lukerguy":1vyjvvcq said:
Oakland is a hole... but if you play in Oakland, that certainly doesn't mean you need to live there. SF is one of the most desirable cities in the world to live in.
They'd have to offer me a hell of a lot to pay an extra 13% for the "privilege" of living and working in California. I lived in CA, and made good money there. And paid an obscene amount of state income tax. When work got bad and I left, know what really chapped my ass ? Not moving away from the beach. It wasn't the lack of good weather (we're talking 75 degrees consistently throughout the year). Not making less money. It was thinking back to paying over 30k in state income taxes in one year. Not happy thoughts.
It's hard for us to really empathize with the athletes, but if it were me, I'd be going where the best place for my family to live was, where I had the best chance to compete, followed by the best coaching staff and team mates. These are guys you work and damn near live with, if they're a bunch of a**holes then the money isn't worth it.
We're all assuming by taking a "home town discount" you're a desired athlete in the top 10% of your position, right ? So, I'm making millions anyways. First, I keep as much as I can out of the government's hands (which is what most wealthy people try to do for starters). So, take the state income tax, add about 10 %, factor in the other stuff, and you about have it.
Unless you're a total jack wagon, a couple of million a year for 4-5 years is all you should need for you, your immediate family, setting up your kids, and helping out some extended family. Living better than most of us do.