[quote=jstoesz]
Unless people like you demand more, sit out and keep renting like you are doing. This will never get better. If you are looking for a place to have paid off in your retirement, buy a sweet cabin on Mt. Laguna or Forest Falls or even further away (I bet you can find a sweet 1930 fixer for 130k).
That is my off the wall, probably unsolicited advice. Make your cabin your family’s constant. My favorite memories of my life, and of my parents life, have been time spent at the cabin.[/quote]
“Demand” more? What planet do you live on?! Hell, we are glad to have jobs! There are VERY FEW jobs in our area of expertise. I moved to industry because I demanded more. Do you know how little a PhD earns in academia if not a tenured Professor? My wife is paid relatively well for academia, and has enviable job stability, plus benefits galore.
In case we weren’t clear, we were looking for a HOME for us and our children and our parents, close to schools and shopping center and not TOO far from our work places, not a vacation home.
Maybe when the kids go to college, and our parents pass away, we move to a chepaer place. We aren’t in love with San Diego, too expensive, but so are all the major cities on the Coasts where we can both find jobs.