Is California a safe place?  Australians and everyone could write their opinions - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Lawsen
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2011, 03:39:07 am
content: We have discussed about Australia in great length. This is not an electronics topic. I thought this forum is strictly restricted to electronics, electronic instruments, reviews, care, usage, and electronics math. I thought it is more towards the research side than the trades, like my on call, temporary job repairing giant HP plotters.Here is a topic that is not just electronics. California was the place to be from 1982 to 2000, the great IC, dot com, and e commerce and internet booms and busts in the Santa Clara valley region in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay. These were even more dramatic than the bio tech or housing booms. The housing boom ultimately destroyed the American economy completely and thus the world economic security is lost from that and the great fuel wars, competition, and behind the scenes inflation and prices.Is California a safe place?Is California a dangerous place?Yes, we have earthquakes, floods, unemployment, and homeless.Yosemite Half Dome is too slippery and woman slipped off and fell to her death. Yosemite stream rapids are dangerous that local residents climbed over the fence and slipped into the stream rapids and fell over the water fall to their deaths. Their bodies are still not recovered in Yosemite after fall off a water fall to the plutonic rocks below.Neighborhood social problems are many in the central valley cities.Oakland Hills firedry grass fires at Livermore Valley, tri valley regionMountain lion found in Los Gatos Seratoga and shot by Santa Clara County Sheriffs.Mountain lion found in Palo Alto and was shot by police.Tatiana, a Siberian tiger, of the San Francisco Zoo climbed out and mauled San Jose teenager that teased and harassed her. Nine San Francisco police officers shot the Siberian tiger. The San Jose teenager was later arrested at a Target Store for stealing Nintendo video game. His friend died in the Siberian tiger attack incited by teasing the Siberian tiger at the San Francisco Zoo.http://articles.sfgate.com/2008-01-03/news/17151487_1_lion-house-zoo-security-zoo-employeeshttp://articles.sfgate.com/2007-12-27/news/17274471_1_lori-komejan-zoo-visitor-san-francisco-zooRattle snakes are in the neighborhood by Steven Jobs (retired CEO of Apple Computers) home in Woodside, CaliforniaRip currents in San Francisco Bay

author: gregariz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2011, 03:58:03 am
content: I love California.. but there are a couple of things that have stuffed the valley IMO.#1 was the insane housing prices that went hand in hand with the tech bubble and resulted in alot of people moving to LA/SLC/SD/Phoenix and the cheaper surrounds.#2 was the influx of Harvard MBA pussies onto sand hill road who know/knew jack about growing tech companies and really didnt give a shit as long as they got their commissions#3 was #2's obsession with social media ventures to make a quick buck at the expense of the longer term electronics enterprise#4 was the death of alot of people who actually *could*, ie Bill and Dave and Co.There was a great article written by long time SV reporter Mike Malone called.. "Has Silicon Valley gone pussy?" which just about summed it up I think.

author: IanB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2011, 05:04:10 am
content: To earthquakes and floods add mudslides and wildfires. Then add the odd bit of dangerous wildlife like mountain lions, rattlesnakes and black widow spiders. But fires are the thing that have come closest to making me worried.

author: Lawsen
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2011, 05:12:28 am
content: Those are venture capitalist manager that sets up investments in technology start ups during the dot com and IC booms. I did not enjoy the dot com boom, because I was at school, university. I saw many became wealthy in a few years, while I just stayed at school and came out poorer than entry, but filled with wisdom and life experiences. The venture capitalist managers just make meetings with engineers, scientists, and inventors to come up with products and market forecasts and returns. They dressed nicely and sat at fancy places along University Avenue, Palo Alto and fancy computers and telephone. This dot com created an enormous and prosperous service economy like never seen before in my entire life time, because I am from the agricultural regions of the central valley. I saw all of this in awe. 450 ft62 studio was $900.00 to $2,000.00 USD/month!!! I cannot afford a studio, until the dot com and e commerce crashed or slowed down in 2001. I was hired off the streets along Cottle Road, IBM microelectronics hard disk drive arms. I turned down that generous offer job to be in school for many years for geology earth science that was not very employable locally. The IBM Cottle Road factory has closed, sold to Hitachi, and torn down.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 21, 2011, 06:44:03 am
content: Quote from: gregariz on September 21, 2011, 03:58:03 amWhat are average housing prices in the silicon valley area?In Sydney a house on an average size block of land can range from around $200K to $20M depending on location. The average price is about $630K at present.Out in my area in the north west suburbs, they range from about about $500K to $2M depending on the insaneness of the size of the MacCastle.BTW, California (and most likely the lovely SanFran area) is ultimately rooted. It's not if, but when the big one strikesDave.

