[spdrun]

They’ll know what it’s like to not have the comfort of an automobile.

Airport train in Philly is great — one-seat ride from downtown and it drops people off directly at their terminal with no change of trains. New cars since 2012, too, no more 1950s-era coaches.

[spdrun]

I don’t think the drive to/from the airport is flattering to many US cities.

[spdrun]

Hiring a gardener isn’t a “walk away for a year and forget it” proposition. A condo where the HOA isn’t strict about subletting essentially is, especially if everything but electricity and Internet are part of the monthly HOA.

You get landscaping without having to deal with a gardener, and a pool without having to hire a pool boy.

[spdrun]

There are situations where it makes sense to own a condo: if you don’t have the time, money, or health to maintain a house, then a condo makes sense.

From the OP’s post, since s/he is willing to buy a fixer and has a great income level, I don’t think those situations apply.

You’re forgetting “… or the desire.” Some people want to be relatively free, and no external maintenance goes a long way towards freedom. One can still buy a fixer condo — I’ve seen some that need a lot of work inside — if they want a good deal.

[spdrun]

San Diego will always have tourism and the wealthier people who actually want to live in a beautiful place with good climate. If you own a restaurant, shop catering to tourists (bikes, surfboards, etc), or are a tradesman like an electrician or plumber, your job should be very secure. Don’t discount the blue-collar opportunities.

[spdrun]

Well, Stanford just decided to give a full ride to most students with family incomes below $125,000 per year, with room+board covered below $65,000 per year.

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2015/march/new-admits-finaid-032715.html

[spdrun]

Why not on the condo? If you’re young, better to have some other schmuck maintain the outside, pool, roof, etc than have to deal with it yourself. Paying a $250-300/mo HOA is actually a bargain unless your time is worthless.

[spdrun]

Save the money, buy a 2/2 condo for cash, maybe with a small loan. You’ll have $500-800/mo of expenses and be able to rent it for $1400/mo if you decide to leave Dodge for a few months. As close to responsibility-free ownership of property as you can get.

[spdrun]

If anything, random contact with other (non-work) people when you have a family is more important. Otherwise, your world will become very closed. They say that marriages with affairs actually last longer 🙂

I like the French and Italian philosophy that doesn’t require married couples to spend every waking hour either alone, at work, or with each other.

As far as self-driving cars, the problem is reasonably simple on a freeway in clear conditions. The problem becomes a good deal less simple in any sort of semi-urban environment with pedestrians, cyclists, etc. A lot of negotiation of right of way is done via eye contact, gestures, etc, and having a self-driving car that will play nice with other traffic isn’t trivial.

[spdrun]

But SD can take lessons learned from Bay Area and have proper public transit and limit the area of major job centers.

“Proper public transit” and “Bay Area” in the same sentence? Haha. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahaha. (Going to wipe coffee off my screen now.)

[spdrun]

Be careful of what you wish for! I really hope San Diego does NOT become like the Bay Area recently — “good” parts of the Bay Area have turned into a gridlocked, overpriced, pretentious mess. LESS job creation would actually do the Bay Area a lot of good. When I was in SF in September of last year, it took me FIVE HOURS. FIVE. HOURS. to get out of the city to the north.

I’d rather San Diego stay like a big Santa Cruz to L.A.’s Bay Area.

[spdrun]

Here’s an idea for Rich — don’t give users ability to commend on older posts until they’ve racked up 10 posts or so.

[spdrun]

Here’s an idea for Rich — don’t give users ability to commend on older posts until they’ve racked up 10 posts or so.

[spdrun]

Encourage Stanford to open a satellite campus in San Diego and cooperate with industry on R&D?

[spdrun]

Get a quiet fan designed for a cabinet.

[Author]

Posts