[mixxalot]

I am the same way. I have not bought any presents or sent cards for xmas in over 20 years. I stopped after folks decided not to celebrate by reciprocating.

Now I feel much better its just another consumer holiday where everything shuts down for the week, traffic is 10x as bad because nobody works during xmas week and I need to just watch movies or study until the day passes.

[mixxalot]

You have to take a discovery flight and see for yourself! Go fly acrobatic rolls in a Pitts or Yak and experience what a roller coaster will never provide or real thrills.

Landing fees? This isn’t Europe so few airports have them and if you buy fuel usually they waive them. Catalina is the only place that has one I am aware of and Santa Barbara waives it when you buy fuel.

Plenty of airports have restaurants on the field or close by. When I flew to Santa Barbara the restaurant was a five minute walk from the airport and the food was fresh seafood with ocean views! So far most places have food nearby. I have a folding bicycle that I take with me to ride into town. Not sure about uberair. I don’t have kids but home schooling could work if I did. There are many small airports all over San Diego like Palomar near Carlsbad, Brown Field by Chula Vista, Gillespie field in El Cajon/Santee and you can land at a big San Diego international which is right by down town and the beach areas.

Flying isn’t cheap but if you have a business that can help with costs. I don’t spend much on food, clothing or entertainment so planes are my things.

[mixxalot]

Correct most lenders want:

– 2 years+ of stable income on tax returns
– current employment in same field 2+ years
– FICO above 720+ score
– at least 10-20% down payment
– at least 6 months cash reserves

[mixxalot]

Something like this:

http://www.trade-a-plane.com/detail/Residential/Florida/989591.html

They sell between 300K and up. Cheap compared to San Diego or bay area real estate!

[mixxalot]

Right now I just rent at Plus One Flyers. However, that said, I did fly a Yak 52 this weekend which was great fun! I am planning to get the airpark home first then the plane. Easier to swing the finances this method in best tax situation. Hangars are SUPER expensive here in San Diego to rent like 500+ per month so this is great way to go to get the hangar and airport included.

[mixxalot]

As a pilot the way to go since I work from home is an airpark home! I found a few for under 500k that come with land, a big home, hangar and private airstrip access. Hangars rent for $500+ here in California so it saves money as a pilot who flies for fun.

[mixxalot]

True and since I am not in rush I can search daily. My first choice would be an airpark home with hangar and freedom to taxi to take off. For 400-500K that is easily found. San Diego RE inventory sucks right now.

[mixxalot]

True which is why my first choice is an airpark home on private airstrip with large hangar outside of California. I see plenty in Arizona, Texas and Florida that are 3000 square foot SFA with massive hangar and acre of land for 300-600K. That buys little in San Diego. Add a plane and travel is easy within 500 miles.

[mixxalot]

Agree and I am not in a rush just looking at potential place to buy. If I decide to buy a home on private airstrip outside of California that might work out better since I am a pilot and work from home.

[mixxalot]

Besides sales, high level SW architect gigs in Java and Big Data pay serious bucks. A recruiter sent me a request for 150-180K FT job in San Diego at a startup plus equity. So the $ is there. Yes, after taxes not as great for a single person but still decent.

[mixxalot]

sales engineering pays the big bucks! Software engineers who can also sell solutions make the real cash in tech business. When I switched from being a DBA to a sales DBA kinda guy my income tripled!

[mixxalot]

I think that a BS degree in a hard science or business discipline like Accounting or Finance is very useful! However, unless one plans a career in law or medicine, most advanced degrees are super expensive, time consuming and waste of time with little pay off. I have my BA degree and do not see the value of an MS/MBA after 20 years of working in the tech world. Tons of CTO, SVP in big companies only have BS or BA degrees.

[mixxalot]

I used to go to auto shows but I like airplanes and boats more so I usually go to airshows now. San Diego had a few good ones this year and Fleet Week was awesome. Of course I can afford neither they are even more expensive than cars but serious eye candy.

[mixxalot]

I only bought a few necessities like new running shoes and replacement ear muffs for my Bose headset. Cost me less than a new headset and the Bose guy told me my headset was in great shape.

[mixxalot]

I was making 100k back then as a systems engineer. Now I make twice that but real estate is 10x more expensive so I feel poor.

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