn’t or didn’t want to “make it” in one way or another.
I guess I just don’t see how that is much different than someone not making it in a particular profession or as an actor or as whatever here. There are lots of very talented people here that just don’t make it at not fault of their own.
Again, no offense intended. Just continuing the friendly debate we are all having here
I’m 33 and I guess I’m technically a millennial. So everything I have stated on the topic comes from that perspective I guess.
I just think there is something wrong when a bright kid has to leave the state first to get an education, then come back and get hired by a big tech company. She clearly can make it in the state, but her opportunities were just limited at the lower levels, which formed blockers, which would have had a huge negative impact on her future. This whole college admission cheating scandal sort of underscores that. We weren’t rich, but we were playing by the rules. But somehow working hard and trying to get good grades was not enough in that system. Like many families, we are coming to the conclusion that the system was rigged.
Over 4,000 kids with perfect SATs and 4.0+ GPAs were denied at Stanford last year alone. Can we honestly say that those kids couldn’t make it?
Really ironic the timing of this thread and that scandal breaking!
03-15-2019, 12:36 PM
#290
03-15-2019, 12:42 PM
#291
Race Director
I'm 29 and in LA I rent here, as my plan has always been to try out CA temporarily before I get too old and too lazy (own properties back in Hawaii and will move back eventually)
In my brief experience so far I've found that CA is just everything amplified, good and bad. From women to weather to vanity to taxes to cost of living to traffic to car culture to roads/scenery etc. I can see why people love it here but I can also see why people hate it here, or left and no looking back
Personally I absolutely love the weather and the roads/scenery, the things to do (duh). Everywhere here is dog friendly which is a big bonus for me so I can bring my dog with me to most places. But the taxes (making getting in and out of cars eye watering), the traffic, and how "vain" /potentially out of touch some people are with reality in my area is a big turn off *in my opinion* (this is likely very neighborhood specific). When you first move here it can be like drinking water from a firehose, especially if you are on your own, to get settled/feel comfortable/make friends/find people who align with your interests if that is important. Very different than being here on vacation for a couple days as a tourist
So for CA IMO - you gotta take the good with the bad. If the good aligns with what you are looking for, and your eyes are open about the bad, it's a truly amazing place and you'll understand why everyone is interested about living in California and why half the nation lives here (or it feels like it)
Vice versa, if the "bad" is so off putting that no amount of good will make up for it compared to your lifestyle/where you live, then I don't know that CA would be the place for you
In my brief experience so far I've found that CA is just everything amplified, good and bad. From women to weather to vanity to taxes to cost of living to traffic to car culture to roads/scenery etc. I can see why people love it here but I can also see why people hate it here, or left and no looking back
Personally I absolutely love the weather and the roads/scenery, the things to do (duh). Everywhere here is dog friendly which is a big bonus for me so I can bring my dog with me to most places. But the taxes (making getting in and out of cars eye watering), the traffic, and how "vain" /potentially out of touch some people are with reality in my area is a big turn off *in my opinion* (this is likely very neighborhood specific). When you first move here it can be like drinking water from a firehose, especially if you are on your own, to get settled/feel comfortable/make friends/find people who align with your interests if that is important. Very different than being here on vacation for a couple days as a tourist
So for CA IMO - you gotta take the good with the bad. If the good aligns with what you are looking for, and your eyes are open about the bad, it's a truly amazing place and you'll understand why everyone is interested about living in California and why half the nation lives here (or it feels like it)
Vice versa, if the "bad" is so off putting that no amount of good will make up for it compared to your lifestyle/where you live, then I don't know that CA would be the place for you
03-15-2019, 12:45 PM
#292
03-15-2019, 12:50 PM
#293
Race Director
03-15-2019, 01:27 PM
#294
If you go somewhere less competitive, than it would make sense that the odds of success will be higher. It’s just really competitive here. It’s awesome she got hired by Google. That’s an extremely competitive place to land a job and I’m sure she deserved it. But I’m also sure that there were 100’s of other equally qualified candidates that simply got passed over, just like how her friends that applied to certain colleges out here got passed over. When everyone want to do something or be somewhere, not everyone is going to get the opportunity to do so regardless of how awesome they are.
To be clear, I agree with what you are saying and I do see your point. I definitely think you made the right decision for your family.
03-15-2019, 01:28 PM
#295
03-15-2019, 01:36 PM
#296
Race Director
Man I really don’t want to sound like an *** but I would say that they no more could make it than all of the amazing musicians, actors, engineers, startup founders out here that either got passed over, failed or just gave up along the way. The game out here is brutally competitive and whether it’s college or a career, your acceptance and success is a privilege, not a right.
If you go somewhere less competitive, than it would make sense that the odds of success will be higher. It’s just really competitive here. It’s awesome she got hired by Google. That’s an extremely competitive place to land a job and I’m sure she deserved it. But I’m also sure that there were 100’s of other equally qualified candidates that simply got passed over, just like how her friends that applied to certain colleges got passed over. When everyone want to do something or be somewhere, not everyone is going to get the opportunity to do so regardless of how awesome they are.
