RN wages? How in the world does the common person buy a home?? (San Diego: real estate, insurance)

[melissahall456]

Hi! I’ve been an RN for 10 years and I’m curious if any RNs follow this board and can tell me which hospitals pay the most around San Diego & North County area? Encinitas is my family’s favorite place. I feel so much better when I’m near the ocean & we’d love to move somewhere near Encinitas. We are living in La Quinta now & it’s just not for me (grew up in MO, moved here from NM recently). Anyway... also how in the world does the “common” person afford a home anywhere near San Diego? I honestly can’t comprehend it. My husband is going to online engineering tech school now & caring for our two sons (so we don’t have to pay daycare). I just can’t understand how even with 2 incomes, how do people do it? Even just for a condo in San Marcos I’m seeing $470,000 +, then you add on insurance, etc. I’m doubting that the wages come close to making up for the extra cost. Geez!
Anyway, nurses or anyone knowledgeable about this can you tell me the hospitals that pay the most? (Here I’m called off constantly).
I want to live somewhere where the common person... teachers. nurses, police, can afford a home for their families so I might just need to forget about the whole thing.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by melissahall456

Hi! I’ve been an RN for 10 years and I’m curious if any RNs follow this board and can tell me which hospitals pay the most around San Diego & North County area? Encinitas is my family’s favorite place. I feel so much better when I’m near the ocean & we’d love to move somewhere near Encinitas. We are living in La Quinta now & it’s just not for me (grew up in MO, moved here from NM recently). Anyway... also how in the world does the “common” person afford a home anywhere near San Diego? I honestly can’t comprehend it. My husband is going to online engineering tech school now & caring for our two sons (so we don’t have to pay daycare). I just can’t understand how even with 2 incomes, how do people do it? Even just for a condo in San Marcos I’m seeing $470,000 +, then you add on insurance, etc. I’m doubting that the wages come close to making up for the extra cost. Geez!
Anyway, nurses or anyone knowledgeable about this can you tell me the hospitals that pay the most? (Here I’m called off constantly).
I want to live somewhere where the common person... teachers. nurses, police, can afford a home for their families so I might just need to forget about the whole thing.

The "common" person cannot afford to buy a home and maybe not even a condo. The area is popular, more people want to live there than there are homes available for, so the cost goes up. The way to buy is save, save, save and well save while your salary grows and then buy what you can afford then. No guarantees in popular areas that you can save fast enough to not be driven out by price increases. Right now may not be bad as prices seem to be leveling a bit and may stay that way for a while (maybe slight dip), but eventually they will rise again.

[jnojr]

Originally Posted by melissahall456

Encinitas is my family’s favorite place. I feel so much better when I’m near the ocean & we’d love to move somewhere near Encinitas. We are living in La Quinta now & it’s just not for me

Welcome to why San Diego is so expensive! It's everyone's favorite place, and is "for them" in a way that hot, dusty, or freezing places aren't.

Sadly, reality dictates that San Diego is "for" those who can afford to live here, and that it is not for everyone else.

FWIW, we can afford to live here, but are giving up... we're trading the weather for a much bigger / nicer house, lower cost of living, and freedom from the insane tsunami of taxes and regulations coming out of Sacramento. If all of that, and constant pressure on your wallet and budget, is worth living near the ocean; then more power to you.

[hitman619]

Originally Posted by melissahall456

Hi! I’ve been an RN for 10 years and I’m curious if any RNs follow this board and can tell me which hospitals pay the most around San Diego & North County area? Encinitas is my family’s favorite place. I feel so much better when I’m near the ocean & we’d love to move somewhere near Encinitas. We are living in La Quinta now & it’s just not for me (grew up in MO, moved here from NM recently). Anyway... also how in the world does the “common” person afford a home anywhere near San Diego? I honestly can’t comprehend it. My husband is going to online engineering tech school now & caring for our two sons (so we don’t have to pay daycare). I just can’t understand how even with 2 incomes, how do people do it? Even just for a condo in San Marcos I’m seeing $470,000 +, then you add on insurance, etc. I’m doubting that the wages come close to making up for the extra cost. Geez!
Anyway, nurses or anyone knowledgeable about this can you tell me the hospitals that pay the most? (Here I’m called off constantly).
I want to live somewhere where the common person... teachers. nurses, police, can afford a home for their families so I might just need to forget about the whole thing.

You Kinda Answered your questions
None of the Hospitals pay enough for you to own a home in Encinitas, San Marcos, hell even some part of Vista.
How Much of a down Payment are you working with?

