California has the worst quality of life

I know plenty of people that have achieved work-life balance in the Bay Area. I don’t know many that didn’t have to work extremely hard at some point in their career.

If you want to work 40 hour weeks, the Bay Area is not for you. But again, what is freedom? There are no employment contracts here.You can change companies at will. Some of the perks are outrageous. And you usually get some ownership of the company.

I will take that proposition any day over a 40 hour workweek based on a contract negotiated on my behalf by some union.

BTW I thought this was about “confiscatory government”, not working 16 hours a day. Instead of being so vague, why don’t you explain what you meany confiscatory government. I’m getting tired of you acting Ike you are some all knowing oracle. Please explain.

This makes sense. I’ve built a house from the ground up here so I understand the frustration you bring up.

The other benefits of living here far outweigh government inefficiency for me but I can respect someone who actually walks the walk and leaves the area based on that.

This.
CA has become a place where you go to “do your time.” As soon as you’ve “grabbed that cash with both hands and made a stash” as the old Pink Floyd song goes you bail to some place where you can actually enjoy it. It’s a freedom issue but also a social issue. Here if I want to chat with my mechanic (in town, 10 minutes away) about my vehicle when I come to pick it up I can. The last time I tried to do that in CA, at Woodside Auto, the fellow, with apologies said he had to leave. It was 3:30. He needed to get home to his family - in Los Banos. Interesting places are characterized by people from all walks of life. That’s rapidly vanishing in the Bay Area. The economics are less of an issue. With Prop 13 and a steeply progressive tax code the cost of living isn’t what’s driving people out. It’s the quality of life.

The beginning of the end.
https://krcrtv.com/news/local/california-could-lose-seat-in-congress-and-electoral-college

I am a very ordinary man ( me no Oracle) .

As far as my coworker working 16 hours or more a day at little salary is between my boss and the coworker. It is a private contact between the two and it is fine with me so long as they both agree to it.

About confiscatory actions:

Let me give you an example of confiscatory action by state of California. The state just passed a law forcing all UBER drivers to be classified as employee, not contractor. The real reason why it was done is to enable 7 Billion dollars of taxation that independent contractors could deduct and save. Now I will let you decide whether this is a good or bad or confiscatory or not. As I see it is a private contract between UBER and drivers and state should stay out. All Uber is doing is matching riders with drivers. I do not see how an employee relation is created. But the state is corrupt and has power for now to do whatever it wants, howsoever against the fundamentals of freedom to private activity.

I can list a lot more of such things that point to a declining state. In terminal phase, Yes. because state has lost its focus. The state is desperate and I can see it even if you cannot. Sorry!!

Actually, I will suggest someone to start a thread where we post all the confiscatory action by take by state, municipal, and its local agencies in California.

This is one place where I am not sure.

Are many people in Bay area feeling like a bird in a golden cage where they are fed thrice a day and allowed to sing all day long but miss something in their life?

Californians are like fish in a pond, so happy that there are plenty of food :slight_smile: and lot of freedom.

I did not understand. Is it a good thing to be a fish in pond or a bad thing?

Fishes like @manch think is a good thing.

Some other cities are happier in general, of course; in 2018, Austin found that 75 percent of residents were happy with the city overall.

:crazy_face:

Successful people feel happy. :blush:

If you are not being successful here, maybe you should move to some place where you can be.

I thought bay area was land of opportunity and home of successful people !

Are majority of bay area residents unsuccessful?

Land of opportunity means just that, it offers you plenty of opportunities. Ask the folks here.

You still need to grab the opportunities on offer.

But if your idea of success is kicking back on the beach, sorry, you have come to the wrong place.

Different places for different people and different life styles. That’s a judgement-free statement. We enjoy it here. You apparently don’t. Which one of us has problem?

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You suggested asking folks here.
Haven’t been the surveys quoted above generated after asking the folks living in Bay Area? Or have they (surveyors) oversampled unsuccessful people by certain factor?

If they are unhappy, then they should move to somewhere else where they can achieve their own criteria of success. Why is it so hard to understand? Life is short. Make yourself happy.

Why try to convince others California is rotten? On balance I and many others like it here. Whether someone likes a place is specific to someone’s circumstances.

Unhappy people should leave, for their own sake.

Your standard answer is “move somewhere”. And it is a good answer. But, apparently many bay area residents do not buy that and seem to believe is that there is more than one way to skin the cat. I may be wrong though.

That’s laughable. If anyone is serious about wealth, then they’d start a tech company. Everything else is pretending to care about being wealthy. Even founders don’t need to live in SV anymore. Non-founders have even less reason to live in SV. Non-tech people can live anywhere and build wealth and many other places have less taxes and regulations on them.

After they founded and sold their companies?

They don’t need to live in SV to be a founder. Although SV has proven superior at generating bubble level private valuations.

Only the founders, others are slaves that help founders and investors make money. Investors don’t have to stay in BA, can stay wherever they want.

Heard of Saverin?

a

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