Sunny San Diego

[bearishgurl]

[quote=XBoxBoy]To some degree I agree. Life in San Diego is pretty nice. But a friend of mine who lives outside of Washington DC on a couple acres sent me a video of him and his hound playing in 30″ of snow today. I’m deeply jealous. To be bundled up, off for a romp in the snow with a big hound… now that’s the life for me.[/quote]Yeah, those eastern seaboard suburban and exurban neighborhoods have really nice lots. Homeowners typically use tractor mowers there and often there is no fencing (except possibly a minimal split rail) between lots.

I do believe it’s a really amazing locale to raise kids (and big dogs) in …. probably the best in the country. Especially in Montgomery and Frederick County, MD and Fairfax and Loudoun County, VA.

“Bucolic” is the only word I can think of which describes this region adequately.

[spdrun]

The counties that you describe actually have TOO big lots outside of a few towns. Annoying to maintain. There are towns outside of NY and Philly that have much more “manageable sized” housing. Generally spread out enough to have green space, but dense enough so kids can walk to school.

[La Jolla Renter]

I grew up in Northern Virginia, yeah, those 4 seasons were great… ice, rain, pollen, and humidity.

The surf was 5-7ft today. … I rest my case.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=spdrun]The counties that you describe actually have TOO big lots outside of a few towns. Annoying to maintain. There are towns outside of NY and Philly that have much more “manageable sized” housing. Generally spread out enough to have green space, but dense enough so kids can walk to school.[/quote]Yes, you are correct, spdrun. The kids in these MD and VA towns are typically bused to school with their stop situated on a two-lane country road. That is … unless they live in the town the school is located in. This applies to high schools and often middle schools as well. It’s still an awesome micro-region to raise kids in, IMHO. Fairfax County, VA (Great Falls) tends to be the most expensive out of the four, with Montgomery County, MD (Chevy Chase) coming in at a close second. (Those are the two closest-in counties to Washington DC.) I’ve never been north of Baltimore but I believe you that it’s more walkable up there.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=La Jolla Renter]I grew up in Northern Virginia, yeah, those 4 seasons were great… ice, rain, pollen, and humidity.

The surf was 5-7ft today. … I rest my case.[/quote]

Well, La Jolla Renter, you must have gotten a great K-12 public education. If you attended public school there, good for you.

[paramount]

[quote=bearishgurl]

I do believe it’s a really amazing locale to raise kids (and big dogs) in …. probably the best in the country. Especially in Montgomery and Frederick County, MD and Fairfax and Loudoun County, VA.

“Bucolic” is the only word I can think of which describes this region adequately.[/quote]

I owned a house/property in Frederick County and lived there for a number of years. I lived in a subdivision, but my nearest neighbor was about 100 feet to my left and right.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=paramount][quote=bearishgurl]

I do believe it’s a really amazing locale to raise kids (and big dogs) in …. probably the best in the country. Especially in Montgomery and Frederick County, MD and Fairfax and Loudoun County, VA.

“Bucolic” is the only word I can think of which describes this region adequately.[/quote]

I owned a house/property in Frederick County and lived there for a number of years. I lived in a subdivision, but my nearest neighbor was about 100 feet to my left and right.[/quote]I know. Isn’t it awesome? You should have stayed with your gov-contractor employer there. It’s hands-down a better place to raise kids in than any city/county in SoCal. Period.

[bearishgurl]

For instance … among others:

http://www.greatschools.org/maryland/ijamsville/646-Urbana-High-School/

They’re among the best public HS’s in the nation, IMO.

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=bearishgurl]I’m constantly battling with my yard in sunny SD. In a previous life, I had a 110-foot raised bed of so-called “prize” floribunda roses. They cost more to maintain per month than my own individual food bill. And I didn’t even own any stock in the Scotts Company but probably should have:

http://www.ortho.com/smg/gosite//home

I used to don heavy rubber gloves while still in my swimsuit and turn on the floodlights in the dark to spend my token hour-plus cutting them back about once per month. Since I was gone and under fluorescent light in an office or commuting 9.5 – 10 hours per day, 5 days a week, I really never got to enjoy them much in the daylight. The time I spent feeding them, cutting them back and exterminating them far exceeded the time it took me to properly care for my three cats!

Such is the price of living in a SFR in SD sans (expensive) gardener.

Shoveling snow a few times per year (hopefully just the walks) while getting a few months reprieve from “gardening duty” seems like a fair tradeoff for “snow-clime dwellers.”[/quote]

You shouldn’t have roses in San Diego.
My parents have a hardscape patio which I designed. They have an outdoor shower and a dog bath area with hot water as well as built in planter areas and large pots. The “outdoor living room” is surrounded by a low wall to separate it from the rest of the lot which is natural native vegetation. It has an outdoor kitchen, a large covered area for seating and lounging (important that furniture is not exposed to direct sunlight unless you want it there for a little bit, and dew and rain). It looks good and it’s low maintenance. Looks like the private terrace of a nice resort suite. Anything beyond that is just raw, arrid, natural San Diego. People who insist on planting every inch of their lot, and having furniture under the elements are self-inducing maintenance issues. They are asking for it, so they should not bitch when they have to do work, or pay for it.

