6 Free Financial Modeling Lessons...and More.

Enter your e-mail below to get our new Free Modeling Tutorials ($200+ Value).

< previous | next >

Is California Too Good?
 

Tommy Too-toned's picture
(Gorilla, 505
 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 11:31am

Top-down and sun-soaked, we hit highway 1 - the butterflies are stirring. They always are. It's Malibu to San Fran, girls in the back, and deep-down, we know we're beating the world - no one's living better than us.

A week later I'm back on the East Coast. It's nothing to cry about - the city's got its usual swagger - but it has me thinking, are they really living better than us on the West Coast? The girls, the food, the sun - it's hard not to get lost in nostalgia.

But is life too easy? There's a certain charm about catching an early morning subway from Brooklyn to mid-town, coffee in-hand. The nights in East Village. The chicken and waffles.

Does anyone in finance regret moving to California? Beyond all its beauty, do the people seem unmotivated and a bit too chilled to take seriously?

And do you find your priorities have shifted from traditional consulting and finance jobs to all-things entrepreneurial?

...so close to that one-way right now

Tags:
neilol's picture

Cant hear you from that far

IB
(Orangutan, 251
 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 12:09pm

Cant hear you from that far out on the L

bankerella's picture

Tommy Too-toned: Top-down and

IB
(King Kong, 1,863
 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 12:10pm
Tommy Too-toned:

Top-down and sun-soaked, we hit highway 1 - the butterflies are stirring. They always are. It's Malibu to San Fran, girls in the back, and deep-down, we know we're beating the world - no one's living better than us.

A week later I'm back on the East Coast. It's nothing to cry about - the city's got its usual swagger - but it has me thinking, are they really living better than us on the West Coast? The girls, the food, the sun - it's hard not to get lost in nostalgia.

But is life too easy? There's a certain charm about catching an early morning subway from Brooklyn to mid-town, coffee in-hand. The nights in East Village. The chicken and waffles.

Does anyone in finance regret moving to California? Beyond all its beauty, do the people seem unmotivated and a bit too chilled to take seriously?

And do you find your priorities have shifted from traditional consulting and finance jobs to all-things entrepreneurial?

...so close to that one-way right now

Take the dive, man. The water is warm and the sky is blue.

Fuck the early morning subway; let's talk about that early morning drive down into the valley from a glass-walled retreat in the Santa Clara mountains, top down. Or on two wheels if that's your bag.

Let's talk about 70 degrees every fucking day. Except January, then you're looking at more like 60.

Chicken and waffles? Sure. But do you know what they do with salt and pork in San Francisco these days? Or better, ever tasted an ice-cold briny oyster plucked out of the Pacific no more than two hours previously? The beautiful beer. The wine. And, of course, the most vibrant distillation culture in the country.

But most importantly, anybody who is anybody wears jeans. Outside of sales and certain types of client services, nothing says "I have no fucking clue what I'm doing" more than showing up to a meeting in an expensive suit and tie.

However, you'd better land a sweet gig before you hop on the plane. Rent is equivalent to Manhattan, and yes, you really do need a car.

See my other WSO blog posts

Blalock's picture

wat a dum questin,

(Monkey, 53
 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 12:17pm

wat a dum questin, nooooooooooooooooo no no NO. u r a invetment banker, ur job is to be most prestigus as possible at all times, and new york ciety is way more prestigus than california. more prestigus = more world power = ilumenati = models bottels

do U think bankers in california get models bottels ? HA no. they get trailer homes and no prestege or world power

Cookies With Milken's picture

Blalock: wat a dum questin,

O
(Gorilla, 541
 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 12:29pm
Blalock:

wat a dum questin, nooooooooooooooooo no no NO. u r a invetment banker, ur job is to be most prestigus as possible at all times, and new york ciety is way more prestigus than california. more prestigus = more world power = ilumenati = models bottels

do U think bankers in california get models bottels ? HA no. they get trailer homes and no prestege or world power

I respect the troll.

+1 SB

seabird's picture

Everyone should spend some

PE
(King Kong, 1,476
 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 12:30pm

Everyone should spend some time in California, but remember to leave before they get too soft.

“...all truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident.”

- Schopenhauer

dogboo's picture

Yup. Plus the most beautiful

 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 12:41pm

Yup. Plus the most beautiful women in the world are in SoCal. Im not tallking fake like LA either, head down to La Jolla or Laguna Beach or Newport Beach.

