Californians!

[kcollins at type53.net (Kevin Collins)]

Chris wrote:

> I know that there are one or two of you out there...

And some who have fled!

> I am looking at the map and looking at commutes and such and I looked
> at prices in Alameda... yea right! So...  Anyone familiar with Tracy
> California?  It is close to I-5 and seems to be an easy commute to
> Sacramento or SF.

Tracy is WAY out in the middle of bumfuck egypt.  People are actually 
commuting from there to The City and other places in the bay area. 
Absolute insanity IMHO.  You can probably get a "bargain" house for 
$400-$500k out in Tracy (1600 sf, no pool, small yard).  If you'd have 
told anyone 20 years ago that Tracy would be that expensive someday, 
they'd have laughed their ass off at you.  And the commute to just about 
anywhere would be absolutely brutal.

I was exiled to Phoenix almost 2 years ago now from SoCal (I'm 
originally from the bay area) and it's the best thing that ever happened 
to me (financially).  California is fine if you've owned a home for 15 
years, or are independently wealthy - but for the average working stiff, 
the cost of housing is just too completely out of control.

-- 
Kevin Collins
Chandler, AZ
'86.5 16v 2.0
'04 Golf R32