Posted: 8/7/2005 10:36:45 AM EDT
|
I've been going to different spots in SoCal lately, and I'm really curious if I'm just visiting nice places, or if California is just nicer than I expected. I lived in Glendale in '87, and almost all of LA I had seen sucked. In the last two months I've been to Carlsbad, Newport Beach, San Diego, Irvine, LaJolla, Riverside, etc. These are my observations compared to Phoenix. It's much prettier, people are a lot friendlier, people drive better, and I'm running into far fewer people who don't speak English. With the exception of the insane cost of living, I'm thinking I want to retire in California, anywhere from San Diego to Orange County. So, what am I missing? Am I just seeing the good stuff? I really want to know what your opinions are, especially those of you who have been to Phoenix. |
|
You said something good about the most populus state in the union ... this isn't going to reflect good upon you. I can delete this thread if you'd like and before the other Arizona people see this. There's so much to do here that I never get bored. There are plenty of sport teams, live concerts, year-round outdoor activities, places to go, things to see. Real estate taxes are fixed at the time of purchase of your home so you don't have to worry about that major bitch like most other states. My state taxes are about 1.5% a year which isn't too bad concidering I've made 35-45% each of the last three and a half years I've lived in my home. I've love to live out in east San Diego county but find my self a bit north of there in east Riverside county. There's horse properties in the next sub-division over and being this far away from LA we're pretty conservative, crime is way lower, and traffic is reasonable. The cost of living is pretty steep but the fixed real estate tax and no taxes on foods or medicine helps the retirement. If they only didn't tax my federal retirement income I'd stay here. You understand that you can't bring any assualt weapons in ... but then they're not banned either so we keep the ones we have. Get yourself a nice M1 Garand or M1A and you'll still be unarmed in the eyes of some of the poodle shooters but not when it comes time. |
Wow, "nice" in L.A., Riverside, San Diego, etc etc. That's a switch. Man you ought to try north of L.A. over the Grapevine in the San Joaquin Valley, say from Bakersfield to Sacramento. If you liked the L.A. Basin, you will love this area up here better. Kern County (Bakersfield) and Tulare County (Tulare - Porterville - Visalia) are aboslutely gun friendly. Less crowded and more places to shoot. |
|
Well you apparently have been to the good parts of Riverside. Parts of Riverside are pretty sad. The coastal areas are extremely expensive. Yes, you've been to the primo areas and people are willing, able and required to pay the bonzo bucks to live there. Unfortunately we also have the areas of poor drivers, poor engrish speakers and the like. However the good to great parts far out number the bad parts There's a reason a lot of people live in So.Cal. OK a lot of reasons. Some of us lately have been getting the Phoenix type monsoon storms (Paul as a retired Master Ghief, I fully expect that you can survive in the Liberty Boat.) Others of us just live on the dry side of the mountains and see the thunderboomers and have been getting no rain out of them. I think Phoenix area is now experiencing the urban sprawl that most of the LA and Orange County areas experienced 50+ years or more ago, Inland areas beginning 40 years ago and my take is that Phoenix area didn't learn some of the lessons it should have. But as long as land prices are so high, people will over build. |
|
Thanks for the input guys. I really was amazed at the lack of bozos I ran into on my last few trips. I figure when it comes time to retire, I'll keep a place here and get one there. I've never been north of LA, so I'll have to look into it. I have time though, as retirement is a minimum of 7 years away. As far as saying nice things about Kali, I'm waiting patiently for the lynching. 
|