I just want to state for the record that BATMANs does not represent the opinion of all Californians, or even particularly many for that matter.
And certainly not this Californian.
And certainly not this Californian.
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Top 10 Reasons California Is Better Than Texas
- Thread starter BATMANs
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I prefer Cali......
Now you are just asking for it.
Don't call it "Cali". Only punks and n00bs call it "Cali". Real Californians say "California".
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Oh yea? Another 5.4% out of 500K for her healthcare debacle? You can buy a brand new baby lexus for that.
Liberals- the only idiots who will murder babies, and keep convicted murderers alive.
Oh yea? Another 5.4% out of 500K for her healthcare debacle? You can buy a brand new baby lexus for that.
Liberals- the only idiots who will murder babies, and keep convicted murderers alive.
Being kept alive in a confined cell and knowing what might happen in the shower when the soap bar drops is worse than the death penalty IMHO........
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Not if your "homegirl" Pelosi has anything to do with it. I mean, everyone deserves to own a home regardless of their credit score or if they can pay for it or not.
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While we're paying the bills to keep the lights on and the food on the table not to mention all their legals costs. Right.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNFTT
<shrug>
Amusing for a little while, but rapidly repetitive and ultimately annoying.
YMMV
ps -
Even so, I can't resist feeding it sometimes.
Los Altos,CA 2008 median household income : $161,970
Southlake, TX 2008 median household income : $188,007, the highest in the nation for cities with population between 20k and 65k.
<shrug>
Amusing for a little while, but rapidly repetitive and ultimately annoying.
YMMV
ps -
Even so, I can't resist feeding it sometimes.
Los Altos,CA 2008 median household income : $161,970
Southlake, TX 2008 median household income : $188,007, the highest in the nation for cities with population between 20k and 65k.
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It would be an awesome trip! I wonder if others from Vancouver are planning to go?
This thread sucks.
I live in California (south bay close to BATMAN), but if it weren't for the weather and the natural beauty, I'd be long gone.
I'm actually in the process of trying to get out of the south bay since I feel lots of negative energy from people around here. Exhibit BATMANs posts. Just taking a short drive to Santa Cruz or even San Francisco has better and friendlier energy than the Silicon Valley south bay area. I think it has something to do with the large disparity of wealth generated by all the startups and tech industry in combination with the lack of social outlets.
As others may have already mentioned, California is ranked 4th least free states in the nation. Only NY, New Jersey, Rhode Island have less freedom than us.
I live in California (south bay close to BATMAN), but if it weren't for the weather and the natural beauty, I'd be long gone.
I'm actually in the process of trying to get out of the south bay since I feel lots of negative energy from people around here. Exhibit BATMANs posts. Just taking a short drive to Santa Cruz or even San Francisco has better and friendlier energy than the Silicon Valley south bay area. I think it has something to do with the large disparity of wealth generated by all the startups and tech industry in combination with the lack of social outlets.
As others may have already mentioned, California is ranked 4th least free states in the nation. Only NY, New Jersey, Rhode Island have less freedom than us.
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Agreed.
I have family in Cupertino and Saratoga. (shudder)
I remember once, some lady walks right into my dad's car when he's leaving the gas station. She pounds on his hood with her fist and calls him an idiot. Lol...she was on her phone wearing her running gear and ran right into him.
Santa Cruz/Sausilito.....much friendlier folks. Even on my short visits its quite apparent.
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What good is a 150K median income if the median home price is 2+ million bucks?
Oh that's right...that equates into a LOWER standard of living.
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What good is a 150K median income if the median home price is 2+ million bucks?
Oh that's right...that equates into a LOWER standard of living.
Without the help of an IPO and/or significant dual income I simply don't see how people can do $2 million +.
In California it's easy. You buy a $500,000 house, it goes up 30% per year. After a couple years you use the equity to buy a $1,000,000 house, which goes up 30% per year. After a couple of years you buy a $2,000,000 house, which in a typical market in California gains value at $200,000 to $300,000 per year. Now that the market is down, they've lost a lot of value, but not more than they gained over the preceeding 10 years. And they'll come back. They always do.
My parents had a house in Ventura County in the late 90s - they bought it new and with 20% per month (yes, per month) appreciation, they sold it in 6 months for a tidy profit. There's more than salary to the income of Californians.
That's how my folks made their $$$$. In real estate. They bought in the early '70's when homes were just breaking the $100k mark.