Best Mexi food in the US, best weather hands down, no humidity.

Cookies With Milken's picture

I have a soft spot for cali

O
(Gorilla, 541
 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 12:56pm

I have a soft spot for cali girls. Always have. Born and raised on east coast but there is something about their care free attitude that drives me nuts. Also, perpetual beach season = babes always in shape.

West Coast rainmaker's picture

The weather in CA can't be

ER
(Neanderthal, 2,072
 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 1:59pm

The weather in CA can't be beat. I don't even care about the beach. SF is fine. Just give me warm weather, no snow, and low humidity.

Professionally, I have become more reluctant to move back due to the state's economic future. The nearly unparalleled fiscal dysfunction makes me wary. I'm not sure what effect that will eventually have on financial services...banks would have little reason to be there if they eventually kill the golden goose that is Silicon Valley.

idrankmalk's picture

i'll probably be moving out

(Monkey, 44
 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 2:02pm

i'll probably be moving out there after i finish school.

from what i hear, the lifestyle does seem better although the douchiness in and around LA can be unbearable.

I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed.

SF_Reg's picture

Made the move from NY to SF.

 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 2:34pm

Made the move from NY to SF. Enjoying every minute of it

Nobama88's picture

California definitely has its

RE
(King Kong, 1,676
 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 2:48pm

California definitely has its perks, but let me give you a couple cons of California from what I have seen:

You won't be 'cruising' anywhere, you will be sitting in a parking lot for an hour while making the 5 mile commute to your office and back home. Traffic has gotten substantially worse in the last decade. We keep building up, but never widen any of our streets.

Douche bag trust fund babies. Everywhere. You will see plenty of 20 somethings driving in $70K+ cars, and you will eventually find out they are virtually all trust fund babies and dont work.

California's fiscal situation - 3 bankrupt cities in the last 3 months. LA is looking to be bankrupt next year. Highest taxes in the good ole USA. Expect 50% of your income to go toward taxes if you are a high earner. And taxes will continue to rise on the top earners. There is virtually zero resistance to anything the Democratic legislation puts out there.

Consistently ranked as the worst state to do business in.

35% of the nation's people living on welfare live in California.

Worst public school systems in the USA. Your kids WILL be going to a private school. Expect to dish out a couple thousand for grade school and $15K a year+ for private high school.

Unsustainable housing prices. Average West LA income is like $60K. Average West LA home price is ~$700K. The fuck?

Cities giving amnesty to illegals will continue to not help our fiscal situation and public school system. I went to an attraction in the city last weekend with some friends, literally no one spoke English. And I don't mean they were just talking to one another and using English with others. They really just didn't know the language at all. I dont mean that as a racist comment. I think it just tells you where the state is headed. There is some serious trouble ahead due to a very large, uneducated workforce.

$500 Billion in unfunded pension liabilities. Workers taking upwards of 2 different pensions and another job before they reach the age of 65. $20B deficit. Yet, we approved a $65BN train to nowhere last month. No one gives a flying fuck though that we are fiscally headed toward distater. We are more focused on if the reason why JC Penny moved its store out of a Latino area was because they were racist or not (true story).

In the end though, you can't buy weather. That is the ultimate reason why people flock here. If there were season changes, there would be zero reason to live here.

Need to Land a Job? Click Here.

gordo's picture

cali is where its at bro. the

IB
(Baboon, 148
 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 2:45pm

cali is where its at bro. the girls are on a whole new level

My WSO Blog

R0bin's picture

Chi-town is still the best.

(Orangutan, 292
 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 4:45pm

Chi-town is still the best. White trash from Indiana + Hipster Culture in Chicago = Ultimate Sluts

Baby you're the perfect shape, baby you're the perfect weight. Treat me like my birthday, I want it this way and I want it that way. It makes a man feel good baby.

帝都大蜜's picture

No way Chicago chicks can

(Baboon, 104
 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 7:32pm

No way Chicago chicks can compare to LA chicks. Not on the same level. Also, don't hate on trust fund babies simply because you are not one of them.

"I already know I'm going to Hell. So, at this point it's go big or go home"

gstackle32's picture

Nobama88: California

O
(Gorilla, 500
 
Points)
 on 7/31/12 at 9:39pm
Nobama88:

California definitely has its perks, but let me give you a couple cons of California from what I have seen:

You won't be 'cruising' anywhere, you will be sitting in a parking lot for an hour while making the 5 mile commute to your office and back home. Traffic has gotten substantially worse in the last decade. We keep building up, but never widen any of our streets.

