Considering moving to Cali - what do I need to know?

[guyver01]

meh it borders the midwest and the states are similar in composition
plus the eastern part of colorado is still considered the midwest, according to wiki at least

No.. wiki comprehension fail.

Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Rocky Mountain region of the United States of America. It may also be considered to be part of the Western and Southwestern regions of the United States. In rare cases eastern Colorado is considered part of the Midwestern United States.

i wouldn't consider "rare cases" to mean it is..

 

[Craig234]

I currently reside in Maryland and I'm tired of the winters; bored with the DC/VA/MD region - a friend of mine will probably join up and we're gonna try moving to Cali except we have no idea where to actually live but we'll be researching and will try moving at the end of this year.

I'm looking to go job hunting ( I currently work in IT; web development ) and I might consider a telecommuting gig, I know there are lots of opportunities in my industry.

Would appreciate any general tips, or let me know if you need more information on my background.

EDIT: If you don't recommend Cali, what state would you recommend? Preferably a warm one please.

I do recommend CA - good pick. Pick the area carefully. People who prefer other states neglect to say that even if you wanted to 'settle', CA has 'settle' areas to, inland with great weather and low prices.

Can you tour some areas of CA?

San Diego is expensive but a nice area. LA is a big sprawl with a lot of suburbua you want to pick carefully. The Bay Area is one of the best places in the county to live IMO, with a variety of choices as well, from very urban to 'diverse' (check Oakland which has great and bad areas) to little gems here and there to suburban and more. It tends to vary from liberal to apolitical. Inland tends to be more like red-wing states - low prices and the culture. Plenty of tea parties. Then there are nature place - google Mendocino, or central coast, or forests...

 

[ecom]

i got a check one week after I filed.. no IOU.
CA rules. don't listen to the haters.

You cannot get CCHL unless you have lots of money or you are an anti-gun politician. Good enough reason not to come here.

If someone invades your home, did you know you cannot shoot to kill to defend yourself?

Know who else supports gun control? Criminals. They will have guns regardless and by disarming the public, they can be sure their victims cannot defend themselves.

See someone in danger? Want to be a good samaritan and help them? If you are in California you are better off standing back or walking away. Otherwise you can and will find yourself in the losing end of a civil trial.

 

[Craig234]

You cannot get CCHL unless you have lots of money or you are an anti-gun politician. Good enough reason not to come here.

You sound right - for you that you don't belong here.

If someone invades your home, did you know you cannot shoot to kill to defend yourself?

See someone in danger? Want to be a good samaritan and help them? If you are in California you are better off standing back or walking away. Otherwise you can and will find yourself in the losing end of a civil trial.

You're parroting misinformation, probably from fellow gun nuts.

 

[guyver01]

If someone invades your home, did you know you cannot shoot to kill to defend yourself?

Not true.

California has a Castle Doctrine in place:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Doctrine_in_the_United_States

California California Penal Code § 198.5 sets forth that unlawful, forcible entry into one's residence by someone not a member of the household creates the presumption that the resident held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily injury should he or she use deadly force against the intruder. This would make the homicide justifiable under CPC § 197. CALCRIM 506 gives the instruction, "A defendant is not required to retreat. He or she is entitled to stand his or her ground and defend himself or herself and, if reasonably necessary, to pursue an assailant until the danger ... has passed. This is so even if safety could have been achieved by retreating." However, it also states that "[People v. Ceballos] specifically held that burglaries which 'do not reasonably create a fear of great bodily harm' are not sufficient 'cause for exaction of human life.'” The court held that because a "trap-gun" was used, the doctrine did not apply.

 

[ecom]

You sound right - for you that you don't belong here.



You're parroting misinformation, probably from fellow gun nuts.

You can match force with force only. If the intruder is not carrying a firearm you are not supposed to shoot them.

There was a case in CA about a year ago where a good samaritan was successfully sued in a civil trial for rescuing someone from a burning car. After this, a state law was passed allowing this.

 

[ecom]

Not true.

California has a Castle Doctrine in place:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castle_Doctrine_in_the_United_States

California California Penal Code § 198.5 sets forth that unlawful, forcible entry into one's residence by someone not a member of the household creates the presumption that the resident held a reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily injury should he or she use deadly force against the intruder. This would make the homicide justifiable under CPC § 197. CALCRIM 506 gives the instruction, "A defendant is not required to retreat. He or she is entitled to stand his or her ground and defend himself or herself and, if reasonably necessary, to pursue an assailant until the danger ... has passed. This is so even if safety could have been achieved by retreating." However, it also states that "[People v. Ceballos] specifically held that burglaries which 'do not reasonably create a fear of great bodily harm' are not sufficient 'cause for exaction of human life.'” The court held that because a "trap-gun" was used, the doctrine did not apply.

