Is it silly to want to work in California? Forum

[lisjjen]

You know why I'm asking.

I know it's bad, but how bad is bad. I'm trying to make a decision between working in Texas or working in California. I know Texas is booming and Cali is shrivelling, but I've had a love affair with SoCal since I was a boy. The responsible thing to do would be to suck it up and go to UT. What I want to do is just go to USC and be done with it.

I liken it to the year 1800. Texas is the 13 colonies and California is Britain. One is rough around the edges but with exploding potential, while the other is refined but broken. [I know the analogy is imperfect. I'm a history major]

[MrPapagiorgio]

I can't see picking USC over UT ITE (acronym overload ). If you can deal with the culture and climate of Texas, I would definitely go there (job climate will be much more fruitful in Texas). If we were talking Boalt, then fine. But USC? Notsomuch.

[mr_toad]

I would also be interested in this. Have no Cali ties (maximum would be LS there), which I think is similar to OP's boat.

[drdolittle]

You know why I'm asking.

I know it's bad, but how bad is bad. I'm trying to make a decision between working in Texas or working in California. I know Texas is booming and Cali is shrivelling, but I've had a love affair with SoCal since I was a boy. The responsible thing to do would be to suck it up and go to UT. What I want to do is just go to USC and be done with it.

I liken it to the year 1800. Texas is the 13 colonies and California is Britain. One is rough around the edges but with exploding potential, while the other is refined but broken. [I know the analogy is imperfect. I'm a history major]

Why not go to school and work in TX first, gain experience, and save a bunch on COL while living in an awesome city like Austin, then move to CA? I just talked to a senior associate at a recruiting fair who did just that. Went to UT.

[lisjjen]

I would also be interested in this. Have no Cali ties (maximum would be LS there), which I think is similar to OP's boat.

I have a lot of Cali ties.

[mr_toad]

And OP, in 1800 they weren't called "colonies" anymore. But the "around 1800" saves you, this time. Friendly poke from one history major to another.

And jealous of your Cali ties.

[tallboone]

Texas sucks in a lot of ways:

http://www.dallasnews.com/health/headli ... f-3542.ece
--LinkRemoved--
http://www.businessinsider.com/texas-st ... sis-2011-1
http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/

[lisjjen]

Texas sucks in a lot of ways:

http://www.dallasnews.com/health/headli ... f-3542.ece
--LinkRemoved--
http://www.businessinsider.com/texas-st ... sis-2011-1
http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/

I didn't say it's what I wanted to do. I said it's what was responsible.

[tallboone]

I tried pm'ing you but it isn't working. you should go to michigan, unless you got better than half ride to USC/UT. Even then, you should go to Michigan. The economy is looking a lot better this year, and it will be even better your 2L fall.

[santoinettea]

Unfortunately, Texas is as much in the toilet deficit-wise as California. They just don't talk about it openly.

I am also a little hesitant to stay in California, but if this is the state you love, perhaps riding it out will be worth it. (That's what I think I'll end up doing). Many states are facing as many problems as California--Illinois also, for example. Sad reality, the entire US is in trouble...

...Life would have been better if we went to law school 20 years ago haha.

[jeremysen]

You are right in that TX>>CA ITE. Going UT seems like a solid choice.

[FlanAl]

there is always so much hate for usc on these boards but according to this:
http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNL ... hbxlogin=1

they seem to do alright for themselves in terms of placement

[Curry]

Sigh. So much fail in the above posts.

OP, if you want to work in Socal, UCLA/USC have the market cornered. If you want to work in Texas, UT owns that market. If you want to work in NYC/Chic/DC, UT is your best bet (assuming you didn't get into Mich. I haven't checked your profile). If you got into michigan, which is what seems like it happened based on previous posts ITT, going to UT if you want to work in Cali is stupid. Michigan places well in SoCal so you need to figure out how much money you have at USC and determine if thats worth losing Michigan over. That being said, you'll be hard pressed to find people here who would take USC at sticker ITE. If you have any doubt at all about working in Socal, go to mich.

[lisjjen]

Sigh. So much fail in the above posts.

OP, if you want to work in Socal, UCLA/USC have the market cornered. If you want to work in Texas, UT owns that market. If you want to work in NYC/Chic/DC, UT is your best bet (assuming you didn't get into Mich. I haven't checked your profile). If you got into michigan, which is what seems like it happened based on previous posts ITT, going to UT if you want to work in Cali is stupid. Michigan places well in SoCal so you need to figure out how much money you have at USC and determine if thats worth losing Michigan over. That being said, you'll be hard pressed to find people here who would take USC at sticker ITE. If you have any doubt at all about working in Socal, go to mich.

Sorry to go off topic but I have to. Your TLS box is SUPER IRONIC if you know British history in the late 20th Century.

[ksimon2007]

Unfortunately, Texas is as much in the toilet deficit-wise as California. They just don't talk about it openly.

I am also a little hesitant to stay in California, but if this is the state you love, perhaps riding it out will be worth it. (That's what I think I'll end up doing). Many states are facing as many problems as California--Illinois also, for example. Sad reality, the entire US is in trouble...

...Life would have been better if we went to law school 20 years ago haha.

Just plain untrue. Texas's economy has done fairly well during the recession. California is worthy of being sold to the highest bidder.

[ksimon2007]

Texas sucks in a lot of ways:

http://www.dallasnews.com/health/headli ... f-3542.ece
--LinkRemoved--
http://www.businessinsider.com/texas-st ... sis-2011-1
http://bushlibrary.tamu.edu/

You hate America.

[20160810]

I've never understood why people think things like "Well, the state's bond rating just got downgraded by Moody's, so even though all my friends and family are there and I grew up there, maybe I'll go to Texas or New York instead."

I was born in CA, I grew up in CA, I went to college and law school in CA, and I never for a moment seriously considered working anywhere else. I'd have preferred to not get a firm job than to move across the country from all of my friends and family.

[Curry]

I've never understood why people think things like "Well, the state's bond rating just got downgraded by Moody's, so even though all my friends and family are there and I grew up there, maybe I'll go to Texas or New York instead."

People are stupid and don't know what they want so they put their friends and families on the backburner for the chance at a "better life." Of course this better life doesn't exist, or even if it does, its only marginally better but they'll never admit it because the information that caused the move was "solid."

[20160810]

I've never understood why people think things like "Well, the state's bond rating just got downgraded by Moody's, so even though all my friends and family are there and I grew up there, maybe I'll go to Texas or New York instead."

People are stupid and don't know what they want so they put their friends and families on the backburner for the chance at a "better life." Of course this better life doesn't exist, or even if it does, its only marginally better but they'll never admit it because the information that caused the move was "solid."

The only thing worse than working 80-hour weeks at a law firm is doing so in a city you don't know surrounded by strangers and 3,000 miles from the people you love. TLSers have weird priorities.

[Curry]

I've never understood why people think things like "Well, the state's bond rating just got downgraded by Moody's, so even though all my friends and family are there and I grew up there, maybe I'll go to Texas or New York instead."

People are stupid and don't know what they want so they put their friends and families on the backburner for the chance at a "better life." Of course this better life doesn't exist, or even if it does, its only marginally better but they'll never admit it because the information that caused the move was "solid."

The only thing worse than working 80-hour weeks at a law firm is doing so in a city you don't know surrounded by strangers and 3,000 miles from the people you love. TLSers have weird priorities.

I agree. Idk why they'd do that outside of some romanticized view of a place far away from home.

[20160810]

$160,000 - taxes - loan payments - big city COL (esp. NYC or DC) is still a fair amount of money, but it's not even CLOSE to enough to get me to leave sweet, sweet CA behind.

[Curry]

$160,000 - taxes - loan payments - big city COL (esp. NYC or DC) is still a fair amount of money, but it's not even CLOSE to enough to get me to leave sweet, sweet CA behind.

This state needs people like you here anyways. I'll spare everyone my rant about how horrible California is, but the only reason I make such rant is because I love the state so much. We just need smart, educated people to make a concerted effort to get the state back on track. ..

[20160810]

$160,000 - taxes - loan payments - big city COL (esp. NYC or DC) is still a fair amount of money, but it's not even CLOSE to enough to get me to leave sweet, sweet CA behind.

This state needs people like you here anyways. I'll spare everyone my rant about how horrible California is, but the only reason I make such rant is because I love the state so much. We just need smart, educated people to make a concerted effort to get the state back on track. ..

Dood Jerry's getting it done. He's standing up to the unions and the grandstanding right-wingers who want to pretend like they're going to cut everything. Fiscally moderate Dems ftw.

/Lounge BS

[Curry]

$160,000 - taxes - loan payments - big city COL (esp. NYC or DC) is still a fair amount of money, but it's not even CLOSE to enough to get me to leave sweet, sweet CA behind.

This state needs people like you here anyways. I'll spare everyone my rant about how horrible California is, but the only reason I make such rant is because I love the state so much. We just need smart, educated people to make a concerted effort to get the state back on track. ..

Dood Jerry's getting it done. He's standing up to the unions and the grandstanding right-wingers who want to pretend like they're going to cut everything. Fiscally moderate Dems ftw.

/Lounge BS

I lol'd hard.

[ScrabbleChamp]

This is coming from a native Californian that has a wife and kids, so realize this is coming from that prespective:

No, it is not silly to want to work in CA, but it would be silly to do so. Even on a $160k year salary, there is no way I'd be able to afford to live in CA (or, at least parts of CA I'd want to live in). In the SF Bay Area, if you want to buy ah house somewhere you won't get shot (see: Oakland, Richmond), you are going to pony up in excess of $1 mil. Doing all the math, if you put down 20% to avoid PMI (which, of course requires having $200k liquid), your mortgage payment is going to be near $6k/month when you include property taxes and the like. And, your $160k/year, after federal and state taxes, is going to be closer to $106k, or $8900 a month, and that is assuming you pay nothing at all for medical/dental/401k, etc... On top of that, if you have any debt (CC, student loans, whatever), that $8900 a month keeps going down drastically. Even if you have no debt, you'd not be able to afford a nice home in a nice neighborhood, as your income to payment ratio would be way too high. And, don't forget the state and/or county sales tax on pretty much everything you buy, as well. I know for Los Altos, the current county tax rate is 9.25%, which is a joke.

In summary, if you have no problem making $160k (if you can even get a job that pays that much) a year, living like you are a freshman in college, and don't have nor want a family in the distant future, sure, CA might work out. Or, if you want to live in Fresno, Bakersfield, Modesto, Stockton, you'll probably be fine. However, if you want to live in a "major" city, you can pull it off, but that $160k in CA won't get you nearly as far as a lower salary in a lot of other markets.