Relocating to San Diego: a unique challenge (Los Angeles, San Francisco: sales, apartments)

[sundreamer66]

Hi everyone,

I'm a retired baby boomer currently living on a fixed income in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, having left Louisville, Kentucky after four years because of the horrible climate. At 66 years old, I've had an adventurous life and living in San Miguel has been another chapter, but the lack of health care alternatives in Mexico has me contemplating returning to the states where I can access my Medicare. Hello, San Diego!

Originally from the New York/New Jersey area, I lived in Los Angeles for 10 years and San Francisco for 14, so I know California well. I also lived in Oceanside for six months in 2002, and literally felt happy every day because of the gentle climate. As I move into my dotage, climate has become all-important.

But, here's the rub. I'm (just another) over-educated *broke* baby boomer, though still actively volunteering in my community and very much engaged in life. What I don't have is the money to make a recon trip to San Diego, find an apartment/share, even know where I'd like to live (do NOT want the expense of a car) .... or how or where to ship a few boxes of belongings while I'm exploring living options.

That's the unique challenge of the moment. Does anyone know of a centrally located storage facility that will accept 2 or 3 cartons filled with the microwave, the blender, linens, etc. shipped from Mexico and hold on to them for a month or two without asking for my first born in payment?

Given that money is [extremely] tight, what would you do? Should I just sell all of this stuff in Mexico and come with my suitcase? Any and all suggestions are welcome, and I have a six month window to figure this stuff out.

Please be gentle. I know that San Diego doesn't need another broke, elderly woman on a fixed income draining the city's social services, but at the moment I'm bringing life experience with nonprofit fundraising, assisting developmentally disabled people to mainstream, and 15 years of owning my own photograpy business with me. I'm healthy, smart and capable, but I need collective wisdom and am trusting in you.

Thank you for reading.

[tonyinsd]

Do you plan on working?

If not, then will your social security and other retirement benefits be enough?

You may want to check out senior living options.

http://www.co.san-diego.ca.us/sdhcd/...g_resource.pdf

[moved]

Where you live will all depend on how much your monthly income is. Get rid of all the stuff you want to ship, it will cost less to replace them. Also, be prepared to live in an SRO and they're not as cheap as they used to be. The list hasn't been updated for them, because some don't exist anymore.

Most of the apartments have a waiting list to get in. I have a friend that waited a year to get into Horton House for her studio.

[earlyretirement]

From the sounds of what you are saying ("broke, retired, fixed income, no money for even a recon trip, money being extremely tight") I doubt San Diego will be a good fit for you.

I do understand your healthcare needs with Medicare and needing to be in the USA but there are far more affordable places in the USA where the cost of living is going to be realistic based on someone in your situation.

I hope that doesn't come across as too blunt but I'd give the same advice to anyone that asked. Even if it was a family member. My simple answer would be that they probably couldn't afford to live in San Diego. Yes, the weather is great but they should explore a list of other more affordable cities.

[sundreamer66]

Blunt is good. As is information about senior housing. I'm fine with the first, but not seeking the latter at this point in the game. I've never been big on apartment buildings. Ideally I'd look for a (small) mother-in-law unit with a (big) yard close to public transportation.

While housing is the number one 'unaffordable' in the San Diego area, I see plenty of rooms for rent in the $400-$500 range, including utilities, on craigslist. Would any of them be ideal? Probably not, but I have to be there before I can find ideal, so that's what I plan to negotiate before arriving. What the area, within 10 miles of the coast, offers to off-set roof/over/the/head costs is lower utilities. In terms of food, clothing and transportation costs I'm not sure San Diego is much higher than anywhere else. Remember, I don't plan on owning a car because now I'm an environmentally conscious senior. <smile> Am I wrong about these costs?

Yes, there are plenty of more affordable places in the U.S. in terms of housing, but people like me want to live in your area because we can live outdoors, i.e. patio and courtyard spaces, parks and beaches that are (relatively) welcoming 12 months out of the year. [I know about the heavy mists that can hang parts of the coast during the winter.] At this point in my life, climate trumps all. So I'm curious, earlyretirement, what are the *other* items on the affordability index that you think suggest I should look elsewhere?

Good advice on selling all the household goods down here in San Miguel de Allende, moved. I think you're right, and since I'm an inveterate Goodwill/consignment store shopper, the quality of the stuff that I have can be replaced, since I'm not much into 'stuff' at all.

Tonyinsd, thanks for the senior living pdf. I've bookmarked it for the future, though right now I'm decidedly uninterested in living in age-segmented communities.

This question about affordability for people on a fixed income interests me. I'd like to set housing aside and learn about other expenditures that y'all think are radically higher in San Diego than say a Louisville or a Cincinnati?

My ignorance about the San Diego area in these terms is boundless. Your collective wisdom? Priceless.

[moved]

Ideally I'd look for a (small) mother-in-law unit with a (big) yard close to public transportation.

