3 ms·

Really? I haven't been in either place, but everything I've heard about California says it's a great place if you're a single twenty-year-old geek but a dreadfu

Really? I haven't been in either place, but everything I've heard about California says it's a great place if you're a single twenty-year-old geek but a dreadful place to grow up in; intuitively I would have thought moving to South America would be ideal for the kids if they have US citizenship and therefore the right to move back to Silicon Valley later, if and when they are in the situation of being single twenty-year-old geeks?

bubbleRefuge 13y ago
Kids are gr8 I think: attending good public schools with favorable demographics and good influences, lots of extracurricular activities in the community, tons of outdoorsy excursions such as hiking, camping, nature. Great museums and exposure to diverse culture. Skiing in winter. Problem is cost of living. Reasonable sized housing for a family of 4 and a dog IMO is 3/2 1800 sqft with yard and garage on 5000sqft lot. Thats hitting 1.5M+ in my hood right now. So buying is out of the question. Right now I'm renting a 3/2 condo for 3650, so, as a lifetime renter, over next 10 years were are talking about 500-600K in rent alone if you factor in increases. How does one save for retirement? college for kids? Problem with most of south america is infrastructure and security. These are things that here in the states we take for granted.
- Daishiman 13y ago
  South America is a huge fucking continent. There are places in the Andes in Chile and Argentina that have standards of living comparable to 1st-world countries and a quality of outdoor activities that go beyond what you could get in the best Alpine towns of Switzerland, with free, high-quality public education and good universities nearby. They're obviously not the cheapest places to be in, but they easily cost 1/3 or less of what living in California does.

3 ms·

Really? I haven't been in either place, but everything I've heard about California says it's a great place if you're a single twenty-year-old geek but a dreadfu

by rwallace 13y ago

bubbleRefuge 13y ago
Kids are gr8 I think: attending good public schools with favorable demographics and good influences, lots of extracurricular activities in the community, tons of outdoorsy excursions such as hiking, camping, nature. Great museums and exposure to diverse culture. Skiing in winter. Problem is cost of living. Reasonable sized housing for a family of 4 and a dog IMO is 3/2 1800 sqft with yard and garage on 5000sqft lot. Thats hitting 1.5M+ in my hood right now. So buying is out of the question. Right now I'm renting a 3/2 condo for 3650, so, as a lifetime renter, over next 10 years were are talking about 500-600K in rent alone if you factor in increases. How does one save for retirement? college for kids? Problem with most of south america is infrastructure and security. These are things that here in the states we take for granted.
- Daishiman 13y ago
  South America is a huge fucking continent. There are places in the Andes in Chile and Argentina that have standards of living comparable to 1st-world countries and a quality of outdoor activities that go beyond what you could get in the best Alpine towns of Switzerland, with free, high-quality public education and good universities nearby. They're obviously not the cheapest places to be in, but they easily cost 1/3 or less of what living in California does.