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I say hell no with the more rooms than you need. Here's why. The people who were mocking you and calling you crazy? Their penalty for doing that is either sleeping on the couch or getting a hotel room.
I'm not buying an extra room so that people who called me nuts can benefit.
How many times have you actually gone to the Beach on christmas day?
OK, Seriously,
I live about seven miles from Coronado and Silver Strand State Beach. It takes about 15 minutes to get there. Yes, I have been to the beach on Christmas day, and Thanksgiving, and New Years as well. Visiting family for the holidays always want to go. I am definitely past the years of hanging out at the beach, but I still like to go every now and then, especially off-season. Today would have been a great day, but alas, I had to work. The weather was just fantastic today, incredible, text book perfection. How was Colorado?
Yeap, that is what some belief when we told them, we live in Utah, real estate taxes, income tax and real estate prices are lower, yet, we are not too much into long winters. When we say we were going to move to Texas, actually most people were excited... but we change our mind:
At one point we were contemplating the Dallas area like Southlake, gravevine area, we were excited about the tax advantages, good real estate prices, some of the best schools, etc, but every time we go to San Diego, we fall in love again, the landscape is amazing, weather is a no contest, and the worst part is that we love Rancho Santa Fe and surrounding areas that are higher priced.
The homes that we saw in Texas in the areas we like were about half price of what you see in places like SantaLuz, Encinitas, Rancho Santa Fe, and Carlsbad.
Also, although real estate taxes are higher in Texas but when you add the mello roos fee, then the advantage is not as big..
Also, income tax in California can take an extra chunck of your paycheck..
And the California politics is not the best...
And you can have a few earthquakes and the possibility of a big one...
Then, Why we are crazy about California, specially San Diego? IT is IMO the most amazing state when comparing weather, geography, etc, yes, we will be paying more, we have some good friends in the area, yes, we will complaining more about politics and taxes, but yes, we will still love San Diego and California..
I have been posting and reading in this group, and I love the input from many of you specially earlyretirement stats and posts that got me even more excited.
California and Texas people are great, and we have friends and business associates in both.
We have a good income to make the move, and we work mostly from home..
So are we crazy? We may...but we still love our decision...
G
It costs to live in paradise.
Not all areas have Mello-Roos fees. We have owned 5 homes in California in San Diego, San Francisco Bay area and where we live now in Murrieta. None of our homes had Mello-Roos. Our tax rate including fees for street lighting etc. are 1.15%. We bought all our homes brand new. We have a 2800 sq. ft. home with pool/spa and our property taxes are $3200 /year which is much lower than Texas.
Last edited by JohnSoCal; 11-07-2013 at 06:35 PM..
Is this a competition? OK, you win, it was only 62° and sunny with a slight southerly wind at 7200 ft. But shhhhh don't tell your fellow Bonitans that. Besides, that's not really 'great' weather for me. I prefer it a lot colder and snowier by now.
How many times have you actually gone to the Beach on christmas day?
I've done and glad to have done it and on New Year's Day. There is nothing like it, unique to SD. I recall a lot of tourists on Coronado at those times but generally and even there, it is not really over crowded at all.
I also agree with an earlier comment that it is the year round outdoor time whatever you do that counts in SD, not just beach time per se. We are blessed with many options from beach to parks to hikes to just strolling about your 'hood and relaxing in yard.
it is the year round outdoor time whatever you do that counts in SD
The problem with Californians (especially the Southern variety), and I used to be one, is that they think you literally might die if it drops below 55° and that you need to be locked inside your house 10 months out of the year if you live anywhere else. Ironically, I get outside much more now because a) I actually have my own yard with space, and b) I don't have to drive for an hour to get to the mountains or the water… I just walk right over there. Either in shorts and a T in the summer or with more layers of clothing the rest of the year. It's not a big deal, but it does require you to prepare yourself before going out, which is a turn off to a lot of people. I will admit that things like BBQ'ing and just letting the kids play freely in the yard are more confined to summer months. I also miss the beach sometimes, but we still have family there so we go visit in the spring when the weather is truly lousy here. And after about a week of dealing with the traffic and everything else just getting to the beach or wherever I don't miss it anymore.
I too went to the beach on Xmas and New Years and it was nice, although there were plenty of times that the weather was not suitable for it at all on those days. The funny thing is that I lived very close to Coronado's North Beach for several years and I think we went down there on Xmas/New Years like one time, maybe twice. Which was my point… It's something people say they can do and want to do, but rarely actually do… which is why it's so uncrowded, like you said.
I'm not trying to bash SD. I still love it there in many ways. And the last thing we need in CO is is more CA people moving here, so I'm not trying to talk anyone into that either. (not that you all would) But when people start calling it 'paradise' or 'heaven' or whatever, I have to roll my eyes and wonder what they're trying to convince themselves of.
Oh and here's the latest forecast for my area:
Today: Mostly sunny, with a high near 62. West northwest wind 5 to 15 mph, with gusts as high as 40 mph.
(that's right 40 mph … you take the good with the bad out here at 1.5 miles elev. ...Denver's a lot milder of course)
I'm not trying to bash SD. I still love it there in many ways. And the last thing we need in CO is is more CA people moving here
I bet many people in San Diego say the same about visitors!
