There are a lot of reasons to not move somewhere, but many people who are living in Huntington don’t have much to complain about aside from the normal things every Californian complains about. But, here are the big and small things people do not move to Huntington Beach because of, and we have listed some of them below.
1. Very Divisive Politics
A lot of people are moving out of California because of the government
and policies in place, but in Huntington Beach, there is an issue of people being split down the middle. Based on the 2020 presidential election, about 53.5% of voters voted Democrat, and 44.4% voted Republican. The remaining small portion of residents voted independent.
This can lead to a lot of misunderstandings because there are a fair amount of people who see things on two ends of the voting spectrum. But, that also means that it doesn’t matter what you vote, you can move there and have people who vote similar to you, which is always nice to have. But, when it comes to citing local, state, and country governments, you need to step up and use your voice, as it is important here!
2. Racism, is it Here or Not?
Because of the two main points of view that are in this city, some people have stated on Quora and Reddit that there is a lot of racism in Huntington Beach. But, there are other people who say there is not any, nor have they seen any in their entire time living there. It seems that depending on your religious and political beliefs, along with your location in the city, you will view the issue of racism differently.
The general answer on if racism is in Huntington Beach is that it is there, but it is not extreme as how some people make it out to be. People have said that you might be more likely to experience it in certain areas, but it is no different than any other city in the US that is generally not racist, with a few people who are in one area. So this is something not that some people have talked about, but it is not a big worry that you need to lose sleep over before moving here.
3. Expensive
This one speaks for itself. California is expensive, and when you live in a city that has a beach, you will see prices that are much higher than in other cities that are more inland. To give you an idea of exactly how much you will pay in rent every month, a 1-bedroom apartment costs between $1,700 and $4,300 a month.
Basically, everything in Huntington Beach is expensive and it is hard to afford anything. That includes gas, rent, and fun things like eating out. This point feeds directly into the next point, and it is the fifth point that taxes are high as well. Huntington Beach has become a place of people who are rich and able to afford to live there, and it has people who bought homes when it was less expensive and still own them today. For anyone else, it is extremely hard to afford to live there. And, if you can afford it, then why not just buy a home somewhere else and go live in a place you own?
4. Accepting that You’ll NEVER Buy a Home
Many residents of Huntington beach are finding themselves saying, “I guess when you live in California you have to accept that you are never going to buy or own anything.”
That is sad to hear from young people, who have their whole lives to live. Living here means that you will never own property unless you are wealthy, and when that is your mindset, you understand why Californians are moving to other states and buying homes.
5. Taxes
And to add to the plethora of money problems, taxes are another issue. In Huntington beach, you will be taxed a total of 7.75%, which includes state, county, and city taxes added together. The state tax alone is 7.25%. Now that is a lot of money to pay in taxes, especially with inflation making your regular consumer goods like groceries and gas much more expensive than normal.
6. Traffic, the Daily Complaint Since 1850
Okay, so this complaint isn’t really about 170 years old, as that’s when California entered statehood. However, it feels like this complaint has been around that long. While living in Huntington Beach, you will always have to add time to your commute if you want to get anywhere on time. Sometimes you will need an extra 5 minutes, other times you will need to add an extra hour to your travel time. That is a lot of time to be sitting in your car on a road that is supposed to have cars moving and is incredibly frustrating.
7. Lines Longer than Disneyland
Because there are so many cars on the roads and there are also so many people, it makes sense that lines are going to be long. These aren’t just lines of traffic on the road. Rather, it can take you 40+ minutes to get through an In-N-Out drive-thru before you finally get your food. But going inside to get it can take you 20 minutes total. Now that’s a long drive-thru line!
The other line locals have to drag themselves to is the gas line, especially at stores like Costco. There are multiple pumps, and with the extra long cords it doesn’t matter what side you pump your gas on at Costco, but the line is still long. However, when it comes to saving money, people will do whatever they can because of how expensive it is to live in Huntington Beach.
8. No Seasons, No Changes
In California, you are sacrificing the different seasons for perfect weather all year round. Some people love this, but after a while, they find that it becomes boring and it isn’t as fun. Everyone else can get in the mood for a pumpkin spice latte in the fall, but in Southern California, it is still warm enough to comfortably drink iced lattes. When everyone is posting about “sweater weather” you can feel left out because there are still “hot girl summer” vibes where you live, and it never changes.
