damned be these cant't say the word

[SGKent]

Just got the license renewal on the bus. It is almost doubling every year now in this state. Don't own an old car in California if you can afford it. Between special smog fees, special smog tests because it is a bay and high risk, and the license fees it is over $200 a year to own one of these buses here even though it is barely driven. It is like your utility bills here: when you look up where the money goes, about 1/3 is for people who can't afford to pay for utilities but they can afford drugs, alcohol, cars, guns, money to party all night. My new years resolution is to sell the rest of my stash this year and the bus then get out of here. Just tired of being whipped by the politicians here. This household will pay roughly $1000 net income to the state in DMV, smog and other junk car fees, in addition to almost $15 per tankful more for gas. We also pay more in insurance due to the high levels of accidents and uninsured/under insured motorists. When will the people rise up? If you own a bay don't come to California.
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[slave1pilot]

don't come to california even if you dont own a bay.
Stay where you are and be happy about it.
_________________
My Photobucket for my Herbie Project - http://s1288.photobucket.com/user/TK-439/library/Herbie?sort=3&page=1

Currently:
1963 Ragtop Beetle
Previously:
1967 Beetle
1968 Beetle
1970 Beetle

[78BusGA]

I used to live in CA. The politics there in the potentially forever financially red state will continue to fee, tax, and charge you more and more each year. There is no affordable living in California in 90% of the state, not to mention including all the social 'progressiveness' they enact to change your daily life 'for the better'.

I moved out of California 6 years ago and haven't looked back save to move two households of family out of CA in the last 2.5 years to a place where we can afford to live and have abundantly more life security than there.

When I crossed over the border to AZ at the time, Gas prices dropped at least 60¢. Vehicle registration where I am is quite reasonable, with a lower tax rate, clean healthy healthy water, services and good local education. Im in the southern Appellation mountain foothills, and know theres so many awesome camping and adventure places around here to take my bus on.

CA might still be a hub for parts shops and service areas, though even they are under all those CA regulations that make business there tougher and tougher to do. Yes the weather there for driving an ACVW is awesome if you make enough money to survive there, and the locations nice, though look at what the state is doing to you in all aspects of life. They're diving many people out, which is sad.
_________________
Few will understand the passion and majesty, among the nuts and grease.

Tom H.

My '74 Super 1303 thread - https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=764902&start=60

My '78 Kombi Bus thread - https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=769385&highlight=

'72 Superbeetle (retired), '78 Bus Kombi 2.0FI, '74 1303 Superbeetle

[SevenOaks]

As they say at Southwest Airlines, “you are free to move about the country”.
_________________
David
1974 9-passenger bus
1969 Single cab
1966 Beetle

[skills@eurocarsplus]

Steve...

this is why there are so many wandering idiots in busses....use mom/dad/friends address and live out of a van...it's the only way to do it I guess.

we pay 20 biennially for emissions. and registration is well under 200 for 2 years.

keep the bus. if you move east, I will happily store it for you until you arrive. I would promote the hell out of it and send it to BJ or Mecum (with a reserve) you won't get what it's worth here (by here, I mean on the samba)

CA is overrated imho....I would rather live in Sticksville than have to deal with a 2 hour commute to go 6 miles

if you move out of CA you'll give yourself a 25% raise on that retirement
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[Jeff Geisen]

I left So Cal in ‘81. Jeeze, I thought it was bad then.

Unfortunately though as goes California, so goes the rest of the country eventually.
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I Corinthians 4: 1 thru 5

‘63 ragtop - ‘68 single cab

[allenw]

I pay 20 a year in NWGA for tags for my 74SB no smog or other fees and the cost of living is very reasonable.

[Mispeld]

My brand new Harley in 2007 was 49 state legal. Bet you can't cant guess which state it wasn't legal in.

Cali is a beautiful state tho. It's a shame.
_________________
Tom
1977 Westy. 2.0 Fuel Injected.

[Abscate]

[busdaddy]

Well don't get any wild ideas about escaping it all by moving to Canada, we are right behind California and may even surpass their rules and taxes on some fronts, I'll stop now because if I told you what I really think about it all I'd get banned.
_________________
Rust NEVER sleeps and stock never goes out of style.

Please don't PM technical questions, ask your problem in public so everyone can play along. If you think it's too stupid post it here
Stop dead photo links! Post your photos to The Samba Gallery!

Слава Україні!

[skills@eurocarsplus]

smoke and mirrors...

