What have you done to your Tacoma today? 1st Gen Edition

Even worse, San Jose. Every spot is taken up by either a Prius, or a Tesla. Local state university parking is something like $400-500 a semester.

 

Gee I feel like I'm the only person on here who likes California.

I guess I'm going to take that back when I actually have to pay a mortgage.

 

My fiances aunt and uncle live in San Jose, been there a few times this year since she's very close with them. Maybe it's because they live in an older neighborhood in a suburb but it giant come off as being all that bad to me...and gas there was cheaper than it is where I'm at.

 

Cali is great, i dont mind it here, yet that is... im sure there will be a time when i want out too, or atleast out of the bay. Traffic here is horrible

 

San Jose and the outlaying areas is probably one of the most expensive areas to live in the entire state, mainly because of its proximity to the Silicon Valley. Do you know how many tech companies started in someone's garage in like Sunnyvale or Cupertino?

Shit, my Cadillac Horn business started in a garage not too far from the Silicon Valley. Lol.

 

Totally forgot about politics. California is... different, I'll leave it at that.

Man I remember protesters shut down the main interstate going into San Francisco the night Donald Trump was elected. All eight lanes in both directions were blocked by thousands of people marching from the on-ramps in Oakland.

 

I loved CA back when I was in school...then I graduated and the reality of what it actually costs to live here swiftly kicked me in the balls and then overly-taxed me for the ground I still lay in the fetal position on to this very day.

 

Speaking of living here, tuition at the local University is only about an average of $10k a year. Room and board, on the other hand, is $25k.

 

I have myself to blame in large part, I went to an expensive school for a degree in a field that doesn't really require one. Was pretty naive but then again, I grew up under the notion that you had to get a degree no matter what or end up homeless. These days that's simply no longer true. Fortunately, most of those costs were taken care of but I can't help but wonder how much better that money could have been spent.

CA is beautiful, I'll give it that. The endless places to wheel and explore within an hour or two drive has definitely spoiled me. But I know that exists elsewhere too in states with much less people pollution and a more reasonable cost of living. Unfortunately though many other Californians are thinking the same and starting to ruin everywhere else...I should just move to Alaska.

 

So true. I have friends who took two year commercial welding certifications at the local community college make more money out of school than friends who went to UC's for a four year MBA program. It's crazy.

 

Yup the world will always need people who are skilled in a trade. As long as it's a trade that wont be taken over by robots or AI, lol. Then you want to be the guy that knows how to build/fix those.

 

I rode an Uber in San Francisco with some friends and I was the designated 'small-talk' person so they made me sit up front and talk to the driver. Started talking about his career and what he did and why he drove Uber, and it turns out this guy had a Doctorate in Psychology and he told me he made more money driving for Uber than he did as a Psychiatrist for the city. Insane.

 

Best uber I had was a former JPL thrust mapping guy that was just fucking done dealing with people that had the social skills of oatmeal. I think he'd already made enough to retire anyway and was biding his time.

 

CEL fixes itself, for now.

 

I think the Death Proof nova needs to make an example of this clown.

 

Johnson Controls is a good company. Have a few buddies who work for them and a lot of the Mechanical Subcontractors use them.

 

Come across the river to AZ! I left San Diego for Tucson a while back and aside from the beach I don’t miss it. Cost of livig is pennies compared to CA. The heat really isn’t as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

 

AZ is awesome, i use to have a aunt that lived there and i always loved going down there, especially because they lived more in the rual area so they acres for us to play on ans shoot. Also riding around in The back of trucks like a bunch of rednecks lol.

 

I've thought about it, but its no longer just up to me lol (getting married this year). My one big hesitation with AZ is the heat...I loathe extreme heat. I live for overcast, cool days...and I'll take rain over hot sunshine any day. The northwest is calling me the most, and my fiancé is on board with us doing it eventually. Some of my family has already moved up to Oregon and some of hers is planning to eventually.

I lived in Portland for a short while as a kid and loved it, but thinking back it was still a pretty large city and I'd like to get away from that if possible. My career though (commercial photography) limits me to large metropolitan areas for the most part, but I'm open to a career change eventually.

I will say that Flagstaff has intrigued me, from what I hear it's nothing like the rest of AZ as far as the heat goes due to it's elevation.

 

I remember reading somewhere on here that you can use a longer wiper on the drivers side. Anyone know what the length is? Stock is 17", I had an extra 22" blade in the shop and it went off the window a little