Think SoCal Living is Wornderful? Ponder this.

This topic has 22 replies, 9 voices, and was last updated 9 years, 2 months ago by Jumpmasterute.

Viewing 7 reply threads

Author

Posts
- 10/08/2015 at 4:16 PM #4501
  
  Anonymous
  Inactive
  
  Good friend of mine has 8 season tix in the area of the 35 to 40 yard line for USC. He mentioned the donation just to get the seats was $12K a year. He graciously hosts my brother and I when Utah plays at USC and we reciprocate for USA @ Utah, hosted talegate meals included at both venues.
  
  I was curious and texted him to see whether he was going to game tonight. Answer was no way in hell would he go near that traffic mess. Plus school is in session so there will be no parking on campus, which is where much of the parking is for games at the Coliseum. I suggested maybe park downtown and take the light rail and he said yeah with 40,000 other people. I assume he just sold the seats on Stub Hub.
  
  So while the weather is great here in SoCal, we do have 23 million people just in the Southern California area and it’s most dense in that LA area. The traffic is horrible. I live in OC and my commute to the office is just 16 miles. Last night it took me 1.5 hours to get home. I looked at my wife and asked if she wanted to split a bottle of wine. She said sure. I mellowed out and watched Football in 60 ASU vs UCLA, then ESPN previews of the games this weekend.
- 10/08/2015 at 8:18 PM #4556
  
  Puget Ute
  Participant
  
  Yup. Looked like only 10k people were in the stands at the start of the game.
  
  My uncle had a ~20 mile commute into Long Beach, and it would take him between 45 min (at 3:30 am) and 2 hrs (afternoons). The place is nice and the weather is comfortable, but the crowds are oppressive.
  
  I left 20+ years ago when there were 10M fewer people than live there now. After living on the East coast and now in Seattle, I am shocked at how brown LA seems to me. I will always have a special place in my heart for Southern California, but I am happy to live elsewhere now.
- 10/08/2015 at 8:27 PM #4557
  
  Tony (admin)
  Keymaster
  
  I love to visit but I wouldn’t want to live there. No doubt.
- 10/08/2015 at 8:42 PM #4559
  
  GadValleyUte
  Participant
  
  I have long insisted that life is too short not to live in Southern California, but that far too many people have figured this out and therefore I can’t follow through because I hate crowds and traffic and people. Don’t mind visiting though.
- 10/08/2015 at 9:57 PM #4579
  
  Utemachine
  Participant
  
  I was born and raised in socal. I visit once a year to see my family and then I can’t wait to get the hell out.
- 10/09/2015 at 9:45 AM #4620
  oc_ute
  Participant
  i’ve been in south OC bout 8 years. it’s a very distant 2nd best place to live from SLC. i wonder what happens when 23M people run out of water? ever seen thirsty cows before? not pretty
  
  edit…. my communte is 13 miles in 20 minutes. all in south OC. i rarely even get on the freeway. can’t bitch about my commute
  - This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by oc_ute.
  - 10/09/2015 at 11:29 AM #4641
    
    Anonymous
    Inactive
    
    OCUte, the 5 fwy in South OC is miserable. On a summer weekend it takes 3 hours to get from Fullerton down to Carlsbad to visit the mother-in-law (93 and we’re dealing with elderly care issues). Your little 13 mile 20 minute commute is great, if you want to stay in that cocoon. That can produce a very boxed in feeling. Then when you try to escape, you get to experience the full reality of SoCal traffic and it sucks.
    
    When we go to Big Bear, we either need to leave by 1:00 PM on a Friday, or you just wait to leave after 8:00 PM. Otherwise, it’s traffic hell.
    - 10/09/2015 at 12:09 PM #4646
      oc_ute
      Participant
      
      WestSlope, i’ve definitely seen the traffic. 5 south on friday afternoon is ridiculous. i can honestly say i’ve very rarely had to deal with 405 or 5 during rush hour. and i know to never ever ever try 91 during rush hour. we drive to SLC 2-3 times a year and always plan around 91 during rush hour. lately when coming home on a straight thru drive, we’ve stayed on 15 and exited on ortega hiway 74 (lake elsinore area) and gone up and over on ortega hiway into south OC. i live a football throw from ortega hiway so it works ok for me.
      
      and yeah, i feel a little boxed in but i have no desire to go anywhere other than stone brewery in escondido or karl strauss in SD : ) we are going to a chargers game this year. i really just wish there was more to do in the mountains. big bear doesn’t do it for me (skiing). have taken the 5 hour trek to mammoth but that gets old. i miss walking out my door and being at alta in 20 minutes or bear lake (utah) in 2 hours !! wish i could get back. can’t find a decent job and at 56, there’s a little age discrimination in play too….. i’ll prob be here til 62.
      
      edit… and jeezus whiz what i’d give to see a lightning / thunder storm !
      
      This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by oc_ute.
      