I have lived in Utah for 15 years, similar weather to Colorado, so I can say that I will not miss the long winters, I like snow for a short while, but not long winters like the last one, over a month in a row with highs not even hitting 20, and mostly gloomy days and the snow as early as October and as late as May. swimming pools even in our private community opening only for 3 months, etc. Two years ago we had a blizzard during my "surprise" birthday party, so the surprise was we had barely any people, the same happened last year for our Halloween party when we had an ice/snow storm that caused so many accidents in the freeway that we had a lot of people stranded..
Also, freezing and bursting pipes, flooded basements, etc...
Good things? yes, it is pretty and quite at night when snows, I like to drive in the snow (not the ice), and if you like to snowboard or skiing, it could be paradise, and the mountains are spectacular, but..
I prefer San Diego Weather, it reminds me the Mediterranean and some of the Caribbean weather, almost perfect! and the landscape in California is gorgeous and diverse..
So, I say, if finances are not tight, Southern California is the place to be..for me..
Last edited by procapital; 11-08-2013 at 09:45 AM..
Reason: adding info
otterprods, you are right, we tend to have be fixated on unusual weather circumstances that dont necessarily fit the 'norm' here.
What would be the equivalent in CO? Bad snow season for skiers and snowboarders? Unusually warm summers?
Just curious if you could have all that you have from CO and have it in SD would you trade for it? You speak highly of the large yard and play space as being of high importance vs not having that here for the same cost.
otterprods, you are right, we tend to have be fixated on unusual weather circumstances that dont necessarily fit the 'norm' here.
What would be the equivalent in CO? Bad snow season for skiers and snowboarders? Unusually warm summers?
Just curious if you could have all that you have from CO and have it in SD would you trade for it? You speak highly of the large yard and play space as being of high importance vs not having that here for the same cost.
All good questions. First, what would 'weird' weather be for us? I don't know, a tropical depression? Fiery hailstones falling from sky? The weather can be pretty wild so nothing is that unusual. It was a high of 30 on Monday and up above 50 the next day. I've seen it drop 60+ degrees in less than 12 hours before. You just take the good with the bad like I said. You have to have a good attitude and enjoy the craziness of it all. But I suppose the exceptioanly bad drought and fire seasons the past few years have been the worst thing to deal with. And I really tire of the wind at times.
If I could have my house and my yard transplanted to SD for the same relative cost? No. Because you still have traffic, congestion and 100 other things I don't miss about it. Besides I wouldn't want to leave my family and friends here at this point. On the other hand, if I could sit here with everything as it is and bring the weather to me in January and turn that 1500 miles of Prairie grass on my right into a beautiful warm blu ocean… of course. But then I would miss the seasons and it would probably be ruined after about 5 years anyways cuz everyone would just move here. Any way you cut it: Not paradise. I don't expect to get that anywhere in this system and I've found a place that suits me and my family pretty well for now and that's all I could ever ask for.
All good questions. First, what would 'weird' weather be for us? I don't know, a tropical depression? Fiery hailstones falling from sky? The weather can be pretty wild so nothing is that unusual. It was a high of 30 on Monday and up above 50 the next day. I've seen it drop 60+ degrees in less than 12 hours before. You just take the good with the bad like I said. You have to have a good attitude and enjoy the craziness of it all. But I suppose the exceptioanly bad drought and fire seasons the past few years have been the worst thing to deal with. And I really tire of the wind at times.
If I could have my house and my yard transplanted to SD for the same relative cost? No. Because you still have traffic, congestion and 100 other things I don't miss about it. Besides I wouldn't want to leave my family and friends here at this point. On the other hand, if I could sit here with everything as it is and bring the weather to me in January and turn that 1500 miles of Prairie grass on my right into a beautiful warm blu ocean… of course. But then I would miss the seasons and it would probably be ruined after about 5 years anyways cuz everyone would just move here. Any way you cut it: Not paradise. I don't expect to get that anywhere in this system and I've found a place that suits me and my family pretty well for now and that's all I could ever ask for.
From the sounds of it, its the human impact (traffic, congestion etc) more so than San Diego itself as the main issue.
Its been said many times on the board that San Diego isnt for everyone. But to many, considering all the bad, its pretty great for a city its size so its all relative.
I am certainly not naive enough to think San Diego is the end all be all for the rest of my life. On paper drawing out all the aspects of what 'ideal' is, SD is a tough one to beat. This is of course taking out of the equation just about everything you DONT like which has impacted life here vs decades ago when Coronado by your description sounded like Mayberry by the sea.
I think maybe for certain parts of a lifetime any place can be ideal, clearly as you are proving. But really its all about where you can thrive and enjoy what it is that you love doing and maybe squeeze in some new things while you are it.
I would say that coming from somewhere where you are tired of the weather etc, is a good start, but what you make of your life when you get here is really what its all about. Too many people leave places because they either couldnt adjust, didnt want to adjust or just plain old didnt like it. Nothing wrong with that because that is what life is all about. I would think that if given the oppt for a young family, SD is not a bad deal.
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