[heavyd]

My 2c worth, which echoes what others have said:

1) I don’t get a sense from the job seeker’s comments that he is actually interested in the law; if you’re not interested in the law itself, putting in the required hours in law school and as a young associate will be excruciating, even if you end up with a reasonably fat salary and a measure of job stability.

2) I studied 3 years of Mandarin Chinese at a very good school and have lived and worked in China, HK, and Taiwan for a combined 7-8 years. Speaking Chinese well got me in the door at a couple of jobs, but once I was in the door it ultimately had little to do with my job. As someone else here pointed out, there are millions upon millions of ethnic Chinese on either side of the Pacific who speak Chinese fluently and English quite well.

3) I ended up in finance and like it reasonably well. But as a group the people I see with the most $$ and the best attitudes towards work are entrepreneurs and small business owners. As someone else here mentioned, figure out what it is you are good at, and what you like to do, and at least give some thought to making a living that way. That might end up being a much more attractive option than spending 3 years and $100K+ on law school.

D

[heavyd]

My 2c worth, which echoes what others have said:

1) I don’t get a sense from the job seeker’s comments that he is actually interested in the law; if you’re not interested in the law itself, putting in the required hours in law school and as a young associate will be excruciating, even if you end up with a reasonably fat salary and a measure of job stability.

2) I studied 3 years of Mandarin Chinese at a very good school and have lived and worked in China, HK, and Taiwan for a combined 7-8 years. Speaking Chinese well got me in the door at a couple of jobs, but once I was in the door it ultimately had little to do with my job. As someone else here pointed out, there are millions upon millions of ethnic Chinese on either side of the Pacific who speak Chinese fluently and English quite well.

3) I ended up in finance and like it reasonably well. But as a group the people I see with the most $$ and the best attitudes towards work are entrepreneurs and small business owners. As someone else here mentioned, figure out what it is you are good at, and what you like to do, and at least give some thought to making a living that way. That might end up being a much more attractive option than spending 3 years and $100K+ on law school.

D

[heavyd]

My 2c worth, which echoes what others have said:

1) I don’t get a sense from the job seeker’s comments that he is actually interested in the law; if you’re not interested in the law itself, putting in the required hours in law school and as a young associate will be excruciating, even if you end up with a reasonably fat salary and a measure of job stability.

2) I studied 3 years of Mandarin Chinese at a very good school and have lived and worked in China, HK, and Taiwan for a combined 7-8 years. Speaking Chinese well got me in the door at a couple of jobs, but once I was in the door it ultimately had little to do with my job. As someone else here pointed out, there are millions upon millions of ethnic Chinese on either side of the Pacific who speak Chinese fluently and English quite well.

3) I ended up in finance and like it reasonably well. But as a group the people I see with the most $$ and the best attitudes towards work are entrepreneurs and small business owners. As someone else here mentioned, figure out what it is you are good at, and what you like to do, and at least give some thought to making a living that way. That might end up being a much more attractive option than spending 3 years and $100K+ on law school.

D

[heavyd]

My 2c worth, which echoes what others have said:

1) I don’t get a sense from the job seeker’s comments that he is actually interested in the law; if you’re not interested in the law itself, putting in the required hours in law school and as a young associate will be excruciating, even if you end up with a reasonably fat salary and a measure of job stability.

2) I studied 3 years of Mandarin Chinese at a very good school and have lived and worked in China, HK, and Taiwan for a combined 7-8 years. Speaking Chinese well got me in the door at a couple of jobs, but once I was in the door it ultimately had little to do with my job. As someone else here pointed out, there are millions upon millions of ethnic Chinese on either side of the Pacific who speak Chinese fluently and English quite well.

3) I ended up in finance and like it reasonably well. But as a group the people I see with the most $$ and the best attitudes towards work are entrepreneurs and small business owners. As someone else here mentioned, figure out what it is you are good at, and what you like to do, and at least give some thought to making a living that way. That might end up being a much more attractive option than spending 3 years and $100K+ on law school.

D

[heavyd]

My 2c worth, which echoes what others have said:

1) I don’t get a sense from the job seeker’s comments that he is actually interested in the law; if you’re not interested in the law itself, putting in the required hours in law school and as a young associate will be excruciating, even if you end up with a reasonably fat salary and a measure of job stability.

2) I studied 3 years of Mandarin Chinese at a very good school and have lived and worked in China, HK, and Taiwan for a combined 7-8 years. Speaking Chinese well got me in the door at a couple of jobs, but once I was in the door it ultimately had little to do with my job. As someone else here pointed out, there are millions upon millions of ethnic Chinese on either side of the Pacific who speak Chinese fluently and English quite well.

