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Hellish Taskmaster Joined: 31 Dec 2008 Posts: 537

Connie L. Gus wrote:

If you bought a Prius or Civic hybrid two years ago you could apply for some stickers that would allow you to drive in the carpool lane anytime you felt like it. A used Prius with the sticker (worth about $5,000 more) would be the only way Craig007 could get to LAX in a reasonable amount of time from the suburbs and not run out of gas in the stop and go traffic with his V12 motor.

Yes. If you don't want to work at LAX the traffic shouldn't be a problem.

The Prius and California go hand in hand. You can get 60 mpg if you drive well.

Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2009 11:53 pm

Move to Texas. For 600K you can get a very nice home on some acreage with your own private lake. Weather is great year round (except for Dallas & everything north of there) and we refine the gas here so it is always cheaper on average than anywhere else in the US. You can drive your Mercs as much as you want, as fast as you want and still wont pay as much for gas as the California Prius crowd Laughing

Hellish Taskmaster Joined: 31 Dec 2008 Posts: 537

jose_cuervo wrote:

Move to Texas. For 600K you can get a very nice home on some acreage with your own private lake. Weather is great year round (except for Dallas & everything north of there) and we refine the gas here so it is always cheaper on average than anywhere else in the US. You can drive your Mercs as much as you want, as fast as you want and still wont pay as much for gas as the California Prius crowd Laughing

He won't need to worry about gas prices if he is able to spend $112,000 on his pair of AMGs.

Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 5:22 am

Let me give you some information about Southern California (Los Angeles/Anaheim(Disneyland), and San Diego (Sea World).

This state has the worst customer service that you will encounter.
The public bathrooms/restrooms (toilets) are dirty and often contain graffiti
You are NOT allowed to wear Red or Blue in malls in LA as they are affiliated with local rival gangs
There is a very racist area where if you're white you WILL be murdered.
You can take a plane from San Diego to Anaheim because the traffic is so bad.

Now, I'm from Utah(a state near California and Nevada)- The Land of Mormons which isn't all that great because of the following:

The weather is very irregular (One day it feels like spring, the next day it's cold like winter).
If you don't like the weather in Utah wait ten minutes it WILL change usually for the worst.
You have to drive 10-30 miles just to have any fun in this state
The only fun place here is "The Gateway"
Half the population is mormon (many extremist) and you will be asked if you are mormon. If you're not mormon (depending on how extremist they are) you might be met with hostility
The most people are closed minded

Now I plan on leaving America and immigrating to Japan.

Good luck dude!

Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:16 am

^^^Just to clear something up: I live in Southern California. I wear red and blue to the mall all the time. I have never been accused of flashing gang colors.

I suppose, however, if I showed up in my red or blue clothes along with my hair in dreds, a gold grill on my front teeth, and waving my Glock, I might get escorted out. Laughing

Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 6:59 am

Koko.Dk wrote:

This state has the worst customer service that you will encounter.
The public bathrooms/restrooms (toilets) are dirty and often contain graffiti
You are NOT allowed to wear[/color] Red or Blue [color=indigo]in malls in LA as they are affiliated with local rival gangs
There is a very racist area where if you're white you WILL be murdered.
You can take a plane from San Diego to Anaheim because the traffic is so bad.

What??

Talk about crazy babble.

I've give you the traffic one but other than that you are way of base. Especially with the murdered because you are white thing. That is just plain stupid.

@Craig007 - Camarillo is a nice area. Just don't go any further south because that's snob ville (joke for Cachuma Wink

)

And what do you mean you would "like 2 Mercedes". If you plan on living there you "must" have a Mercedes. Otherwise you can't wear red or blue and you risk being murdered Laughing

Oh and since you're in the area head south just a bit. You are going to have to try a Tommy burger . Dem are the rules too Smile

Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 3:05 pm

Ghost: I got half of this information from Californians themselves. Some from experience in California. It's true you people have very bad customer service!

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 3123

Connie, I have a real moral issue with buying a Prius - I just can't. I like luxury, and I don't think a Prius can offer that - regardless of MPG. I will certainly take a look at that link, and perhaps reconsider. There clearly isn't a perfect state, but the picture Cachuma has painted in numerous PM's is that it is a great place.

I actually considered Dallas, for a little while. The climate in the winter is similar to here, but with great summe temps. Not sure what put me off - perhaps my sterotyped images of a dustbowl and funny accents.

Now, there is a thing against CA, I can see quite clearly. I'm starting to rule FL out, just too damn humid. However, flying in the sunshine, day after day, living on an airpark sounds like paradise still... Maybe if I go to a cheaper state than CA (like Texas), I can get a holiday home in FL or CA Laughing

Koko - As I said, no state is pefect Laughing

GSN - I had a 5 series before - piece of shit. I got the C63, wifey drove it and wanted one too - Merc gave us a bit of a deal for buying the 2. One black, one silver. Lovely jubbly.

