109 replies to this topic

[Folsomite]

Hey, I'm sure not a big fan of Davis or a lot of the liberals that run the state, but you know what, I would never ever want to live anywhere else.

Where else in the world will you get such beautiful weather almost all year long, free of tornadoes, hurricanes, and the like (well maybe an earthquake or two, but we're pretty far from any faultlines, knock on wood)... and have the luxury of beautiful trees, an excellent quality of life, and within a couple of hours of the mountains for skiing, the Bay Area for just about anything, and right in our own backyard is a beautiful lake to spend a weekend.

As much as I hate the politics in this state, I would never want to live anywhere else!

[Steve]

Enough is Enough ....

Although the first 3 years of living in Folsom were peaceful enough for our family we have recently made a decision to move out of the area (and State) after living through the past year of being bombarded with one bad piece of news after another in Folsom. Life is too short and we have worked way too hard for over 30 years to see what quality of life and property values that we have earned to be taken away from self-serving politicians at both the State and local Folsom City level.

I pay more than my fair share of taxes and contribute to my favorite charities. However; contrary to what some say, I am NOT morally and financially responsible for providing housing in very expensive neighborhoods to all who cannot afford to live in those neighborhoods. There are many places in the Country where I would love to live but cannot afford. I do NOT expect the taxpayers, developers, and home buyers (through new home add-on fees) to subsidize my housing in the areas where I would love to live. Some are saying that California is a great place to live because of its location to the ocean, lakes, and mountains. Well folks ... you can have the same things just a little more East of California in a place called Nevada ... where taxes and the cost of living are much lower and one does not tolerate the Liberal Pukes who seem to be driving this State into the socialistic ground. So ... when you see the next large American Van Lines truck heading East on Interstate 80 ... it will probably be another hard working, taxpaying former citizen of the State of California moving out of the State.

[ljselig]

In my neighborhood, six houses out of 100, put up "for sale" signs right after the election. The city pulled a bunch of rezoning "fast ones" and people were disgusted and discouraged. The rezone proposals were sprung out of nowhere with no warning. The worst one was to tear down a historic house and build over 100 luxury apartments on the lot.

Anything for a fast buck.

[cybertrano]

QUOTE (catess @ Nov 20 2002, 08:49 AM)

It's hard to imagine where people will go if they intend to move simply to escape having neighbors who can afford to purchase their own place to live. I think the laws apply to all of California, so you'll have to leave the state to escape. Along with losing the affordable housing, you'll lose the great weather, the miles & miles of bike/walking trails, the proximity to mountains, the proximity to Bay Area, the proximity to the ocean, the wonderful Folsom and Natoma Lakes, the many area rivers, the grand oaks (the ones that remain), the wonderful school district we have here, . . .

California is not the only state that can offer you these. California is now only a dream..... it will get worse....

[Steve]

I agree .... You need to travel. In my 52 years I have been/lived in many places throughout the country. California does not have a monopoly on great places to live ... many of these places do not carry the "baggage" that California has to offer.

[cybertrano]

QUOTE (Steve @ Nov 20 2002, 04:47 PM)

I agree .... You need to travel. In my 52 years I have been/lived in many places throughout the country. California does not have a monopoly on great places to live ... many of these places do not carry the "baggage" that California has to offer.

You said it so perfectly " baggage " . Yes, people need to travel around.

[Folsomite]

QUOTE

California is not the only state that can offer you these. California is now only a dream..... it will get worse....

I disagree... you can always move to Montana or something, but then you'd be stuck in... Montana. I think California is too liberal, but the natural amenities here in Folsom are perfect. You won't find another place in the US that has such a great climate. It's either too cold in winter (north) or too hot in summer (south)... well it can be pretty darn hot in the summertime, but it beats the heck out of shovelling snow in my driveway.
If I want snow, I'll drive up the hill.

Plus once the natural beauty gets boring, you can always go downtown or even drive to San Francisco. You can't say that about Oregon, Montana, Idaho... it's a great mix here. I'm not going anywhere!

[NRB]

I think California is unique. It is the only state in America where you have access to both the ocean and the mountains while still enjoying a mild climate. Whether you enjoy Summer or Winter sports, we can't be beat. We don't have tornado's or hurracane's and although we do have earthquakes, they are rarely as deadly as other natural disasters! It may get hot in the valley but we don't have the humidity to contend with. We may have our share of problems but they are definetly outweighed by the natural beauty and ammenities our state has to offer! As always...just my opinion!

[Steve]

... Actually California for me is just a short-term stopping place .. business (and not my desire to live in California) brought me here a few years back and am now ready to leave the State with the "Pot O Gold" that I made ... to spend my wealth is a better place. The recent Folsom issues have only moved up my departure date before my property value starts to fall.

As I mentioned in an earlier post I have traveled a lot and lived in a number of places and California does not have a monopoly on the good things in life. In terms of living in "beautiful" Folsom ... just think of the harm that the bad air that hangs over Folsom many days of the year is doing to your health .. then tell me that Folsom is a good place to live (You do realize that Folsom is known for the dirtiest air in the Northern CA area).