The guy was found criminally liable for killing someone invading his home...

 

[zerocool84]

Best weather in the country, hottest chicks, best foods, beaches year round, many theme parks, tons of bars, great city life, practically everything is in driving distance, always something to do, and the list can go on.

There are negatives but the positives far outweight the negatives. Most of these people saying it's bad live in places like Colorado.

 

[Billb2]

No one's mentioned the people.

 

[idiotekniQues]

everybody i know that moved to northern cali never left.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I've lived here a year, have lived in the Dakotas/Midwest/Texas all my life...

CA is in some deep shit financially and it's citizens are in for a shock.

Cons:

Expensive as hell, add 25% to everything you buy now
Homeless population is insane, lots of them and all over the place
Traffic, Jesus Tapdancing Christ there's traffic
Taxes, they're going up
Gangs there's a lot of them

Pro

Weather is awesome
Geographic features are killer
There's more than a little bit of culture here
People are pretty mellow and tolerant

 

[JulesMaximus]

I fricken love it here. Can't imagine living anywhere else quite frankly.

The state definitely needs to get its spending under control though.

 

[Pliablemoose]

I fricken love it here. Can't imagine living anywhere else quite frankly.

The state definitely needs to get its spending under control though.

I think the state is in a vicious cycle, middle class folk are moving to save money, as they move, the tax base goes down, as the tax base goes down, they have to raise taxes and squeeze the middle class harder, more tax payers move out...

 

[Red Dawn]

I think the state is in a vicious cycle, middle class folk are moving to save money, as they move, the tax base goes down, as the tax base goes down, they have to raise taxes and squeeze the middle class harder, more tax payers move out...

Ca now pales in comparison to what it was in the 70's and 80's. The Tech Boom was it's downfall.

 

[Craig234]

No one's mentioned the people.

I did a little, but it's very diverse, probably the most in the country.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I think the state is in a vicious cycle, middle class folk are moving to save money, as they move, the tax base goes down, as the tax base goes down, they have to raise taxes and squeeze the middle class harder, more tax payers move out...

I'm not moving, nor are any of my friends. Most of them have lived here their entire life though. I've been here for 20 years now myself and my wife is a native Californian.

We are all firmly middle class or upper middle class.

We'll get through this. These things are cyclical and people will always want to live in California.

 

[drinkmorejava]

I'm moving out to Lancaster/Palmdale for at least a year in July. Everything mentioned in this thread is what has made me a little apprehensive, but since I'm there anyway, I might as well give it a try.

 

[alphatarget1]

EDIT: If you don't recommend Cali, what state would you recommend? Preferably a warm one please.

I wouldn't move unless I have a job offer.

Austin, TX >> CA.

TX = no state income tax, low cost of living.
CA = high state income tax, sales tax, cost of living.

What do you enjoy, OP? I mean things like recreation and stuff...

 

[Damn Dirty Ape]

State tax is high.
Sales tax, depending on location, is usually 8-10%.
Public school system is falling apart.
Exorbitant real estate prices.
Proposition 13 good for old farts, bad for the new generation or people moving into the state.
Lots of entitlement programs.
Massive budget shortfalls.
Taxes will go up or public programs will get chopped (education) or both.

In this state, it's good to be either really rich (in which case, you make too much money to give a damn) or really poor. The middle class gets squeezed.

sounds like 85%% of those things can be applied to any state in the union, lol

 

[JS80]

Try Austin.

 

[Ns1]

I fricken love it here. Can't imagine living anywhere else quite frankly.

The state definitely needs to get its spending under control though.

this

 

[ChaoZ]

The pro and cons really depend on what city you choose to live in. The general con for CA is the high sales taxes.

The place where I really want to move to is Portland. The air quality there is fucking amazing, but public transportation sucks balls.

 

[Ns1]

The pro and cons really depend on what city you choose to live in. The general con for CA is the high sales taxes.

The place where I really want to move to is Portland. The air quality there is fucking amazing, but public transportation sucks balls.

0 sales tax = awesome
rain 90% of the time = not so awesome


Home to one of my favorite airports though.

 

[Drako]

The pro and cons really depend on what city you choose to live in. The general con for CA is the high sales taxes.

State Income tax near highest in the nation.
State gasoline/diesel taxes the highest in the nation.
Sales tax the highest in the nation.
Business taxes near highest in the nation.
Regulation is out of control, forcing small businesses away.
Incompetent government – will be out of money again by April this year.
The list goes on.

My wife and I have lived here for 26 years, but are seriously thinking about moving to more family and business and friendly state.

 

[soydios]

All good things cost money.