Vibe on these forums (San Diego, San Clemente: for sale, apartment, new home)

[Encinitan]

I think the generally negative tone on this board (my opinion) stems from a few things, including the age, educational level, and experience of the posters, how long they have been in San Diego, etc. But it boils down to one thing: San Diego is a great place to live if you can afford to live in the nicer areas. It's expensive, no doubt. If you can't afford it, or if your earning potential is low and you will never be able to enjoy all the things the city and surrounding areas offer, it can be a miserable place to live, I would think.

[sandiegogolfer]

Originally Posted by Encinitan

I think the generally negative tone on this board (my opinion) stems from a few things, including the age, educational level, and experience of the posters, how long they have been in San Diego, etc. But it boils down to one thing: San Diego is a great place to live if you can afford to live in the nicer areas. It's expensive, no doubt. If you can't afford it, or if your earning potential is low and you will never be able to enjoy all the things the city and surrounding areas offer, it can be a miserable place to live, I would think.

I think if someone is living close to poverty level anywhere in the country it is going to be a tough existence.

On the other hand, enjoying oneself once you have the basics covered does not have to be expensive anywhere you live.

Go for a walk.

Take some pictures.

If you want to travel, you don't have to go to Europe, you can drive to a new neighborhood only a few miles away from where you live and it will be a new experience.

Buy a new vegetable or food item and you now have adventure at a very low cost.

Take a stroll on the beach.

Watch a high school sports event for cheap and it is fun seeing the spirit of the young people.

Go to a rummage sale in rancho santa fe and get bargains from the rich!

Go to free Tuesdays at balboa park museums.

Torrey Pines State park is only 8 bucks to park.

You can walk around the Hotel Del Coronado for free.

Bike along the beach from la Jolla to Oceanside.

Take a sailing class in Coronado through Southwestern College for 37 bucks a semester.

A LOT of things don't cost a ton on money here.

It is all about attitude.

[John_Galt]

Congrats, Bobbruce! And I think your message here is important. I certainly understand what causes all these responses, but I think its important not to make it out to be a hopeless situation.

I moved to SD from NYC about a year and a half ago, with a background in finance. I didn't have a job lined up, but had plenty of savings. Despite the fact that the SD job market is sorely lacking for jobs in my field, within a few months of searching I was able to find a great job.

My wife and I recently bought our first home in Hillcrest, and are loving life here in SD and don't ever plan on leaving.

So, I agree that "burger flippers" should think twice about trying to move here with no savings, but I think the general tone can deter even those who might be well-qualified and add a lot to the area.

Best of luck in your new job!

[sjcassin]

I agree with the OP.

I'm from the UK and plan on moving to San Diego upon completing my nursing degree however I would say my family and I won't be ready for approximately 4 years tomove out there but I'm researching everything now and have been for at least a year now. This forum offers some great advice and also it's nice to read what's going on in SD right now.

Sassberto - You offer great advice.

[kettlepot]

To the OP's original point. I believe some of the negative vibe is to caution those with unrealistic expectations. The other cause, might be an almost unconscious CYA. Some proportion of the people who move here will fail miserably. They won't find a job, and they will blow through all of their savings leaving them completely broke. I suspect some of us don't want our words on this forum to be the cause of someone else's life disaster.

On the other hand, I have seen innumerable numbers of posts that far and away exaggerate the amount of money people need to earn if they just want a life in the sun, and not a lot of "stuff." If you are willing to be satisfied with that, there is a place in San Diego for you too. A single person (probably young) can live quite satisfactorily - alone - in San Diego earning only $30k/year. This is a truth that posters in their 30s, 40s, and 50s, may have forgotten along with their youth.

[sdurbanite]

Congrats on your potential new job, bobbruce! You are doing exactly what most of us are advising others to do before you get here. You gotta realize that it's hard for some of us to tell a family of four or someone who is ok with working at McDonald's to move here, given the state of the economy. Even someone with six months of savings might be risking it, if you ask me. Then again, I've always admired people who can pick up and move somewhere with no plan. Guess I'm wimpy in that department.

As kettlepot said, we just don't want people to move here with unrealistic expectations, is all. Others will remember it was only a few years ago that we could easily say, come on out and wait tables for awhile until you find a real job. Well...those days are no longer.

[Bobbruce]

"Wimpy" is one way to put it sdurbanite, another might be "practical". There is room for both types of people...I think you would find even those that take risks and succeed still have a plan going in.

The moral of the story for these forums and this thread might be that being overly risk-averse might keep you from being happy and landing where you belong, but flying headfirst into your dream without any idea of how to achieve it can have equally disastrous effects on your life

[beachrescue]

I agree the vibe is negative. It is not just in the SD forum. I posted a question in another state and got the same negative vibe. SD is not Orange County. SD has always been a place where the burger flippers move to and just hang out and be happy. The SD you see today is not the SD of 20 years ago. If you have not lived in SD for over 5 years then you should think before you comment on what you think SD is about. SD has always had a soft economy. The Border crossers take all the entry level jobs, that money goes to Mexico and never comes back. I know I live in TJ for six years. North county was invaded by yuppies in the 80s. Before that it was a bunch of laid back burger flippers who partied all the time and surfed. OB and PB was the same. What allot the posters here don't understand is that there are no good paying jobs for the burger flippers anywhere.

That makes SD and California in general a good place to move to because if a person is making 8.00 bucks then might as well make it in SD. There are some terminal SD Casualties on this forum. If you look at the jobs in SD believe it or not there are quite a few jobs for burger flippers. I don't see a market for Real Estate Agents or the like anytime soon, but Mcdonalds is hiring.

A young person can live in SD on 8.00 bucks an hour. SD is mostly young college aged people hanging out enjoying life. Comming to SD with a family and a Blue Collar backround it migt be hard.

Lots of people ask about good ares to live in...all of SD is a good area....even the ghetto. 54th and Imperial still has great weather and you can catch a bus to the beach if you need to.

So.........if you wanna live in ENC (where I grew up) then you need to have some type of income if you want to live in a house by yourself. You better be a making 80k. If you want to live in ENC and share a pad with four other surfer cats then you can do it on 8.00 bucks and here is why.

The guy who makes 80k wants a cup of coffee, his tire changed, if you get lucky maybee he will park his BMW in the wrong spot and you can Impound it and make some real money for the day. Employers still need workers in ENC. If you are real motivated then then you could go to the sheriffs academy the you can ticket him all week a long.

It's all relative........if a person is going to move anywhere in todays economy they need some cash it their pocket, or they need a hookup.

SD and California have always been where people go to make it happen. Bill Handle KFI LOS ANGELES was talking about how he came from Brazil with not much money in his pocket. Bill is now a well respected Attorney, and a awesome talk show host.

SD has two worlds. It has the people who laid out there cloths the night before and had their day planed out a week ago and the people who go through the side door and make it happen.

More people are moving back to So Cal because they see it just about the same all over. Rents are high and jobs are crappy. Welcome to the Second world...just like Mexico..

[Bobbruce]

I don't know whether or not that post was positive or negative Beach

But I agree with you...even though we will have decent jobs, my wife and I can survive anywhere because we have a very frugal lifestyle. We could afford more probably, but we'll be living in a 1 BR rental and just enjoying life. We don't need to spend money on little things every day. We can take our dog for a walk and just hang out and be perfectly happy.

I think alot of people looking to move to SD are really looking for the same thing, so it is within their grasp. If they are looking to buy a house at the beach, that's where they go wrong.

[beachrescue]

Originally Posted by sandiegogolfer

I think if someone is living close to poverty level anywhere in the country it is going to be a tough existence.

On the other hand, enjoying oneself once you have the basics covered does not have to be expensive anywhere you live.

Go for a walk.

Take some pictures.

If you want to travel, you don't have to go to Europe, you can drive to a new neighborhood only a few miles away from where you live and it will be a new experience.

Buy a new vegetable or food item and you now have adventure at a very low cost.

Take a stroll on the beach.

Watch a high school sports event for cheap and it is fun seeing the spirit of the young people.

Go to a rummage sale in rancho santa fe and get bargains from the rich!

Go to free Tuesdays at balboa park museums.

Torrey Pines State park is only 8 bucks to park.

You can walk around the Hotel Del Coronado for free.

Bike along the beach from la Jolla to Oceanside.

Take a sailing class in Coronado through Southwestern College for 37 bucks a semester.

A LOT of things don't cost a ton on money here.

It is all about attitude.

This is what most of SD is all about. It is not about making the 80k it is not the Hamptons. It is SD, or as I like to call it SAN DIGHETTO.