Oh whoa-is-me. Remember The List I started a few weeks back? The one that included the adolescent Assistant Store Manager at Mr. Pickles who kicked us out? Well my list is expanding. Right now I am adding AT&T/Apple and the entire East Bay. I am in quite the mood.
Why the East Bay? Because it is too damn expensive, period. After over 12 months of living in our little house we have decided that the Kargas family needs more space. We are far too squished in our little home, and it is wearing on us all. So we have started the search for new digs. It has not been easy. Sure we could get more bang for our buck if we moved to Oakland, but then again, our children would either be forced to attend the poorly performing public schools of the city, or we could fork out $15,000-25,000 a year (per child) for private schools. Not an attractive option. Of course there are pockets of Oakland with good schools, but those pockets are highly desirable, and therefore almost as expensive as Berkeley. We could move to the suburbs, but a) we are urban people and truly do not wish to live in the suburbs and b) that would mean longer commutes. It all seems like a lose-lose situation. And all though I am not being singularly persecuted, it generally pisses me off.
Why AT&T/Apple? About a month and a half ago I destroyed my cell phone when a Diet Coke exploded in my purse. I took that opportunity to switch over to AT&T and get a brand new Iphone. I paid nearly $500 in penalty fees for leaving Verizon, and gave up any chance of ever having more than 2 bars for the privilege. The result? Less than two months later, I have a dysfunctional phone. No Internet. No Internet. What is the point of an Iphone if you have no Internet? I spent 30 minutes on the phone with AT&T on Saturday with no resolution. I had a sixty minute call with a technician tonight, only to be told that my phone is "seriously messed up", and that I would have to make an appointment to go into an Apple store to see a "Genius". Great. What a fun way to spend a Saturday afternoon. All I can say is that "Genius" better give me a fully-functioning brand spanking new phone or *someone* is going to have a temper tantrum in the middle of an Emeryville shopping mall.
So there you have it. It appears I am on a roll.
We are in a less expensive, semi-urban slice of the east bay. You should come check it out. Have you checked out EC?
ReplyDeleteI hear you about how expensive California can get. We used to live in Novato. We rented. If we would have wanted to stay and buy a house, my husband and I would have been looking at commuting for two hours. It's not worth it.
ReplyDeleteWe live in Oakland in the Redwood Heights area and the elementary school is supposed to be great. Might be worth checking out. This neighborhood is very family-friendly but not as pricey as Montclair or higher up in the Hills.
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