      This reply was modified 9 years, 2 months ago by oc_ute.
      - 10/09/2015 at 1:05 PM #4657
        
        Puget Ute
        Participant
        
        I was down there for a wedding in June 2011. The wedding was in Huntington Beach, the reception was at Cota de Caza CC, and we were staying in Mission Viejo. This was a few days after the start of Carmageddon. What a friggin nightmare. Once we were in the area it was pretty easy to move around on the surface streets. But it would have taken us many hours to drive to LA so we stayed close by. And of course the beaches were packed wall to wall with people.
      - 10/09/2015 at 1:26 PM #4659
        
        Anonymous
        Inactive
        
        oc_ute, I learned to ski at Big Bear when I was 4 or 5. I fine tuned my skills to a pretty good level at Alta and Snowbird. Now my wife has a bad back and I basically don’t ski anymore. Big Bear is for hiking, fishing, relaxing.
        
        I like the San Diego area, but it has its traffic issues too.
        
        However, nothing comes close to the West Side of LA. That is a complete disaster. I took a job that was in Century City, commuting from Fullerton. The job paid major money, but the shop was a mess and ultimately failed. I hated every minute of it. My commute was 2 1/2 hours in and 1 1/2 hours home, if I waited to leave after 7:00 PM. If I tried to leave right after 5:00 PM, it was 1/2 hour just to get out of the freaking parking structure. I swear if I had a guy in my car, I would have used it on myself. It was bad.
        
        I really am fed up with the traffic. I’ve built a nice Net Worth and once we’re done with the elderly care issues, we’re leaving California for someplace near Missoula, MT.
        
        10/09/2015 at 4:10 PM #4691
        
        Puget Ute
        Participant
        
        Missoula/Flathead Lake area is very nice. I also love Bend, OR.
        
        10/09/2015 at 10:48 PM #4709
        
        Anonymous
        Inactive
        
        My wife and I fell in love with this property on our trip after the Michigan game:
        
        Ranches For Sale
        
        My Fullerton home would trade straight across in value, but I’m not ready to sell. Have to stick around while we’ve got elderly care issues.
        
        10/10/2015 at 6:48 AM #4712
        
        Jumpmasterute
        Participant
        
        Buy it now and I’ll be the caretaker until you decide to move up there. 🙂
        
        10/10/2015 at 9:50 AM #4725
        
        Anonymous
        Inactive
        
        It’s got a guest house. It rents to fisherman during season and the revenues more than cover property taxes. Probably would need a caretaker for winter months.
        
        10/10/2015 at 12:19 PM #4739
        
        Jumpmasterute
        Participant
        
        I left Alaska cause of the winter months. That place you’re looking at is beautiful.
- 10/09/2015 at 11:50 AM #4642
  
  leftyjace
  Participant
  
  The only thing good about the LA area is the climate. THE. ONLY. THING.
  
  San Diego, on the other hand, is awesome.
  - 10/09/2015 at 12:11 PM #4647
    
    oc_ute
    Participant
    
    LA county is a schtick hole period.
  - 10/09/2015 at 1:28 PM #4660
    
    Anonymous
    Inactive
    
    As I say about California: The Climate is unmatched. The problem is that 39 million other people figured that out. I’ll let them pay for all the deferred infrastructure costs and unfunded pension liabilities. I will exit.
    - 10/09/2015 at 1:39 PM #4661
      
      oc_ute
      Participant
      
      newsflash. there’s another water main break in ______
- 10/09/2015 at 9:36 PM #4704
  
  palos_verdes_ute
  Participant
  
  i have a love/hate with LA. the sports scene is lacking; UCLA/USC fans are a little different from Ute fans. i fly fish in salt water because that’s all we have. people are obnoxious and the traffic is horrendous. public transportation is for weirdos.
  
  but i can’t live in Utah either.
  - 10/09/2015 at 10:35 PM #4707
    
    Anonymous
    Inactive
    
    I too fly fish saltwater, though been on a hiatus due to a remodel of the Big Bear home and work I’m doing on my saltwater boat (Conch 27 Walkaround Cuddy w/ diesel power). I have a lean post bench seat being modified to fit over a new bait tank this week. Desperate to get out and troll up some wahoo and blue marlin. Have saltwater fly gear from 7wt on up to 15wt. Would like to get some yellows on fly gear while they’re around and still on the surface.
    - 10/10/2015 at 10:39 AM #4729
      
      Puget Ute
      Participant
      
      THat sounds like a lot of fun. THe fishing up here in Seattle is mostly salmon and halibut. Great fish to catch and eat, but a completely different experience.
      
      After Mike LEach was fired at TT he moved to Key West and went fishing for two years, while still on salary. That would be the life.
      
      This stupid laptop keyboard is driving me crazy
      - 10/10/2015 at 11:12 AM #4733
        
        Anonymous
        Inactive
        
        Fishing has been a big part of my life, but I could not do it 100% of the time. There would have to be some balance like revisiting skiing, taking up cross country skiing, hiking, hunting, etc.
Author

Posts

Viewing 7 reply threads

You must be logged in to reply to this topic.