lennar homes in carmel valley

[CA renter]

Great post, ER.

Could not agree more about the economy in SD. We’re originally from L.A., and I can attest to the fact that outside of tech (especially phones) and biotech, the SD economy really, really stinks. Up in L.A., decent jobs are almost always available to those who work hard and build up a good reputation for themselves. In SD, the pay is years behind, and even if one is willing to take a significant cut in pay (relative to other cities), it’s still difficult to find a decent job.

You are also spot-on regarding people relying on a “best-case” scenario when buying a house. Over and over again, we’ve seen so many people lose everything because they gave themselves no wiggle room. It’s so important to make sure one has a fairly hefty emergency fund, especially in today’s economy. Keeping one’s fixed living expenses down to a minimum is key to living a financially comfortable life.

[The-Shoveler]

I would agree with CAR, In L.A. there is a lot more work diversity, import/export is big, entertainment is big, some defense, some Bio-Tech and a lot or tourism etc… (Computer high Tech has really suffered in L.A. the last 12 years however).

Also Public workers generally get quite a bit more than they do in OC or SD and for better or worse that adds quite a bit to the local economies (also to L.A.’s budget problems especially down the road a few years from now).

[earlyretirement]

Thanks CAR and The-Shoveler.

Yep. I totally agree with you. I specifically mentioned the “funkiness” of the job market here in San Diego because a LOT of people have big misconceptions about the market here.

Back in THEIR city they lived before they moved here they might have been something special. But many find here there is such a pent up demand from all the people that want to live here. San Diego is such a desirable place to live and everyone and their brother wants to move here.

I can’t tell you how many “hot shots” that moved here to San Diego expecting that they would easily find a great job get disappointed here. Some end up taking something totally NOT in their field or something that they wouldn’t consider in another city but they are forced to here in San Diego.

CAR, as you mentioned, in many major metropolitan cities, a good track record, experience, history of achievement and a decent network base will almost assure you a good job. But that isn’t always the case in San Diego. Or if they do get a job in the field they want, it’s a fraction of the price they could make in a less desirable city.

I know some people that work in HR and they tell me they routinely get people with a Master’s degree applying for fairly low level jobs. Also, just go around to retail and restaurant places and see how many people are working these type of low pay jobs with a college degree. LOTS.

Very few people come to San Diego and are pleasantly surprised with the job market. Most are negatively surprised how difficult it is here.

Again, I’m not saying that will be the case for everyone. As mentioned, Engineers, Biotech, and some C-Suite people probably won’t have too difficult of a time finding jobs but salary levels are much lower than other cities for the most part.

It’s amazing how much better the LA market is vs. San Diego but that will always be the case.

I just think people buying that don’t have a VERY stable job or lots of savings have to be a bit careful in this kind of market. San Diego is a wonderful place to live but not the best place to climb the corporate ladder and make a lot of money, at least how I see it compared to other cities.

I often joke with my friends that if I moved out here after college like many of my college buddies did… I’d probably have a fairly mediocre net worth (like they do). Most of them moved out for the great weather, sun, beach but then they woke up one day… 40 something year olds with kids and figured out that there is no way they can retire someday, live in a good school district, save up for their kids college fund and live the type of lifestyle they want to live in San Diego and almost all of them have moved out.

Such is San Diego for many people.

[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.

[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.

[The-Shoveler]

All this said, I do know several people who work in Irvine, and live in San Marco’s and Carlsbad area’s
(it’s about an hour commute most days).

You can (well you used to be able to anyway) get a much nicer housing situation in the far northern hinterlands of SD than you could in Irvine for the same money.

Some people are willing to drive (especially if work at home at least part time is possible).

[earlyretirement]

[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:

http://www.city-data.com/blogs/blog34881-helpful-threads-about-cost-living.html

Some of them are comical. Look at this one: http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-diego/1831982-yet-another-potential-moving-san-diego.html

A poster actually tells another poster all you really need to live is “food shelter and clothing”. LOL.

[The-Shoveler]

Really I think all of this applies to anywhere in Coastal SoCal in good school districts (even some not so good).

Even in L.A.

It’s expensive to live along the SoCal coast!!

[earlyretirement]

[quote=The-Shoveler]Really I think all of this applies to anywhere in Coastal in SoCal in good school districts (even some not so good).

Even in L.A.

It’s expensive to live along the SoCal coast!![/quote]

No doubt Shoveler…. the biggest difference is the job market seems to be better in LA vs. San Diego with a bigger diversity of industries as mentioned on this thread.

No way I’d want to live in LA. Traffic is horrendous. I do agree with you it’s not cheap there either…but the job market seems to be head and shoulders better.

I have some friends or friends of friends that lost their jobs in San Diego and can’t find another job to replace it in San Diego. Yet they can find jobs in LA and are forced to commute. That really speaks volumes to be how poor the market is here.
But I do agree with you about SoCal being expensive to live.

[quote=The-Shoveler]All this said, I do know several people who work in Irvine, and live in San Marco’s and Carlsbad area’s
(it’s about an hour commute most days).

Some people are willing to drive (especially if work at home at least part time is possible).[/quote]

Yep. Me too. Goes along the same lines of the job market here in San Diego being poor compared to other areas. I don’t think it’s so much a case of “willing” to commute an hour as it is “forced” to commute that distance.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=The-Shoveler]Really I think all of this applies to anywhere in Coastal SoCal in good school districts (even some not so good).

Even in L.A.

It’s expensive to live along the SoCal coast!![/quote]

Uhh, Shoveler, HELLO?

It’s even MORE expensive (for what you get) for a homeowner to live along the NorCal coast … for very, VERY good reasons.

You get what you pay for in this life.

Never forget this mantra.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=earlyretirement]…Yep. Me too. Goes the same lines of the job market here in San Diego being poor compared to other areas. I don’t think it’s so much a case of “willing” to commute an hour as it is “forced” to commute that distance.[/quote]

ER, you must bear in mind that no one … and I mean NO ONE is FORCED to commute for work from one coastal county in SoCal to another, unless they CHOOSE TO do so! As soon as an adversely affected commuting family feels they are no longer “underwater,” they should immediately list their home in attempt to “get out from under” and move to a more convenient location for themselves.

In the current market, there is no excuse for this travesty unless the family is so underwater that they should have handed in the keys to their house in long ago, IMHO.

The reality is that all workers in CA coastal counties can live reasonably close to their employer if they wish to do so. They are CHOOSING to do otherwise.

The issue of CHOICE is the “elephant in the room,” here.

[sdduuuude]

I’m assuming you are looking at San Augustine.

Keep in mind, a home like that sat on the market for many months, got as low as $799K and was pulled off the market before it sold. Aim low on your first offer and be patient.

[DaCounselor]

sdresident – I think that neighborhood is near the epicenter of remaining development in the CV area. There are huge tracts of already-graded parcels to the east, northeast and northwest. I don’t know everything that is going in but rest assured it will be built out. In addition to those tracts they will also be building a new middle school to the east of Canyon Crest Academy, a large shopping complex south of Del Mar Heights Rd and of course the rest of PHR. This could be a good thing or bad thing depending on your personal preferences. They will also probably expand the 56 as part of the development of this area. I think there is enough development left in this area, including One Paseo to the northwest, that it is difficult to see how it will all come together when it’s built-out.

[bearishgurl]

Sounds like the makings of the ultimate congestion nightmare, DaCounselor. Another Mira Mesa, if you will.

[The-Shoveler]

Sounds like a lot of homes,

I hope the SmartPhone Biz stays hot..

[Author]

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