phil@amd70.UUCP (Phil Ngai) (06/14/84)
In addition to the high cost of housing, California is subject to
earthquakes and floods. It's overcrowded with weird people.
Half of the drivers on the roads are uninsured. I know one
person who says "auto insurance is too expensive".
The state income taxes are high and it's just overall a bad
place to be. You should think twice about moving to California,
where Jim Jones and Ronald Reagan came from.
--
Phil Ngai (408) 982-6825 {ucbvax,decwrl,ihnp4,allegra,intelca}!amd70!phileac@drux3.UUCP (CveticEA) (06/14/84)
The slam on the bay area was undeserved. First of all--look around here. Just yesterday we had a tornado watch and many people sustained damage to themselves and their property due to severe thunder storms. As for the people in the bay area, yes you will find a wide range of political, social, and moral opinions--but have you ever heard of freedom of speech? It is alive and well in California. For that matter--have you been to Boulder lately? I lived in the Bay Area for ten years. I experienced one minor earth quake, no flooding, no mudslides, or any other serious problem (except a drought--but that wasn't too bad). The only reason I left the bay area was the cost of living. Housing was (and still is) pretty high--and yes--state income tax is one of the highest in the nation as well. But at least you get well maintained highways, parks, and other public areas for your tax dollars. In general I felt public departments such as the Department of Motor Vehicles were better run than their CO counterparts. For one thing, a lot of agencies such as the DMV are opened evenings and weekends! Well, enough of this, if you have the bucks, its a nice place to live. You'll have to try to get along without the snow somehow. (Ha Ha) Betsy Cvetic drux3!eac
werner@ut-ngp.UUCP (cskl503) (06/15/84)
if you have to ask, ...... after reading Phil's (Santa Clara, CA) and Betsy's (Boulder, CO) follow-up let me add: after hearing how bad it is in CA and CO, let me add that you should not, repeat NOT, consider coming to Austin TX, for many reasons. We just had the coldest winter, the driest spring, and are looking forward to a disaster-year in general. Water will be rationed soon, new water-hook-ups are not possible to get, the lakes are down nearly 30 feet, boats are being ruined if not moved to deeper water all the time. 3 years ago we had a killer flood, 4 years ago, when the hurricane hit the TX-coast, people moved their air-planes to Austin for protection, and the airport got, promptly, hit by a Tornado, destroying more planes than anywhere else. Growth is creating Houston-like traffic jams, ridiculous land and housing prices, speculators, sharks, Yankees, Canadians, Arabs, etc are everywhere. "Real" Texans are talking of secession and are threatening to go armed and shoot "foreigners" on sight. We have a nuke which is ruining our electricity prices, a city council which does not obey city-charter, growth-related law-suits left-and-right, and now I hear, that Gov. White is a top-contender for the US V.P. position, which can only make matters worse, attracting even more power-brokers to the local scene. And to top it off, the Legislature is in "special session" to solve our "education crisis" and make Texas "second to none in the nation". Gov. White really might take some votes away from Pres. Reagon. He also got elected on a platform based on "no new taxes" and "balanced budget". Does anything speak against moving to the Research Triangle? I am considering it!
mcq@drutx.UUCP (McQueerRL) (06/18/84)
[]---- Okay, I've heard it's bad. I'm currently balancing the pros and cons of California, and I'd like some idea of just how awful the house prices are; specifically East Bay - Berkeley, Oakland, Hayward, etc. The net is generally good for obtaining anecdotal information, and that might help me at this point. I currently own a two bedroom townhouse, about 1200 sq. feet, garage, no basement, 7 years old, NOT an apartment-style condo (I own ground to roof in other words), typical suburban neighborhood. Just for starters, someone could tell me what a place like that would run me. In the 60's here - I'm awaiting a shock. Thanks in advance. Bob McQueer decvax!ihnp4!druxt!mcq
chuqui@nsc.UUCP (06/20/84)
I want to thank Werner for pointing out all of those wonderful reasons NOT
to move to Austin. He did forget the one overriding reason why someone
might want to move there, though:
Wendy lives there.
*snicker*
chuq
--
>From the ledge of the seventh cornice: Chuq Von Rospach
{amd70,fortune,hplabs,ihnp4}!nsc!chuqui (408) 733-2600 x242
You can't always get what you want, but if you try sometime
you just might find, you'll get what you need! -- Rolling Stonesfigmo@tymix.UUCP (Lynn Gold) (06/21/84)
Well, we're looking into buying the two-bedroom, 2-bath condo we've been living in for the past 3 years (the condo itself is about 4-7 years old). We're talking about a reasonably modern building, all-electric kitchen, a master bedroom, pool, porch, sauna, bike room, rec room, and laundry room (with outlets available for you to install your own washer and dryer in your unit). One of our neighbors is trying to sell their unit. They're asking for $116k. The woman next door to us paid $85k for hers, but it was a "panic-sell" (the bank was about to forclose upon the previous owner). I'd advise you to expect to pay at least the aforementioned prices -- especially if you want to live in a decent neighborhood! --Lynn