Raw natural San Diego is beautiful if you do it right. Some of prairie homes with grass mixed with tropical palms in Coronado are ok — just not climate appropriate. They are just transplanting east coast/Florida concepts to San Diego.

BTW, Kahala, the La jolla of honolulu is dry like San Diego. It should not have tropical landscaping like the wet areas of the island. But rich people insist and they pay $1000 or more per month in water bills to have their tropical lots. Self-induced complications and expenses.

I heard that there’s a movement in some areas of the country to just let the grass grow wild and not mow the lawn. I believe in proper design to incorporate natural elements into the landscape. In the past, rich people and even the middle class had servants and gardeners. Now we live differently so we don’t need carry on with the old concepts from 100 years ago. But I know, old habits are hard to break. Today, I laugh at husbands who spend the whole weekend washing the cars and doing yardwork, and wives who spend time cleaning a mc mansion.

[FlyerInHi]

I know people on the east coast who spend precious time shoveling the walkway to their front door so it looks nice and tidy. But we know that people don’t even walk on the walkways. They drive into the garage! So shoveling the snow is dumb make work.

Don’t get me wrong, I like everything tidy and everything put away as you use it. But self-induced make work is dumb.

[flyer]

There are lots of beautiful places to live in the world, but, regardless of where we go, we always prefer being back in San Diego–for many of reasons. Everyone prefers different things in life, and just about any climate you might choose is
available–somewhere in the world.

Most of the people we know who have left San Diego have done so for financial reasons, and not because they wanted to leave. I think we’ll continue to see a lot of turnover in years to come as some realize they can’t afford to retire here, while others arrive and start the cycle all over again. It’s been that way for decades.

[svelte]

[quote=flyer]
Most of the people we know who have left San Diego have done so for financial reasons, and not because they wanted to leave…[/quote]

agree…folks usually leave for money or family reasons.

I’m working with a lot of east coasters right now who are out here temporarily. They are happy as clams to not be at home right now and say so openly.

I don’t mind at all that there are folks who would rather live elsewhere – I kinda wish there were more of’em. :0)

[NotCranky]

Got up pretty early for a Sunday. What a beautiful moon fall it was. It is an absolutely gorgeous day. I can travel to the the snow.

[FlyerInHi]

This is the new American home 2016 by the national association of home builders.
It doesn’t have a lawn, fake Tuscan curved double staircases, ionic or Doric columns,
Corinthians elements, paladian windows, raises panel doors, or such imitation elements of the past.

Indoor-outdoor living is built into the design.

http://www.tnah.com/showpage_details.aspx?showpageID=32195

[bearishgurl]

[quote=flyer] . . . I think we’ll continue to see a lot of turnover in years to come as some realize they can’t afford to retire here, while others arrive and start the cycle all over again. It’s been that way for decades.[/quote]It has. But only for the transplants who are unrealistic and expecting to automatically have the discretionary income they had back in the locale they moved here from (with lesser-expensive housing). Or expecting to have the same type of house and/or live in the same type of area they had back in the area they moved here from.

For those who are more realistic and move here with eyes open, obtain employment right away (preferably FT) and start working (yes, BOTH of them if they plan to be co-buyers here) and live below their means for their first years here to save money every month, I believe they will be able to buy a house. It may not be the all-brick 3000 sf mcmansion on 2/3 AC that they had back in TX but it will be a house with their own yard.

flyer, I believe you are referring to more recent (unrealistic) transplants to SD County who insist on “having it all” the minute they get settled in SD. And possibly transplants who first moved here 8-12 years ago and accepted a NINA mortgage to purchase a house beyond their means and later lost it.

A good portion of the population in SD County WERE “transplants” at one time and are now retired locally with defined benefit plans. This group did all the right things to remain here for life and are still living within their means in their retirement.

I see these unrealistic delusions being played out (and sometimes attacked by the locals) in one (expensive) US housing market after another on the city-data.com forum. Most of these inquiries come from the Gen Y crowd and in some cases, the “bored housewife” (a bit older) sitting at home while kids napping/in school and dreaming of relocating to SD/HI/CT/Boulder/Aspen/Malibu/Fairfax Co, VA/West Palm Beach, FL, etc.

I find it hilarious to read these threads. One of my favorite (repeat) questions is, “What can I rent in Boulder for $650 month? We have no kids but two big dogs and are outdoor people who need to be by hiking trails and close to the mountains.”

[Author]

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