Evidently from ~1.5 million in 2006 charlotte NC is going to grow to over 4.5 million in the next 20 years. All those people will be Illegal, so that this area will support itself on basis of that alone.
Yes … They were debating it on the radio.
Cool.
Cow_tipping.

The taxpayers moving out of state include those who would have been in a position to buy properties. The non-taxpayers entering the population (including births) are almost irrelevant to the pricing of homes because they don’t participate in the sales market.

The traffic on 5 continues to lighten; I’ve seen a real decrease in traffic on 5 North in the morning and 5 South in the evening ever since last summer.

A few more years of this and I’ll be ready to move back.

When you consider the growth of population in Riverside County who commute to San Diego, I wonder if there really is hope that traffic will get lighter.

In this age of master planned sprawl, it is nice to see that some places are actually losing people! I’m facinated by the demographics as well, as you have likely picked up on. It is facinating to me that the demographics have changed so much in just one year. It is the equivelant of taking an almost all white city like Encinitas (80% white) and making it all Hispanic in just one year.

You should note that LA County, Orange County, Cook County (Chicago) and two New York counties are even higher on the list. The quote that caught my eye was

“LA has had this profile for 20 years”

Doesn’t seem to have depressed their RE prices too much. San Diego has grown into a more mature metro area and a lot of the people leaving have just been priced out just like in Manhattan, the Westside of LA, Near North areas of Chicago and you’ll see that here in Coastal areas. It started in La Jolla and is slowly heading north. Oceanside will see a huge push to the east over the next 10 years.

Add 5 more white people to the list of departures. I’m getting in my car on Monday and have no plans to ever return to San Diego. I have a college degree, wife has a college degree, and I plan to start a new life in a city where I can focus on the things that matter most and not on working 80 hour weeks so that I can fund somebody’s retirement by buying their tract home in Vista for 600k that they bought for 100k in 1999…only to then be so wrapped up in wealth and status that I decide I need a nicer home in Aviara, a better car, and more ‘stuff’ to keep up with the neighbors.

For months I have allowed myself to become angry about housing prices, spending hours researching the crash and complaining to my wife about the high cost of living here. It has made my angry, it has made me bitter, and it has made me feel like a second class citizen in my interactions with family, friends who own homes, and even random strangers. I never could have anticipated the psychological affects that this has had on me over time that include despair, anger, resentment, jealousy and on and on. Yes, the warning signs of depression – from a guy who is generally very happy, easy going and never been depressed in his life!

Yesterday, after reading the Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren in one day, I decided that it was time to take action. Money and status mean nothing when your friends are looking down at your grave and talking about what you did with your life. They really mean nothing if you consider your life in the context of eternity. The fancy cars, huge mansions and glitzy sunglasses I see every day in North County mean nothing to me. They have lured me, they have tempted me, but at the end of the day I have overcome their pull. These trappings may provide comfort and a sense of success to some, but they have always turned me off since the early days when I came here from the Midwest to serve in the military. If that is your game – I wish you the best of luck and I realize that we are all motivated by different endeavers. Instead of spending my time trying to aquire money to fund a San Diego lifestyle, I will do these things instead:

-Move to a nice small/medium sized city with a university.
-Accept a government job, top 20% of local wages.
-Work 40 hours a week, 45 during busy weeks, 40 days off.
-Buy a 3500 sqft, home for $280,000 with a yard.
-Save $1,000 a month and also fund an IRA, 401k and 529.
-Keep my wife at home with the kids.
-Reduce my commute from 1 hour to 1 minute.
-Leave for work at 7:45 = see my kids mornings.
-Return home at 5:15 = see my kids evenings.
-Start a home based business of some sorts, someday.
-Get deeply involved in a church and community activities.
-Pursue an advanced degree, perhaps even a PHd.
-Pursue my passion for reading books and becomming a writer.
-Vacation in San Diego 2-3 times a year.

Not to get too philosophical on you, but by leaving San Diego I’m giving my family permission to focus on the things that matter most and I’m giving myself the breating room to pursue my passions and focus on service and family.
I’m sad to be leaving, but no longer angry. I’m already missing the sunshine, but also looking forward to writing my first novel and walking to work once, just because I can!

I plan to eat lots of Mexican food this weekend, walk by the ocean, visit with extended family, and at 5 a.m. on Monday leave and never look back.

I hope these trends continue.

With all the potential homebuyers and competition for jobs leavning, I should be able to actually afford a home in a few years!