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"California, by the way, is everything it’s made out to be. " This is all too true. I am grappling with the possibility that I could never return to the East

"California, by the way, is everything it’s made out to be. " This is all too true. I am grappling with the possibility that I could never return to the East Coast near the rest of my family or my wife's family.

sytelus 12y ago
Could you elaborate in what way? I've heard both sides. Sure there are more tech jobs and unparalleled startup scene. But housing situation is extremely shitty. You are forced to live in shoebox for a LOT of money. People waste enormous hours in traffic every day. State is in huge debt and public school system is one of the worse. Govt is not able to develop infrastructure with growth. And you still pay everything through nose added with state and city taxes. The place is enormously overcrowded to be pleasant. Significant portion of population is possibly undocumented exploited immigrants who don't even speak english. People who often feel its nice out there are usually coming from mid west small town with nothing to do or super-crawded places like NJ/NY. People from places like Seattle, Florida, Portland or New England might not feel they have ended up at better place. But really, I do want to know in exactly what way California is everything it’s made out to be? PS: Above are not my personal opinions, it's just second hand information that has often came up in conversations.
- dmritard96 12y ago
  "But housing situation is extremely shitty. You are forced to live in shoebox for a LOT of money." Depends, I am in Noe Valley and its pricey but nice. It really comes down to values/lifestyle preferences. Do I really want to live in a giant place where I can accumulate lots of stuff or do I want to live a bit lighter and be able to do world class hiking every weekend year round. "People waste enormous hours in traffic every day." Not unique to here. Experienced the same in South Florida growing up and Chicago for the brief period where I didn't work close to where I lived. "State is in huge debt and public school system is one of the worse." Not really on my radar as I am in my mid twenties. Also, plenty of places where this is the norm anyhow. "Govt is not able to develop infrastructure with growth. And you still pay everything through nose added with state and city taxes." Infrastructure hasn't really been an issue. Taxes are high no doubt. So is tech income. "The place is enormously overcrowded to be pleasant." Not sure how you define this, SF proper is full but would prefer that to Detroit without a second thought. "Significant portion of population is possibly undocumented exploited immigrants who don't even speak english." I hate the idea of exploiting people regardless of well, anything. I love the idea of immigrants and I am not worried about the population not speaking English. Any urban area is going to have multiple languages and immigrants. It means interesting culture and experiences. Most places I have been where its ~100% English speaking have been rather depressing. "People who often feel its nice out there are usually coming from mid west small town with nothing to do or super-crowded places like NJ/NY. People from places like Seattle, Florida, Portland or New England might not feel they have ended up at better place." I grew up in a beautiful area of South Florida, went to school in Chicago and lived in the hippest of hip areas in Chicago. It simply depends on what you are into. I wanted to go outside and recreate all 12 months of the year the midwest is rather lame. Too cold and not much of interest ecologically/geographically. There are many great places to live, but not that many at the epicenter of the tech universe.

sytelus 12y ago

Could you elaborate in what way? I've heard both sides. Sure there are more tech jobs and unparalleled startup scene. But housing situation is extremely shitty. You are forced to live in shoebox for a LOT of money. People waste enormous hours in traffic every day. State is in huge debt and public school system is one of the worse. Govt is not able to develop infrastructure with growth. And you still pay everything through nose added with state and city taxes. The place is enormously overcrowded to be pleasant. Significant portion of population is possibly undocumented exploited immigrants who don't even speak english. People who often feel its nice out there are usually coming from mid west small town with nothing to do or super-crawded places like NJ/NY. People from places like Seattle, Florida, Portland or New England might not feel they have ended up at better place. But really, I do want to know in exactly what way California is everything it’s made out to be? PS: Above are not my personal opinions, it's just second hand information that has often came up in conversations.

dmritard96 12y ago
"But housing situation is extremely shitty. You are forced to live in shoebox for a LOT of money." Depends, I am in Noe Valley and its pricey but nice. It really comes down to values/lifestyle preferences. Do I really want to live in a giant place where I can accumulate lots of stuff or do I want to live a bit lighter and be able to do world class hiking every weekend year round. "People waste enormous hours in traffic every day." Not unique to here. Experienced the same in South Florida growing up and Chicago for the brief period where I didn't work close to where I lived. "State is in huge debt and public school system is one of the worse." Not really on my radar as I am in my mid twenties. Also, plenty of places where this is the norm anyhow. "Govt is not able to develop infrastructure with growth. And you still pay everything through nose added with state and city taxes." Infrastructure hasn't really been an issue. Taxes are high no doubt. So is tech income. "The place is enormously overcrowded to be pleasant." Not sure how you define this, SF proper is full but would prefer that to Detroit without a second thought. "Significant portion of population is possibly undocumented exploited immigrants who don't even speak english." I hate the idea of exploiting people regardless of well, anything. I love the idea of immigrants and I am not worried about the population not speaking English. Any urban area is going to have multiple languages and immigrants. It means interesting culture and experiences. Most places I have been where its ~100% English speaking have been rather depressing. "People who often feel its nice out there are usually coming from mid west small town with nothing to do or super-crowded places like NJ/NY. People from places like Seattle, Florida, Portland or New England might not feel they have ended up at better place." I grew up in a beautiful area of South Florida, went to school in Chicago and lived in the hippest of hip areas in Chicago. It simply depends on what you are into. I wanted to go outside and recreate all 12 months of the year the midwest is rather lame. Too cold and not much of interest ecologically/geographically. There are many great places to live, but not that many at the epicenter of the tech universe.