Some of you may remember my "Las Vegas" thread from a while ago, discussing a trip next year. Since I'll be fairly West, and I was planning to hire a car, Camirillo can be a stop I'll make. San Diego was a definite to visit, so just a short hop along, and I'm there. Have been to Miami before, and it's only a holiday, couldn't live there in my opinion.

Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 4:35 pm

^^^ So you really are going to move here? Shocked

Please tell me when so I can pack my bags and leave the states.

Now where should I move to? Wink

Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 4:36 pm

I've been to 47 states and have lived in 7 of them (including California and Florida). Each state has its own plusses and minusses. I'm currently living in a Western state that I won't identify here, and I happen to like it very much for the following reason:

1. Lower taxes and lower cost of living as compared to California.

2. Wide open spaces nearby: great for hunting, fishing, hiking, rock collecting, ghost towning, four wheeling.....I had to adapt when I moved here and I found myself enjoying the outdoors.

3. History: some neat historical sites to visit.

4. Scenery: we have a wide variety of it. The higher mountain elevations are like the high Sierras of California. We've also got lots of rock formations as well as flat areas.

5. There's gambling available on the Indian reservations. I don't visit the casinos myself though.

BTW, there are pockets of California that I think are neat, but they are away from the urban areas. Yosemite is neat! So are the high Sierras.

But I don't miss the traffic there. I lived in Silicon (Silly-con?) Valley for 16 years and I don't miss the high-stress and high-paced life. I figure that I've saved several thousand dollars in taxes by moving, and I think I'll live longer too.

Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 4:37 pm

I crossed LA using public transport, and didn't get shot once. I did consider handing out 'Thankyou for not shooting me' cards though, and wore mirror shades throughout, so I couldn't make accidental eye contact with the local nutter.

I think Craig may find the 'Gay vegan sea kitten lovers against nuclear power' types a bit wearing though. On the other hand, illegal immigrants don't get state handouts (or healthcare) in the USA, so that wouldn't wind him up at all, unless they were sleeping outside his house. Honestly, I have never seen so many homeless people in my life as I did in LA, though if I were homeless I'd move to California if I could, it's not as if the property prices would put me off.

A resident of Venice Beach, having a Sunday morning lie in under a palm tree...

I don't know if you have a strong Jockanese accent Craig, but when I asked for egg and bacon in a Long Beach cafe, I got an egg bagel. Rolling Eyes

Oh, and the sign on our motel that said 'No Solicitors', didn't mean no lawyers, apparently. Wink

Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 5:13 pm

Prius and moral luxury? I understand fully. My parents can buy anything they want to and they have a second generation Prius. Its does not offer what I need. I was offered a Highlander hybrid for a hundred over invoice and was put off by the hard regenerative braking as soon as I even touched the brake. I still want to do the right thing as far as carbon footprint and haul around our bikes so I have a more expensive hybrid. Its got CVT and puts out 200KW almost instantly. In a normal engine transmission system, the engine is not putting out full power until just before the shift. A CVT does not shift so with its engine and electric motor it does move right along. I would love to have a 63 one day and have ridden in a S600 but enjoy my hybrid. The best things are that it has 40K miles on it now and has never been in the shop and I can actually see 90 mpg in stop and go traffic. One last point, they fixed that hard regenerative braking thing.

You may consider the LS 600h.

Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 5:52 pm

Roycropper wrote:

I think Craig may find the 'Gay vegan sea kitten lovers against nuclear power' types a bit wearing though.

Since Craig is talking about moving to Ventura County, this will not be an issue. Ventura County is predominantly conservative Republican. And personally I don't think it's a bad thing to receive some exposure to alternate points of view anyway.

Re the customer service issue - I have to disagree. I think customer service sucks EVERYWHERE, not just here! I believe it is not something that is endemic or even unique to CA. I've had fabulous service here, and horrible service. I've also had varying degrees of service across the nation, and the world (I travel a lot).

Capt. Pike made an excellent point - every state has its plusses and minuses. Ventura County happens to be one of those "pockets" that has more plusses than minuses, in my opinion. It's definitely a unique location - close to beaches, mountains, boating, skiing, etc. Far enough away from the "big city" (and not nearly as crowded) so you avoid many of the urban ills, but close enough that you can get to the city for cultural offerings if you desire.

Traffic sucks. That is a sad reality about all but the most rural areas of CA. Fortunately it's not bad at all here in Ventura County itself - it's really only if you have to drive out of the county (down to LA, or up to Santa Barbara) that you get hit with it. Me - I stay out of the city as much as possible, and rarely see brake lights in my day-to-day life. But I will not gloss over how horrific traffic can be all over SoCal.