3) I ended up in finance and like it reasonably well. But as a group the people I see with the most $$ and the best attitudes towards work are entrepreneurs and small business owners. As someone else here mentioned, figure out what it is you are good at, and what you like to do, and at least give some thought to making a living that way. That might end up being a much more attractive option than spending 3 years and $100K+ on law school.

D

[heavyd]

Not sure how it works in California, but here in New York we joined with other owners in our newly renovated building 4-5 years ago, hired an attorney (paid by the hour, NOT on contingency basis), and brought in the state attorney general’s office (guy by the name of Spitzer, you might have heard of him…) when the developer failed to deliver what was promised in the prospectus.

It took almost 3 years, but the developer finally agreed to build / repair certain key items and pay a cash settlement in 2 installments once the AG’s office threatened to sue (the AG, bless his whoremongering soul, has a pretty good record in the courts here). I am not sure whether this approach would work with a home not sold via prospectus.

Over the course of those 3 years, while we were battling a very unresponsive developer, the Board at our building spent I believe $75-90K in legal and engineering fees…most of which were effectively paid by the developer in the end.

It was an unpleasant and lengthy battle, but in the end it worked out quite well.

D

[heavyd]

Not sure how it works in California, but here in New York we joined with other owners in our newly renovated building 4-5 years ago, hired an attorney (paid by the hour, NOT on contingency basis), and brought in the state attorney general’s office (guy by the name of Spitzer, you might have heard of him…) when the developer failed to deliver what was promised in the prospectus.

It took almost 3 years, but the developer finally agreed to build / repair certain key items and pay a cash settlement in 2 installments once the AG’s office threatened to sue (the AG, bless his whoremongering soul, has a pretty good record in the courts here). I am not sure whether this approach would work with a home not sold via prospectus.

Over the course of those 3 years, while we were battling a very unresponsive developer, the Board at our building spent I believe $75-90K in legal and engineering fees…most of which were effectively paid by the developer in the end.

It was an unpleasant and lengthy battle, but in the end it worked out quite well.

D

[heavyd]

Not sure how it works in California, but here in New York we joined with other owners in our newly renovated building 4-5 years ago, hired an attorney (paid by the hour, NOT on contingency basis), and brought in the state attorney general’s office (guy by the name of Spitzer, you might have heard of him…) when the developer failed to deliver what was promised in the prospectus.

It took almost 3 years, but the developer finally agreed to build / repair certain key items and pay a cash settlement in 2 installments once the AG’s office threatened to sue (the AG, bless his whoremongering soul, has a pretty good record in the courts here). I am not sure whether this approach would work with a home not sold via prospectus.

Over the course of those 3 years, while we were battling a very unresponsive developer, the Board at our building spent I believe $75-90K in legal and engineering fees…most of which were effectively paid by the developer in the end.

It was an unpleasant and lengthy battle, but in the end it worked out quite well.

D

[heavyd]

Not sure how it works in California, but here in New York we joined with other owners in our newly renovated building 4-5 years ago, hired an attorney (paid by the hour, NOT on contingency basis), and brought in the state attorney general’s office (guy by the name of Spitzer, you might have heard of him…) when the developer failed to deliver what was promised in the prospectus.

It took almost 3 years, but the developer finally agreed to build / repair certain key items and pay a cash settlement in 2 installments once the AG’s office threatened to sue (the AG, bless his whoremongering soul, has a pretty good record in the courts here). I am not sure whether this approach would work with a home not sold via prospectus.

Over the course of those 3 years, while we were battling a very unresponsive developer, the Board at our building spent I believe $75-90K in legal and engineering fees…most of which were effectively paid by the developer in the end.

It was an unpleasant and lengthy battle, but in the end it worked out quite well.

D

[heavyd]

Not sure how it works in California, but here in New York we joined with other owners in our newly renovated building 4-5 years ago, hired an attorney (paid by the hour, NOT on contingency basis), and brought in the state attorney general’s office (guy by the name of Spitzer, you might have heard of him…) when the developer failed to deliver what was promised in the prospectus.

It took almost 3 years, but the developer finally agreed to build / repair certain key items and pay a cash settlement in 2 installments once the AG’s office threatened to sue (the AG, bless his whoremongering soul, has a pretty good record in the courts here). I am not sure whether this approach would work with a home not sold via prospectus.

Over the course of those 3 years, while we were battling a very unresponsive developer, the Board at our building spent I believe $75-90K in legal and engineering fees…most of which were effectively paid by the developer in the end.

It was an unpleasant and lengthy battle, but in the end it worked out quite well.

D

[heavyd]

I am an SD native who left the area for college, then moved back ~3 years ago before again moving to NYC in order to get my kids some medical attention not available in SoCal.

