How can people afford to live in California?

stuffmonger · Post by **stuffmonger** » Thu May 18, 2006 6:16 pm

How we, in california cope with money:
1) live with your parents till you're 26
2) move into a 1-2 bedroom apartment
3) move in with a girl (or guy)
4) get kicked out by said girl (or guy)
5) move back in with parents
6) move into another 1-2 bedroom apartment
7) die a horrible death looking at housing costs

serious though, houses in arcadia can't be found for under 750k usually... most houses are friggin mansions that are multi-million dollar homes with no yardspace.

nullstar · Post by **nullstar** » Sat May 20, 2006 3:34 am

greg wrote:Atlanta _maybe_, but I'd never leave the city for fear of being accused as a race traitor and lynched or something. I hate rednecks. We have rednecks to an extent in Phoenix, but at least they don't wave around the Confederate flag and crap like that.

Some things to consider about Atlanta:
- 90+ degree summers, with 90%+ humidity...WAY more uncomfortable than 105 in the desert.
- horrid, horrid traffic.
- much more expensive to fly to Japan.

On the plus side, I think your fears of rednecks, rednecks everywhere in Atlanta is mostly unfounded. Not that they aren't around, but I can't think of any city that doesn't have equally unsavory folks (and here I mean redneck as in racist or asshole, not as in uneducated -- although you'll find all of the above pretty much everywhere). I don't know about Japanese, but there are sections of Atlanta with significant Korean populations.

If you find an asshole-free city -- with a decent cost of living -- please let me know. ;)

Keranu · Post by **Keranu** » Sat May 20, 2006 4:32 am

Hold on, let me get this straight: You guys are wanting to move to areas that is populated with a certain race, specifically Japanese? What is wrong with being yourself and just living in a spot you enjoy without race even being an issue?

greg · Post by **greg** » Sat May 20, 2006 7:13 am

Keranu wrote:Hold on, let me get this straight: You guys are wanting to move to areas that is populated with a certain race, specifically Japanese? What is wrong with being yourself and just living in a spot you enjoy without race even being an issue?

Apparently you haven't been reading this thread too carefully.

Anyhow, I do see where you are coming from, but it is a naive logic. Do me a favor: go move to some country like Vietnam or Egypt for the rest of your life and say those exact words. You will find yourself wanting interraction with those of your own kind. It's not a race issue. It's a culture issue.

SAM · Post by **SAM** » Sat May 20, 2006 6:23 pm

stuffmonger wrote:How we, in california cope with money:
1) live with your parents till you're 26
2) move into a 1-2 bedroom apartment
3) move in with a girl (or guy)
4) get kicked out by said girl (or guy)
5) move back in with parents
6) move into another 1-2 bedroom apartment
7) die a horrible death looking at housing costs

serious though, houses in arcadia can't be found for under 750k usually... most houses are friggin mansions that are multi-million dollar homes with no yardspace.

Same situation on my island.

If you buy a flat here, at your 20s you won't be able to pay back the loan until in your 40s. And that assume both you and your wife are both working and paying for the loan.

Even worse is dispite the sky high price for property, its price could went down here. That's means you might became -ve asset if you are unlacky. In late 90s, the property market on this island went soar, and when price of property drops, many people who bought their home on loan, became -ve asset.

The average people here is like...
1. live with your parents till you get marry (in your 30s)
2. move into a 1-2 bedroom apartment on loan
3. have children
4. finally pay back your housing loan in your 50s
5. start saving for retirement and hope you could stay employed til you are 70s
6. retired without enough money
7. sold your apartment
8. die a horrible death looking at housing costs

It's hopeless trying to have a life on this island. If you got enough money to buy a decent home on this island, with that sum you could actually retired to the countryside and have a very comfortable life.

That's crazy.