CA receives .96 back for every dollar shipped to DC. this is largely in part that SS recipients bail.... or other federal dollars are going to where the retirees are....

so lets just say CA has 4 retired people and FL has 9. of course more federal $$ is going to FL...


to say CA is "paying" for other states is kind of BS.

and as far as I'm concerned, fuck CA....the just neutered my favorite brake parts cleaner. now I have to use 4x as much for the same fucking job.
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[raygreenwood]

I spent two weeks out of December in Silicon Valley.....San Jose and Alameda based company's.
Both were semiconductor clients. About 50% of my clients are semiconductor.

Guess what....the media myth that silicon valley based high tech companies being predominantly liberal/blue state....is patently false.

If you can get these people "off campus" for a drink and dinner.....every single one of them short of Google....will tell you that the common "visible" front their companies put up....to the media and the state of CA....is what they have to do for PR and popularity for hiring young skilled staff.

They are actually mostly hard core....cost conscious.....capitalists....and are generally conservative as hell. We are talking semiconductor PRODUCTION companies here. Its dog eat dog for cost and intellectual property rights.........and every one of them I have, spoken to in the past 4 years....and thats a lot of companies....is workijg hard to branch out and open fabs elsewhere.....in every satellite, mini "silicon valley" they can.....Austin....St Louis....Nashville.....las Vegas.....Phoenix....even the "research triangle" outside Raleigh is seeing a resurgence.

As those locations take off.....and the production ramps reach peaks.....they will be quietly closing off and closing out operations in CA.
Ray

[Zundfolge1432]

Please hurry and post one of the beach pics of your VW and then a snarky comment about how you don’t have to contend with road salt or cold temps.
I lived in Long Beach then up around Sylmar, and later San Diego back in late 70s. Even then it was crowded but hey the weather was nice 👍🏽 sounds like Grapes of Wrath in reverse 😀 maybe we ain’t done bagging on California but when you find utopia let me know, wherever you go it’s a trade off. As I remember it there was always a north vs. south thing going on with north feeling all superior.

[ALLWAGONS]

[SGKent]

Thanks - I feel better now that I am not alone.

Skills - I'd come back there in a heartbeat but the cold kills me these days - my lungs are so screwed up from breathing California air.

Ray - nice to know that. Regardless of our differences we share some things in common - you will never hear me asking to raise your taxes so I can live a better life. If I need a better life I'll work for it.

Jeff - now I understand why you were so hard on California that one time. I apologize.

Mark - I don't know what to say, seems that we share one thing in common - we are part of the English Commonwealth. I suspect they still look at us as chattel based on some things shared with me after an associate had a business meeting with Charles about 20 years ago.

Everyone else - If I failed to mention you by name my heart is still with you and you are welcome here anytime - although I really am planning to vacate this place. I've lived in this house for 30 years so it will take some planning to get out.
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[KTPhil]

We did it to ourselves.

Through lack of reading skills or succumbing to slick, highly financed TV ads that lied to us, WE VOTED FOR THE LICENSE FEE AND GAS TAX INCREASES OURSELVES when given the chance last November! Voting NO meant YES to the tax. Apparently that was too complicated and we stepped on our... shoelaces.

California didn't get back its dollars from Washington before, and after the federal tax change last year, with its limits on deductibility of state income and property taxes, that will be even more true this year and from now on until we repeal that nonsense. So states with higher state taxes (California, New York, Illinois, among others) will do so to awn even larger degree.

This isn't politics, it's numerical facts about taxation... take from it what you will, but please don't deny the math.

Yes, the new fees suck, but maybe read the damn initiative language more carefully next time!

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming...

[Jacks]

I'm thrilled every time someone says California sucks and moves out. Say you're not coming back? OK. Sort of a one way deal for the most part. Folks that wish to return often find that is impossible to do so after the fact. Almost feel sorry for them sometimes. Be careful what you wish for, I suppose. ME? Lived in Orange County beach towns for my whole life. Wild horses couldn't drag me away. Won't say it's for everyone though.
_________________
Jack Staggs
Actual name

[Mark Evans]

Born and raised in So Cal, but would NEVER move back. Just for the right to own firearms is enough for me.
_________________
'63 Ragtop

[TDCTDI]

Now if only those who move out could remember why they moved out & quit voting for the same shit that caused them to leave their beautiful, unaffordable "utopia".
_________________
Everybody born before 1975 has a story, good, bad, or indifferent, about a VW.


GOFUNDYOURSELF, quit asking everyone to do it for you!


An air cooled VW will make you a hoarder.


Do something, anything, to your project every day, and you will eventually complete it.

[gt1953]

Glad I am not in Cali, have no desire to even go there. Poor saps that are there and some a stuck.
_________________
Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})