author: SgtRock
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 21, 2011, 09:21:15 am
content: Greetings EEVBees:--Prices of homes here in the Orlando, Florida area are way down. My very modest house which used to be worth 110K is now worth 40K. There have been some foreclosures in my neighborhood, but not nearly as many as in higher priced and more recently built areas. Many of the folks in my neighborhood are, like me, retired. Many of us believe in the "DJ FY Money" theory. And we are holding on like grim death. One of my neighbors bought 10 "fixer uppers" and fixed them up, just before the crash. Now, instead of being a real estate magnate, he is a very nervous landlord, with a long term investment."Three weeks in the lab will save you a day in the library every time" Stanley Williams, HP LabsBest RegardsClear Ether

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 21, 2011, 11:23:52 am
content: Quote from: SgtRock on September 21, 2011, 09:21:15 amOuch.Some new very upmarket neighborhoods close to my place in Baulkham Hills Sydney have almost halved. During the boom people paid $2M for crazy 3 story McCastles on tony blocks of land worth about $400K. A few years later they were struggling to sell them for just over a $1M.But that was stupidity in over-capitalisation, not really the market.But sensible priced houses like mine have not really lost value in the last 7-8 years and the through the GFC etc, even though I bought just 6 months before the absolute peak of the biggest housing boom in Australian history.Foreclosures seem to be quite rare here in Sydney.Dave.

author: Lawsen
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2011, 05:02:51 pm
content: Houses in San Jose are usually around $800,000.00 to $1,000,000.00 USD in 2005. It was that high for a two story house along Meridian Avenue in San Jose, when I was attending school in that region. Jobs were getting more scarce as I noticed abandoned industrial parks in Fremont up north. My apartment rent was rising to a point without work, I have to move out.Current house prices are around $349,000.00 to $500,000.00 USD along Meridian Avenue in 2011.Prices in the Great Central Valley where I am at have fallen even more, from $350,000.00 USD in 2004 to presently $70,000.00 to $107,000.00 USD. The neighborhood is around 80% rentals and 85 police calls per month. One has to travel with alertness here. We have a high drop out rate from 7% to 40% from high schools around this region, Stockton, California. American societies are on a decline and certain portion in poverty. The economy has not improved much.The last computer that I have that was made in Sunnyvale, California was an Atari 1200XL in 1982. Atari made a 6 months production before abandoning it completely, orphaned computer in the IC and microcomputer boom of the 1980s.

author: gregariz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2011, 05:39:22 pm
content: IMO houses are generally very small and old in many areas of the valley but they start to look half decent at the half to 3/4 mil mark.Zillow is pretty accurate I findhttp://www.zillow.com/homes/mountain-view_rb/The Sydney market is probably not a good comparison because there are lots of us who look at earning capacities and just scratch our heads but at the same time its a bit like London in that its quite desirable so there's often alot of money coming in from elsewhere - not always so great for the locals though.

author: rocketguy
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: September 21, 2011, 10:04:09 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on September 21, 2011, 06:44:03 amQuite true, but keep in mind that when the big one strikes, while there will be damage, fatalities are extremely low, more likely to be killed by lightning. I've lived in the SF bay area for almost 40 years now, had some unscheduled rollercoaster rides in that time, it's not going to be a total Apocalypse when it hits. There will be damage, don't get me wrong, economically it's probably gonna suck a bit, but your average wood frame house will likely ride it out fine. Presuming we don't get a huge fire anyway.Of course I just renovated my house with serious seismic structure reinforcement. The world could split open, and I'd just have to change the numbers on the front of the house to the new address, wherever we end up, but we'll be in one piece when we get there.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 21, 2011, 10:48:30 pm
content: Quote from: gregariz on September 21, 2011, 05:39:22 pmYes, there is a LOT of money coming from China for example, pushing up the prices massively.Some decent foreign ownership laws might help alleviate that a bit, but the politicians don't want that because that would drop the value of THEIR real estate investments. Gotta keep seeing that compounded growth every year...Dave.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 21, 2011, 10:50:24 pm
content: Quote from: Lawsen on September 21, 2011, 05:02:51 pmThose are some pretty huge drops.Predictions have been made that will happen in Sydney, but it won't, the foreign money just keeps rolling in....Dave.

