5 ms·

Serious question not addressed in the article: Why don't they move out of California?

by soared 9y ago

wellboy 9y ago
Lots of factors - Have always lived in california and - have all their friends there - family lives there - are afraid of moving and starting completely new - are introverts and would look at being lonely for several years before they would have some friends - would mean they would have a long distance relationship with their gf/bf if she can't move/doesn't want It's a bit easier if you're in your 20s, but harder later
- gumby 9y ago
  Plus hard to get some of these jobs elsewhere where seniority rules dominate (e.g. teaching, firefighting...)
decentrality 9y ago
A deeper question would be: Are we part of our environment and ought we sometimes fight to keep our location not just our social position if that is a strong feeling for us? It is possible some people belong where they are and relocation is a compromise for the weak at heart. ( I say this while also living in the epicenter of the Hepatitis A outbreaks, Downtown San Diego, California; I am surrounded by listless vagrants [ different than homeless ] )
- wwweston 9y ago
  Other ways of putting this: * How is home more than a commodity (housing) for a person? * What socialized costs occur when individuals and therefore their social/economic networks are disrupted by changes to cost of living?
mschuster91 9y ago
All the people mentioned have one thing in common: they got jobs. Not the best-paying jobs, yes, but proper jobs. Hard enough to move jobs in a state - before doing this, you should have a job secured in your destination, and given they're living on the streets they most likely lack the money for days of traveling and job applications, not to mention that moving itself costs considerable time and money - but for moving out of state, stuff gets even more complex and expensive. For example teachers might need a retraining due to different curricula, and nurses, policemen and construction workers due to different regulatory schemes...
TulliusCicero 9y ago
Many do, obviously. But from a societal perspective, why should they have to? California is doing well economically, particularly the bay area. In a time where the country seems short for good jobs, shouldn't we be pushing as hard as possible to let people move into and stay in areas that are successful?
- blacksmith_tb 9y ago
  Not to mention that presumably if all the teachers, chefs, and nurses are driven out of California their absence will be a problem for the remaining Californians.
  - ntaoe894nht 9y ago
    Will it be a problem? Or will it cause a reevaluation of pay scales for those professions? Might it cause pay to actually rise to an appropriate level for those workers? I don't know, but it sounds like an intriguing idea. I recently read an article linked on Hacker News about a woman who commutes 3 hours each way to work a government job in Los Angeles. She could get the same job in her home town, but it pays half as much, so she does the commute to send her kids to college. It sounds like the job is worth more than she's making at it, but the same job near her home doesn't pay enough to make it worth her while. If it did, likely LA would have to raise the wage for that position.
TaylorAlexander 9y ago
I grew up in Santa Cruz county across the mountain from Silicon Valley. I used to wake up on the weekend and go on a walk on the cliffs, or mountain bike in the hills. I’m living in Silicon Valley now and it’s hard knowing I’ll have to spend so much time in the office to afford a home in this area that I’ll struggle to actually spend time enjoying the natural beauty here. But I am in love with this area and I want to stay.
azernik 9y ago
That might be a solution for them, but it is not a solution for us and our society. If the cost-of-living-adjusted wages aren't high enough to give the providers of such essential services housing, then that's a problem we need to fix regardless.
- aantix 9y ago
  Cost of living wage is a bit of a misnomer
  - azernik 9y ago
    Why a misnomer?
finaliteration 9y ago
Teaching credentials don’t always transfer across state lines, and oftentimes there’s a requirement to take a course or obtain another certification to teach in a different state, both of which require them to pay more money.
deleted 9y ago
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deleted 9y ago
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fataliss 9y ago
Most people have strong attachment to places. Also job portability isn't always very easy, depending on what field you are in. I could see lower wager workers finding it hard to get a job in areas where cost of living is cheap but can't afford living where there is work but it pays shit. Must be a real dilemma with probably very few winning scenarios.

Serious question not addressed in the article: Why don't they move out of California?

by soared 9y ago

Serious question not addressed in the article: Why don't they move out of California?

Lots of factors - Have always lived in california and - have all their friends there - family lives there - are afraid of moving and starting completely new - are introverts and would look at being lonely for several years before they would have some friends - would mean they would have a long distance relationship with their gf/bf if she can't move/doesn't want It's a bit easier if you're in your 20s, but harder later

gumby 9y ago
Plus hard to get some of these jobs elsewhere where seniority rules dominate (e.g. teaching, firefighting...)

decentrality 9y ago

A deeper question would be: Are we part of our environment and ought we sometimes fight to keep our location not just our social position if that is a strong feeling for us? It is possible some people belong where they are and relocation is a compromise for the weak at heart. ( I say this while also living in the epicenter of the Hepatitis A outbreaks, Downtown San Diego, California; I am surrounded by listless vagrants [ different than homeless ] )

wwweston 9y ago
Other ways of putting this: * How is home more than a commodity (housing) for a person? * What socialized costs occur when individuals and therefore their social/economic networks are disrupted by changes to cost of living?

mschuster91 9y ago

All the people mentioned have one thing in common: they got jobs. Not the best-paying jobs, yes, but proper jobs. Hard enough to move jobs in a state - before doing this, you should have a job secured in your destination, and given they're living on the streets they most likely lack the money for days of traveling and job applications, not to mention that moving itself costs considerable time and money - but for moving out of state, stuff gets even more complex and expensive. For example teachers might need a retraining due to different curricula, and nurses, policemen and construction workers due to different regulatory schemes...

TulliusCicero 9y ago

Many do, obviously. But from a societal perspective, why should they have to? California is doing well economically, particularly the bay area. In a time where the country seems short for good jobs, shouldn't we be pushing as hard as possible to let people move into and stay in areas that are successful?

blacksmith_tb 9y ago
Not to mention that presumably if all the teachers, chefs, and nurses are driven out of California their absence will be a problem for the remaining Californians.
- ntaoe894nht 9y ago
  Will it be a problem? Or will it cause a reevaluation of pay scales for those professions? Might it cause pay to actually rise to an appropriate level for those workers? I don't know, but it sounds like an intriguing idea. I recently read an article linked on Hacker News about a woman who commutes 3 hours each way to work a government job in Los Angeles. She could get the same job in her home town, but it pays half as much, so she does the commute to send her kids to college. It sounds like the job is worth more than she's making at it, but the same job near her home doesn't pay enough to make it worth her while. If it did, likely LA would have to raise the wage for that position.

TaylorAlexander 9y ago

I grew up in Santa Cruz county across the mountain from Silicon Valley. I used to wake up on the weekend and go on a walk on the cliffs, or mountain bike in the hills. I’m living in Silicon Valley now and it’s hard knowing I’ll have to spend so much time in the office to afford a home in this area that I’ll struggle to actually spend time enjoying the natural beauty here. But I am in love with this area and I want to stay.

azernik 9y ago

That might be a solution for them, but it is not a solution for us and our society. If the cost-of-living-adjusted wages aren't high enough to give the providers of such essential services housing, then that's a problem we need to fix regardless.

aantix 9y ago
Cost of living wage is a bit of a misnomer
- azernik 9y ago
  Why a misnomer?

finaliteration 9y ago

Teaching credentials don’t always transfer across state lines, and oftentimes there’s a requirement to take a course or obtain another certification to teach in a different state, both of which require them to pay more money.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

fataliss 9y ago

Most people have strong attachment to places. Also job portability isn't always very easy, depending on what field you are in. I could see lower wager workers finding it hard to get a job in areas where cost of living is cheap but can't afford living where there is work but it pays shit. Must be a real dilemma with probably very few winning scenarios.