To be clear, I agree with what you are saying and I do see your point. I definitely think you made the right decision for your family.
03-15-2019, 01:54 PM
#297
No worries. Lots of ways to look at this. If the system is fair we are on the same page. But this is rigging, not competition. BTW, Joe Montana and Phil Mickelson hired this guy as well for their kids. The notion that you work hard to get into the best schools just went out the window. This scandal strikes at the heart of the American Dream, and specifically California Dreamin. How many families like ours were screwed over? Our daughter was lucky. Google saw the potential. How many kids are never going to get that chance? When rigging is involved I think the notion of competitive goes out the window.
I didn’t go to college and I definitely didn’t follow a traditional path to get where I am. I just knew that I simply couldn’t compete head on in that environment. The only thing I really have ever had going for me is that I’m just very self aware. There are only a couple areas where I can truly compete and I exploited those instead of trying to fit myself into a mold where I would just have been a casualty of the system.
I’m not trying to turn this into an anti-college thread but I honestly wish more young people would take a harder look at higher education before deciding to pursue it.
03-15-2019, 01:57 PM
#298
Race Director
Oh I absolutely agree. The whole game is “rigged” to a degree. Not just school. This idea that if you do A, B and C you will be guaranteed D is honestly for suckers. That’s just not the way the world works.
I didn’t go to college and I definitely didn’t follow a traditional path to get where I am. I just knew that I simply couldn’t compete head on in that environment. The only thing I really have ever had going for me is that I’m just very self aware. There are only a couple areas where I can truly compete and I exploited those instead of trying to fit myself into a mold where I would just have been a casualty of the system.
I’m not trying to turn this into an anti-college thread but I honestly wish more young people would take a harder look at higher education before deciding to pursue it.
Good for you!
03-15-2019, 02:06 PM
#299
I stumbled on to this a couple days ago and have read through the whole thing with interest because it touches on many things Im dealing/thinking about, born and raised in CA 49 yrs. old.
robmypro, you make some very valid points, but I think you have to get off the school thing here. I have first hand experience with it here NOW, I have a 20 yr old Jr. in college and a 17 yr old HS senior. Both went through the public school system here in LBC both took or are taking plenty of AP's (son took 7 daughter finishing up 8 this year) never were denied/held back if they had the prerequisites for the courses. I have a nephew in HB who is a soph. in HS (public) already taking 1 AP and I believe from talking to him will end up taking a total of 4-5 (his choice) by the time he graduates.
As far as colleges go, my son only applied to 3, two private 1 UC, got into all three went with the private in TX. My daughter doesn't really know where she will go so she applied to 14 schools, and has been accepted to 12 so far! and not just basic state schools either. The list of accepted so far, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara University, University of San Diego, SMU, TCU, UT, Cal poly SLO, SDSU, LBSU, Boise State, Arizona State, U of A, only waiting on two UC schools. She has her choice and it all came from the public schools, not that I think they are the greatest either, if the kids, parents have the drive they can succeed HERE or in ANY other state as your daughter did.
True this state has so much to offer you can surf and ski in the same day...you never will because the traffic will KILL YOU, took me 6 hours to get home from Big Bear 3 weeks ago when it should be a 2 hour drive. My business in 17 miles from my house, thats 45-60 min on the 405 both ways that SUCKS! Plenty of other states have a lot to offer as well without some of the MAJOR baggage we have here. True if you want tech this is where its at, if your a regular person say a Mechanical engineer out of college you can make 70-100K in ANY STATE and will most likely have a better quality of life due to the lower housing cost. My biggest fear is one of my children come to me one day and say "Dad I found a great little starter house 2bd 1 ba 900 sq. feet for 1mil in COMTON!" Its crowded and my opinion is if your more than 5 miles from the beach in so. cal no thank you, and in some neighborhoods if I blindfolded you and took you in you might not even think your in the states anymore.
NOW for those BS articles stating that more rich are moving into CA vs. leaving...BS. They claim 110k per year is rich and moving in, thats all the young tech workers getting that job out of college in silicon valley and truth be told thats a borderline poverty level income up there with the high cost of everything. Those with big money won't leave because there money is sheltered, they don't earn regular income through a W-2 like most regular ppl. I personally know 4 people who have left in the last 6 years and they did make it here, all worth a couple mil not including their home but they got tired of feeling like they were fighting everyday to maintain. I also know of 2 companies that have left both doing over 10 mil a year with 20 + employees each (yea small companies to some of these big talkers in this thread but the true backbone of a balanced economy) I own my company and truly feel this state is against me in all honesty, I provide products to over 3000 retail locations in the U.S. and my largest competitor is in FL, I figure his fixed overhead is 70% of mine, and thats partly due to I own my building and get a bread for prop. 13. That will probably be the straw that breaks this camels back, the state will come after commercial properties first cause all the big bad corporations are benefiting from it, what about all the little mom and pop operations?
