The Death of the California Dream? (How Anyone Survives There)

Added: 2026-06-01

[00:00:00]Hey, how's it going everybody? Sarasota Tim got about 5,000 steps, 4,500. Uh, I turned around when I got 3500. So, I'm going to have 7,000 when I get back to my truck. So, I'm sitting here walking at Nathan Bennerson Park and I started thinking, I know a good video to talk about. I was asking uh uh Google Gemini the other day about moving to California. I used to live in San Diego as you know when California used to be California and I live in Florida now and I remember when Florida was Florida but uh things have changed all over the country of course we know that but I said how affordable is it for a guy with an RV living on social security and a side hustle to live in California I already knew the answer right you can't so but it it's it dim my curiosity to ask, well, not everybody out there is wealthy.

[00:01:01]Uh there are plenty, but uh how are they doing it? And so it had a very good answer. And the answer was that about 10,000 people or maybe that's a low number every month move to California mostly from international and uh foreign people not other states in the continental United States and a tremendous amount of people as you already know are moving out uh to neighboring western states. states like Colorado, Arizona, Oregon, Washington, and Nevada.

[00:01:45]So, I said, "Well, all right. There's 39 million people in California."

[00:01:54]And I said, "Well, they're not all wealthy, and all these people moving there, they must have some bucks." So, all the people, this is how they're living out there. You ready for this?

[00:02:04]people that have good jobs that are moving off the coastal area due to the uh rents and uh the lack of of stacked living apartments and things like that.

[00:02:16]Uh coastal area, people are moving to like places like Riverside and way inland. They're literally commuting 1.5 to two hours every single day to go to their prison job. and that's how they're affording uh to live out there and have a pretty good paying job. Other people uh there's something called Prop 13. Uh people's are living that bought houses in the 70s and 80s. People are living in houses out there and their property taxes are grandfathered in.

[00:02:52]They might only be paying property taxes on a $100,000 house that might be worth a million dollars now. And they also have all these different uh welfare programs for uh subsidy and rent and if you you know if you qualify uh food assistance, utility discounts and things like that. So if you know the programs you can you can do that. But a lot of people and what people are doing, this is shouldn't be a shocker, is kids, grandparents, and parents are all living together in one house now. And they're building, and the law allows it.

[00:03:35]They're shooting up like crazy. These little mother-in-law suites, these little shacks, uh, cottages or whatever you want to call them behind the house that the kids can live in or the parents or something like that, which would be ideal. I'd love to rent something like that. It's all I need. But they're building those and they're allowed to.

[00:03:52]They got a name for them.

[00:03:54]And uh now they have come in [snorts] and they've overruled the city council that was preventing apartments from being built on the coastal areas that only the big money wanted, you know, to to own the land and build these big McMansions and stuff. So they are they changed all the rules. They're changing them quickly now and they're starting to build uh homes uh apartments. However, that does not help anybody with um with the rent prices. Now, there are rent control also where they can only raise the rent so much every year. So, people that have been renting from years ago.

[00:04:40]So, a vast majority of the population that don't make big money that are the cooks and waiters and waitresses and uh the people with the labor jobs, the menial uh people, middle lowerass people, that's how they're living out there. Either roommating all the families in one house, a little cottage in the back, or they're grandfathered in with their uh taxes on their homes from a 100 years ago. and all the people that have come out there that aren't grandfathered in that want their privacy. They're not living in a uh multif family home and things like that, they're getting out. They're just leaving because they can't afford it.

[00:05:23]It's that expensive. So, if you're willing to share rent with three, four, five other people, move in with your relatives, uh if you're fortunate enough to have a mortgage that uh was grandfathered into Prop 13 back in the 70s where your property taxes are frozen, >> which is an amazing thing because >> I mean, otherwise people that buy now, they're subject every year to an increase on their property taxes because of uh of the way it works. And so they're finding that people like that that move there uh don't last very long and they they move out.

[00:06:06]So if I wanted to move there, I would no doubt not be able to stay in an RV and be by myself. Even if there were RV parks, I would have to basically look for a uh a multi- sharing home, a larger home that you can rent a room.

[00:06:25]And uh if you're willing to do that and not have your privacy, uh and just live in a little little thing like that, you can probably move out there and and do it if you have like a you know, any money at all. Uh that's, you know, something. But isn't that interesting that California and and I said, "Well, how sustainable is that?" I mean, if you have nothing but wealthy people, you do need the people, you know, uh wealthy people don't build an economy, you still have to have all the uh levels of income in there, and it's not sustainable.

[00:07:00]They're talking about, you know, some serious issues going on with that state, which there already are, if things don't uh turn around. So [snorts] that's just one example of today's situation in our economy with one state that's completely screwed up.

[00:07:19]Uh that others could, you know, soon follow. Uh people that are leaving states because of crime or they just don't have the revenue in the economy coming in uh building to pay everything.

[00:07:32]And did you know on another uh topic that people I guess I'd like it if I had one, but people that have like government jobs that get re they get a pension, they can retire after they work and get 70 to 90% of their salary that they were making when they quit, when they retired for the rest of their lives. Some even get medical Uh that's these government jobs. Uh most people that work for like private entities uh they they get a pension three 400,000 $1,200 $1,500 whatever it is a month which is what I thought most pensions would be. But if you can retire making six figures or 80 grand or 60 grand on top of your social security or other things you got going on. Man, that's something. But yet, you know, the economy in the state it's in right now, a lot of these states aren't bringing the revenue in to pay these pensions, and they're having to raise taxes on people and things like that uh to to meet these uh these promises.

[00:08:49]Now, that's another video for another day, but I'm sure there's two different sides of the story there. How people come down on that about, you know, you work 40 years for somebody. I know people, and you you quit, you retire, and they're like, "Yeah, you just don't have to come in anymore, but we're still going to give you the same check."

[00:09:09]Oh, man, what a deal. But, you know, they signed up. They put the 40 years in and they went with the one that has those benefits generally government uh type jobs.

[00:09:23]But uh money, man, it's what makes the world go around and there's a lot of it. Some people have and others are just trying to figure it out. But you do what you can. I'm doing what I can. Others you you see it all around you here in Florida, New York, everywhere. California especially.

[00:09:48]Oh man, they're living large, aren't they? On golf courses, multi-million dollar homes, and everything you can imagine.

[00:09:58]But let me end the video with saying this. It always comes down to bottom line, right? That health is wealth. Um, I [snorts] won't say who it is, but someone I know, uh, not real well, but I know them, uh, is in hospice right now. And that's usually not a very good sign. Once hospice comes in, uh, you're pretty bad.

[00:10:23]And, uh, this individual's been struggling, uh, with health, uh, for about a year and a half or two now. And some go quicker, some go take, you know, fight it longer and hopes and all that, but it's tough to beat that big C-word.

[00:10:42]So anyway, prayers and thoughts are for this individual that isn't young, but isn't, you know, like so so old that, you know, they were still they were still doing things and and pretty vibrant uh before getting sick. So, just remember that whether you uh can live in California and afford it or not, or live in Florida or Georgia or wherever you live, long as you get out and do like what I'm doing right now, work on your health. Hope that you got good genetics and watch your diet and watch what you eat and think positive.

[00:11:22]You know, get stress out of your life.

[00:11:25]uh you can get the most you can while you're on this earth and in this earthly tent that we reside in before going home. But like I always say, everybody wants to go to heaven, but nobody wants to go to night. Crush it.