I'm friggen out of CA!!! Really!!!

[Zeke]

Originally posted by pbs911
. . . I'm so outta here.

Don't take your LA speak with ya.

I thought you were gone a long time ago. What has kept you? You don't have to answer, I really don't need to know.

Good luck in FL. I have a B-in-law down there near Tampa. Myself, I don't think I could take the heat/humidty in the summer. Mid coast CA is heaven.

[Hugh R]

Lots of government entities require contractors to pay "prevailing wage" which I believe means that even if the employer is non-union, they have to pay union wages to their employees to get the contract. Artifical wage controls to keep the unions happy, and keep your taxes high.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Sounds about right. Around here, contractors are required to pay whatever the hell they want. It's called the find another job if you're not happy law.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by onewhippedpuppy
What's prevailing wage?

Allows non union workers to make the ususal union wage in the region. I do believe it applies to gov't funded or gov't owned work in construction. I don't think it's limited to federal jobs as we have had the effect here on municipal jobs. I don't see any federal money in these jobs, maybe state. The jobs are in our harbor area, but are not run by the fed gov't, as in the Navy. They left a while back and we are converting the base to commercial and residential.

I don't know a lot about it, whipped, but here is the gov't site if you want to:
http://davisbacon.fedworld.gov/

[onewhippedpuppy]

Thanks Milt, I was just curious. I had heard of it, just didn't know that's what it was called.

[Rick Lee]

Originally posted by onewhippedpuppy
Sounds about right. Around here, contractors are required to pay whatever the hell they want. It's called the find another job if you're not happy law.

I always lived under this law too. It's kinds hard to sympathize with the constantly picketing union folks in front of my bldg., when I'd get fired for hanging out on the street all day instead of going inside to work. Never really understood that.

[B D]

Enjoy the humidity and hurricanes! I'll stick with the cool overcast beach days and earthquakes.

[Craig 930 RS]

23.8% of transplants in the east of Seattle area (Redmond, Kirkland, Bellevue) came from California....

[Rick Lee]

Originally posted by B D
Enjoy the humidity and hurricanes! I'll stick with the cool overcast beach days and earthquakes.

If I could afford a decent house with a short commute and tolerate the gun laws, I'd be in CA in a cocaine heartbeat. But that like saying if the queen had balls, she'd be king.

[NICKG]

Originally posted by BlueSkyJaunte
I always thought NJ was the "armpit".

Never understood that as I lived right on the border of NYS, rather nice area if you don't mind suburbia.

then you lived right near me...I am and always have wanted to move to cali...I am looking real hard at it now...I hate the weather here in nj...and i am a car guy, where else is there to go that has the old car culture than southern Cali? as a bonus, I am a bigtime cycle rider(mx, atv and I have a Ducati) this has been life's crux for me for 10+ years....I really want to go, whayt is the job market like there? 17+ year auto experience parts, repair all of it

[NICKG]

Originally posted by 1967 R50/2
I know up in Sussex it gets a bit colder than down here in Morris, but I am actually liking the cold.

...it is the stinkin' hot and humid summers that I don't like! But that is another thread over on the R1100S board.

-4 when I left Franklin this morning to go to Whippany....btw

[89911]

Originally posted by 1967 R50/2
My family lives in AZ.

Sedona is not cheap. It is also overrun with astrologers and out of work actors. Roads are often packed with tourists.

However, as you say...it is beautiful. Every window has a million dollar view.

I much prefer Flagstaff to Sedona. It's a little bigger and you've got Humprey's Peak right there if you are into skiing.

Been through Sedona a few times last year. Nice scenery, but come on, how many times can you stare at some big red rocks and not get tired of looking at them? Lived at the Ocean for a few years. The last 6 months I don't think I gave it more then a few glances. There is more to picking a place to live then scenery in my book.

[Rick Lee]

I need light traffic, good job market, affordable real estate, good gun laws and warm weather. That's all.

[BlueSkyJaunte]

Sedona is beautiful, expensive as hell, and filled with fruits and nuts.

With a few loonies thrown in for good measure.

Don't know about any RE market crash here in AZ...will probably happen after the Cali RE crash. Plenty of CA refugees still pouring in on a daily basis. Not to mention a growing geezer population.

[Superman]

Originally posted by Hugh R
Lots of government entities require contractors to pay "prevailing wage" which I believe means that even if the employer is non-union, they have to pay union wages to their employees to get the contract. Artifical wage controls to keep the unions happy, and keep your taxes high.

I'd suggest doing more research before drawing conclusions.

In the absence of prevailing wage controls your construction dollars would take flight. Contractors from nearby low wage states would be happy to underbid your local contractors and import their workforce (homeless fellows not making much dough). This would help drain your public assistance coffers while also getting rid of your local jobs and wage standards.

Everyone's wages are held down if construction wages are throttled.

Ask any engineer or project manager about this one: The best way to increase the cost of a project is to use unqualified people. Trained, skilled workers making attractive union wages are FAR FAR FAR cheaper than nose pickers who make peanuts.

