California Living

[Monkeyslacks]

Southern California: hellhole or good place to live? I'm thinking of a move soon. I don't mind high housing costs, but only if value is retained.

[NLSoldier]

I'll vote for good place to live. I don't see how anyone could really call it a hellhole. Maybe slightly overrated, but hellhole?

[thirddan]

i think it really depends wehre you live in SoCal...Some places are really nice and some are really bad...for the most part i liked it as long as you dont mind the heat/pollution...

[Broken Glass Can]

Tune in, turn on, drop out /images/graemlins/grin.gif

Can anyone say: <font color="red">A</font><font color="yellow">ci</font><font color="purple">d</font> <font color="brown">T</font><font color="green">e</font><font color="blue">s</font><font color="pink">t</font>

[ethan]

Good place to live. Whether you pick LA or SD really depends on your priorities and budget, but both can be entertaining.

That said, it has its moments of hellhole. Particularly in LA. Again, it all depends on where you live.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

I vote for hole, but I'm apparently crazy in the head for thinking so.

[JimRivett]

Prior to settling in Los Angeles 30 years ago, I had lived in London, Berlin, Brisbane and Athens. I would pick LA over all of those places.

Property values, I can remember 15/20 years ago people were saying that real estate was overpriced, I think as long as LA is a popular place to live, houses will hold their value.

Jim

[andyfox]

It's a big, spread out area: some sections qualify as hell holes, others as paradise. Housing costs are very high: the median price of a house in So. Calif. is $465,000, compared to about $185,000 nationally. Real estate prices are high right now, because low interest rates have pushed them up. So home values, or at least the increases, will subside, one would think, as interest rates creep up. But longterm, you can't go wrong.

The weather is the best in the world, including everywhere.

[Dominic]

I've lived in Los Angeles for the last 15 years...I'm originally from NJ/NYC and then Florida....

I LOVE L.A. It's got everything: culture (yes, believe it or not), mountains, beaches, it's the best city besides NY for restaurants I've ever been to, PLUS it's the poker capital of the world, with 13 poker rooms within driving distance.

Oh yeah, and it's December 2nd and I'm going to play golf this weekend.

What's not to like?

Seriously, I love NY, but there's no reason why I can't love L.A., too...and I do. I can't imagine living anywhere else.

[Ed I]

I grew up in Downey, thought it was great. Joined the service in the mid 60s and spent 3yrs on Whidbey Is Wash. Came back to LA in 71 and could not stand it. Started to refer to it as the "pit" in 74. I never have regretted leaving. I can't even tolerate going back to visit family. I fly mother to MT to visit. She hits 80 this yr so I'll probably have to visit LA some time in the future. Did I mention I can't stand to the place? I do still dream of the beach and surfing, but with 60s conditions. If somehow 30 million people left the area I would spend a few months visiting every winter.

[SomethingClever]

[ QUOTE ]
Southern California: hellhole or good place to live? I'm thinking of a move soon. I don't mind high housing costs, but only if value is retained.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you a professional online poker player? If so, go for it.

If you're looking at ANY kind of commute, it's most likely going to suck ass.

[Monkeyslacks]

[ QUOTE ]
I'll vote for good place to live. I don't see how anyone could really call it a hellhole. Maybe slightly overrated, but hellhole?

[/ QUOTE ]

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[Monkeyslacks]

So where are the good places? Where would you live if you had your choice?

[Monkeyslacks]

[ QUOTE ]
Real estate prices are high right now, because low interest rates have pushed them up. So home values, or at least the increases, will subside, one would think, as interest rates creep up. But longterm, you can't go wrong.


[/ QUOTE ]

I'm actually quite interested in residential and commercial property development. Longterm, I hope to have this form of investment be my major source of income. Would you have any thoughts on specific communities that would be attractive, keeping that goal in mind? We're really not too limited in any respect in terms of where we end up...

[Monkeyslacks]

You don't even miss the East Coast [censored] attitude?!

[Monkeyslacks]

I'll probably get a job at a firm eventually. My interests lie in real estate development and practicing for a while will help get me acquainted with the relevant local structure/situation. My interim and supplemental income will be derived from poker though.

[BettyBoopAA]

I think you'll love LA. I moved to LA in June from Boston and love it here. I've been here many times before moving. The weather is great, a little hot in the summer as I live in the valley.
Traffic is bad(I live 1.5 miles from work so it's not bad for me)
The only thing I miss from the East Coast is the food, it's much much better on the East Coast.

[andyfox]

I'm not an expert in that field, perhaps some others here can help. But right now one hot area, perhaps the hot area, believe it or not, is downtown L.A. I've just bought a loft there, as an investment, right opposite Staples Center. I paid 50% more than the previous owner paid two years ago. Soon, there will be a 60-story, 1200 room hotel, a new 7,000 seat performing arts arena, a mall for farmer's markets, parades, etc., a shoping mall, a movie complex with 4,000 seats, and ESPN's west coast broadcast studio. Magic Johnson has just bought a nearby office tower and AEG is the primary land owner (they built Staples Center) with Rick Caruso (who developed the wildly successful Grove shopping center) the developer. L.A. has never really had a downtown, but I think it is now happening. But, as I say, I'm just an interested amateur, hopefully others here will be better able to guide you.