Leaving SD for Orlando

[bearishgurl]

[quote=kicksavedave]I feel you Cardiff, I too am preparing to head out of San Diego, in my case for the 2nd time in 3 years. I left for Colorado in 2007. Came back for a job promotion in Sept 2008, but that job went sour real quick as the economy tanked. I thought I missed California, but it turns out I was happier in Colorado. We had better connections with friends there, a much better and cheaper house(owned, not rented), generally great weather, tons of things to do, and enough culture and food to keep us happy. San Diego has weather and the ocean but we don’t use the ocean, so really all it has is weather.

But for us the decision comes down to this. For our income we can buy around $500-$600K. Here in California we can buy a tiny run down dump with no yard in a crummy part of town. In Colorado we can have anything we want – 5 acres in the hills, a brand new hip loft in the heart of town, a mcmansion in suburbia. We want land and privacy, and we can’t have that here unless we move to Valley Center, which doesn’t work for commute purposes. That, and the connections we made out there were much stronger, better overall quality of relationships out there. We’re also considering the DC area, where I’m from and still have family there, but the real estate difference from here to there is minimal so that is a tough decision.[/quote]

kicksavedave, you must have purchased your Colorado home many years ago. My mom lived in Colorado so I have visited there more than 100 times between 1980 and 1999. I considered moving there as well at one time, but Denver’s best neighborhoods (the only ones I would be interested in living in) were WAY out of my price range for a (circa 1933) 1200-1500 sf bungalow. Sure, there are several counties surrounding Denver County with cheaper RE, but the only counties I would consider a good investment would be Denver, Boulder and parts of Arapahoe. Many suburban areas surrounding Denver ARE NOT a good RE investment in my book, due to a variety of factors.

In addition, I skied the Rockies for at least a week at a time for 22 years straight, mostly Steamboat and Beaver Creek. Real estate in the Rockies has SKYROCKETED in recent years. The prices for a one-bedroom condo near or in major ski areas are BREATHTAKING. Real estate wise, I believe you can get far more “bang for your buck” in S. Lake Tahoe, CA and Mammoth Lakes, CA (much less inventory than S. Lake Tahoe) than Colorado.

I don’t agree that you can’t buy a decent property for your family in SD County for less that $500K, especially now. I feel Colorado prices are on par with (or higher than) San Diego County, unless you purchase in the (grasshopper-infested) plains or a ghetto “suburb.”

Cardiffbaseball, I wish you the best in FL. I drove to Key West in August 1983 and stayed the night in an Orlando campground, where I was completely eaten up by mosquitoes, even through all the repellent I was wearing. I was a miserable walking “pink stiff” Calamine bottle the rest of my FL vacation. The fleas were so bad in the Keys that when we dumped our freshly-caught lobster in a pot of boiling water we couldn’t even see each other’s faces 18″ apart! The blowing rain was so bad on the bridges driving back, I thought we were trapped and our car would fall in the ocean. Back in SD, we were faced with a BIG car wash JOB!!

You can always install a purple-light rotating “bug incinerator” outside your screen door and listen to it crackle in the evenings for entertainment. Not for me – LOL!

[CardiffBaseball]

They make the fancy Lanai’s now all over town, I presume so people can enjoy the outdoors. I’ve seen so many of these I won’t even look at house where the pool isn’t covered. Some of these are quite large and you end up with pretty nice outdoors area for cooking and entertaining. Not quite like the ones here but not bad overall.

Brian my wife just got back from a 10-day missions trip to Thailand. First thing she wanted to eat was a chicken fried steak. Something as american as you can get. She enjoyed it but got tired of no cheese, and mystery meat. Everything was pretty much soup-based.

I’ve only been to two Thai eateries. One in Del Mar (Taste of Thai) and the one we usually go to Bangkok Bay over on 101 in Solana Beach. Not really my cup of tea, but I found one thing I like there so I order it each time. According to my wife the spices were quite strong in Thailand. However she prefers here because she is certain it’s beef or chicken she’s eating. Not quite so sure over there.

[CardiffBaseball]

They make the fancy Lanai’s now all over town, I presume so people can enjoy the outdoors. I’ve seen so many of these I won’t even look at house where the pool isn’t covered. Some of these are quite large and you end up with pretty nice outdoors area for cooking and entertaining. Not quite like the ones here but not bad overall.

