This is the same BS I've been hearing for 20 - 30 years. One morning when it
is 30 below there, you will turn on your TV, see us playing on the beach,
and feel sorry for yourself.  You also have high humidity in the summer and
mosquitoes the size of F-18s. You will need to invest in artic clothing and
snow shovels. Nothing like shoveling snow in below zero weather. Check back
in 10 years. Houses will still be climbing in value.

Sabu

"Ex Californian" <ex_californian@mail2world.com> wrote in message
news:a52b6200.0404121351.182220ef@posting.google.com...
> Many years ago, I moved to Redwood City, CA in the Bay Area to take a
> job as a Sys Admin. With great weather and being on the Pacific Coast,
> CA seemed like a paradise. But just as I was about to try to buy a
> house, the dot-com bubble hit and drove prices to absurb levels. And
> traffic and congestion continued to worsen to LA levels. When the
> dot-com bubble finally burst and with the economy in the tank, I
> figured that Bay Area real estate prices would start falling down and
> maybe house prices would become more reasonable but astonishingly, it
> has not and even continues to climb!
>
> So I looked into finding a job and moving down to SD thinking cost of
> living and housing prices might be more "reasonable" (at least by CA
> standards) but to my shock, SD housing market and prices are
> approaching Bay Area levels! And traffic and congestion likewise
> approaches LA levels as well.
>
> The half-million dollar (and up!) prices for decent 3br/2ba homes are
> simply ridiculous. Now I make (barely) enough to afford a $500K home
> but anyone thinking of buying a home at this time and at these prices
> is a SUCKER. These prices are obviously unsustainable and SUCKERS
> buying houses in the Bay Area or SD ,(or most of CA for that matter)
> are gonna be left holding the bag as their mortgages will quickly do
> UPSIDE DOWN in a matter of years. Even if home prices don't collapse,
> paying half one's income for housing is absurd!
>
> CA is over-populated, getting more polluted, and way way over-priced.
> And now that I am married and wanting to start a family here and
> wanting to own my own house, I'd be a SUCKER if I stayed. So just a
> week ago, I packed up and moved to beautiful and lovely Minneapolis,
> Minnesota to take a job there and bought a lovely huge 5br/2ba house
> right next to the woods, with a huge lot for a mere $310K in a great
> community with great schools, great scenary, etc etc. I shudder to
> think what an equivalent home in CA would cost, millions???
>
> And I could have easily bought homes in the $200K range if I wanted to
> live in a "lesser" area or a "lesser" house like a "regular" home
> equivalent to what you'd pay $600K in the Bay Area!
>
> To my CA brethen (well I guess former brethen), if you:
> 1. Currently own one of those little shacks worth $500K-$600K, sell
> and move NOW before the real estate bust hits. Think sell ENRON before
> it goes under. Let some other SUCKER buy it!
> 2. Are thinking of buying one of those little $500K and up homes,
> THINK AGAIN! Don't be a SUCKER! For $500K, you could use $350K to buy,
> LITERALLY A MANSION right next to woods and lakes and near work right
> here in Minnesota and have $150K to spare!
>
> A happy ex-Californian and current Minnesotan