I am sure New Zealand is one of the best countries in the world and has some amazing cities but there is a drawback much like Oz. It is a long way to travel to from anywhere such as North America or Europe. Houses may be relatively cheap but I imagine Porsches are expensive?!

Yes I am being geocentric too. Coolest place to have a Porsche year round? California, the UK and Europe and not necessarily in that order. Affordability? Likely California.

I thing its the other way around. Many people seem to siht on CA for whatever reason. I think we are just defending what this state has to offer and not bragging about it. Many people I talked to really dislike this place (high cost of living, crowded) and in a heart beat, they would go home, but there's no well paying jobs so they are stuck. I got talking to a guy in Tucson few months back, he side work is really slow and most people work the hotel or food service there and are just scraping by. Other then that, retirement is great, if you have the money and live up the hills. He's a retired engineer with Honeywell.

If this is such a sihtty place, why are there so many people from other parts of the country here clogging up our fwys and taking our jobs? Great for real estate, that's for sure.

Oui, we did not really enjoy the 15 hrs flight (from Vancouver) in cattle class...

Oui, me Too...

If I win the tax free $50,000,000 MAX Lotto, I will be happy to pay California taxes, because 30 days shy of retiring I just got enough of our weather...

You got it, the only Americans that would know about Ottawa are Foreing Affair student/worker and Hockey fans (a few from NY) :D:D:D

It is really hard to generalize what people feel and say, but do not assume I think California is a bad place to live. I can not and will not argue for people who do think it is.
But I really find it hard why you or any body would feel the need to defend your state, the people need defending yes, but not the state. I think it is pretty obvious to any one who has ever been there or who has every watched a few movies, will have a good idea what California has to offer.
Yes, some people dump on California, but for example in threads here on Pelican forums, any time some one mentions the snow in their state and they are just getting their car out, you will get Californians bragging about their weather. And that does promote the knee jerk retaliation post, which is stupid but I think the first dumb comment was from the Californian.
So, no I think I have the order right. Californians are pretty annoying on average and not pleasant to be around and they have kept me from wanting to live in such a great state as California.
I also really do not understand the people you have met who live and work in California and do not consider where they live home. Those type of people live every where, even outside of California. I know, amazing, but I believe it to be a true fact. Californians are really not unique in that way.
I also do not know the point you were trying to make about the guy you met scarping by in Tucson, there are people scrapping by all over the world, including California and Tucson AZ. Another amazing but true fact. and also not unique to people in Tucson.
Sometimes people make trade offs in life like the two people you mentioned, which is kind of obvious and normal, but did not answer any questions here for me about why feelings about California is so polarized.

Fickle, the attack and defense banter is all part of the PPOT experience. When a thread starts about a West Coast (or Oklahoma nowadays) earthquake, lots of guys on the East coast chime in that they didn't feel a thing. I did it, too, when I lived in the D.C. Metro area. It's all in good fun. Not everyone keeps it light hearted, which might be why vash was prompted to start this thread. Though I'm just guessing about that.

http://www.jim3dlong.com/its_the_cheese-l400.jpeg

I am sure the Boyz in CA are not going to mind the $0.30 a gallon bump in fuel taxes that Govenator Moonbeam just signed into law along with the extra $50 a year on car registration. Maybe it will help alleviate some of that traffic congestion in the state. Let us just call it the price you would willingly pay to live in a socialist utopian paradise.

Tabs, it is the price that Californians must pay to keep me in the lifestyle of which I am accustomed. I regret that I no longer live in CA so I am unable to "contribute" my "fair share."

Whats another few bucks when filling up the ole gas tank???

Or a few more bucks to register these exotic Pelican sports cars? :D

I like it here for both work and play. I can work at the forefront of technology in the Silicon Valley. Live in a nice safe suburban setting with kids going to school around the corner. I can play local mountain biking, swimming, enjoying a vivid downtown and wineries. Or within reasonable distance go diving at the north coast, hunting in the mountains, skiing int he snow etc. etc. It is a pretty good combination.

Yes, it is crowded. But if you go places that aren't - there usually aren't any jobs, everything that isn't bolted down is stolen and you can chose from 3 restaurants: Chili's, Applebees and Sizzlers.

Retirement will likely be in the outskirts of the Bay Area. I can't see myself live in Arizona etc.

G

Look to what Detroit did with the civil service pensions. U better be saving a chunk cause CA sooner or later will renig.

Not exactly true. LV has the amenities you describe as far as things to do go. This so far is a matter of opinion but the probability is that the shyte will hit the fan.

You also describe NC, but it's a balancing act imo. Pros and cons to everywhere....me, I don't like crowded areas nor a commute that's over 30 min each way.

But we sure do talk funny :)

My wife and I are both CA natives. We both find all the hyperbole about the state, mostly from non-natives, amusing. It's just a place. With good and bad. Some of the good is spectacular, and some of the bad is pretty awful.
For an interesting perspective of the beginnings of the myth watch the movie "The Wrecking Crew".

12 cent bump.

it was already 18 cents per gallon for state excise tax, in November it will be a total of 30 cents for state.
Plus federal excise tax, plus state sales tax.

And it's closer to $100 per year bump in registration fees for most cars.

My 7 year old F-150 costs about $500 a year to register, it'll go up to almost $600.

And as soon as I retire, me and my money will say goodbye to this state.

That is insane. My 2017 F150 is $449 in Montana and I thought that was high.

CA registration seems to have really gone thru the roof in the past 10 years or so. I had both CA and MT tags on my 993 and Ferrari and they were roughly the same for each state back in 2006.

I just used the CA online DMV fee estimator and it estimated that my new truck would be $316 for the first year in CA. Not sure why yours is so high, unless you spent $100K on it.

My wife's 2016 Honda CR-V is $280/yr to register.

My truck doesn't still cost $500 to register, that was a mistake.

as previously posted by me on 04-10-2017, 04:47 PM: