I know I am going to get trashed for this by some.... I was thinking about everyone w/ seriously badass rides... I noticed that so many of them were from california... I thought abuot it and I reasoned my way through it... MONEY... California has a much higher cost of living than anywhere else in the US... This is why I say California sucks... Californians make mor emoney than I do... It takes me six months to save up to lower my car... There, it takes a little sacrifice.... Mine takes a little sacrifice too, but for a long time... If I had more money to blow, then I wouldnt see car parts as being so expensive.... Secondly... Its a growing trend in california, almost like a cultural thing.... Here, its a subculture... Nothing more.... Just thought I would share my thoughts... Anyone else?

 

it takes sacrifices anywhere no matter what you wanna do to your ride. and its up to the indivdual on how fast they want to get there. it seems like we make more than you cuz our cost of living. if that goes up, so does our wages. it evens out in every state i believe. i could be wrong

 

welcome to economics...

but they do have to pay higher taxes, energy costs, and housing.

what sucks is having a high wage here and you find out it's the low wage out there.




[Modified by del_parker, 5:54 PM 2/25/2003]

 

you have no idea, man. you wanna know how people afford **** out here, sir? credit cards, insane debt, and mommy's bankroll. anyone that works for their own, will tell you, it takes a long, long time. you're argument makes no sense; we have (per capita) the highest cost of living in CA, and the wages, in most occupations, are no where near proportional. it is one of the reasons why most califonian's live at or BELOW the povety index.

if you want write a socioeconomic dissertation, you should do some more field research, adn get your facts in order. people here that have to work two, maybe three, jobs just to tread water. there is no comparisons to your struggle to save up for car parts, and their struggle for survival. we're paying $2.19 + per gallon for 91 octane. easily over $1000 for rent, on average, for a two bedroom APARTMENT, etc. how much are you paying? and, to boot, we're carrying the burdon of your heating oil costs, by getting gouged on gasoline prices. enrgy costs? remember the fiasco surrounding the deregulation of energy we had here? my utility bill double, then trippled within 3 months, and then continued at that inflated rate for nearly a year before i, as a single student, could qualify for a rate cap; which now, with the advent of a equalizing of cost, has lead me to overpay for the last 6 months; which will need to be petitioned against, and that's only to get back the money i overpaid, it says nothing for th gross overpayments i made when the energy companies decided (and were allowed to) charge whatever they want for kwa's!

ps- this DOES NOT belong in this forum.


[Modified by bb6h22a, 2:56 PM 2/25/2003]


[Modified by bb6h22a, 2:58 PM 2/25/2003]

 

Ya, it does and you are right... I was j/k with the post.... The thing is thta you dont see $300 as 2 weeks work as I do... You see it as 1 weeks work or less... See what I mean?

 

this is not correct. inflation and cost of living (namely housing) has been growing at a much higher rate than has the wage index.

 

As of recently I will definently have ot agree with that... I cnat imagine what it is doing to CALI... We have not been hit thta bad I guess.... We are doing really good in that aspect here.... Mainly gas is the only thing thats changing fast... We are paying 1.50 a gallon.... LOL.. We have a GA tax that goes w/ our tags so we pay less gas taxes.... But $100-1k tags are not cheap either... I think its dumb in a sense... Because we dont get money form travelers, but oh well...

 

I like California..i have never been there but I would like to go someday..I know that the cost of living there is tremendous..come on look at those gorgeous houses..but I never knew that there was so much more to it...well besides me knowing about the engergy "crisis" if you can call it that..I think youre just jealous that you cant have some of the things that other people in Cali have..**** Im jealous of this kid with a turbo eclipse..just because of the fact that his daddy paid for his turbo...wish my parents were like that...they would probally but I do not dare ask..its not right in my opinion..what if people in NY or FL or wherever have some sick *** rides which they do..they probally just dont post their pics up to avoid getting their car stolen...so then you would blame NY too??? Im not gonna lie...i get a little jealous when I see other cars that are off the hook..mostly 5th gens..which there are few...i get a little jealous....its human nature to be jealous sometimes...just take it as a sign to work harder to reach for what you really want

 

Not everyone in Cali makes the $$$. Most people are middle class and struggle in Silicon Valley (Bay Area) to get anywhere. It's not like everyone here is upper middle or wealthy. Tax is 8.25%, real estate is way too high ($400k+ for a small single family home), premium gas (91octane) at chevron last week $2.33, food costs are inflated, etc...

IMO, most of the younger generation struggle like anyone else to mod their rides as they are in school and only work part time. It took me 2 years to mod my car the way it is right now and I'm not done with everything due to costs.

Cali also has very strict protocols on SMOG, so it's not like we can do anything to the engine. If we don't pass the smog check, we do not get a registration. If you drive around with no reg, it's best not to get pulled over by our friends in blue.

 

How much do You guys Make, I say im 19 but I am only 20 days away , Im only 18 and I make 1800-2k A month. What kinda wages you make? I thought I was getting screwed.