author: gregariz
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 21, 2011, 11:34:04 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on September 21, 2011, 10:50:24 pmIn the US we have jingle mail, ie avoid bankruptcy by sending your keys back if you get upside down. Thats not an option in Aus. There would be blood in the streets of Sydney with the types of drops we've seen in the US.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 21, 2011, 11:58:15 pm
content: Quote from: EEVblog on September 21, 2011, 11:23:52 amI was thinking that's likely because we don't have the same "walk away" option you guys seem to have in the US?That would make it easy for people to just up and walk if they can't repay their loan, and hence foreclosure.Here you are locked in and that forces you to either sell and take a loss, or battle on and not eat and switch off your lights to help meet the repayments.Dave.

author: EEVblog
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 22, 2011, 12:00:05 am
content: Quote from: gregariz on September 21, 2011, 11:34:04 pmAh, you just read my mind.I like the term "jingle mail"!Dave.

author: Lanman
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2011, 04:59:48 am
content: I too live in the Central Valley and although it can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, those numbers are not typical. Property values have not dropped that much overall. Crime is not on the rise in most areas. I can't speak to the dropout rates in high school because I'm not aware of the numbers, but I doubt the numbers have changed much over the past 10 years. Where I live in the Fresno / Clovis area, housing has been up & down. Mostly down, but anywhere near that much. The price for rental properties is up substantially due to foreclosed home owners becoming renters. As people start to restructure their finances and work their way back into home ownership, the reduced demand on rental property will force rental prices back down again. It could be a long time before we see that happen.Certainly no issues with safety overall but like most places in the world, that can vary from neighborhood to neighborhood. Find yourself in the wrong area after dark and anything can happen but it's not the norm. Nothing new there. I love the Central Valley and I love the Bay Area. Always have and always will. Absolutely nothing to fear or be concerned about when living or visiting here.DaveQuote from: Lawsen on September 21, 2011, 05:02:51 pm

author: DrGeoff
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2011, 05:07:16 am
content: The universe is a dangerous place.

author: Unknown
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: September 23, 2011, 05:18:39 am
content: Quote from: DrGeoff on September 23, 2011, 05:07:16 amThen you better have your SWMS ready.

author: Storeinfinity
author_rank: Contributor
timestamp: September 23, 2011, 07:32:38 am
content: Speaking of investment from China that booms everywhere.We as Chinese suffer even more.Take Shanghai, where there are over 30 million people live and struggle.I will skip the cost of "house" here since it is called "villa" and it costs more than a fortune.Apartments in the center cost from 3 million RMB (two or two and half bedrooms) to 30 million (really good ones) while the average income is around 5k per month. You do the math and will know how long it takes to settle here.Apartments 5 to 20 kms from center cost 2 to 4 million RMB (two bedrooms) while the rent for one bedroom in these areas ranges from 2k to 3k per month. All other cities in China are idolizing Shanghai and each local government collects their money mainly from realistic business (70%!!!).Amazingly parents from bride side expect their son in law to acquire a "home" to show loyalty and stability before the marriage so there will be a long term that people in China will work their ass off to have a place to live in the city by skipping holidays, vacations, working late and cutting cost of life, etc.Although people know that within 20 years, people born in 80s will have three apartments (one from bride parents, one from groom side, and at least one from the couple if you skip one they planed for their offsprings).And those who know constitution (at least what it claims it is) of PRC would be aware of a fact that individuals do not own their property while only people own it. So each property can be purchased as a 70 year usage right...Maybe, just maybe, out of a ball park guess, it explains some investments from China in your countries.