You won't find something like that here. There are cottages in the city, but you won't be able afford one, and they don't have big yards, let alone a yard at all. With being on a fixed income, you're going to have a hard time finding a place to live. If you do come here broke, retired, on a fixed income, and can't afford to visit chances are you'll end up on the street.

[sfosyd]

If you are used to living in Mexico, what about living south of the border and coming to the US for your healthcare? The trolley runs right to the border. Rosarito and the playas area of TJ are actually pretty nice.

In terms of other expenses, besides housing, taxes will be one of the highest. It is a decidedly unfriendly state for retirees who have not owned their home for years. Social security is exempt from taxation but all other forms of retirement income are taxed at the highest rates in the nation. The sales tax is also very high.

[MovingAloha]

Don't allow some on this forum try and push you into a "Senior Living" situation - HOLY CRAP! Based on what you've written, you sound muct too adventurous and active for these so-called "active" communities for Seniors.

I'm in my 60s as well retired on my military/government and social security annuities and we're doing just fine!! I always feel "Broke" because we are not working and therefore not bringing in the same big bucks we did a few years ago; however, if someone else would look at our budget, they would say we're doing just fine. So I think I understand where you're coming from.

I would suggest you search Craigslist for the "Share/Room" sections for a situation as well as perhaps some smaller studio type situations.

If you plan to work/volunteer here, then you definitely need to take into consideration where you live in conjunction with transportation to and from your place of work or volunteers activity.

There are storage facilities throughout the area, you just need to decide where you will live and then find something close enough to get to your things easily.

[earlyretirement]

Originally Posted by moved

Ideally I'd look for a (small) mother-in-law unit with a (big) yard close to public transportation.

You won't find something like that here. There are cottages in the city, but you won't be able afford one, and they don't have big yards, let alone a yard at all. With being on a fixed income, you're going to have a hard time finding a place to live. If you do come here broke, retired, on a fixed income, and can't afford to visit chances are you'll end up on the street.

Exactly what I was getting at. Maybe we've misinterpreted your financial situation and you have some savings somewhere that you forgot to mention. But you used some strong and realistic words as moved and I mentioned. Many people in that type of situation, end up homeless.

No one is in a better situation to really access what IS and is NOT doable so I think you need to look within yourself deeply to see what is realistic. Unfortunately in life, great weather doesn't trump everything. You have to have a place to sleep/live and you have to eat.

The major cost of living increase expenditure is obviously going to be housing. It definitely doesn't sound like you're in the position to buy so you have to look at rental rates. And while you might be able to see things in Craigslist, you can't just go by that. With human nature, people almost always use the best case scenarios rather than the worst case scenarios.

San Diego is also really spread out. It's clear that you won't buy a car but you just have to keep in mind the public transportation system here in San Diego isn't good compared to many metro cities. I'm not sure what programs they might have in place for senior citizens. I know on the East Coast several cities like senior citizens ride free. I don't know if San Diego has those types of generous programs but even if they do, the network here isn't too extensive.

From living in other places, I've found that many things aren't too much more but they are a bit more. For example, groceries are cheaper in other cities I've been. I'm not saying it's much more here in San Diego. But yes it's more. For me it's not too noticeable but someone in your situation with very limited income each month will probably feel the pinch.

Go to a website like Cost of Living and you can compare cost of living between cities. I just used Dallas as an example below. You will notice what I mentioned.....the main thing that is more is rent. A whopping 30.32% more. The other things are all less than 10% but still on a very limited income you will probably notice and feel it.



Indexes Difference between Dallas and San Diego:

Consumer Prices in Dallas, TX are 6.22% lower than in San Diego, CA
Consumer Prices Including Rent in Dallas, TX are 15.76% lower than in San Diego, CA
Rent Prices in Dallas, TX are 30.32% lower than in San Diego, CA
Restaurant Prices in Dallas, TX are 11.56% lower than in San Diego, CA
Groceries Prices in Dallas, TX are 6.93% lower than in San Diego, CA
Local Purchasing Power in Dallas, TX is 6.40% higher than in San Diego, CA


I'm not saying that you definitely shouldn't move to San Diego. The truth is I don't know your financial situation and only going by what you wrote. There are worse and more expensive cities to move to and I wouldn't move to those areas either.

The taxes here are very high as sfosyd mentioned as well. Plus the economy is more difficult in San Diego vs. other places. sfosyd makes a good point that maybe you can live south of the border and come up on trolly. I assume if you lived in Mexico for many years you are fluent? That will certainly help if you do live south of the border in TJ or around that area.

Like I tell most people that are in your position, the best way to figure out if you can afford San Diego is put together a simple spreadsheet with your monthly income/cashflow and also your monthly expenditures (and be realistic) and you can see more what is doable or not.

MovingAloha, something tells me that the OP's financial situation is MUCH different than yours. But if the OP has a nice pension she left out of the conversation and didn't mention it, it would be important to bring up. For that matter sunchaser what is your monthly budget you're working with? And what is your breakdown of estimated expenses? That would go a long way in establishing what is and isn't doable.

[moved]

Where do you plan to stay when you arrive here since you can't afford to visit in advance? How much can you afford to pay in rent?