[quote=AN]The funny part is, w/in CA, people who live in SF gets paid the most for the same amount of work, since their cost of living is so high, so it’s much more likely to make >$250k in SF. So, they’re voting for taxes on themselves. Since cost of living in SD is much lower, we also get paid much lower. Which means it’s that much hard to make over $250k here than SF. So, they get to pay for CA’s spending. They’re happy to do it, since they voted for it, so I’m happy too. Maybe, once they need more money, they’ll propose higher taxes on family making more than $150k. After all, it’s still only a small percentage of CA’s population.[/quote]

AN, I maintain that the avg salary in SF is 40% higher that the exact same position pays in SD County. This includes the counties of SF, SM, SC, Alameda, Contra Costa and Marin. Housing is NOT 40% higher in SF (or any of the abovementioned surrounding counties) than SD County. It is between 0 and 25% higher, depending upon the micro-area there and its comparable micro-area here.

Salaries are higher there because they don’t have a captive audience of thousands of employees (Americans incl) living cheaply in MX and crossing the border everyday to work in the US. And the weather in the SF Bay area isn’t as consistent as it is here. Periodically, the wind is very high in SF and SM counties. And commuting traffic can be much worse than here for residents of SC, Alameda and Contra Costa Counties (and beyond).

I understand you grew up here and your family still lives here but I feel that the SF Bay area has MUCH more opportunity for a “worker-bee,” ESP a Gen-Y worker, even in light of a so-called “affordable housing shortage” in the areas of the best jobs. I also feel it is entirely worth it for a young San Diegan college grad to relocate there for work, even one with a family. Most of the public schools there are better than here, as well.