California Living
California is the most populous state of the United States.
Located on the Pacific coast of North America, it is bordered
by Oregon, Nevada, Arizona and Mexico. The state's four
largest cities are Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose and San
Francisco. California is known
.....
..... for its pleasant
climate and ethnically diverse population. The state has 58
counties.
In spite of high house values, in California you can enjoy
very pleasant life due to the wonderful climate all year
around by owning your Real Estate whether homes, houses,
estate or investment properties. Buying California homes for
sale is not so expensive these days compared with those in
other states in the United States.
Beautiful sunny California offers a vast assortment of real
estate in all different styles and home prices. Amidst the
variant geography and community types, real estate includes,
luxurious beachfront homes, magnificent mountain estates,
desert paradises, trendy downtown condominiums, expansive
lakefront estate homes, golf resort properties, investment
property and more.
A total of 39,200 new and resale houses and condos were sold
statewide November, 2006. That's down 8.3 percent from 42,750
for October and down 23.5 percent from a 51,250 for November
2005.
The median price paid for a home in November, 2006 was
$469,000. That was up 0.4 percent from October's $467,000, and
up 2.4 percent from $458,000 for November 2005.
California's
diverse geography ranges from the sandy beaches of the Pacific
to the rugged, snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains in the
east. The central portion of the state is dominated by the
California Central Valley, one of the most.....
.....vital agricultural
areas in the country. The Sierra Nevada contain Yosemite
Valley, famous for its glacially-carved domes, and Sequoia
National Park, home to the largest living organisms on Earth,
the Giant Sequoia trees, and the highest point in the
contiguous United States, Mount Whitney. The tallest living
things on Earth, ancient Redwood trees, dot the Northern
California coastline. California is also home to the lowest
and hottest place in the Western Hemisphere, Death Valley.
Bristlecone pines located in California's White Mountains are
the oldest known trees in the world; one has an age of 4,700
years.
As of 2006, California has an estimated population of
37,172,015, and is the 13th fastest-growing state. This
includes a natural increase since the last census of 1,557,112
people (that is 2,781,539 births minus 1,224,427 deaths) and
an increase due to net migration of 751,419 people into the
state. Immigration from outside the United States resulted in
a net increase of 1,415,879 people, and migration within the
country produced a net increase of 564,100 people, and a
decrease of 21,669.
More than 12 percent of U.S. citizens live in California and
its population is larger than all but 33 countries.
California
has eight of the top 50 US cities in terms of population. Los
Angeles is the nation's second-largest city with a population
of 3,845,541 people, followed by San Diego (8th), San Jose
(10th), San Francisco (14th), Long Beach (34th), Fresno
(37th), Sacramento (38th) and Oakland (44th).
As of 2005, California's GDP is larger than all but seven
countries in the world (and all but eight countries by
Purchasing Power Parity). California is responsible for 13% of
the United States gross domestic product (GDP). As of 2005,
The gross state product (GSP) is about $1.62 trillion, the
largest in the country.
California is also the home of several significant economic
regions such as Hollywood (entertainment), the California
Central Valley (agriculture), Silicon Valley (computers and
high tech), and wine producing regions such as Santa Barbara
and Northern California's Wine Country.
The predominant industry, more than twice as large as the
next, is agriculture, (including fruit, vegetables, dairy, and
wine). This is followed by aerospace; entertainment, primarily
television by dollar volume, although many movies are still
made in California; light manufacturing, including computer
hardware and software; and the mining of borax.
Per capita personal income was $48,460 as of 2005, ranking
13th in the nation. Per capita income varies widely by
geographic region and profession. The Central Valley is the
most impoverished, with migrant farm workers making less than
minimum wage. Recently, the San Joaquin Valley was
characterized [2] as one of the most economically depressed
regions in the U.S., on par with the region of Appalachia.
Many coastal cities include some of the wealthiest
per-capita areas in the U.S. The high-technology sectors in
Northern California, specifically Silicon Valley, in Santa
Clara and San Mateo counties, are currently emerging from
economic downturn caused by the dot com bust, which caused the
loss of over 250,000 jobs in Northern California alone. Recent
(Spring 2005) economic data indicate that economic growth has
resumed in California at 4.3%.
California
levies a 9.3% maximum variable rate income tax, with 6 tax
brackets. It collects about $40 billion in income taxes.
California's combined state, county and local sales tax rate
is from 7.25 to 8.75%. The rate varies throughout the state at
the local level. In all, it collects about $28 billion in
sales taxes. All real property are taxable and are assessed at
fair market value at the time of purchase, limiting property
tax income. California collects $33 billion in property taxes.
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