The list goes on. Unless you want it to seem really simple. In that case you're better off with an inaccurate assumption that protecting local wage standards is expensive.

[Dixie]

Pompano Beach Florida, here I come . . .

I used to live in S. Florida. You'll like it. It's the L.A. of the East Coast.

Okay, S. Florida really is a bit different from L.A.

• More people speak Spanish in S. Florida than LA.
• It seems more people in S. Florida speak Spanish than English.
• Practically everyone who speaks English is from New York, or New Jersey, "Where we did things better."
• There are Condo-Commandos on the roads.
• You can go 20 mile in 3.5 hours.
• There are hurricanes.
• It rains like hell for 15 minutes each and every day in the summer.
• Fleeing felons across the country like to go there before they get busted.

PS: I believe the state slogan is, "When I get old and retire, I'm moving North and driving really, really slow....

[Jims5543]

Originally posted by Capt. Carrera
I used to live in S. Florida. You'll like it. It's the L.A. of the East Coast.

Okay, S. Florida really is a bit different from L.A.

• More people speak Spanish in S. Florida than LA.
• It seems more people in S. Florida speak Spanish than English.
• Practically everyone who speaks English is from New York, or New Jersey, "Where we did things better."
• There are Condo-Commandos on the roads.
• You can go 20 mile in 3.5 hours.
• There are hurricanes.
• It rains like hell for 15 minutes each and every day in the summer.
• Fleeing felons across the country like to go there before they get busted.

PS: I believe the state slogan is, "When I get old and retire, I'm moving North and driving really, really slow....

He is right. Spanish will come in handy. Especially if you go to Miami at all. Miami Beach is not that bad though and is actually a really really cool place to go out and have fun.

The drivers suck down here. Winters are really bad because everyones grandma and grandpa is down here and they should not be using a remote control for the TV let alone driving a car.

The heavy spanish used to be reserved for Miami proper but the hispanic community has creeped up as far north as West Palm Beach and areas north of there are already noticing a huge influx of spanish speaking people as well. I was in a store in West Palm Beach this past weekend and noticed I was the ONLY one speaking english in the entire digital camera / camcorder section and there were about 50 people in my immediate vicinity.

I really need to learn to speak spanish.

[jyl]

Coming in late to this thread, as usual.

I've lived in California for a long time, but am seriously thinking about moving to the Pacific Northwest. California has become a really expensive place to live and most of the public schools are mediocre or worse which drives you to private schools.

How expensive is it? In the SF Bay Area, suppose a family has two kids in private school and wants to live a comfortably middle-class life - mortgage or rent on a nice 3-4 bedroom house, taking the kids on a couple weeks of summer vacation and some winter ski trips, some hobbies (like an old 911), etc. I know the definition of "middle-class" is quite fuzzy, and perhaps what I'm describing is more than some would call "middle-class", but to be clear I'm not talking about long trips in Europe every year and a 5,000 sq ft house stuffed with plasma TVs and new SUVs.

How much will it cost? Based on the families I know, you're talking about at least a $150K/yr income. Which means either both parents have to work, or one parent has to have a pretty good job. And those families aren't saving any money, beyond a 401k contribution.

Do other Californians see it the same way I do? Or is my sense of living costs here out of whack?

On top of this, I'm not seeing that you actually get paid significantly more here, compared to equivalent jobs in other desirable regions.

[Porsche-O-Phile]

Even with all the problems SoCal has, I can think of few places I'd rather be. Here I can get short-sleeve weather pretty much 365, ride a motorcycle 365, not worry about snow, shoveling or freezing to death if the heater dies that night. I don't worry about home heating oil prices (I could care less) or whether they're going to have enough money in the town budget this year to plow with. I don't worry about unemployment since there are plenty of good jobs here. A layoff isn't a major event, it's a momentary inconvenience for a couple of weeks and an excuse to go surfing - unlike those in the colder cities for which it'd be a traumatic event.

For those who say "it ain't my thing", fine. Good riddance. We've got too many people here anyway. Take a few dozen others with ya and I'll throw in a few illegals for free - it'll help make it even better here.

Everyplace has its good and bad, but I just think the alternative of living somewhere cold, miserable and in suburban generica pining for the days I have here (I know I would) makes a pretty lousy alternative. Yes, I hate the traffic and the overpriced housing market but I'll find solutions to those in time. If the market crashes or corrects, fine and dandy. I'll be one of the ones left standing here to take advantage of it. This is a war of attrition and if you're out, fine. More for me.

[Howard Agency]

CA is not just LA, San Diego and the Bay area. If you get out of town, the weather is still good and congestion is not a problem. Real estate prices are still somewhat higher than the south or midwest, but IMHO it's worth it for the year round golf and 'Porsche'.

People live where their job and family are. If our kids or source of income moved to xxxxx, we'd follow them there, but so far, so good.