I was reading this post yesterday and felt that I had to reply today. I am a graduate student at UCSD with about 5 months to go before I get my PhD. If you are wondering how graduate students (22k a year) and post-docs (35-40k) make it in San Diego I can tell you. They are delaying all decisions that cost money until the future. They drive old “college” cars, rent 1-2 bedroom apartments, and won’t think of having kids until they find a better job (which by then they will be around 35 years old. Many young people are in this boat, which is why the number of American children in San Diego is dropping quickly (replaced by immigrant children). It doesn’t say much for the future of the county, but then again, most of us moved here to experience it for a while and most of us will move somewhere else when we are done.