Douche bag trust fund babies. Everywhere. You will see plenty of 20 somethings driving in $70K+ cars, and you will eventually find out they are virtually all trust fund babies and dont work.

California's fiscal situation - 3 bankrupt cities in the last 3 months. LA is looking to be bankrupt next year. Highest taxes in the good ole USA. Expect 50% of your income to go toward taxes if you are a high earner. And taxes will continue to rise on the top earners. There is virtually zero resistance to anything the Democratic legislation puts out there.

Consistently ranked as the worst state to do business in.

35% of the nation's people living on welfare live in California.

Worst public school systems in the USA. Your kids WILL be going to a private school. Expect to dish out a couple thousand for grade school and $15K a year+ for private high school.

Unsustainable housing prices. Average West LA income is like $60K. Average West LA home price is ~$700K. The fuck?

Cities giving amnesty to illegals will continue to not help our fiscal situation and public school system. I went to an attraction in the city last weekend with some friends, literally no one spoke English. And I don't mean they were just talking to one another and using English with others. They really just didn't know the language at all. I dont mean that as a racist comment. I think it just tells you where the state is headed. There is some serious trouble ahead due to a very large, uneducated workforce.

$500 Billion in unfunded pension liabilities. Workers taking upwards of 2 different pensions and another job before they reach the age of 65. $20B deficit. Yet, we approved a $65BN train to nowhere last month. No one gives a flying fuck though that we are fiscally headed toward distater. We are more focused on if the reason why JC Penny moved its store out of a Latino area was because they were racist or not (true story).

In the end though, you can't buy weather. That is the ultimate reason why people flock here. If there were season changes, there would be zero reason to live here.

This this this this

3176401's picture

Fuck SoCal, South Florida is

 
Points)
 on 8/1/12 at 9:38am
_bird_'s picture

I moved to socal from the

(Monkey, 64
 
Points)
 on 8/1/12 at 11:51am
Nobama88's picture

_bird_: I moved to socal from

RE
(King Kong, 1,676
 
Points)
 on 8/1/12 at 12:07pm

Need to Land a Job? Click Here.

ImGonnaFundYouSoHard's picture

Anybody who has lived in Cali

IB
 
Points)
 on 8/16/12 at 10:54am
comeonmac's picture

Live in New York City once,

O
(Monkey, 37
 
Points)
 on 9/30/12 at 6:57pm
GS's picture

What was that saying... If

ST
 
Points)
 on 9/30/12 at 7:21pm
mindovermonkeys's picture

To be honest I've never

(Chimp, 1
 
Points)
 on 9/30/12 at 11:03pm
idkmybffjill's picture

mindovermonkeys: Best parts

(Monkey, 34
 
Points)
 on 10/5/12 at 1:22pm
West Coast rainmaker's picture

idkmybffjill: mindovermonke

ER
(Neanderthal, 2,072
 
Points)
 on 10/5/12 at 1:46pm
WaitForSlutSet's picture

I've been to southern

IB
(Baboon, 129
 
Points)
 on 10/14/12 at 12:22pm
Rankik's picture

California can be a great

(Chimp, 13
 
Points)
 on 10/19/12 at 5:35pm
PetEng's picture

Cali is good? Yeah, a few

O
(Gorilla, 746
 
Points)
 on 10/19/12 at 7:22pm
Nobama88's picture

They are also trying to raise

RE
(King Kong, 1,676
 
Points)
 on 10/19/12 at 10:33pm

Need to Land a Job? Click Here.

kmzz's picture

WaitForSlutSet: I've been to

O
 
Points)
 on 10/21/12 at 9:56pm
WaitForSlutSet's picture

kmzz: WaitForSlutSet: I've

IB
(Baboon, 129
 
Points)
 on 10/22/12 at 11:07pm
Tommy Too-toned's picture

I'm talkin bout San Disexgo

(Gorilla, 505
 
Points)
 on 10/27/12 at 1:57am

6 Free Financial Modeling Lessons...Straight to Your Inbox.

Confirm your name and e-mail below to get our best tips

Monkey Stats
Account information
We respect your Name and E-mail privacy. By joining you accept our terms of service.