Fighter17 · Post by **Fighter17** » Sat May 20, 2006 7:04 pm

Where I live in Central Florida we have plently of houses for sale. Heck on one street nearby my house we have like eight houses for sale! Most of the houses are $200,000-$300,000 with 2-3 bedrooms. My aunt is selling her home for around $250,000 with three bedrooms and her house is behind a canal. It's not bad, but the problem is that my city is very borning place to live. The city was more ment for old people and not for teenagers. If you want to start a family here, go to where I live since it's a nice place to live. The rednecks are very nice here and very few rednecks are dicks. The good rednecks can offer good services to you for cheap (I'm not joking).

icycalm · Post by **icycalm** » Sat May 20, 2006 9:02 pm

Keranu wrote:Hold on, let me get this straight: You guys are wanting to move to areas that is populated with a certain race, specifically Japanese? What is wrong with being yourself and just living in a spot you enjoy without race even being an issue?

Although your question has already been answered, let me ask you another one. What is wrong with race being an issue? I know quite a few people who moved to Japan because they love Japanese people. Personally, from time to time I entertain the idea of moving to France, mainly because I find French girls incredibly sexy. As much as I love Japan and everything it has to offer, I am rarely attracted to a Japanese girl, except for some celebrities and porn stars.

There's nothing wrong with race being an issue.

Eps · Post by **Eps** » Sun May 21, 2006 12:19 am

icycalm wrote:I know quite a few people who moved to Japan because they love Japanese people.

This seems to be a mainly American fixation. I have to confess that despite my own pro-Nippon sympathies, I do find myself bringing out the You Only Think It's Good Because It's Japanese card on some of my American friends way too often.

The n00b · Post by **The n00b** » Sun May 21, 2006 3:44 am

There's a lot of people who actually move to the U.S. because they like American people. Of course they think the entire American nation looks like new york or LA and plays out like an episode of Friends but whatever. Most otakus are guilty of the same thing.

I say live and let live. Life is too short not to live out your dreams.

neorichieb1971 · Post by **neorichieb1971** » Sun May 21, 2006 4:41 am

I'm waiting until my mom dies before I reinvest in property, unless I get a lass to help me out.

She lives in a home in England and its just going up up up.. Even in St louis USA, prices are going up, but just in cases the bubble bursts I want as much equity in the home as possible if I buy.. None of this 100% mortgage stuff on premium prices.. thats nuts

Both UK and USA have immigration issues, where are they all living?

SAM · Post by **SAM** » Sun May 21, 2006 5:53 am

Though the property market used to go up for most of the time. But it could goes sour. If you own house/flat, and the property market went sour, your hope of haveing a comfortable retirement life is doomed.

With such a high price for a home, it is very risky inversting in property. It's like putting all eggs in a single besket. You could loss all you got in a single blow.

Rent a place for home, and inverst all your saving in the stock market seems to be a less risky alternative, IMO.

Eps · Post by **Eps** » Sun May 21, 2006 3:55 pm

neorichieb1971 wrote:I'm waiting until my mom dies before I reinvest in property, unless I get a lass to help me out.

She lives in a home in England and its just going up up up..

Yeah, house prices here are currently increasing fast. However, it can't last forever...

greg · Post by **greg** » Mon May 22, 2006 5:54 am

The n00b wrote:There's a lot of people who actually move to the U.S. because they like American people. Of course they think the entire American nation looks like new york or LA and plays out like an episode of Friends but whatever. Most otakus are guilty of the same thing.

It's funny how so many domestic otaku think that Japan is some utopia and look at it with anime tunnel vision. Read this crap for a perfect example of some misguided buffoon who is wrong in all of his assumpions about the country.

As I've said before, I developed a (what I think of as a) healthy love/hate relationship with Japan. Being married to a Japanese girl, I am eternally tied to the country. I throw up my hands in exaspiration with both Americans and Japanese. But living here in America, I miss the daily contact with Japanese people. Both Japan and my home country have plusses and minuses. And to get somewhat back on topic, my wife's research is turning up examples that quite a many different parts of Japan are cheaper to own houses than California and other overpriced/overtaxed parts of America (except for Tokyo, of course).

Eps · Post by **Eps** » Mon May 22, 2006 6:37 am

A.N.Other Random Asia-Phile wrote:^_____________^ OMG SUPER KAWAII I CAN'T WAIT TO MOVE TEHRE AND SEE ALL TEH GIANT ROBOTZ!!!!!1

... That's about the size of what I tend to hear from some people I know.

Having travelled to various Asian countries I do not maintain this rosy view. I would describe my experiences in these countries as the rather less glamorous "Eh.. you know. Alright."