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Other recommendations for good brokers/online sites?

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Standard of Excellence closed. Is there still the outlet?

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This is just sickening and heart-breaking. I’m a second generation Angeleno whose grandparents on both sides moved here early on in search of better lives.

I went to the same high school that my parents met at, even had some of the same teachers! I was educated in the UC system, as were all of my siblings, and I’ve returned after years away, joining that same system again as a professor.

I don’t recognize the state I grew up in and it’s not just the traffic jams. A few years ago, I thought it would all work out, but now I’m not so sure anymore.

The system is broken and I don’t think anyone has the motivation to fix it.

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I love Oliver Peoples for glasses. I’m blind as a bat and need reading glasses, computer glasses, and regular glasses. Oliver Peoples has stylish frames that aren’t glitzy and don’t have brands stamped on them. I think they’re classic and attractive.

They have two lines: Oliver Peoples and Paul Smith. They run sales a few times a year and the prices are comparable to most other optics shops.

The other thing I like about Oliver Peoples is that they don’t have millions of frames and they are very good are finding a frame to fit your face.

Worth a look.

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I’m a registered Democrat, but I’m disgusted. These increases aren’t going to solve the problem. Maybe it’s time to start cutting wasteful spending and chop some of the social services benefits, welfare, prison spending, union payoffs, etc. Oh, wait, I’m preaching to the choir.

I know the polls suggest majority support for this tax initiative, but I really wonder if people will actually vote for it when the time comes.

Blog sentiment is telling. Most posts say “Enough already. Just cut!”

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Any details on the “graduated” increase in state income tax for earners in the $250,000+ category?

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B&B gets good reviews. I’ll try them. GE Profile is a good satisficing solution. Have you seen the prices on the GE Monogram fridges?!? Sheesh.

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Standards of Excellence shut down 1/15/2012.

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I think cooking classes are too much of a commitment unless you are CERTAIN she would like it. Otherwise, it could be seen as a chore – she’d have to go so as not to offend you and that would be annoying. If it’s one time only, that’s not too bad.

In general, gift certificates to do things are annoying unless they are something the person has always wanted to do. They introduce a sense of obligation to redeem that detracts from the gift.

What’s your budget? And I might have missed this, but is this your Mom or your wife?

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Can’t live without dropbox. Google Docs is a different product for a different purpose.

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All I can say is that after 4 years and one depressing SS experience that went nowhere, we are finally in escrow. Locked and loaded!

Thank goodness, because there is nothing but NOTHING out there and we found something nice. Kudos to JtR who made it happen after we had given up all hope.

Now, let’s just make it through the inspection…

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JtR is my realtor 🙂 and he has lots of good suggestions, but I also like to do my own due diligence. The garage is epoxy, so I’m not sure what the options are since it’s already been epoxied.

We’re definitely looking at Stanley Steemer, but wouldn’t you know it, the tile is cracked, so we need to investigate that further and see what that’s about.

And here I thought once we actually had an offer accepted, we’d be done, but NO, now the work begins…

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Ok, I understand what you are saying now. There is no carpet, it’s all travertine and engineered wood. There are no curtains or fabrics, just wood shutters.

Re: mold inspections, how often do people do those inspections?

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sdr – I’m not sure I understand what you are saying? Are you saying that we might be able to get rid of the odor but something fundamental about the dog will be left behind that will irritate our allergies?

Our realtor is awesome and isn’t minimizing our concerns.

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I think you’ve answered your own question. It doesn’t matter what anyone else would do because they won’t have the same preference function as you do.

If the money isn’t as important as other things, then it makes sense to move. You sound like you want to move and you lay out good reasons why you should move.

If your husband has the chance to “move up,” then this could be your opportunity to move back to the area you clearly miss very much.

IMHO, quality of life makes up for a lot and the research shows that the money isn’t going to make you as happy as doing what is right for your family.

OTOH, if the pay cut is so substantial that you can’t afford to live here, then the stress will more than take away from any benefits you gain by moving back “home.”

You don’t say what a $20,000-$40,000 cut is percentage-wise, so it’s hard to know how much of a hit you will be taking.

It’s hard to imagine house prices going much lower in real terms,considering rates and inflation now, so this is a good time to move back and you don’t have to live in the most expensive community so you can control your housing costs.

Raising an autistic child presents significant challenges – my own opinion is that you should evaluate the resources available to your child in different locales and then decide accordingly.

I have several colleagues with autistic children and one actually moved out of SoCal because fighting with the public school system in LA became too much. So be sure to research whether you can get the benefits here and how easily. It probably varies from district to district.

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