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Apr 2007 Posts: 3123

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/7936456.stm

Ain't moving there then - what a physco.

Hellish Taskmaster Joined: 31 Dec 2008 Posts: 537

Craig007 wrote:

Connie, I have a real moral issue with buying a Prius - I just can't. I like luxury, and I don't think a Prius can offer that - regardless of MPG. I will certainly take a look at that link, and perhaps reconsider. There clearly isn't a perfect state, but the picture Cachuma has painted in numerous PM's is that it is a great place.

Some of you may remember my "Las Vegas" thread from a while ago, discussing a trip next year. Since I'll be fairly West, and I was planning to hire a car, Camirillo can be a stop I'll make. San Diego was a definite to visit, so just a short hop along, and I'm there. Have been to Miami before, and it's only a holiday, couldn't live there in my opinion.

Oh well, that's too bad you can't have a Prius. It's leather is quite hard, and even though it has a backup camera and smart key system, there are no power seats.

If you're going to Cali, you have to check out SF.

Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:22 pm

When I visited the US I landed in Los Angeles at 9am after a 14 hour flight from Sydney. I was obviously very tired and wired not knowing what new adventures I was about to engage. In Australia we get to hear all the horror stories of LA and the rudeness of the American people. For some reason only the bad stuff is reported. Our source of information is the media, so 'if it bleeds, it leads' goes the saying.

I was waiting for my first 'American' experience, almost anticipating the first moment I was to face this so-called rudeness.

I arrive for a connecting flight to Miami International, which at the time was being lashed by Hurricane Ivan. Of course we're told that we won't be landing in Miami, unless I wanted to end up in Cuba. When I was told about this the staff at the airport were factual about the news. I was expected a bit of a 'sucks to be you' moment. Instead my blank expression was met with more help than I could have imagined. The airport staff directed me to my carrier and I was informed I would have to stay in LA until it was all clear. An opinion I agreed with.

The staff at the carrier informs me that I will need a hotel. So they did a quick search for me, smiling and laughing the whole time. I felt relaxed and assured. They found me a mid range hotel close to the airport and booked it for me. I was escorted outside the terminal and told to wait for my shuttle. Here I am waiting to be brushed aside and told to sort it out myself. Well, no. The shuttle arrived and we drove for 20 minutes to the hotel to discover we'd boarded the wrong shuttle and ended up at the wrong hotel. They checked my information and then told me that my hotel was about 10kms in the other direction. What happens then? They offer to drive me over there themselves, in their shuttle bus. Completely out of their way and had nothing to do with them?? What? When am I going to be told to bugger off and sort my own problems out?

We arrive at the hotel. Our bags are collected and we're shown our rooms. The hotel staff from the other establishment called ahead for us... The rudeness!

Deciding it was time to eat we walked around for 10 minutes until we heard some lively music and could smell the onions and beef from 1kms away. Australians can smell a bbq from further than that. We wander over and find a roaring hotel bar and grill in full swing. The beer was flowing and patrons were standing outside laughing and eating. Salivating and tired from our walk we are stopped at the door by two burly security guards, who looked apologetic and told us this was a private function for hotel patrons only. OH! THE RUDENESS! Here is came! Wait a second, he was actually sorry. We explained that we'd just arrived from Australia and needed food. We even tried joking around and pretending I was Crocodile Dundee's son and my friend was related to Russell Crowe. The burly man apologised and offered us an alternative eating options at one of the several chew joints back that way.

Dejected we turned and started heading back to our hotel. Then we were stopped by another American who said, "Excuse me, I couldn't help but overhear you. You're Australian? That's cool. Sounds like you've had a long trip. You want something to eat?." Glancing around at the two burly men on the door he hands me a room card. "Here go inside and have whatever you want. Just put it on my room. I'll be inside in 10 minutes and I'll let you buy me a beer."

WHAT?? WHERE AM I? WHAT SORT OF COUNTRY HAS PEOPLE LIKE THIS? THE RUDENESS!

The burly men saw us approach. Meekly, we showed him our room key, and they smiled and let us in. By this time my friend and I were baffled, befuddled, bewildered and discombobulated. What's going on? I thought we were in Los Angeles? Any second now a Chevy Impala was going to round the corner and we'd have to dodge sporadic gunfire.

That afternoon we drank and ate on a few tabs and regaled the patrons of tales of drunk kangaroos and having the top 7 deadliest animals in the world in our backyards. My impersonation of the Crocodile Hunter earned me a few Alabama Slammers, which only encouraged me more. I remember showing them how to tame a water buffalo with a stare and perpetrated the legend of the deadly dropbear. Which according to the patrons of that bar is number 7 on the deadly animal list.