Taxes, those dorks that said they would pay any amount, give me a break. get up into the real brackets and feel the pain and get truly pissed off not because your paying them but because you will finally understand that your not getting any benefits from them. I travel the world for my business and just got back from SE Asia, one of the countries I was in (10th time) was Singapore. They have high taxes and if CA looked and acted like that I would feel much better about paying them, but now, no way, our government pisses it off on god knows what. SORRY RANT OVER.
robmypro, you make some very valid points, but I think you have to get off the school thing here. I have first hand experience with it here NOW, I have a 20 yr old Jr. in college and a 17 yr old HS senior. Both went through the public school system here in LBC both took or are taking plenty of AP's (son took 7 daughter finishing up 8 this year) never were denied/held back if they had the prerequisites for the courses. I have a nephew in HB who is a soph. in HS (public) already taking 1 AP and I believe from talking to him will end up taking a total of 4-5 (his choice) by the time he graduates.
As far as colleges go, my son only applied to 3, two private 1 UC, got into all three went with the private in TX. My daughter doesn't really know where she will go so she applied to 14 schools, and has been accepted to 12 so far! and not just basic state schools either. The list of accepted so far, Loyola Marymount, Santa Clara University, University of San Diego, SMU, TCU, UT, Cal poly SLO, SDSU, LBSU, Boise State, Arizona State, U of A, only waiting on two UC schools. She has her choice and it all came from the public schools, not that I think they are the greatest either, if the kids, parents have the drive they can succeed HERE or in ANY other state as your daughter did.
True this state has so much to offer you can surf and ski in the same day...you never will because the traffic will KILL YOU, took me 6 hours to get home from Big Bear 3 weeks ago when it should be a 2 hour drive. My business in 17 miles from my house, thats 45-60 min on the 405 both ways that SUCKS! Plenty of other states have a lot to offer as well without some of the MAJOR baggage we have here. True if you want tech this is where its at, if your a regular person say a Mechanical engineer out of college you can make 70-100K in ANY STATE and will most likely have a better quality of life due to the lower housing cost. My biggest fear is one of my children come to me one day and say "Dad I found a great little starter house 2bd 1 ba 900 sq. feet for 1mil in COMTON!" Its crowded and my opinion is if your more than 5 miles from the beach in so. cal no thank you, and in some neighborhoods if I blindfolded you and took you in you might not even think your in the states anymore.
NOW for those BS articles stating that more rich are moving into CA vs. leaving...BS. They claim 110k per year is rich and moving in, thats all the young tech workers getting that job out of college in silicon valley and truth be told thats a borderline poverty level income up there with the high cost of everything. Those with big money won't leave because there money is sheltered, they don't earn regular income through a W-2 like most regular ppl. I personally know 4 people who have left in the last 6 years and they did make it here, all worth a couple mil not including their home but they got tired of feeling like they were fighting everyday to maintain. I also know of 2 companies that have left both doing over 10 mil a year with 20 + employees each (yea small companies to some of these big talkers in this thread but the true backbone of a balanced economy) I own my company and truly feel this state is against me in all honesty, I provide products to over 3000 retail locations in the U.S. and my largest competitor is in FL, I figure his fixed overhead is 70% of mine, and thats partly due to I own my building and get a bread for prop. 13. That will probably be the straw that breaks this camels back, the state will come after commercial properties first cause all the big bad corporations are benefiting from it, what about all the little mom and pop operations?
Taxes, those dorks that said they would pay any amount, give me a break. get up into the real brackets and feel the pain and get truly pissed off not because your paying them but because you will finally understand that your not getting any benefits from them. I travel the world for my business and just got back from SE Asia, one of the countries I was in (10th time) was Singapore. They have high taxes and if CA looked and acted like that I would feel much better about paying them, but now, no way, our government pisses it off on god knows what. SORRY RANT OVER.
03-15-2019, 03:39 PM
#300
Race Director
That RANT was enjoyable, though! lol
Okay schools. First, your kids sound awesome. Glad they are having success! I guess i wasn’t saying it was impossible to get a great education, or AP classes in California. Even in our daughter’s old HB HS around 20% of students got AP classes. So it was possible. But since this thread was about someone possibly moving to California, i thought our experience (combined with this admissions scandal) was pretty relevant. But it is just one data point, and in your case it hasn’t been a problem. If anything i showed a backdoor parents can use, if they feel their kids are struggling to reach their potential in California.
I agree with just about everything else in your rant, too.
Okay schools. First, your kids sound awesome. Glad they are having success! I guess i wasn’t saying it was impossible to get a great education, or AP classes in California. Even in our daughter’s old HB HS around 20% of students got AP classes. So it was possible. But since this thread was about someone possibly moving to California, i thought our experience (combined with this admissions scandal) was pretty relevant. But it is just one data point, and in your case it hasn’t been a problem. If anything i showed a backdoor parents can use, if they feel their kids are struggling to reach their potential in California.
I agree with just about everything else in your rant, too.