[Steve]

QUOTE (catess @ Nov 21 2002, 11:37 PM)

I've been getting the air alerts for a couple of years now, and it seems Cool and Auburn have the monopoly.

Auburn, Folsom, and neighboring cities share the same bad/dirty air. I am not aware that dirty air stops at the city line. The foothills cause bad air coming from all points west to concentrate against the foothills and results in our poor air quality. The link below illustrates my point that we live in an area with the dirtiest air in Northern CA.

http://www.epa.gov/a.../mapselect.html

Specifically here's an example of one bad day in August ...

http://www.epa.gov/a...0811/1p-sac.gif

[jake]

air quality is no doubt an issue in the Sacramento Valley... but there's very little we can do about it.

For those of you who are not satisfied with it, it's a free country, then all means, move to somewhere you and your family will enjoy.

[OctoberLily]

QUOTE (April @ Nov 11 2002, 01:45 AM)

"Most professional people put in a lot of overtime...much more than most workers.  I know for a fact that the employees at Intel work more hours than most people WOULD work! Even if they could! That place is open for workers, 24/7!  An 8 hour day is not the common work hours for those who own a business or work at one of the high tech companies.   So while the low income families will be able to live and work here right along side of us, WE won't be able to have the leizure time to spend with our families that they do!  Is THIS the American Dream, or the American Nightmare?  I always thought that the people who put forth the most effort and was the most responsible, got the biggest pay check, house, car and lived in a better neighorhood.  But this gives very little incentive to our children to do the things we did, ( like go to college and save money ), when they see that the low income can move right next door! I've found that most of the people who would like to move into these Low Income Houses have very little respect for the many years of education and hard work it takes to acquire these high paying jobs, to pay for the houses we live in.  It's like they think our "Daddies" bought the house for us or something!  They feel a sense of entitlement, that I personally can not identify with.   I'm also amazed that this so called "Law" is in effect.  Where is this law, and why can't we read it?  Our leaders come along and told us about it, but didn't bother to print it out and place it on any web site that I know of.  We are supposed to be content to allow them to explain it to us, in their words only.  How very convenient for them. The food locker and the soup kitchen may not be as full this Christmas, as it has in the past.  I'm sure thousands of people are pretty mad about this situation of the state making us home owners lose thousands in our property values.  Because, it seems this is happening all over California. Many, including my husband and I have lost thousands of dollars in the stocks that were going to be our retirement.  Now we are facing the loss of much of our home value too.

April,

Although, I respect your opinions, I find most, if not all of them, extremely shallow, self serving and borderline elitist.

I do not know where you came from before you moved to Folsom (I'm guessing somewhere close to the Silicon Valley or the Bay area) but your statements are a SLAP TO THE FACE TO ALL RESIDENTS OF FOLSOM that lived here BEFORE Intel, Powerschool and other high tech companies moved here.

This was a quiet town with lots of open space. A lot of the families were employed at Folsom Prison. Many of the people that worked in Folsom were able to purchase a home and live in Folsom.

That all changed though as it did for San Jose and the East Bay. High Tech Companies were moving in and growing. Property Owners saw the value of catering to high tech professionals making a great deal of money than to those already living in their units. Therefore, Prices of rental units and homes started to go way up. People were getting shoved out of their homes (rental units) with the constantly increasing rents. I have many friends who had to move out of the Bay area because their rents were increasing every 6 months up to $200.00 or more.

The developers in Folsom do not cater to people making an "average" wage. They cater to people like you who make an income above the average worker in California. They would rather sell a small home with no yard for $300K and up to people like you moving into Folsom then to build a small home with no yard for $180K to people who have worked here for 20 years.

You generalize "low income" workers as not appreciating the value of an education, saving money and working hard to accomplish what you have. You fail to recognize that people who ARE educated and who work in a certain field (TEACHERS, POLICE, FIRE FIGHTERS) are NOT OFFERED the same salary as people working in the high tech professions.

I bet you you enjoy the hard work these people (Teachers, Police Officers and Fire Fighters) do and don't complain much about the service these people provide to all of us. Even if they don't work as much overtime as your typical high tech professional who you allege work 24/7.

Now, I know this is a general statement because my husband works for the high tech industry and so does a lot of his friends. Although they get called in every now and then at all hours of the day and night, I can honestly say that they DON'T work as hard as you allege. They were only fortunate to have a foot in the door to an industry that is making billions and able to offer high paying positions.

You also seem to forget that before people like you moved in, Folsom was affordable to live in. I guess you wouldn't know that or maybe you did and that's why you moved here.

You blame the poor and single mothers for everything from losing money on your stocks to allegedly lowering your property values. Now, you drop threats of "the food locker and the soup kitchen may not be as full this Christmas as it has in the past."

People who give at the food locker and soup kitchens do so from the heart, not because their property values and stocks are up.

I feel sorry for the day you and your husband are laid off from your high tech jobs. Read the papers. Intel stocks are not the only stocks going down. Maybe that is what it will take for you to see what it truly is like to step in the shoes of someone making an average wage.

People are not born with empathy and compassion for others it is a learned behavoir and you certainly need to learn that "having a bigger home, nicer car, better education, good job, high paying income" does not make you a better person.