Everyone related to you wants to visit you on the beach during the winter, spring, summer, and fall, but after summer, all you will want to do is visit them so that you can have hot chocolate and not feel judged for it when it is still 75° Fahrenheit outside. It isn’t the worst problem, but you can’t really sing White Christmas without feeling sad that you won’t get a white Christmas.
9. Lots of Cars, Everywhere
It is hard to find parking in Huntington Beach, California. If you live about 10 or so minutes out from the beach then you won’t run into the issue too often, but with so many visitors during the summer, the streets get even more crowded than they regularly are. If you are a resident, you can learn the ins and outs that many locals know after living in Huntington for a while. But generally, parking is going to be hard, especially beach parking.
10. Who Knew Shopping Carts were a Big Issue?
Huntington Beach has an issue of people not being respectful, and they leave their shopping carts wherever they please. This makes parking an issue in parking lots, and it can lead to shopping carts being anywhere around the city. Sometimes the wind takes a shopping cart, other times teens take them, and other times homeless people take the carts.
In general, we all dislike turning into a parking spot only to find that it is taken by a cart, so though this is a minor issue, it is incredibly annoying.
11. Restaurants: Overrated or Worth It?
There are some great food options, but some restaurants are seen as incredible and others see them as overrated and overpriced. What’s your view on Huntington’s fine dining? One restaurant, in particular, has quite the controversy on it.
That restaurant is Javier’s Mexican Food. People complain that the food portions are small and not that great of quality compared to all of the authentic restaurants in Southern California. But, other people debate that the price is okay, and the food plus the view is good for your money’s worth. They debate that it is an American-Mexican food place, not an authentic Mexican place, and you know that before going in so some don’t understand these complaints.
But, to be sure about a restaurant you have to try it yourself and decide if it’s a one-and-done, or if it’s your new favorite.
12. Natural Disasters
The interesting thing about Huntington Beach is that the city is on top of a fault line, meaning there is a high probability of earthquakes. Also seeing that the city is in California, there is also a chance that a wildfire can catch and burn in a nearby city or in Huntington Beach, and it may be necessary for you to evacuate your home. If you choose to move here, make sure you get quality apartment or home insurance, just in case your home or apartment burns down.
13. Oil Rigs are an Eye Sore
Huntington Beach has been getting oil since the 1920s, and there are still oil rigs in the water. Recently, the city has banned off-shore drilling (2021), but with the current state of gas prices, residents probably would’ve been okay with waiting another year before shutting it down.
14. Homelessness
Considering the rest of California, especially L.A., the homeless population in Huntington Beach is small. It is estimated that there are about 300 people homeless in Huntington Beach. It is sad to see, and it is hard to be confronted with it when you are walking or driving somewhere, but you can rest easy knowing the city has some great policies in place to help it. There is an officer who is designated to only handle homelessness and there is a project coordinator and 4 case managers on this team, and they are all helping those who are homeless.
15. Noisey, at All Hours
California likes to build and neighbors like to talk. Construction starts early in the morning and can be noisy constantly. And, some people are night owls, while others are early birds. These people clash when some wake up early and as a result can make noise that their neighbors clearly hear, while others can stay out late and make noise for their neighbors to hear, making it hard for them to sleep.
It is hard to be considerate of others when talking on the phone, walking, or playing games with friends makes enough noise for a neighbor to hear. So, try to be as considerate as possible and remember what hours should remain quiet hours, for the sake of others.
16. Crime and Safety
In the way of crime, the violent crime in Huntington Beach is under the national average, but the property crime is about even with the national average. This means that Huntington Beach is not incredibly safe, but it also isn’t a scary place to live. There aren’t really places considered “ghetto”, but you should make sure your doors and windows are locked. This is an okay place to be, but if you want to live in an extremely safe city, perhaps you should look somewhere other than California.
17. No A/C
There is almost no air conditioning in Huntington Beach. This might be a shock if you are from another state, but in Southern California, you don’t have A/C in your house. If you have A/C, you never run it unless it gets above 90° Fahrenheit. The reason is that the temperatures are pretty consistent, so there really isn’t any reason to need air conditioning.
People also often don’t use their A/Cs because running A/C is really expensive, and after all the expenses we have talked about already, this would be the cherry on top of the other expensive items in California.