[Curious.In.California]

My hubby and I are a two-income family with no kids and yeah, its tough here. We are middle class but we can't afford to buy because we're priced out here. Many of our friends who left the state are doing MUCH better financially ~ they bought beautiful homes in their new cities, they're traveling (because they have the money to do so now) and their overall quality of life is healthier.

This area is very desirable for many ~ I mean, who wouldn't want to live by the beach with almost perfect weather year-round? Of course that's going to come at a price.

We live here because San Diego is my husband's hometown, he grew up here, family is here so it makes sense for us to be here BUT even with our family ties to this area, we don't want to stick around for too long. The high taxes, high cost of living, traffic, overcrowding create additional stress which has taken away from being able to enjoy living here. Financially, its just not wise.

There's always going to be a trade-off for something. Coming to SD you'll gain beaches but it comes at a cost so you'll be adding more stress and losing other things...maybe things you didn't even think about until later.

Where is family for you guys? You don't want to live near family? I'd suggest possibly moving closer to family or move to another city/state that has a lower cost of living (Las Vegas, Phoenix or Salt Lake City) and save, save, save and then maybe try again in 5 years or so. But just remember, living in CA (especially coastal cities) will always put that constant pressure on your wallet and budget (like jnojr mentioned below).

Originally Posted by jnojr

Sadly, reality dictates that San Diego is "for" those who can afford to live here, and that it is not for everyone else.

FWIW, we can afford to live here, but are giving up... we're trading the weather for a much bigger / nicer house, lower cost of living, and freedom from the insane tsunami of taxes and regulations coming out of Sacramento. If all of that, and constant pressure on your wallet and budget, is worth living near the ocean; then more power to you.

Agree!! Where are you headed, jnojr? Colorado is top on my list.

[jnojr]

Originally Posted by Curious.In.California

Where are you headed, jnojr? Colorado is top on my list.

We're moving to Chandler, AZ (half hour SE of Phoenix) next week. We'll have three times the house, a pool, lower taxes, better roads, water (people out there hose off driveways, and nobody understood why we goggled at that!), gas is a buck less, far better schools... yeah, the summers are hot, but you can afford to run the AC out there.

[Slytrix]

Originally Posted by jnojr

We're moving to Chandler, AZ (half hour SE of Phoenix) next week. We'll have three times the house, a pool, lower taxes, better roads, water (people out there hose off driveways, and nobody understood why we goggled at that!), gas is a buck less, far better schools... yeah, the summers are hot, but you can afford to run the AC out there.

Funny how you think Phoenix has water.

FYI Nevada and Arizona's water from the Colorado River will be cut before California's And Lake Mead is at its lowest level since the 1930s.

[Curious.In.California]

Originally Posted by jnojr

We're moving to Chandler, AZ (half hour SE of Phoenix) next week. We'll have three times the house, a pool, lower taxes, better roads, water (people out there hose off driveways, and nobody understood why we goggled at that!), gas is a buck less, far better schools.

Oh! My parents moved there a few years ago and they love it out there! My dad isn't retired (they're actually snowbirds - they have a summer home in Park City, Utah) but they hope to stay in AZ when he does retire.

I've gone out there a few times to visit them and I love their home and neighborhood. Close enough for weekend trips too.

Good luck on your move!! Happy, new adventures ahead!

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by jnojr

We're moving to Chandler, AZ (half hour SE of Phoenix) next week. We'll have three times the house, a pool, lower taxes, better roads, water (people out there hose off driveways, and nobody understood why we goggled at that!), gas is a buck less, far better schools... yeah, the summers are hot, but you can afford to run the AC out there.

Yeah, but who wants to live where you have to spend summers indoors with the A/C? You can't go out and ride a bike, or go hiking, or do anything active, but stay in the pool, and the pool water gets too warm halfway through the summer, due to all the sun and heat. It's not refreshing. And it's 5 months of summer heat, not just 2 or 3.

OP, wait until your husband gets an engineering job, then reassess your situation. The outlook should improve significantly, at that point. If. you're supporting the two of you now, it means his entire annual earnings can go toward buying a home. You'll be homeowner in no time, unless he'll have massive student loan debt. But he should be able to pay that off quickly.

[Finper]

The middle class people that are making it here are natives or have lived here a long time. They bought real estate when it was affordable and prop 13 helps a lot. Your what they call "cold". Your starting from the bottom in one of the most expensive areas in the US. Millennials and cold arrivals have a almost impossible hill to climb to be able to live here and thrive. Lot's of people say it isn't fair but it is what it is.