The 10 richest cities in the U.S. - San Diego #5

[hitman619]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

I think saying there are not enough high paying jobs is just another way of saying that there are many more low paying jobs in San Diego than higher paying ones. But let me make it clear that San Diego is hardly alone in this predicament and thus it is silly to discuss San Diego alone. A review of localities close to San Diego shows more or less the same problem as San Diego: tons of low paying jobs and relatively few high paying ones. Admittedly, however, San Diego is considered in a report to be the second least affordable market in the US when wages are consideredd. All of this is occurring in an environment where housing prices are very high despite the relatively low wages. This is certainly true for neighboring OC and LA where there might be a few more high paying jobs and less military personnel that probably skews San DIego's numbers. In both OC and LA, housing and rent prices are astronomical. In OC, housing is so expensive that employers are having serious trouble even recruiting employees and population growth, happily, is down to 1% per annum. LA/OC is so expensive in part because there is resistance to building dense housing. In LA, rent control creates a disincentive to build and thus leads to higher rents. And another super expensive area: the Bay Area, is not building new housing even in the face of so-called housing shortages. So move to Modesto young Bay Area couple! But we want to live in Atherton and didn't you read that we millennials don't do that crazy 'old-school' commuting thing?

Then the media keeps hyping the fact that there is a "housing shortage" which is false and is something that we hardly heard about a few years ago when there were foreclosures all over and everyone knew that there was housing a plenty for as far as the eye can see in the IE ala Romoland. But people don't want to live in IE, though they will if they have to; they want to live in coastal So Cal. The media keeps hyping the fact that there are not enough high paying jobs as if adding, say 5% more such jobs, would change the fact that tons of people want to live in these places. As for the housing shortage, it is artificial, as fake as a Fujian manufactured Christmas tree. It was created by the Fed with the blessing of the Federal Government to print money and allow banks to not experience losses. Many houses are being kept from the market in shadow inventory by the banks. Guess what Mr. and Mrs. middle class aspiring San Diego homeowners, the government is complicit in the plot to make you bleed if you want to buy a shack. You could buy a house in Menifee. But Menifee has no culture and I like hip 'hoods, you might say. I know. I know. You want affordable housing in places where everyone else wants to live. The high price market achieved by the government will now permit them to offer the solution they are so antsy to employ: encourage subsidized housing which wouldn't be needed in the first place if the market had been allowed to correct itself. We have a manipulated housing market.

In the end, people also forget that there is another reason why it is expensive to live in places like San Diego. The reason for this is that coastal So Cal is a highly desirable place to live and thus so many people will use funds derived from elsewhere (e.g. pensions such as military pensions, inheritance, etc.) to live in coastal California. In other words, people bring wealth to highly desirable places like San Diego (and Hawaii, etc.) so that they can survive and far fewer are able to actually create that wealth in a place like San Diego.

So what is the solution, more higher paying jobs? No, not in my opinion and certainly not in a manipulated housing market. Sure I admit that that would be nice but it would only benefit a relatively small number of persons. And guess what? More high paying jobs would simply raise housing prices even higher. Let's be honest. Is building Brooklyn Bed-Stuy style high rises all over the answer? Well, you know that is not what people want in So Cal. But if people who cannot afford to live in a place like San Diego insist on living there by hook or crook, since they vote, it will someday become a reality.

Are you trying to compete with US Default,Pedro,ATP and Oddstay For the smartest guy in the San Diego Forum?
Good Post And Repped

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by hitman619

Are you trying to compete with US Default,Pedro,ATP and Oddstay For the smartest guy in the San Diego Forum?
Good Post And Repped

Thanks man, but most of those guys are amazing so I cannot compete. In any case, thanks for the compliment.

[Trigger-f]

Salaries are proportional to the cost of living.

[Pedro2000]

Originally Posted by sprez33

Interesting data in this study. San Diego is the fifth richest city as determined by the % of people making over $150K/year. Doesn't jibe with the oft proffered narrative on this board that SD salaries are out of line with the COL.

Also impressive is the number of people with a bachelors degree, ~42%. Very high for such a large city. About the same as Boston which is half the size. Doesn't fit the SD stereotype.

The 10 richest cities in the U.S. - MarketWatch

The challenge with reports like this is they never actually give you details on what stats were used and why. The ACS data is pretty much household income, which could mean anything. Everybody knows there are a lot of wealthy individuals in San Diego, but if they receive most of their income through the stock market, it is far different than somebody making a salary of 200K per year.

And the other reality is that if close to 15% of San Diego makes over $150K, yet the median household income is $62K, that means many of the other 85 percent are very poor. One article highlights how rich people are in SD, but another one highlights SD as one of the least affordable places to live.

[ElAngelo]

Damn, wish I could earn that amount of money