Affordable California Living?? - Beyond Tiki

H Hanalei_Pirate Member Joined: May 15, 2003 Posts: 136	H Hanalei_Pirate Posted posted on Mon, Aug 11, 2003 6:13 PM On 2003-08-11 14:11, Monkeyman wrote: Hanalei Pirate, I ask the same questions over and over again.... Many years ago a household had ONE income. Now you have double incomes... what is next. Each adult has 2 jobs? Send your kids to work in a factory? Invite your inlaws to move in with you and split living expenses? The number of new cars I see on the road is staggering. Now take it a step further and see how many cars on the road cost $40,000 and up and it is crazy..... This thread seemingly started out as a simple request for information but it unlocks a long a deep discussion about some very basic difficulties that many of us face. I hear ya, Monkeyman - the idea about your in-laws moving in is not far off from the truth - If you look at ethnic minority households - that is how they do it - the Armenian guy next door has added on and on to his place to house more of his relatives - the Hispanic folks downtown Glendale have bunkered in with 3 or 4 incomes to manage it. If you are from a culture that values the nuclear family (i.e., my mom and dad kicked me out when I was 18 and they aren't going to let me and my husband move home just because we can't afford a house!) well, you can see who is going to inherit the housing stock into the future - those with extended family situations or those who are making 6 figure incomes. I was lucky my parents coughed up some money or I'd never be able to afford the house we are in. (and I still complain - what an ingrate I am, heh?) Bong bought during the big dip - many who bought before him were in a panic mode and bought in the late 80s - then they had to sit on their houses til like 1996 when the housing market might have climbed back up to where it was when they initially bought. Many people took seconds on mortgages - all those people who couldn't hold on to their homes went into foreclosure. They are probably today's renters that drive the BMWs today - can't afford a house so might as well drive a nice car. We were wanting to buy over a year ago but my parents were on board (financially helping us) at that time so we lost a chance to make nearly $100K in appreciation that has occurred in the last year or so - normally I'd say we are like the people who bought in 1989 just before the market crashed - but as I mentioned earlier - So. Calif. is a unique situation and I don't think because of heavy immigration/population growth that prices will ever plummet (unless we have a debacle). My husband doesn't think we will be retiring here in Calif. either - how will we afford it? If we sell the house in 10 years we would only be able to buy another house in So. Calif. just as expensive as the one we left - to retire you gotta sell and take the money and run to a cheaper state - and live off that money (we don't not have much invested in stock market) I am not looking forward to that day. I would love to stay here too.

On 2003-08-11 14:11, Monkeyman wrote:
Hanalei Pirate,

I ask the same questions over and over again.... Many years ago a household had ONE income. Now you have double incomes... what is next. Each adult has 2 jobs? Send your kids to work in a factory? Invite your inlaws to move in with you and split living expenses? The number of new cars I see on the road is staggering. Now take it a step further and see how many cars on the road cost $40,000 and up and it is crazy..... This thread seemingly started out as a simple request for information but it unlocks a long a deep discussion about some very basic difficulties that many of us face.

I hear ya, Monkeyman - the idea about your in-laws moving in is not far off from the truth - If you look at ethnic minority households - that is how they do it - the Armenian guy next door has added on and on to his place to house more of his relatives - the Hispanic folks downtown Glendale have bunkered in with 3 or 4 incomes to manage it. If you are from a culture that values the nuclear family (i.e., my mom and dad kicked me out when I was 18 and they aren't going to let me and my husband move home just because we can't afford a house!) well, you can see who is going to inherit the housing stock into the future - those with extended family situations or those who are making 6 figure incomes. I was lucky my parents coughed up some money or I'd never be able to afford the house we are in. (and I still complain - what an ingrate I am, heh?) Bong bought during the big dip - many who bought before him were in a panic mode and bought in the late 80s - then they had to sit on their houses til like 1996 when the housing market might have climbed back up to where it was when they initially bought. Many people took seconds on mortgages - all those people who couldn't hold on to their homes went into foreclosure. They are probably today's renters that drive the BMWs today - can't afford a house so might as well drive a nice car. We were wanting to buy over a year ago but my parents were on board (financially helping us) at that time so we lost a chance to make nearly $100K in appreciation that has occurred in the last year or so - normally I'd say we are like the people who bought in 1989 just before the market crashed - but as I mentioned earlier - So. Calif. is a unique situation and I don't think because of heavy immigration/population growth that prices will ever plummet (unless we have a debacle). My husband doesn't think we will be retiring here in Calif. either - how will we afford it? If we sell the house in 10 years we would only be able to buy another house in So. Calif. just as expensive as the one we left - to retire you gotta sell and take the money and run to a cheaper state - and live off that money (we don't not have much invested in stock market) I am not looking forward to that day. I would love to stay here too.

Post #47400 by Hanalei_Pirate on Mon, Aug 11, 2003 6:13 PM