My 2c on this issue…

I most recently spent 2+ years living in Carmel Valley and working nearby. My kids are not yet school age but will be soon. I like SD, including some of the communities mentioned in this thread, but they all have a major disadvantage: if you live on an acre+ in a gated suburban community, getting ANYthing done requires getting yourself and your kids into a car a driving several miles.

From my own observations I would echo what others here have said, which is that kids and especially teenagers in these communities DO NOT hang out at the community centers within the gated communities mentioned (Santa Luz, Fairbanks, etc). For the most part I see teens hanging out at the beach communities or at the shopping centers nearest their schools, and younger kids seem to spend a lot of time at organized activities at the various community rec centers.

There is nothing wrong with that (I s’pose it’s what I did growing up in the area) but the downside is that once your kids reach a certain age (and that age seems to be falling…), they will either demand their own wheels or they will require that a parent or other helper chauffeur them about the neighborhood. From RSF or Santa Luz to ANYwhere is a couple of miles…too far for most kids to walk and given the way people drive I would not want my kids on bikes / skateboards on those roads.

Even in relatively cramped CV, I enjoyed having a bit of personal space but my wife and I were endlessly frustrated by having to jump in the car to pick up a 1/2 gallon of milk, Chinese food, for ‘playdates’, trips to the pediatrician, a drink after a long day…anything.

That’s maybe more than the 2c promised…long story short, if somehow we found ourselves back in SD we’d probably end up buying either in La Jolla or Del Mar or Solana Beach and putting up with June gloom and a relatively small lot in exchange for being closer to services. NYC is not exactly my cup of tea, but having lived in the ‘burbs in the Bay Area and SD, I can see very easily the advantages in being able to walk or ride to basic services here. Especially if you have young kids.

D

[heavyd]

I am an SD native who left the area for college, then moved back ~3 years ago before again moving to NYC in order to get my kids some medical attention not available in SoCal.

My 2c on this issue…

I most recently spent 2+ years living in Carmel Valley and working nearby. My kids are not yet school age but will be soon. I like SD, including some of the communities mentioned in this thread, but they all have a major disadvantage: if you live on an acre+ in a gated suburban community, getting ANYthing done requires getting yourself and your kids into a car a driving several miles.

From my own observations I would echo what others here have said, which is that kids and especially teenagers in these communities DO NOT hang out at the community centers within the gated communities mentioned (Santa Luz, Fairbanks, etc). For the most part I see teens hanging out at the beach communities or at the shopping centers nearest their schools, and younger kids seem to spend a lot of time at organized activities at the various community rec centers.

There is nothing wrong with that (I s’pose it’s what I did growing up in the area) but the downside is that once your kids reach a certain age (and that age seems to be falling…), they will either demand their own wheels or they will require that a parent or other helper chauffeur them about the neighborhood. From RSF or Santa Luz to ANYwhere is a couple of miles…too far for most kids to walk and given the way people drive I would not want my kids on bikes / skateboards on those roads.

Even in relatively cramped CV, I enjoyed having a bit of personal space but my wife and I were endlessly frustrated by having to jump in the car to pick up a 1/2 gallon of milk, Chinese food, for ‘playdates’, trips to the pediatrician, a drink after a long day…anything.

That’s maybe more than the 2c promised…long story short, if somehow we found ourselves back in SD we’d probably end up buying either in La Jolla or Del Mar or Solana Beach and putting up with June gloom and a relatively small lot in exchange for being closer to services. NYC is not exactly my cup of tea, but having lived in the ‘burbs in the Bay Area and SD, I can see very easily the advantages in being able to walk or ride to basic services here. Especially if you have young kids.

D

[heavyd]

I am an SD native who left the area for college, then moved back ~3 years ago before again moving to NYC in order to get my kids some medical attention not available in SoCal.

My 2c on this issue…

I most recently spent 2+ years living in Carmel Valley and working nearby. My kids are not yet school age but will be soon. I like SD, including some of the communities mentioned in this thread, but they all have a major disadvantage: if you live on an acre+ in a gated suburban community, getting ANYthing done requires getting yourself and your kids into a car a driving several miles.

From my own observations I would echo what others here have said, which is that kids and especially teenagers in these communities DO NOT hang out at the community centers within the gated communities mentioned (Santa Luz, Fairbanks, etc). For the most part I see teens hanging out at the beach communities or at the shopping centers nearest their schools, and younger kids seem to spend a lot of time at organized activities at the various community rec centers.

