I’m exasperated at the cost of living in California, really. Even though I make descent money and live quite comfortably within my means my recent adventure in finding a new apartment has brought a certain reality to my outlook on life in the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s for people who like to waste money — seriously. So what the hell am I doing here?
Unless you’re rubbing elbows with geeks or land a nice job at a startup with plenty of venture capital to burn you’re not gonna have the kind of money to live as a pressed-and-minted college graduate with corporate experience and leadership skills should.
If you’re not making $100K a year in the Bay, it’s hard to have a decent place and nice things and still have a couple thousand left over to invest with — so I’ve resigned myself to the fact that at present I simply can’t afford to buy a house in California and maintain my lifestyle. Even with first time buyer programs, and what not, ultimately I’d be spending more money than is necessary.
The way I see it the only obvious option is buy a home elsewhere.
In about 12 hours I will be taking my first ever trip to Austin, TX to check out some property! Woo hoo! And the best thing is, housing there is about 80% cheaper than it is in California (150K vs 700K) … Yeah I’m loving it.
Though did I mention that the weather in Texas is about 1000% times worse than it is in California?
We’ll see how it goes. For now I need to pack!
August 30th, 2007 at 12:27 am
Well, that (the weather) is PART of why houses are so
expensive in California…..the paradise premium, I’ve heard it
called. I’LL never be able to afford a house in Cal., so I just have
to be satisfied with visiting occasionally. Good luck in Austin.
August 30th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
Keep in mind there is very high property tax in TX, but luckily no income tax. But yeah, houses are darned cheap out there. Lot of folks I know have made the move to Austin from LA.
August 30th, 2007 at 5:34 pm
I live in the SF Bay area, but I am a geek at a start-up that is adequately funded. It actually turns out to be quite beneficial if you A) ignore the concept of buying a home B) take advantage of prices that are the same across the country (i.e. Walmart groceries are nearly the same everywehre) C) use Craigslist.
September 1st, 2007 at 12:07 pm
I used to live in San Antonio and even lived in Austin for a very short time.. the cost of homes is way cheaper but your right the weather is in my opinion almost unbearable. We were recently looking to buy a house (southern california) but realized it would be cheaper for us to rent for now.. I figure we live somewhere we love for now and even if we can never afford to buy a house here… when we retire and can travel, we can buy a house somewhere cheaper… Good Luck in Austin!
September 10th, 2007 at 11:19 am
That is why I moved to Atlanta, Home prices are very reasonable, your money can go far
September 24th, 2007 at 2:57 pm
Vancouver has the most expensive home prices in Canada. The average price of a house in my city (Richmond) now is around $750,000. You either need a good business or 3+ people paying the mortgage to afford a place like this. I’m just waiting patiently for the housing market to crash, and it will. People who have bought homes already think the value won’t drop very far, but they are just saying that to comfort themselves. Home are very much overpriced now and there will be a major correction in the near future.
September 26th, 2007 at 10:54 am
@Harm - sure you could live in Cali if that’s your goal. I personally can’t afford it right now but that doesnt mean I dont plan on coming back when I can afford it or when it makes more cents to buy =) Where do you live at now?
@mapgirl - yeah that’s whats been killing my motivation to check out texas. After all the hoopla there was really only one house that I remotely liked and the mortgage after taxes was $500 more than I was willing to pay for it =( Ah well, maybe later in the year I’ll have better luck!
@Lazyman - you’re very lucky to be so content. I love the bay, but I kick myself everytime I hand over a $1700 rent check. Where is there a walmart in the bay area? Surely not on the peninsula. I’ll have to map it and see. Oh wait theres on in Mountain View — I should tell you I use craiglist religiously…. lol
@Kimberly - very smart thinking. My rationality was this: I can afford a house in Texas. Later I can sell it and use the additonaly equity to buy up. I’ll keep buying up until I can afford a house in California. Then I’ll make the move back =) I can run my business from anywhere. My main goal is to keep my money working for me, and to stop wasting it on rent. I guess when you have a family you don’t have that kind of flexibility.
@Moneymonk - I’ve heard a lot of great things about Atlanta, but isnt the weather there equally as horrendous? lol. I mean if you’re used to it that’s one thing. Almost nothing beats the pacific breeze of the Pacific. The weather is almost perfect here — it’s so heartbreaking to consider leaving it, even to save a few hundred dollars..
@Johan - I have never had the pleasure of going to Vancouver but I’ve heard quite a number of things about it. I hear its very picturesque and peaceful. I considered waiting for the housing crash to hit Cali, but prices are still too high for me. I’m hoping for a correction — and i hope I dont buy a house right before a correction lol!
October 30th, 2007 at 9:49 am
[…] “Hell, yes”, I thought to myself; “I am out of here!” […]