[quote=SK in CV][quote=flyer][quote=spdrun]Other than housing costs (and if you have a paid-off home by the point of retirement, you have that problem basically licked) what makes San Diego particularly expensive? OK, gasoline is about 25% more expensive than in the rest of the country, but you’re not paying for energy in other ways, since HVAC costs are minimal.

Food and other goods didn’t strike me as being horribly expensive in SD. Yeah, you have state income tax and sales tax, but it’s not huge in the grand scheme of things.[/quote]

Agree, sp. The “too expensive to live there in retirement” comment is just what we’ve heard from some people we’ve known who have left the state. Of course, we’ve heard that from younger people also–friends of our kids–who couldn’t find high paying jobs or afford to buy a home here after college.[/quote]

Here’s a real life example of how someone who has been pretty financially responsible might want to move. One of my closest friends is early 60’s and is pretty much retired. He has a home he bought many years ago that’s free and clear and is worth $1.3 million. He has about $1.6 million in financial assets. Enough to live comfortably along with his social security. I just showed him a home in Phoenix, a few blocks from where my brother lives that is pretty much the same as the home he has in SD. It’s in a comparable area and is for sale for $350K. He could essentially increase his financial assets by 50% by moving. He could stay where he is, but he could move and substantially increase his financial security.[/quote]

Completely understand, SK. We have property in AZ, and know that we could increase our net worth substantially by living there, but since we can easily afford CA–and continue to do everything we want to do throughout retirement–it’s just our preference to stay here. I think that might be true for many who choose CA over other areas.