My co-workers (of all ages) in Los Angeles just had this discussion. It was unanimous: everyone said San Diego is better.
32. Single. No debt other than the car payment (this is a "want" car...not a need. can easily sell if needed). I am in healthcare IT and I am decently confident there are EPIC jobs (software vendor I am familiar with) out west. I have zero interest in moving to LA.
I mean the dream version of San Diego may be better than the dream version of LA. But regular job San Diego isn't better than regular job LA. I believe that when people dream of San Diego, they dream of location that is above the pay grade of where they are at, and of disposable income above their current level of disposable income. It may not even be three jumps ahead of where they are now, but it is usually ahead of where they are now. Also, it is necessary to factor in the "grass is always greener" effect.
I will add one thing to moving to either SD or LA. If you eventually buy here, you are paying for a lot and will be selling for a lot. So buy there if you can get a good enough salary. Then sell it when you retire, and move back to Texas where the money will buy a much nicer house, property and still leave you with extra to put in the bank.
The flaw there is that your house in California will likely be paid off by the time you retire, so you might as well stay put and enjoy rock bottom property tax in Cali rather than move to Texas and pay crazy property tax.
Perhaps. But the property value difference can usually balance out a lot of years of extra property tax. I guess it depends on what age at which you retire and how long your life is after retirement. I love Texas and so I keep an eye on what I will get when I sell my place in California, and what I can buy for that price in Texas. At the same time, I love California and so much of what it has to offer, and I would also appreciate being able to retire in the central coast wine country here in California. My wife and I are still weighing the options since we aren't retiring for a while yet.
In the valley of Los Angeles. If I had an unlimited amount of funds and could buy a huge land/ranch/build my own home, I would move to the central coast wine country of Los Angeles. However, reduced taxation better land and real estate values might make getting more for less more acceptable in the hill country of Texas. I again I am dream projecting, so it just depends. The one thing that is different is that the real estate market in Southern California (while always higher than Texas) has greater variation. After the real estate boom property values plummeted. We were horrible underwater with our mortgage. But with the bounce back it has already risen to have us slightly on top. So part of the extra cash to spend in Texas will depend on the California real estate market. The fluctuations are much greater than they are in Texas.
I would love to own there some day. How do prices compare there to a single family home in say Montrose or The Heights? I know it's obviously higher, but how what's the range for, say, a 2-bed/2-bath, ~1,300 sq ft bungalow?
It depends on the neighborhood. Prices vary greatly by neighborhood. Some neighborhoods that have made efforts to improve their neighborhoods will rename their portion of a neighborhood with a bad reputation in order to try and get their property values to increase. It also depends on where in the neighborhood the house is. For instance, Sherman Oaks South of Ventura Boulevard will be way more expensive than Sherman Oaks north of the boulevard. So it's kind of crazy with a lot of variation. Using Sherman Oaks, rent on something like that would be about $2500 - $2600/mo. Buying one would be about 750 - 1 million. That's basically move-in ready or at least move in acceptable. You could go cheaper depending on location and condition.
True but Sherman Oaks is still the Valley in Los Angeles and not Echo Park/Silver Lake/Hollywood/Los Feliz. You get a little more for the money and aren't too far away from the "highlights". But you still wouldn't be quite in the thick of things like you would be in the Heights. Those places you will have a harder time finding larger newer homes and will generally cost more or you will get less for the money you pay. But you do have the location. It's like any place else, I think but with just a wider gap in the discrepancy between locations.
i make over $100k a year and ill say a $600-$700 car payment is too much! ive spent about $7500 on tattoos in the last 4 years or so though...to each their own!
Last time I was in San Diego, people told me they didn't care about the Chargers. They are happy the Aztecs took over that stadium. Everyone seems really happy in San Diego.
Makes me happy to think about one of my probably top-5 burger joints: https://hodadies.com/ I need to go back soon.
Crazy talk and trolling. Whenever im in La all I can think is what a raging joke it is. La has better ladies that is about it. Pacific palisades is decent but so are the nicest parts of cleveland. Newport beach is ok but thats not La and they would say the same.
Go to the one at the beach. Get bacon on it (they basically make a bacon patty to go with the burger patty), if feeling extra bold, the pastrami is goood.
Please keep me updated on the move. Similar situation - just sold my high expense car lol and repaired my older car. What car are you driving? Edit - similar situation in wanting to move to SD!
