California

[ultrarunner]

We bought a RTV in the one of the small Sierra foothill towns in gold rush country and had a chance to look at property and speak to several longtime residents.

Real Estate is still depressed in this region of California and there are homes on the market for well over a year... very unlike the SF Bay Area where homes have never sold for so much and have more then recovered... days on market is measured in weeks.

The big problem is the pot growers have descended in full force and it is driving locals/retirees out... many of them having built their dream homes on 5 to 25 acre parcels... the Butte fire didn't help matters either...

The folks we bought the RTV900 said they feel stuck.

It was really depressing how these little communities have been taken over.

 

[EddieWalker]

Reading the articles about the economy there, I have to admit that I'm surprised. My friends that still live there have not said anything positive about life there in a very long time. Every year, more of them are moving away because of the taxes, congestion and crime. If you live there, you know that there are huge areas that you just avoid, and those areas are growing in size. Where I lived in San Leandro, we drove past 3 grocery stores to get to the safe one. We only went to the mall in the morning, or we drove to the mall in the Valley. It wasn't just a fear of being robbed, the beggers where overwhelming and vandalism to your car was common.

A neighbor that I grew up with worked for a phone company there all his life. About five years ago then relocated to Nevada and offered him a job there at a lower pay scale if he wanted to keep his job. He declined and was out of work for over a year before finding a warehouse job with Amazon. That was also a big cut in pay, but he was able to stay in his house and not have to move.

Those in the dot com industry are dong good, but another buddy who was with google said it wasn't worth the money. He quit a good six figure job for another job paying half of what he made just have a life and get to know his kids.

 

[jerrybob]

Now he has to kill you...

Oh shoot......I hope he never finds out my name is David and live in South Bend, Indiana!:drink:

 

[buickanddeere]

If purchasing a west cost retirement property. The state of Oregon would be my choice vs over taxed and over regulated California . Should be able to avoid snow in some location . Still going to be flattened by an earthquake someday. Oregon is upwind of Yellowstone Park when it blows up .

 

[ultrarunner]

Some do leave and come back...

Many are happy with their move and some wonder why they did not do it sooner.

It has to be a boost when you sell a modest 1940's home of 30 years and pocket 500k in cash and buy elsewhere keeping a big chunk of cash.

Portland and Seattle areas are having their own issues with high cost of housing...

Just across the California boarder in Oregon... there is an entire industry that caters to California ex-pats.

One thing to remember is the Bay Area, LA and San Diego covers only a very small area of the State...

Leaving these areas the cost of living drops dramatically... even things like vehicle emission requirements fall away.

One of our good family friends moved back to Georgia for retirement... he had been 40 years in California... he needed some surgeries and found it advantageous to return to California as he would have needed to pay out of pocket in Georgia... he was 61 and his union coverage is through Kaiser HMO

I sure wish I knew what the cards hold... I did venture out State to Washington State and got hammered by property tax when 18 months after I bought the Assessor appraised me for 80% over what I had paid...

One thing is for sure... a lot of people are seeing the Bay Area as a place to make your money and then cash out...

Eddie... I still shop at the Safeway at 500 Bancroft...

 

[murphy1244]

I thought Kaiser has gone under.

 

[ultrarunner]

I thought Kaiser has gone under.

Kaiser Health Care is bigger than ever... it is a dominating force in Health Care... expanding and building like crazy.

Here is a listing for a 1150 square feet 1940 home on two acres that some many find interesting priced at 1.2M

1471 Felder Rd, Sonoma, CA 95476 - Home For Sale and Real Estate Listing - realtor.com(R)

 

[jerrybob]

Some do leave and come back...

Many are happy with their move and some wonder why they did not do it sooner.

It has to be a boost when you sell a modest 1940's home of 30 years and pocket 500k in cash and buy elsewhere keeping a big chunk of cash.

Portland and Seattle areas are having their own issues with high cost of housing...

Just across the California boarder in Oregon... there is an entire industry that caters to California ex-pats.

One thing to remember is the Bay Area, LA and San Diego covers only a very small area of the State...

Leaving these areas the cost of living drops dramatically... even things like vehicle emission requirements fall away.

One of our good family friends moved back to Georgia for retirement... he had been 40 years in California... he needed some surgeries and found it advantageous to return to California as he would have needed to pay out of pocket in Georgia... he was 61 and his union coverage is through Kaiser HMO

I sure wish I knew what the cards hold... I did venture out State to Washington State and got hammered by property tax when 18 months after I bought the Assessor appraised me for 80% over what I had paid...

One thing is for sure... a lot of people are seeing the Bay Area as a place to make your money and then cash out...

Eddie... I still shop at the Safeway at 500 Bancroft...

Exactly what we did. Spent most of life in So Calif. Had a really good job.....retired at 50. Sold the house.......paid cash for a nice place w/acreage. Have never looked back. We go back a couple times a year to see kids and grandkids........love seeing them.....you can have So. Calif. I do enjoy the No. Calif coast and the Oregon Coast......we travel them frequently. Wouldn't live in Seattle or Portland.....way too many people. Sorry to hear about your assessment problem.......our area is rural and we don't have that issue. Cost of living is much lower for us. We are close enough to Oregon to shop there for bigger items.....no sales tax. Life is good.

 

[ultrarunner]

Yep... I'm in Thurston County and my taxes went from $6800 to $12,000 in one jump after I-747 was tossed... my neighbors all experienced the same...

Home on 16+ very pretty acres with a little creek where a few salmon spawn... real peaceful and serene.

It $1000 a month property taxes really give my pause to re-evaluate my long range plans...

A typical move of one of my retired friends is to be closer to kids and grand kids who made lives outside California...

 

[dickfoster]

We bought a RTV in the one of the small Sierra foothill towns in gold rush country and had a chance to look at property and speak to several longtime residents.

Real Estate is still depressed in this region of California and there are homes on the market for well over a year... very unlike the SF Bay Area where homes have never sold for so much and have more then recovered... days on market is measured in weeks.

The big problem is the pot growers have descended in full force and it is driving locals/retirees out... many of them having built their dream homes on 5 to 25 acre parcels... the Butte fire didn't help matters either...

The folks we bought the RTV900 said they feel stuck.

It was really depressing how these little communities have been taken over.

Things are picking up around here now but I bought before it did. A lot of folks really took a bath on second homes and such. I think they were playing the market and got themselves in over their heads and wound up losing on the deal, some lost a lot. I suppose they were caught up in their own greed and it cost them.
I don't care where the prices go now because I have no plans to leave. I sold my place in Los Gatos, made a ton on it, bought this place with more land and a nicer bigger house for cash and still put a lot of bucks in the bank. The quality of life is much better up here but for me all cities suck no matter where they are.

Home prices in the Bay Area are crazy stupid and not worth what they're asking. When I sold mine, I refused to play that bidding game where they try to bid it up by playing the buyers off of each other. I just set my price and said the first person that comes up with the dough buys the house period. I guess I just wanted to get out of the area and didn't care to squeeze every last nickel out of the deal. Get greedy and you're as likely to get burned as you're trying to burn someone else.