There is nothing wrong with that (I s’pose it’s what I did growing up in the area) but the downside is that once your kids reach a certain age (and that age seems to be falling…), they will either demand their own wheels or they will require that a parent or other helper chauffeur them about the neighborhood. From RSF or Santa Luz to ANYwhere is a couple of miles…too far for most kids to walk and given the way people drive I would not want my kids on bikes / skateboards on those roads.

Even in relatively cramped CV, I enjoyed having a bit of personal space but my wife and I were endlessly frustrated by having to jump in the car to pick up a 1/2 gallon of milk, Chinese food, for ‘playdates’, trips to the pediatrician, a drink after a long day…anything.

That’s maybe more than the 2c promised…long story short, if somehow we found ourselves back in SD we’d probably end up buying either in La Jolla or Del Mar or Solana Beach and putting up with June gloom and a relatively small lot in exchange for being closer to services. NYC is not exactly my cup of tea, but having lived in the ‘burbs in the Bay Area and SD, I can see very easily the advantages in being able to walk or ride to basic services here. Especially if you have young kids.

D

[heavyd]

I am an SD native who left the area for college, then moved back ~3 years ago before again moving to NYC in order to get my kids some medical attention not available in SoCal.

My 2c on this issue…

I most recently spent 2+ years living in Carmel Valley and working nearby. My kids are not yet school age but will be soon. I like SD, including some of the communities mentioned in this thread, but they all have a major disadvantage: if you live on an acre+ in a gated suburban community, getting ANYthing done requires getting yourself and your kids into a car a driving several miles.

From my own observations I would echo what others here have said, which is that kids and especially teenagers in these communities DO NOT hang out at the community centers within the gated communities mentioned (Santa Luz, Fairbanks, etc). For the most part I see teens hanging out at the beach communities or at the shopping centers nearest their schools, and younger kids seem to spend a lot of time at organized activities at the various community rec centers.

There is nothing wrong with that (I s’pose it’s what I did growing up in the area) but the downside is that once your kids reach a certain age (and that age seems to be falling…), they will either demand their own wheels or they will require that a parent or other helper chauffeur them about the neighborhood. From RSF or Santa Luz to ANYwhere is a couple of miles…too far for most kids to walk and given the way people drive I would not want my kids on bikes / skateboards on those roads.

Even in relatively cramped CV, I enjoyed having a bit of personal space but my wife and I were endlessly frustrated by having to jump in the car to pick up a 1/2 gallon of milk, Chinese food, for ‘playdates’, trips to the pediatrician, a drink after a long day…anything.

That’s maybe more than the 2c promised…long story short, if somehow we found ourselves back in SD we’d probably end up buying either in La Jolla or Del Mar or Solana Beach and putting up with June gloom and a relatively small lot in exchange for being closer to services. NYC is not exactly my cup of tea, but having lived in the ‘burbs in the Bay Area and SD, I can see very easily the advantages in being able to walk or ride to basic services here. Especially if you have young kids.

D

[heavyd]

I am an SD native who left the area for college, then moved back ~3 years ago before again moving to NYC in order to get my kids some medical attention not available in SoCal.

My 2c on this issue…

I most recently spent 2+ years living in Carmel Valley and working nearby. My kids are not yet school age but will be soon. I like SD, including some of the communities mentioned in this thread, but they all have a major disadvantage: if you live on an acre+ in a gated suburban community, getting ANYthing done requires getting yourself and your kids into a car a driving several miles.

From my own observations I would echo what others here have said, which is that kids and especially teenagers in these communities DO NOT hang out at the community centers within the gated communities mentioned (Santa Luz, Fairbanks, etc). For the most part I see teens hanging out at the beach communities or at the shopping centers nearest their schools, and younger kids seem to spend a lot of time at organized activities at the various community rec centers.

There is nothing wrong with that (I s’pose it’s what I did growing up in the area) but the downside is that once your kids reach a certain age (and that age seems to be falling…), they will either demand their own wheels or they will require that a parent or other helper chauffeur them about the neighborhood. From RSF or Santa Luz to ANYwhere is a couple of miles…too far for most kids to walk and given the way people drive I would not want my kids on bikes / skateboards on those roads.

Even in relatively cramped CV, I enjoyed having a bit of personal space but my wife and I were endlessly frustrated by having to jump in the car to pick up a 1/2 gallon of milk, Chinese food, for ‘playdates’, trips to the pediatrician, a drink after a long day…anything.

That’s maybe more than the 2c promised…long story short, if somehow we found ourselves back in SD we’d probably end up buying either in La Jolla or Del Mar or Solana Beach and putting up with June gloom and a relatively small lot in exchange for being closer to services. NYC is not exactly my cup of tea, but having lived in the ‘burbs in the Bay Area and SD, I can see very easily the advantages in being able to walk or ride to basic services here. Especially if you have young kids.

D

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