This 81-year-old still works at Home Depot to support herself and her 90-year-old husband
Bay Area, California. And before you tell me to move to a place where I can afford a cheaper home, I don’t want to live in any of those places. I’ve lived in them and I hated them for various reasons. This is the one place in the USA where I feel absolutely at home.
One reason is jobs. People with skills in tech can’t always work full-time remote and have to come to the office at least enough to have to be able to drive there (and honestly, the best jobs are here by multiple definitions). Another is the culture. I literally feel absolutely at home here in a way that I might only experience in a few other places in the country (maybe Portland, for example, but there’s a lot of racists in that state). Another is the weather. After living in places with ultra hot summers and ultra cold winters, I don’t have any tolerance for dealing with that shit again. It’s a nice trifecta of what I want / need to live the life that I want to live.
As an aside, living here also exposes me to a ton of live music that isn’t accessible in other parts of the country. Take bands that come from oversees. Where are they almost guaranteed to play? Large coastal cities like NY, SF, LA. There are so many bands that come here that can’t make a profit playing any but the largest cities because they aren’t super popular in the states, but they can draw enough people in large urban areas to make it worth their while. Examples that I’ve seen recently (last few years): Air, Kula Shaker, Lords of Acid, Ladytron, Ott, The Presets. Good luck seeing all of them in Denver or Houston.
Bay Area, California. And before you tell me to move to a place where I can afford a cheaper home, I don’t want to live in any of those places. I’ve lived in them and I hated them for various reasons. This is the one place in the USA where I feel absolutely at home.
it’s cool but so far 4/4 people have said they live in california, it’s clear it’s expensive for a reason
One reason is jobs. People with skills in tech can’t always work full-time remote and have to come to the office at least enough to have to be able to drive there (and honestly, the best jobs are here by multiple definitions). Another is the culture. I literally feel absolutely at home here in a way that I might only experience in a few other places in the country (maybe Portland, for example, but there’s a lot of racists in that state). Another is the weather. After living in places with ultra hot summers and ultra cold winters, I don’t have any tolerance for dealing with that shit again. It’s a nice trifecta of what I want / need to live the life that I want to live.
As an aside, living here also exposes me to a ton of live music that isn’t accessible in other parts of the country. Take bands that come from oversees. Where are they almost guaranteed to play? Large coastal cities like NY, SF, LA. There are so many bands that come here that can’t make a profit playing any but the largest cities because they aren’t super popular in the states, but they can draw enough people in large urban areas to make it worth their while. Examples that I’ve seen recently (last few years): Air, Kula Shaker, Lords of Acid, Ladytron, Ott, The Presets. Good luck seeing all of them in Denver or Houston.