Another get the hell out of Cali. thread.

[mxbundy]

I was lurking around and came across the Austin Texas thread.
As many of you guys on here that know me personally, I have been disenchanted with Ca. for a few years now.I want a home on acreage and that is just not gonna happen here. I went driving way out in the country and 5 acres 20 mile from anywhere was still $400,000.00. Unbelievable!
So the whole family and I are going to Colorado Springs Co.
the whole first week of Sep. to have a look around. I have a buddy that already lives in the area so its not like we would be going to a totaly strange place and not know anybody there.In fact our original day care provider for my 2 girls moved out there 2 years ago and have adjusted quite nicely.
On the surface Co. seems to be a good compromise. It has MORE riding that Ca.More rain fall and or snow fall than Ca. and the home prices are reasonable.Low humidity,and 4 full seasons. My buddy tells me that winter in that area is not as severe as on the western facing side of the Rockies. He gets to ride up until well into Nov. and starts up again In Feb.
I can get a comparble house to the one I am in now (3 bd, 3.5 baths 2000 sq. feet 10 years old ) brand new for less than $300,000.00 and my house will sell for around $560,000.00 and I only payed $147,000.00 for it brand new.

I looked up Austin too, I found new homes there comparable to mine for under $200,000.00.

But this time I want to buy a parcel and build my own house and build a good size shop building too.

So anybody from the Colorado Springs area got any info for the bundster?


bundy

 

[GETMETOCA]

Bundy :( Not you too!!!

.Low humidity

That's the only thing that made sense ;)

 

[Okiewan]

I was there for 2 years ... (Fort Carson), but lived off post on Cheyenne Mountain Blvd.
Absolutley loved the place. Would park in Manitu Springs, ride the incline up to the top of the mountain for great backpacing nearly every weekend, year round.

There are 4 seasons and your friend is right, the winter is typically mild and dry (air). Summer's rock. I'd move back there in a heart beat. Didn't have a bike while I was in the service, can't comment on the riding.

Once you get used to the altitude, it's a perfect climate IMHO.

Good luck to ya!

 

[MrLuckey]

Dood - you can't leave, boats don't split in two very easily lol. Where did you get the info that CO has more riding than CA?

Hey - I need to talk to you this weekend, I should be down at Tony's Monday evening!

 

[mxbundy]

Give me a call brother!

bundy

 

[2-Strokes 4-ever]

I grew up in L.A.........moved to the Midwest and found a logical and affordable way to live, raise a family, and actually ENJOY life. A conservative, tight-knit, family/community will out-live "let's all be nice" (fantasy) liberalism everytime. Oops, I almost forgot,............Aaaarrr!

 

[Patman]

That's an awesome choice of places to go big man! It would be right at the top of mine as well. Just be careful the trees there are bigger ;)

 

[High Lord Gomer]

We had the Spodefest of 99 in Colorado Springs. We staged up past Divide at about 9,000ft. The decomposed granite was slippery when dry but awesome when wet.

We also rode a deent track on the lower side of town, near the airport.

 

[squeaky]

Well - I know nothing about Colorado, but wish you the best of luck! :cool:

I can understand what you're getting at though as Rooster and I are in a similar position here in Rhode Island - we can't afford to buy a house, at least not one we'd like that's in a decent neighborhood. We're looking at relocating from here evenutally to somewhere we can live well and afford our own house again - Iowa would've been fine if they actually paid their employees out there! :nod:

Good luck - I hope it all works out well for you.

 

[acesnkush]

cali is more expensive for a reason. Because its the best place to live. :)

 

[Sawblade]

Hey mxbundy, you should check out North West Arkansas. This area is growing like crazy, good weather, great people from many different cultures and a number of tracks/trails within a 2-3 hour drive.

 

[Okiewan]

North West Arkansas.

Nice area for sure.
My favorite sports car drive is there... Ft. Smith to Springdale if I recall. Insane piece of road, great scenary. It's not the 1, but....

 

[GETMETOCA]

cali is more expensive for a reason. Because its the best place to live. :)

Amen Brotha!!!! :cool: Arrrrrrrrrr!!!

 

[2-Strokes 4-ever]

cali is more expensive for a reason. Because its the best place to live. :)

Yea, when I was 18, I thought so too. (Lived there, did that) But anyway, if it's "the best place".........tell us why.

 

[tnrider]

cali is more expensive for a reason. Because its the best place to live. :)

i heard a similar thing as i was leaving college and looking around. CA is so great to live that people will pay the high prices and take a lower wage (based on cost of living). not me, i decided on tennessee - low cost of living and good wages in tech industry (although options are limited)

i spent some time in San Diego a few years ago. Every morning the radio would tell you where you could go to WATCH someone have fun (ride, run, etc...) but there were limited options for us "normal" folks.

CA is just too crowded, too many crazies (too much sun does that), too expensive, too liberal, too ...

 

[slickpuss]

Cal is definately overcrowded. And getting worse every year. But being 1-1/2 hour from either the beach, the mountains and snow resorts, big cities, lakes, country, camping is kinda nice.

I keep saying Im gonna leave this damn state. Im over taxed and the roads are crap. Many negatives. But Ive been here my whole life and if I leave I will never be able to afford coming back.

There are still cheap (well maybe not cheap, but reasonable) pieces of land, you just have to drive a horrendeous way to work each day.

 

[slickpuss]

By the way, I have a friend who left for Colorado and he loves it. He told me he will never come back.

Another friend went to Idaho and loves it also.

