San Diego is not a good place to live anymore (Los Angeles: apartment, lease)

[Encinitan]

Originally Posted by cvlp

Maybe that's just it, you live in North County. South Bay isn't pretty, no matter how many new communities they build in overcrowded Otay Ranch/Eastlake.
And not being one to want to disrupt my kids schooling, I didn't want to uproot them. Now that they're out and almost out, maybe we'll try north county, where we almost settled when we moved here and I can't tell you how many times I wished we had.

I absolutely and sincerely respect that you are doing what's best for your children (not uprooting them from school). Too many people would yank their kids right out and feed their own needs. So for that, I commend you. I was blessed to be born and raised in Solana Beach, no doubt. I worked very hard, put myself through college and grad school so that I could try and give my children the best life possible. But there are lots of nice communities all over San Diego. I hope you can find one that suits you better.

[cvlp]

Originally Posted by sav858

Rent and home prices are coming down which were a lot of people's biggest gripes.

Where are these rentals that are coming down? Our lease is up soon and if we do stay I sure would like to find the cheaper rentals.

As for buying prices, yea down but still out of reach.....for me, for us.

[jksouthbay88]

I plan on moving to LV in Oct.Don't know if it's reality that soon but I will be out of both SD and the state ASAP!

[bloom]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Wow... I've always considered myself liberal... and I voted for the guy... but does anyone actually believe this?

No matter how far prices in San Diego fall or have fallen, homeownership in the desirable areas is still way, way out of reach for most middle-class and many upper-middle-class families.

I believe the Republican-induced part, but it will take more than 1 year for Super Spidey Obama to save us. BTW, the failing car maker bail out is like giving money to losers rather than investing it in good companies and ideas. Also, seems Super O is spending too much. Stimulus is one thing, but reckless is another. Time will tell, and I'll bet the Repubs are more at fault.

[bloom]

Originally Posted by sav858

was this post actually serious?

Heavily partisan politics, one thing I definitely DO NOT miss about the Bay Area .

Agree, need a more even hand. But most admit Bush failed.

[SEAandATL]

I'm not sure about 2009, but when I left in late 2007, it was still rated a good place to live overall. I'm not sure how the recession has taken its toll on San Diego, but the job market and unemployment rate is bad just about anywhere. I think things will turn around for the better once the economy improves. One thing I like about the current San Diego is that its politically shifting to the left, while up until a few years ago it was a stronghold for Republicans.

But the ONE thing that I think would make San Diego A LOT better is more public transit. One of the reasons why I enjoyed San Diego my first few years there was because I didn't have a car, so I was using the trolleys and buses, and I never thought I'd miss that once I got a car. When riding the public transit, I don't have to worry about traffic, road rage, or frustration from not finding parking. Living in Japan has gotten me to use and appreciate the train system, even though I have a car here. I just thought it would be nice if San Diego's train system was like that.

[dweej]

Originally Posted by cvlp

Where are these rentals that are coming down? Our lease is up soon and if we do stay I sure would like to find the cheaper rentals.

As for buying prices, yea down but still out of reach.....for me, for us.

I have not found that rental prices are going down at all. All the people who lost their homes need places to live; all the people who are waiting for the market to bottom out need places to live; all the people who don't have enough saved up to put a down payment on their soon-to-be house need places to live; military, students, folks with bad credit....all need places to live. Rentals are in even higher demand, overall, than they were a few years ago. I can't see how this would in any way lead to a drop in rental prices.

[revelated]

Originally Posted by cvlp

Where are these rentals that are coming down? Our lease is up soon and if we do stay I sure would like to find the cheaper rentals.

As for buying prices, yea down but still out of reach.....for me, for us.

Rentals are dropping in areas where the amenities are not great.

If you find apartments that have:
- No garaging
- Open pet policy (i.e. tons of uncontrolled barking and dog poop)
- Poor visitor parking
- Poor proximity to grade schools
- Too-close proximity to colleges
- Historical issues (i.e. Prominence in San Marcos was a drug den, La Terraza in Rancho Bernardo burned down in the fires)

Then you'll see unbelievable rents. For apartments that are actually nice to stay in, you'll see sky high rents still (4S Ranch, Sabre Springs, Carmel Mountain, etc).

Come April my lease is up and I need to consider moving for lower rent myself. Can't justify a near $1700 monthly rent just for granite countertops.

[DesertDog]

As a outsider looking in when I visit my daughter who lives minutes from the beach it's hard not to want to move there regardless of the many negatives I've seen posted here. Walking outside in the morning feeling the ocean breeze and feeling the vibe of the beach community is almost irresistible.

[loveautumn]

I've lived in Sd for about 31 years and of course it's changed a great deal, as well as my interests, etc. have changed. What appealed to me about SD 31 years ago, doesn't matter that much any more (i.e. nightlife, beaches, etc.).

I know alot of people my age, as they retire, will leave SD because we can't afford to live here based on an average retirement income. fFor example, if you pay $1400 for an apt, and move to a city where you can pay say $1000, that's $400 more a month to pay other bills, etc. which for a retiree is alot of money. And state taxes/fees are getting out of control.

Honestly, I think SD (and California) has seen it's best days, and I base that on alot of factors that I won't go into here. But it's still a relatively new city/county, so it doesn't have alot of the blight of many other places, but that will come because the $$$ to keep up appearances here is not available any more. Downtown for example is deteriorating rapidly in alot of sections.

It's a very diverse place in this way...most cities, say for example Pittsburgh, most people are in the same socio-economic range, of course with some exceptions, but I'm speaking of the majority. Here you have the very very rich, the doing very well crowd, and then people who are barely making it.

I mean, I have travelled thru the US and there are good and bad in every place...so much depends on one's personality, age, income, what stage they are in life.