Brian my wife just got back from a 10-day missions trip to Thailand. First thing she wanted to eat was a chicken fried steak. Something as american as you can get. She enjoyed it but got tired of no cheese, and mystery meat. Everything was pretty much soup-based.

I’ve only been to two Thai eateries. One in Del Mar (Taste of Thai) and the one we usually go to Bangkok Bay over on 101 in Solana Beach. Not really my cup of tea, but I found one thing I like there so I order it each time. According to my wife the spices were quite strong in Thailand. However she prefers here because she is certain it’s beef or chicken she’s eating. Not quite so sure over there.

[CardiffBaseball]

They make the fancy Lanai’s now all over town, I presume so people can enjoy the outdoors. I’ve seen so many of these I won’t even look at house where the pool isn’t covered. Some of these are quite large and you end up with pretty nice outdoors area for cooking and entertaining. Not quite like the ones here but not bad overall.

Brian my wife just got back from a 10-day missions trip to Thailand. First thing she wanted to eat was a chicken fried steak. Something as american as you can get. She enjoyed it but got tired of no cheese, and mystery meat. Everything was pretty much soup-based.

I’ve only been to two Thai eateries. One in Del Mar (Taste of Thai) and the one we usually go to Bangkok Bay over on 101 in Solana Beach. Not really my cup of tea, but I found one thing I like there so I order it each time. According to my wife the spices were quite strong in Thailand. However she prefers here because she is certain it’s beef or chicken she’s eating. Not quite so sure over there.

[CardiffBaseball]

They make the fancy Lanai’s now all over town, I presume so people can enjoy the outdoors. I’ve seen so many of these I won’t even look at house where the pool isn’t covered. Some of these are quite large and you end up with pretty nice outdoors area for cooking and entertaining. Not quite like the ones here but not bad overall.

Brian my wife just got back from a 10-day missions trip to Thailand. First thing she wanted to eat was a chicken fried steak. Something as american as you can get. She enjoyed it but got tired of no cheese, and mystery meat. Everything was pretty much soup-based.

I’ve only been to two Thai eateries. One in Del Mar (Taste of Thai) and the one we usually go to Bangkok Bay over on 101 in Solana Beach. Not really my cup of tea, but I found one thing I like there so I order it each time. According to my wife the spices were quite strong in Thailand. However she prefers here because she is certain it’s beef or chicken she’s eating. Not quite so sure over there.

[CardiffBaseball]

They make the fancy Lanai’s now all over town, I presume so people can enjoy the outdoors. I’ve seen so many of these I won’t even look at house where the pool isn’t covered. Some of these are quite large and you end up with pretty nice outdoors area for cooking and entertaining. Not quite like the ones here but not bad overall.

Brian my wife just got back from a 10-day missions trip to Thailand. First thing she wanted to eat was a chicken fried steak. Something as american as you can get. She enjoyed it but got tired of no cheese, and mystery meat. Everything was pretty much soup-based.

I’ve only been to two Thai eateries. One in Del Mar (Taste of Thai) and the one we usually go to Bangkok Bay over on 101 in Solana Beach. Not really my cup of tea, but I found one thing I like there so I order it each time. According to my wife the spices were quite strong in Thailand. However she prefers here because she is certain it’s beef or chicken she’s eating. Not quite so sure over there.

[jameswenn]

[quote=CardiffBaseball]
I’ve only been to two Thai eateries. One in Del Mar (Taste of Thai) and the one we usually go to Bangkok Bay over on 101 in Solana Beach. Not really my cup of tea, but I found one thing I like there so I order it each time. According to my wife the spices were quite strong in Thailand. However she prefers here because she is certain it’s beef or chicken she’s eating. Not quite so sure over there.[/quote]

We have Americanized Thai food in SD, only places i’ve found good Thai are in pockets of LA and OC.

[jameswenn]

[quote=CardiffBaseball]
I’ve only been to two Thai eateries. One in Del Mar (Taste of Thai) and the one we usually go to Bangkok Bay over on 101 in Solana Beach. Not really my cup of tea, but I found one thing I like there so I order it each time. According to my wife the spices were quite strong in Thailand. However she prefers here because she is certain it’s beef or chicken she’s eating. Not quite so sure over there.[/quote]

We have Americanized Thai food in SD, only places i’ve found good Thai are in pockets of LA and OC.