As we were leaving one of the burly men shook our hands and waved goodbye. He yelled to us, 'Welcome to America'.

Damn you yanks and your rudeness.

Posted: Wed Mar 11, 2009 11:53 pm

Great story NN. I have a similar story about France but its off topic.
A Prius with leather seats? Nooooo.... Yes, its in option package #6. On thing about a lot of SoCal residents, they can tell you what option package is on a Prius from half a block away. BTW guys, no one from California says "Cali". Its NorCal, SoCal and Central Coast. The Inland Empire, High Desert and Sierras are also areas. The areas just north of San Diego have a great climate but very high prices to match. Ventura is a very nice area. So nice that when my kids were old enough to camp out, our first trip was to the State Beach there. We pitched a tent, built a fire at night and took our binoculars to check out the birds at dawn.

Ventura State Beach
As we get older, one thought is the availability of heath care and there are nice hospitals in Ventura.

The areas with red and blue gangs do not have malls so its really not a problem how you dress. If you tried to enter a mall down in Orange County with 30 other people wearing red, but not Angel's uniforms it may be a problem. Also if you walked down Rodeo Blvd with 30 people dressed from head to toe in blue, but not as a Dodger, it may be a problem also.

For value as computed by calories/dollar or flavor/dollar, its hard to beat a Tommy burger. The only problem is that you have to go to the original location at Beverly and Rampart and it's in a low rent district. The gangs consider it neutral territory and there's always a line so it is safe. For a good safe burger in SoCal go to In and Out.
http://www.in-n-out.com/

If you really want to work out of LAX and not bother with too hectic a commute, you may want to try Manhattan Beach or Marina Del Rey in two years. The way property values are going, $600K may buy a studio condo.

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 12:10 am

What is a "Prius"?

Smile

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 12:14 am

Koko.Dk wrote:

Ghost: I got half of this information from Californians themselves. Some from experience in California. It's true you people have very bad customer service!

So what then... you just made the other half up yourself? The world is full of nuts and Ca is no exception so I'd stop listening to nuts. Especially ones that tell you that you "will" be murdered because you are white. It's idiots like that end up getting themselves hurt because they walk around paranoid and asking for it.

I have no idea what you mean about customer service. Customer service for what?

Hellish Taskmaster Joined: 31 Dec 2008 Posts: 537

CowboyBuck wrote:

What is a "Prius"?

Smile

Look at that small thing you're about to run over with your F-350. Wink

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 2:54 am

Idaho is rather nice, very general aviation friendly too. Lots of backcountry airstrips, and huge variations in scenery within an hour or two. But we do not usually tell people how nice it is, we had enough Californians come here and try to remake Boise - "Well in California we did it like this ..."

There are quite a few expats from the UK here in Boise actually.

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 3:14 am

Oh yeah and we have Disneyland. Don't care how old you are, you'll like it. I been there once or twice (this year Laughing

).Across the street is California Adventure. When you are a Camarillo resident, you'll be able to get into both parks by only paying for one.

Magic mountain is good if you like fast rides (I don't). Otherwise there are too many teenagers there.

Knott's Berry farm is okay too. Better in October when it become the Halloween Haunt but this attracts teenagers too.

While you on this street check out Medieval times. The food is good if you don't mind eating with your hands. You also get to call the waitresses "wenches" and they have to smile and say "yes, my lord". There are a few other places on this street you'll want to check out as well.

If not then you can hang out with Connie on the beach.

Anyone who doesn't like Disneyland can bite me Very Happy

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 3:37 am

Craig, I live in the Florida panhandle, it's really not so bad, especially for grumpy old farts such as yourself. Laughing

Tuco, I was born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley.

Posted: Thu Mar 12, 2009 11:38 am

Craig, have they told you that you have to tip for everything?

The percentage varies depending on what the service is. If only they could just pay decent wages, it gets my goat in the UK, but in the US it seems to be compulsory.

BBC link

When I left a tip in New Zealand, the waiter thought I'd forgotten the cash on the table and chased after me!

Baiting Guru Joined: 03 Mar 2006 Posts: 7103 Location: Yes

In the US waiters/waitresses make about $2/hr (give or take obviously) so tips are the only way for them to make a living. If they were paid a living wage (sans tips) the price of your food would be 15%-20% more expensive (the amount of a decent tip). So it's just a different way of paying for your meal.

I've only been to San Fran and the wine regions myself. I have no interest in L.A. but then again, I like 4 seasons of weather and also like rushing from stoplight to stoplight in my car, barely skidding to a halt in the 3 inches of slushy snow, as opposed to letting my convertible idle from place to place under the sunny sky. Different strokes.....