Where to live?
#41
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Oct 2019
Position: B737 CA
Posts: 114
I'm always curious about how folks quantify "good schools". Having been sent all over the US with the military, I still haven't cracked the code with three kids, aged 10-15. The only school we feel that was "bad" for our oldest was a middle school in Florida. He struggled and ultimately repeated 7th grade due to a number of reasons. Ironically, the elementary school in the same district was fantastic for our younger two. What metrics are you using to pick a school district? Word of mouth? Test scores? Ivy League acceptance rate? Class sizes? Greatschools.org rating? All of those could be arguably inaccurate. Am I missing something?
#42
Currently Nevada funds their state budget through tourism (gambling and hotel room tax). As the amount of Nevada residents increase (Nevada is the fastest growing state) relative to the number of tourists, there becomes less and less money to fund these projects. Look for Nevada to institute a state income tax within the next 10 years.
43 out of 50 states have state income tax, and the average rate is around 5%.
5 of the 7 have high property taxes that make up for it (Texas, Florida, etc...)
Alaska gets all its money from oil drilling.
Nevada gets all its money from gambling and hotel taxes.
Every state gets money one way or another.
43 out of 50 states have state income tax, and the average rate is around 5%.
5 of the 7 have high property taxes that make up for it (Texas, Florida, etc...)
Alaska gets all its money from oil drilling.
Nevada gets all its money from gambling and hotel taxes.
Every state gets money one way or another.
Property taxes are amazingly cheap here (at least in Vegas - Reno is going crazy with high property values because of the SFO area being so close) when compared to other states without an income tax. My house in TX would cost 4-5x in property taxes easy.
If someone doesn’t want to live at a UA base, LAS is a pretty good option in my opinion, especially for SFO.
#44
But “better” is a relative term. Any hub-to-hub commute can be challenging and DEN-SFO can flip from open seats to everything’s oversold at the drop of a hat. Or a SFO flow.
#45
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Jan 2019
Position: 757/767
Posts: 185
That being said, since the opening of the DEN 787 base and the FA contract, getting a seat isn’t so bad. Between UA, SWA, and F9 there are options. And it’s a $30-50 Uber to SJC. There’s also OAK.
Two things make it challenging. 1. The earliest flight leaves at 600a except during summer months, and the last flight out of SFO is at 800p on SWA except weekends which is around 4p. There is a F9 1am flight but...
2. When low ceilings, wind, and/or rain move into SFO, things delay significantly. That adds to stress and long days.
#47
Nobody has mentioned ORD yet. It certainly has its downsides, like weather and property taxes, but there some amazingly good deals on houses 30-45 minutes north of the employee lot just off the tollway. Very possible to sit short call at home, or even on the golf course.
Schools are very local, so no broad brush answer on that.
One caution, there is a proposed constitutional amendment to introduce a graduated income tax, up to now it has been a flat rate with very few deductions.
ORD is not currently a junior base, but it has been in the past, and probably will be in the future. The airport and terminals are expanding. Construction delays are probable for the next couple of years.
Joe
Schools are very local, so no broad brush answer on that.
One caution, there is a proposed constitutional amendment to introduce a graduated income tax, up to now it has been a flat rate with very few deductions.
ORD is not currently a junior base, but it has been in the past, and probably will be in the future. The airport and terminals are expanding. Construction delays are probable for the next couple of years.
Joe
#48
On Reserve
Joined APC: Sep 2019
Posts: 10
So, I actually base traded back to SFO. Do I want to commute, of course not. But, everyone has their own personal reasons. Mine came down to wanting some type of control over my schedule. For example, next month I get 19 days off and all of them are the exact days off that I want.
Little extra bonus to being a line holder, premium pay. This month I picked up a 3-day, out of base trip that paid 34 hours. That will help with the Christmas presents this year.
Just another data point from my very limited perspective. You have to choose what's most important for you. Good luck!
#49
Some guys are willing to commute/drive long haul in a fervent quest to save on state taxes, but looking at that last paystub I see California withheld $10,500 from me last year, a sizable chunk of which I’ll get back (since they still allow work-related expenses, including union dues, to be deducted).
The thing is, living in the 916 area code also allowed me to legitimately sit short call reserve at home and not get touched for two months at a time. The area I live in has great schools, great weather, and a Prop 13 lockdown on property tax increases. When I do go in it’s a 1:45 drive, rain or shine, no delays or cancellations, and I always get a seat in first class. Throw in the couple VDOs I wrangled last summer (which were only possibly because I could be there in under two hours) and I’m failing to see the attraction of other options in a purely mathematical equation.
If you don’t want to live in California for idealogical reasons, I get it, but from a dollars and cents, what’s your time worth to you perspective I gladly wave the Bear Flag.
The thing is, living in the 916 area code also allowed me to legitimately sit short call reserve at home and not get touched for two months at a time. The area I live in has great schools, great weather, and a Prop 13 lockdown on property tax increases. When I do go in it’s a 1:45 drive, rain or shine, no delays or cancellations, and I always get a seat in first class. Throw in the couple VDOs I wrangled last summer (which were only possibly because I could be there in under two hours) and I’m failing to see the attraction of other options in a purely mathematical equation.
If you don’t want to live in California for idealogical reasons, I get it, but from a dollars and cents, what’s your time worth to you perspective I gladly wave the Bear Flag.
#50
Gets Weekends Off
Joined APC: Aug 2012
Posts: 456
Some guys are willing to commute/drive long haul in a fervent quest to save on state taxes, but looking at that last paystub I see California withheld $10,500 from me last year, a sizable chunk of which I’ll get back (since they still allow work-related expenses, including union dues, to be deducted).
The thing is, living in the 916 area code also allowed me to legitimately sit short call reserve at home and not get touched for two months at a time. The area I live in has great schools, great weather, and a Prop 13 lockdown on property tax increases. When I do go in it’s a 1:45 drive, rain or shine, no delays or cancellations, and I always get a seat in first class. Throw in the couple VDOs I wrangled last summer (which were only possibly because I could be there in under two hours) and I’m failing to see the attraction of other options in a purely mathematical equation.
If you don’t want to live in California for idealogical reasons, I get it, but from a dollars and cents, what’s your time worth to you perspective I gladly wave the Bear Flag.
The thing is, living in the 916 area code also allowed me to legitimately sit short call reserve at home and not get touched for two months at a time. The area I live in has great schools, great weather, and a Prop 13 lockdown on property tax increases. When I do go in it’s a 1:45 drive, rain or shine, no delays or cancellations, and I always get a seat in first class. Throw in the couple VDOs I wrangled last summer (which were only possibly because I could be there in under two hours) and I’m failing to see the attraction of other options in a purely mathematical equation.
If you don’t want to live in California for idealogical reasons, I get it, but from a dollars and cents, what’s your time worth to you perspective I gladly wave the Bear Flag.
Other than that, the opportunities to make extra money because of the high number of commuters here makes up for what Governor Steal-Your-Girl takes from me.
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