Let's just say that I wish I was retired like them and traveling and having fun left and right.
No surprise. Your list is about the highest median home price. Southlake has the highest median household income for that size city. Housing prices there are quite reasonable. Cost of living expenses in general are very reasonable.
From the US Census Bureau's 2006-2008 survey, via their website:
Los Altos:
Median household income : $161,970
Median housing value : Over $1,000,000 (unfortunately, they have no more detail than that.) Your Forbes list shows $3,277,500 for Los Altos Hills - same place? That's 20.24 times more than income.
Southlake:
Median household income : $188,007
Median housing value : $455,400. Only 2.4 times more than income. That'll pay for a LOT of trackdays at Motorsport Ranch. Sure, doesn't have the Pacific air, beaches, access to Tahoe, etc. But with a major international airport hub just a few miles away, it's easy to take that extra money and turn it into just about any destination you'd ever wish.
Los Altos Hills is a separate incorporated town.
I remember once reading a sarcastic newspaper article that mentioned Foothills Park, open to Palo Alto residents and their guests only--"to keep out the riff-raff from nearby Los Altos Hills".
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According to a 2007 estimate, the median household income was $158,745, and the median income for a family was $185,848. It really should be higher, but since there are alot of retired folks and children the numbers are often skewed.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Altos,_California#cite_note-2
Home prices in Los Altos are ALOT more stable than the rest of the nation. The story that I hear from my real estate friend is that people often pay CASH instead of financing them. Even today when the rest of the nation seems to be cash poor.
U don't get to this level of homes without doing something right in life like going to a good school, starting up a company or working in a high paying profession.
Most of the homes around Los Altos sell on average for $1.75mil.
A person can sell that and down grade to Southlake and have alot of extra cash.
Not the other way around. U can't even buy an outhouse in Los Altos for $500k. Not even a condo.
There are alot of high tech executives in Los Altos area. As long as you and others have a need for something high tech, including the internet, then u'll help sustain the prices.... which well be forever.
The town has no commercial or industrial zones. The town government contracts with Santa Clara County for police and fire services (making it a so-called "contract city" under California law). The town's only retail commercial operation is the book store on the campus of Foothill College. The town also does not have a post office, telephone exchange, or library. Mail delivery and telephone service are provided from nearby Los Altos, so the town shares ZIP codes and telephone exchange numbers with Los Altos. Town residents desiring library services must visit county-operated libraries in nearby Los Altos or Cupertino.
The town's zoning regulations are among the strictest in California, requiring a minimum lot size of one acre, setbacks from the property boundary, and easements for public pathways. Landowners are limited to one primary dwelling per lot, which effectively bans multifamily housing; this ban and the minimum lot size were upheld as constitutional by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in 1974. The ban on commercial zones was upheld by the California Court of Appeal (First District) in 1973. The town is set in hilly terrain offering commanding views of the San Francisco Bay Area. All these factors and the Bay Area's chronic housing shortage result in median home prices in excess of $3 million.
In 2000, the largest house in Silicon Valley at that time was built in the town. Larger ones have since been built elsewhere. The building was officially assessed by the county government as having 18,000 square feet of interior space. The home is actually considerably larger due to below ground area that is not part of the official assessment. In reality, it remains one of largest homes in the area. Currently (2007) a home not a mile away is under construction that when finished will most likely retake the official honor of largest home in Santa Clara County. Estimates put its size at approximately 28,000 square feet.
In 2007, Los Altos Hills was ranked by CNN Money as having the 3rd highest median household income in the country.
75% white and 21% asian makes up the majority. As a matter of fact non whites were not allowed to live there until the '60's according to a chinese resident that I knew back in the day.
Some famous residents:
Condoleezza Rice, republican, stanford professor, diplomat, author, and national security expert.
David Packard, co-founder of Hewlett-Packard
Carly Fiorina, a former CEO of Hewlett-Parkard
Jen-Hsun Huang, Co-founder, president and CEO, Nvidia Corporation
Steve Young, Hall of Fame quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers
Jerry Yang, co-founder of Yahoo!
Sabeer Bhatia, co-founder of Hotmail
John Chambers, CEO of CISCO
Wanna rent in Los Altos Hills?
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/apa/1458428304.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/apa/1458152583.html
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/apa/1460339225.html
This thread started out stupid, and has got progressively stupider with every post.
Including this one.
Including this one.
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