For those of you who live in California, could you please tell me why you do?
My sister lives in Los Angeles and I would really like to move out there. That said, I fear that the high taxes, high regulations, and high cost of living will drive me crazy!
So… why do you live in California? Is it just because your family lives there? Do the 300 days of sunshine each year trump all the negatives? Have you been able to structure your taxes in such a way as to minimize California’s high tax rates?
I live here, but I’ve lived here pretty much all my life. I love not just that it’s almost always sunny, but that the temperature is pretty moderate (at least where I have lived). I’ve lived in Berkeley, Sacramento (a suburb actually), Santa Barbara, Camarillo, Pleasanton (parents currently live there), and San Luis Obispo (where I go to school).
Honestly I think the biggest thing for me is that California is my home and all my friends and family are here. Most of my work experience comes from informal tutoring, an internship, and working for my Dad at a pizza place throughout high school (I wasn’t paid, but I got a lot of perks needless to say). So I’ve largely been able to avoid the taxes. Sales tax sucks, but that’s everywhere and I’m used to it I guess.
I don’t currently live there, but I was born and raised in Los Angeles. It isn’t just the sunshine, but also the incredible natural beauty (you can surf and ski in the same day - very few other places, if any, offer that kind of experience), all of the different cultures, the food, the entertainment etc. I’m in Tennessee in school, but I would like to go back. There is a reason so many people live there.
Also, there may be no more beautiful a drive on earth than taking PCH all the way up the coast.
Agreed on the weather. You really have no idea until you’ve experienced it. It does make up for a lot (especially if you’ve lived in other climates). As far as taxes go, yes, it sucks…in fact government all round sucks. But there are way to structure so that you aren’t hit so bad.
I actually recently finished this book, written by my CPA. Honestly I recommend it to everyone. And I mean that. He knows his stuff. He’s a CPA as well as an attorney, so his area of specialty is tax and legal planning, but he’s also an accomplished real estate investor and businessman.
The nature of the book is almost like a 4 Hour WorkWeek for beginners…and by that I mean people who might be so set in their current life of job, spouse, kids, mortgage, 2 weeks vacation/yr, and 401k+social security, etc, that something like Tim Ferriss might be too much for them to grasp right away.
While Ferriss does keep that demographic in mind, and he does teach tactics for guys in that very situation, there is still an element of stigma that needs to be hurdled, and Tim didn’t have a lot of room to tackle that in his book.
This one is totally geared for the crowd some like to call the 4-40s…40 hours/wk, for 40 years, at 40k/yr, for a $40 gold watch at retirement. He helps overcome those obstacles that plague a lot of people by making it practical and applicable to their situation. He shows how a transition to entrepreneurship can be made, and offers some invaluable advice on tax planning and asset protection along the way. Seriously, read this one.
If you follow that first link you can get a physical copy, a pdf, and an audio for $20.
California is great. I’ve lived in Los Angeles my entire life. I just graduated from UCLA with a degree in molecular, cell, and developmental biology and I’m working on campus now. People are fleeing the state like crazy, roads are horrible, housing is way too expensive because of stupid zoning laws, and no business wants to come here, but I love the climate and my family lives here. Would I leave if my family wasn’t here? Probably. The economic opportunity out here is pretty grim.