[quote=livinincali][quote=Happs] Where are the proverbial fast food workers, cashiers and retail clerks in these coastal cities going to live and will they commute from 20 miles away if petrol is $10 per gallon? [/quote]
At home with mom and dad.
If it’s not economical then I guess there won’t be any low wage businesses in Del mar. It then becomes a crappier place to live and prices of homes and apartments fall until it finds the proper balance. Get rid of Section 8, affordable housing and other nonsense and the free market will eventually figure it out. Rents and prices fall until it makes economical sense again.[/quote]
My feeling is the people of Del Mar probably don’t want low wage business. Look at how upscale Del Mar, Solana Beach and to an extent Cardiff have become over the last 10 years. For me, not having affordable businesses that are often low wage ones would make it a crappier place to live, but that’s not the trend and I bet most Del Marians would shun a proliferation of low wage or low priced businesses. I am probably the 1% who would say something to the effect of “Residents of Del Mar—I love the location and natural beauty of your city and someday after working hard and saving enough money, I hope to buy the cheapest shack in your lovely hamlet. I am an upstanding citizen, but am allergic to paying full retail and high mark-ups. I drive a 15 year old Camry, buy all my clothes at thrift stores, don’t buy organic or sustainable foods, don’t own a dog, use coupons for pretty much everything I can, shop yard sales, Craigslist, eBay, etc. It would be cool for your town to have the most upscale dollar store in the country, great value dive restaurants that make a profit on huge volume, an affordable place to get a hair cut, etc. I am not materialistic and am not in competition for material goods with my neighbors. I would love to move to your hamlet. Will you welcome me?”
Yes, it’s tongue and cheek but I sadly suspect that I am in the 1%. If there is a “silent majority” out there that think like me and think that desirable cities like Del Mar and Solana Beach will become less desirable because of a lack of low wage and reasonably priced businesses, I would be elated.
City planners probably loathe people like me and push redevelopment to create more upscale areas, without regard for the pocketbook of residents and the effects of personal debt.
