[quote=flyer]Everything you mentioned is so true, ER. Even going back in time–pre-Qualcomm, Biotech, etc., etc.–the job market here was always dicey. As a native, it’s been interesting to see how things have not really changed that much over time.
Other than real estate investments, made over a long period of time, no one in our family or extended family has ever been dependent upon this economy for creating wealth–(jobs and businesses were not restricted to San Diego)–and that is perhaps why just about everyone in our families have been able to stay and enjoy great lifestyles here for so many years.
It truly is a wonderful place to live–if you can afford it–and that is the key factor many should consider when moving here.[/quote]
Flyer,
Thanks for confirming it’s always been like that. I’m just an outsider looking in. I’ve been coming to San Diego on vacations since I was a kid and always loved it. I remember being in college and upon graduation many of my college buddies moved out here. (Some without jobs).
I remember being envious at the time that they got to enjoy the great weather, beautiful beaches and gorgeous landscape. I decided to move to Dallas instead. NOT a glamorous city but I reasoned the job market was much better, no State income taxes and the cost of living was really low there. TONS of high paying jobs. I figured it would be the perfect place to climb the corporate ladder, make tons of business contacts, build up my resume and most importantly build up net worth.
Admittedly, for many years I’d be envious of my friends that lived in San Diego. I’d come out and visit them and they SEEMED like they had the perfect life, especially during the real estate bubble. They drove the BMW’s/Audi’s/Mercedes, they had the big house in North County.
We never really talked about how much money they were making. I just assumed they were doing pretty well for themselves because I’d come out here to visit, they had really nice (and expensive houses), both they and their wives were driving nice fancy cars (typically new one every few years). It wasn’t until the real estate market crashed did I figure out they were using their homes as ‘ATM machines’.
Most of them ended up losing their homes. All of a sudden the “San Diego is INCREDIBLE” comments started becoming, “San Diego is overrated…it’s too expensive, the schools suck unless you spend a fortune on a house…. I can go to X city and buy a house for a fraction of the cost, etc”.
During the BOOM years things were great. After it crashed…not so much. When all was said and done, they were all leveraging to live the lifestyle they wanted to live. Now most of them are in cities like Dallas, Atlanta, Charlotte, etc.
[quote=CA renter]So true, ER! I’m one of those people who moved here on a Friday and thought I’d have a job on Monday. Up in L.A., I had headhunters calling me all the time and at least one or two good job offers a month, even during the early 90s recession, and I wasn’t in the market for a new job. Down here, after trying for a month or two with no luck, I decided I could get in at a lower level and quickly work my way back up (always worked before!), so started applying for lower-level jobs at ~1/3 less than my previous salary…and STILL couldn’t find anything! Some interviewers would actually say, “that’s a pretty high salary, isn’t it?” (referring to the lower salary). It was unreal.
I’ve met a lot of other people who’ve moved here from L.A. and other large cities who’ve had exactly the same experience. It’s crazy to see how much people are willing to pay for housing given the job market down here.[/quote]
CAR. Thanks for sharing that. It seems like not many here want to admit things are like that here. I’m still fairly new here but I’m a very quick learner and caught on to the market fairly quickly. Many here still seem to be in denial.
I decided early on that I wouldn’t move to San Diego until I was pretty much done climbing the corporate ladder and already built up a decent amount of net worth and cash flow via other investments.
On another board I post quite a bit on there are people that are totally out of touch with reality. MANY people daily post about wanting to move out here and they THINK they can move out here with 2 or 3 kids and survive on a salary of only $80,000 to $100,000 here. I tell them it’s impossible to save for retirement, save for their kids college funds, live in a nice house in a good school district, etc.
Some of the answers are comical. Yes, San Diego is a GREAT city but it’s not for everyone. It’s amazing how many people will really live here that can’t really afford to live here. I guess that’s why there is a high turn over of people that move here moving out.
When we make friends with people that have lived here forever and will always live here they typically ask us….”are you just passing through or are you here for the long haul?”. We’re here for the long haul but they say they’ve invested so much time in friendships only to have the people move away as they can’t afford to live the kind of life they want to live here.
Read some of them. Some people are in denial big time:
