It's a desert but it's pretty awesome. I love the education there and it's not too far from LA and isn't LA. I'm thinking of moving there and my life will be better. I just have to do a few things to feel ready to move like learn how to drive and get a car. Get a different bank account and then I should be set. Life will be better for me there but in due time I shall move there.
What are people's opinions on Palm Springs, California?
When I say that I mean the whole desert area including all the different cities there. The city I plan to move there will be kept private but I wanted to share and hear opinions.
I don't know what you mean by "the whole desert area including all the different cities there." Palm Springs is a city so there aren't "other cities there". Do you mean Riverside County, in which Palm Springs is located?
I don't know where you live but if you don't already live in California I'd have to ask why you'd want to move here. I've lived all my life in California so the reality of my state isn't a big factor. But if you're coming from another state here's some things to consider:
1. Our state income tax and state sales tax are about the highest in the country. In my county I pay 7% state sales tax plus another 0.5% county sales tax. Other counties pay up to 8.5%.
2. Real Estate in expensive. Expect to pay at least twice what you would pay in another state to buy a home. Rent is no better because someone along the line had to buy the place at California rates in order to have it available for rent. Our real estate property tax is extremely high. If you rent that tax is figured into your monthly cost. My neighbors who have bought their middle class homes within the past 10 years pay, on average, about $7,000 a year in property tax. It would be a little less in Riverside County but not all that much. It's a huge factor here in every county.
3. Riverside County's median family income is not exceptional. But to live in Riverside County the median family income is around $45,000/yr. Moving here means having a decent paying job lined up before making the move. In most of the Country $45,000 a year is fabulous. In California is is just getting by.
4. You'd better like the heat. In Riverside County expect to have 100 degree heat five months a year and 90 degree heat at each end of the hot months.
5. If you don't like rain, good. It rains less than one foot per year.
6. If you like crowded neighborhoods, good. Most of the 7.5 million sq/miles of Riverside County is unoccupiable by humans. But the County population is 2.2 million people.
7. Our public schools are just OK. They spend more time indoctrinating students about social issues than they do teaching basic reading, writing, science and math. Politicians scream that we need more teachers, our schools are underfunded, etc. Our State Department of Education receives 52% of the entire California States budget for public education. That money doesn't include the individual County's public education dollars. And they all want even more.
8. Gasoline: Expect to pay at least $1.00/gal above the nationwide average regardless of what the market is doing.
Do you have a really good reason for wanting to move to California (assuming you don't already live here)? If you want to live in the desert why not Arizona or New Mexico?