[jameswenn]

[quote=CardiffBaseball]
I’ve only been to two Thai eateries. One in Del Mar (Taste of Thai) and the one we usually go to Bangkok Bay over on 101 in Solana Beach. Not really my cup of tea, but I found one thing I like there so I order it each time. According to my wife the spices were quite strong in Thailand. However she prefers here because she is certain it’s beef or chicken she’s eating. Not quite so sure over there.[/quote]

We have Americanized Thai food in SD, only places i’ve found good Thai are in pockets of LA and OC.

[jameswenn]

[quote=CardiffBaseball]
I’ve only been to two Thai eateries. One in Del Mar (Taste of Thai) and the one we usually go to Bangkok Bay over on 101 in Solana Beach. Not really my cup of tea, but I found one thing I like there so I order it each time. According to my wife the spices were quite strong in Thailand. However she prefers here because she is certain it’s beef or chicken she’s eating. Not quite so sure over there.[/quote]

We have Americanized Thai food in SD, only places i’ve found good Thai are in pockets of LA and OC.

[jameswenn]

[quote=CardiffBaseball]
I’ve only been to two Thai eateries. One in Del Mar (Taste of Thai) and the one we usually go to Bangkok Bay over on 101 in Solana Beach. Not really my cup of tea, but I found one thing I like there so I order it each time. According to my wife the spices were quite strong in Thailand. However she prefers here because she is certain it’s beef or chicken she’s eating. Not quite so sure over there.[/quote]

We have Americanized Thai food in SD, only places i’ve found good Thai are in pockets of LA and OC.

[smshorttimer]

[quote=jameswenn]I agree with Brian, weather and topology are great, but little else.

My family moved down to SD 3 years ago, because housing was cheaper, but found that everything else costs more, private schools, orthodontists, even cars and bicycles. We also miss good restaurants, theater, and shopping.

The makeup of the place is strange too. It’s supposedly republican, but so many people have government jobs, which i feel is just a step above welfare, but still a handout as far as i’m concerned. Sounds like southern democrats to me.

It’s close to the border, but it’s hard to find decent mexican food here, WTF is French Fries on Mexican menus?[/quote]

Where did you come from? Have you sought out media covering theater and dining?

Nice comment about gov’t jobs.

Edit: Oh, L.A. Well, never mind. I can’t believe, though, that it’s that bad.

[smshorttimer]

[quote=jameswenn]I agree with Brian, weather and topology are great, but little else.

My family moved down to SD 3 years ago, because housing was cheaper, but found that everything else costs more, private schools, orthodontists, even cars and bicycles. We also miss good restaurants, theater, and shopping.

The makeup of the place is strange too. It’s supposedly republican, but so many people have government jobs, which i feel is just a step above welfare, but still a handout as far as i’m concerned. Sounds like southern democrats to me.

It’s close to the border, but it’s hard to find decent mexican food here, WTF is French Fries on Mexican menus?[/quote]

Where did you come from? Have you sought out media covering theater and dining?

Nice comment about gov’t jobs.

Edit: Oh, L.A. Well, never mind. I can’t believe, though, that it’s that bad.

[smshorttimer]

[quote=jameswenn]I agree with Brian, weather and topology are great, but little else.

My family moved down to SD 3 years ago, because housing was cheaper, but found that everything else costs more, private schools, orthodontists, even cars and bicycles. We also miss good restaurants, theater, and shopping.

The makeup of the place is strange too. It’s supposedly republican, but so many people have government jobs, which i feel is just a step above welfare, but still a handout as far as i’m concerned. Sounds like southern democrats to me.

It’s close to the border, but it’s hard to find decent mexican food here, WTF is French Fries on Mexican menus?[/quote]

Where did you come from? Have you sought out media covering theater and dining?

Nice comment about gov’t jobs.

Edit: Oh, L.A. Well, never mind. I can’t believe, though, that it’s that bad.

[smshorttimer]

[quote=jameswenn]I agree with Brian, weather and topology are great, but little else.

My family moved down to SD 3 years ago, because housing was cheaper, but found that everything else costs more, private schools, orthodontists, even cars and bicycles. We also miss good restaurants, theater, and shopping.

The makeup of the place is strange too. It’s supposedly republican, but so many people have government jobs, which i feel is just a step above welfare, but still a handout as far as i’m concerned. Sounds like southern democrats to me.

It’s close to the border, but it’s hard to find decent mexican food here, WTF is French Fries on Mexican menus?[/quote]

Where did you come from? Have you sought out media covering theater and dining?

Nice comment about gov’t jobs.

Edit: Oh, L.A. Well, never mind. I can’t believe, though, that it’s that bad.

[Author]

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