Median home price only $820,000 and only a 2 hr commute to San Fran. Good luck!

You get a house outside of Santa Cruz for much less than that. My buddy lives out there as an ESL teacher, and he owns a nice place.

How big do I need the house to be, when it's just my wife and I in our 60's?

If you are retired, then there is no daily commute, other than to the local pot dispensary, and maybe the beach or golf course. Do better.

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Good people drink good beer - Hunter S. Thompson

<º)))><

Waiting for the time when I can finally say
That this has all been wonderful, but now I'm on my way

Cheapest you can buy a single family home is for like $450K. It will be a shithole in a place no one wants to live.

That's California.

Worrying about home prices is overrated anyways especially when you are retired. California is much more likely to keep those values than a place that literally may be under water(Florida) or literally may be without water(Arizona).

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I have family in Lake Elsinore...40 minutes from Laguna Beach...about the same from Anaheim. An hour 15 from San Diego. Not crazy expensive.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

Lake Elsinore is not 40 Minutes from Laguna. Its separated by a mountain range. People there might as well live in Arizona or Nevada. The shortest route, The Ortega Highway, is usually a massive traffic jam.

yea California has no water issues

Home prices in California will be more likely to hold their value, but not because of water (because they have none), but because of the investment from Asian countries in the housing market.

Doesn't mean throwing down $600K on a house is a good idea when you retire.

All I need to know about California is that a couple I know just married a year with a newborn bought a 3 bedroom townhouse. I assume it would go for 175-190K in Palos Hills. They paid 375K. That is in Reseda not the greatest place in the LA area. On tope of that it seems normal for LA folks to have to pay 300-400 per month HOA fees but that includes water.

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Elections have consequences.

No shit, there's a freeway running through the yard!

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They are in much better shape than Arizona. Also, with the money they have, the ocean becomes an option.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I was just there 2 weeks ago. I can assure you it is. I promise. I drove Ortega every day for 6 days straight.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

They are as rich as Illinois!

http://www.usdebtclock.org/state-debt-c ... clock.html

and an on-ramp comin' through my bedroom

I've come to appreciate California and why people live there. It is truly a beautiful state with a nice climate.

The comments about home prices are spot on. The place is expensive beyond belief. There is a severe crunch in the entire San Fran (Silicon valley) area. The WSJ just showed that San Jose has the highest median home prices in the country at over $1M. All of the folks in my industry that live in San Fran talk about their terrible commutes and extremely expensive homes.

I'll be in LA next week, which is my least favorite part of the state. They're doing a decent job on redeveloping the downtown area.....

Edit: link to article:

http://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2016/08/ ... 1-million/

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Tech ruined San Francisco by enticing their rockstar programmers to live in the city while reverse-commuting to Santa Clara, Palo Alto, etc. Now the city is a theme park.

I got to meet someone this summer who was actually born and raised in San Francisco. Hates what's happened.

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Not sure you could ruin San Fran for me. I guess if you hate gentrification, then you might not like it.

I view these things two ways- You can decline like Detroit, Cleveland, or St Louis. Or you can improve and redevelop your city like Denver and San Fran, among others.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

yea, I guess if you avoid the whole LA area like the plague California can be doable.

San Fran is ok I guess, but I'm not interested in any big cities if we're talking retirement.

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Also, in terms of retirement. You don't need a big place. Buy a condo in San Diego with two bedrooms and live a low maintenance life while waiting to die.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Downtown LA's my favorite part of LA. Love those old hotels with their in-house dive bars.

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https://www.yelp.com/biz/back-door-pub-los-angeles-2

in this Milner hotel,

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Hotel_Revie ... ornia.html

which used to be a leona helmsley property. I liked how Helmsley put her name on all of her hotels and, even after she was vilified as evil, said "fuck it, name stays on em all" til after she died.

When I heard about the Elisa Lam thing at one of the other downtown LA hotels. Didn't surprise at all that she was able to gain roof access. We were out in LA for Giant Village NYE one year and the crackhead who ran the thing canceled it last minute.

So we ended up taking a boom box up to the roof of the Milner, which directly overlooks the Staples Center and downtown LA, and having a small party up there til well after dawn.

$400K plus HOA. No A/C. No parking.

As far as CA goes Monterey is the place for me.

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Elections have consequences.

I would have to say the best places in California are either Tiajuana or Fresno

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From what I hear of San Francisco, the city literally stinks of human waste. Not a little, but noticeably so.

I like it more than Napa, quite stunning. But I enjoyed the wine tastings in both areas.

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Hawaii (fuck) You

Buy a window unit.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Bump.

We might be making a trip there. What are some good places to go or fun things to do with kids? Phoenix/Sedona areas. TIA to Big Brane for his question and bigfan answers. Much more sincere TIA for actual ideas and help.

All of Florida is not bad. The area I am in is decent.The Atlantic coast is Disney tourist shithole then you go south to Miami and it is just Chicago lite.
The upper ampa zone is nice and peaceful. Not expensive , about the only real downside is lack of decent pizza but I am looking. Pot wise it looks like medical will pass this election and it will be like Cali ,my doc already got me set up.

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When I am stuck and need to figure something out I always remember the Immortal words of Socrates when he said:"I just drank what?"