San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

But at some point, you just want to come back to a place you call home to recover, recharge, and re-plan. And when you're away, you want to know you have such a place.

Interesting topic. I find stability and safety in cash/stocks/bonds. Having a few hundred K in the bank makes me feel safer than owning things. Must be that I don't have children or family in the region. Because I rent a small apartment I don't have a lot of stuff. My only asset is a Prius. I also find conform that my employer has a great medical / dental / vision plan for my wife and I.

I have a friend who did grad school at Columbia. She moved once by subway!

Another friend has been semi-vagabond for much of his adult life. Every 4-5 years he relocates - selling all his possessions and only taking what he can take in his car. He is also great at living on the cheap. He claims it's because he never upgraded his lifestyle with "stuff" after college - He can still live in a studio apartment - and tends to do just that... in great locations. San Diego, NYC, Cape Cod, Baja Mexico... Not needing a big place (to hold stuff) he can work for lower salaries and be more mobile.

There is a lot to be said for flexibility and minimalism. Before marriage/kids, I was able to move in one or two trips with a pickup truck.

Once you get married and **have kids** all that goes out the window. Your "stuff" doesn't just double or triple, it grows exponentially. It's probably the reason so many families want to own when they have kids. They want the stability of the schools and neighborhood, and they don't want to cart all that STUFF around from house to house. :)

"Security is mostly a superstition.
It does not exist in nature,
nor do the children of men
as a whole experience it.
Avoiding danger is no safer
in the long run than outright exposure.
Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing."
--Helen Keller
And freedom is an illusion.

I can tell you from my own perspective that the freedom that comes from having no debt, lots of cash reserves and NO long term housing commitments is VERY empowering.
We Sold our last house 5 years ago and bought a boat to live on short term. The upswing of the bubble caused us to delay a purchase and live on the boat longer. Finally sold the boat last year and rented a furnished condo (was the model in a new development).
Our 6 month lease has already expired and we are now living here month to month. Most of our belongings are still in storage from when we were on the boat.
When we finally buy a place it is nice to know that we'll be able to vacate this condo and get virtually everything moved in my pick-up........in one trip!
We have been unbelievably frustrated at not being able to land a deal in this current suckers-rally, but this thread reminds me of how mobile and unencumbered we actually are. Perhaps I should just appreciate our current freedom a little more.

Murf2222

all stability is an illusion. but a home is a particularly pernicious illusion

Why is it that owning a house precludes you from having utter mobility. OK, so you have to have alot of money and not have to work anymore, but if you can afford to make payments on the house and just let it sit there, you can pick up and move anytime, and come back later when you like.

uh, no.

all that stuff.

all that maintenance.

all that money.

when I was tlaking about mobility, I wasn't talking about a short vacation. I was talking about getting upa nd go with no hassles, no worries aboutt he current state of the real estate market, vandalism, your credit, your this your that. i'm talking about getting on the road now, man.

I disagree, Scaredy. If you pay off your mortgage, and manage your stuff... you can own a home and have mobility. The key is setting up your home for reduced maintenance - xeriscape the yard, etc...

And stuff - you can always get rid of stuff.. that doesn't matter whether you own or not. Regular garage sales are good for the soul and wallet.

Heck - that's our retirement plan - travel for 8 months of the year, do the home upkeep on the breaks at home. We've been working the house and yard to be as low maintenance so we'll be ready for this.

it's a drag on finances and mental energy. heck, if yo lived int he house only1 month per year, wouldn't you agree it aint worth it?

4 m is not enough. i'm not just talking about mobilkity.

im talking about no worries.

Have you been reading the book, "4 Hour Work Week" by Timothy Ferris?
if not, I think you would enjoy it. He is a bit on the cocky side but if you can get over that, he has some really interesting ideas on living that fantasy you are talking about.
He outsources his life so he can live it. If anything it really makes you think!

He has a blog www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/

Then just stop worrying.
Don't need to ditch the house to stop worrying :)

scaredy, I think you are experiencing a life change, perhaps middle age crazy onset. Last week it was pessimism about marriages, this week about owning nothing and the benefits of being a vagabond. From memory you have school aged kid(s)? You have no mobility, just do what the rest of us do, channel your crazy into something else, buy a harley, buy a vette, take up golf or join a gym. Worrying is a state of mind, so is fear, start working on the inside stuff before making big decisions on the outside stuff otherwise no strategy will bring hapiness.

scaredycat are you really marion?

perhaps, in the sense that all of us are marion.

I can neither confirm nor denty reports of my marionhood.

agreed, worrying is a state of mind, but y'know, you can clear out the underbrush and get rid of somethings that are more worry-inducing for people. Like, some people's lives are simpler than others and there is a beauty to it. i read a recent eport for instacne that job insecurity is worse for your health even than smoking. it doesn't have to be that way of course, but in general it is.

agreed, worrying is a state of mind, but y'know, you can clear out the underbrush and get rid of somethings that are more worry-inducing for people. Like, some people's lives are simpler than others and there is a beauty to it. i read a recent eport for instacne that job insecurity is worse for your health even than smoking. it doesn't have to be that way of course, but in general it is.