 

[Flygirl]

I grew up in Colorado (foothills around Golden) and eventually moved to SE Idaho. Been here 20 yrs now and couldn't imagine going back. Colorado is a wonderful place to live if you crave the hustle and bustle and like to be in the thick of things but when you want to literally get on your bike and ride out of your front yard instead of driving for hours to get to the hills, Idaho is awesome. We bought 3 acres with a house and barn for $89,000 and live only minutes from the mountains. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that even here it will continue to grow but at least it's at a slower pace and hopefully there won't be a subdivision in my backyard anytime soon :-)

 

[Sawblade]

Nice area for sure.
My favorite sports car drive is there... Ft. Smith to Springdale if I recall. Insane piece of road, great scenary. It's not the 1, but....

That would be old Hwy. 71 through the Boston Mountains. Beautiful drive if your not in a hurry. Interstate 540 now parallels Hwy 71 which makes the trip to Ft. Smith much faster, but its not the same.

Its a great area, but don't know if it is number one. Last year it was the 7th fastest growing area in the nation. It is however much better then when I lived in IL.

 

[mxbundy]

Thanks guys,

Dont get me wrong, I do have some feelings of remorse at the thought of leaving Ca.
I basically grew up here, I moved to Ca. at the ripe old age of 23 for a job with my girlfriends moms company. Bought a house,started a family ( I have 2 wonderful little girls 7 and 10 ) and after 19 years with the same awesome wife I thought I was here to stay.
Well my trade took a turn after 911 and there was a slow down, I didnt worry at first because construction is like that but when things started to come around and get busy again, all the contractors I worked for had started to poor mouth. You know,(when things were slow we had to bid these jobs cheap just to get them, blah blah blah ) and they started hireing guys and paying them hourly( 9 to 20 an hour depending on experiance, most barely speak english) when we always got payed piece work before. Now before you guys go off on me,I know 20 and hour is good pay to some people, but their is no benifits or anything. Hell I never made less than 50,000 and made close to 100,000 before 911! Plus in the Ca. economy as it stands now 50,000 wont get you very far, just to rent a small 3 bed room house my sister in law spends close to 3000 a month.But the single biggest thing is that because of health ( terrible arthritis in my knees, so bad that in a few years I may need knee replacement surgery )and age (41) I can no longer work as fast or as long( for the above reasons plus having a family that I want to spend more time with) to make the big bucks.
Just read in the paper yesterday that in Santa Barbara a combined income of 160,000 qualifys you assisted housing! The median house there is 1.2 mill.
I dont care how great this place is there is a limit to how much of my income I want to waste on just day to day living exspenes.
I could care less about beaches, I grew up in Fla. and got my fill of beaches. In Fla. I rode at my own house ( had 10 acres )
or a few minutes away was a good riding area. In fact in the time it takes me to get to Jawbone I could of went all the way across the state.
But the single thing that gets my blood to boiling is the traffic! I just can not stand wasting hours a day of my life like that, I dont have many left! LOL!
So we are going over there with an open mind and maybe we will find what we are looking for, maybe not? I dont know.I just know that as it stands now, I will never make enough here to get that house on 10 acres like I grew up on and even if I could afford it it would be so far away from everything to practical!

I think it will take an unbelievable job offer here to change my mind set.

But to all you Ca. lovers, dont get all hurt everytime someone talks about moving somewhere else, unless you guys have to reassur (?) yourselves that you are making the right scrafises for yourselves.
But lets hear your reasons for wanting to stay here so bad!


bundy

 

[RADRick]

cali is more expensive for a reason. Because its the best place to live. :)

No, it's because so many morons who live here are willing to pay $500,000 for a 50 year old fixer-upper with a tiny lot where you are less than 15 feet from your neighbor on each side. That, or $350,000 for a house with a decent lot that is only a 30+ mile, 75+ minute commute each way from a job that pays enough to barely cover the mortgage, insurance, child care and utilities it costs to live here. But don't worry, South Florida is getting just as bad. The brand new 3+2 my parents bought in Port St. Lucie for $119,000 in 2000 was just appraised at $265,000. :yikes:

 

[Okiewan]

I've got this really odd feeling coming over me... I agree with Rad. :)

There's only so much that can be said for "skiing, then swimming, then being in the desert all in one day". Frankly, I live IN my house more than I live outside and that's where my priority lies. Therefore, Cali is kinda nuts in my mind. If I'm homeless, yup, I'd be there. As it is, I have 3200 sq feet, a great pool, 3 car and a lot that while not huge, offers plenty of space (1/3 acre, I don't want more btw) and I pay less than Bundy's siste-in-law pays for her little apartment... and I "own" it. Not a 50, 100 year mortgage, a 20 year.

So yeah, Cali is great, it's just not great for everyone. It's damn sure great for folks that have owned the 3 bed, 1 bath frame house for 40 years... for the rest? Stick all the nice floors and appliances in it, it's still a little frame house. It's all about your priorities.

 

[MrLuckey]

No, it's because so many morons who live here are willing to pay $500,000 for a 50 year old fixer-upper with a tiny lot where you are less than 15 feet from your neighbor on each side. That, or $350,000 for a house with a decent lot that is only a 30+ mile, 75+ minute commute each way from a job that pays enough to barely cover the mortgage, insurance, child care and utilities it costs to live here. But don't worry, South Florida is getting just as bad. The brand new 3+2 my parents bought in Port St. Lucie for $119,000 in 2000 was just appraised at $265,000. :yikes:

LMAO - you live in OC?

Hey you pick any state and I can pick a really crappy place to buy housing or try to navigate traffic!

 

[Okiewan]

Keep fighting the good fight Edward.

 

[RADRick]

I've got this really odd feeling coming over me... I agree with Rad. :)

Don't worry, it'll pass. :laugh: