Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Woe is me (First world problems)

and once again, why wait for a job offer?

Eric, nice of you to post such a pretty piture of a VERY small part of the greater San Diego area. Winter day? (no bikinis on that beach) Torrey Pines? Blacks Beach? Sunset Cliffs maybe? Looks like someplace near "Fat Man's Misery" we used to go down when younger.

I'm not sure how to post pics, but if this link works perhaps viewers who prefer a "quieter lifestyle" away from the hustle and bustle of urban life might understand why I tend to think "living in San Diego" would suck for me. Go back 35-40 years and I truly enjoyed it.

https://maps.yahoo.com/#/place/?lat=32.731840896865684&lon=-117.09846496582031&q=San%20Diego%2C%20CA&t=h&bb=32.84642336431036%2C-117.25038528442383%2C32.617400127757456%2C-116.9465446472168&addr=San%20Diego%2C%20CA

Folks, zoom in if you can't make out all the houses. Zoom out to see that Camp Pendleton is about the only thing keeping SD from merging with OC and LA, then those housing developments you see would be an almost sold mass from the border to Malibu.

I'm sure Eric knows knows what it's like if he lives there.

So, in my view, San Diego sucks.

Please don't get me wrong, I really loved the idea of San Diego as I used to go the beach, the snow, and the desert all in the same day. Fished most of the reservoirs, bays and the near shore ocean, hunted a bit, camped ALL over the county, hiked many of the trails, surfed, swam, scuba diving and snorkeling in the local ocean, jumped off "the Clam" in La Jolla cove,body surfed at "Boomers", drank beer on the "Bench" in Mission Beach. Never flew a hang glider at torrey pines tho, but as you can see I kinda know a bit about the area. I'd still be there if it wasn't for things like it taking nearly an hour to drive to work for a trip that takes 21 minutes on a Sat morning on the way to Moonlight Beach (maybe my favorite beach in the area). Or breathing smog almost every day. (We used to be able to see the ocean from the top of Santa Rosa Peak, last time I was there not able to do so). Or houses where we used to go target shooting. I miss the mexican food (taco shops on every corner) and a lot of other stuff, but I won't trade what I have now to go back to that mess down there, even for places like the one you showed. (I live next to the Snake River so the view out my window is nearly as nice) And I don't miss 10 day waiting periods (see the thread in single shots. Now there's really a need to wait 10 days for a Blaser single shot isn't there ), dificulty in getting CCW, the crime rates etc.

Perhaps when I make my yearly visit we can meet for a cup of coffee? Or better yet a carnitas burrito! Maybe we could even do a little shooting. What range do you shoot at, Hesters Granite Pit (P2K), the one out past Jamul (south Bay rod and gun), Lemon Grove rod and gun club?. From what my relatives tell me there is pretty much no shooting allowed (except for hunting) on NF land in SD county any more.

Hope I didn't hijack the thread too much. I'm really hoping if George has his heart set on moving out west, he finds a way to do it.

Valsdad,

Not to hijack the thread, but I agree that no matter where you are there are always tradeoffs to consider.

That photo I posted was at Black's Beach in La Jolla.

You definitely know the area based on what you posted. I'm an ocean person and so living in north county San Diego is pretty awesome. I live within a mile of Moonlight Beach, and surf up and down the coast. You can't beat the weather. I love the SoCal hot rod culture and beach community. The Mexican food is fantastic. The women are hot. People are very active and into the outdoors and working out. We are a top craft brew city in the U.S. But you're right, it's an urban area and the cost of living is sky high. I could buy 10 houses most anywhere else in the U.S. for what I'm paying here. I have to travel over an hour to my gun range (South Bay Rod & Gun, just further down the road from P2K), local opportunity to hunt is low so I always have to travel, we have the 10 day waiting period, ban on lead ammo in Condor areas, very restrictive CCW, a bunch of nut-case legislators, traffic sucks, etc. But in the line of work that I'm in, the best opportunities are all in urban areas, like LA, or DC.

I bet living on the Snake River is pretty cool!

You'll have to let me know next time you're in San Diego. We could grab a brew at Stone Brewery in San Marcos.

Eric

Here's a spoof video of the area I live in. lol.

Since ditch digging has been mentioned, here's my story. At age 34 I was not happy with my job nor the area where I was living. I moved home with my parents and went to work for a company that I had worked for in the past. I saved every dollar I could and in a year moved to the area where I wanted to live and took a job with a friend's family trenching business as a ditch digger making a whopping $6.00 an hour, seldom working 40 hours a week. Sure that was tough, but I used the down time to job hunt and in 6 months had a job in my field. Thirty years later I am now retired, I have had some great jobs with firms that were industry leaders in their field. No job is worth being miserable over, Job hunting now is much more of a PITA than it was at the time I made my move but you can find something to establish yourself in your new location. I have always augmented my income via internet sales over the last 30 years, this is how I've funded my gun collecting and hunting adventures. Good luck in your quest.

You should have said "I can't drive 55" got up, packed your crap and moved to where you want to be.

I thought I read a year or so ago that George was offloading some stuff before leaving for the military.

What happened with that George?

You've got to be kidding me. Who are "these people?" No wonder stupid is as ubiquitous as air.

I think the title of this thread says a lot. It is a first world problem. As little as 75-100 years ago, living the dream was just that, a dream. Two world wars, an economic depression, factory jobs. Even before that, you worked until you keeled over and died or your kids took care of you. The greatest generation gave us prosperity and a lot of opportunity to branch out and do things we want to do. Even then, some of their kids wound up at Woodstock and now are wondering who is going to take care of them now that they are retired and broke, because they really didn�t evaporate when they turned 30.

I am all for living the dream and taking some chances. But, I am not a �load up the car and see what happens� kind of guy. (I�m not a �let�s fly to Vegas and get married� type, either.) It never hurts to have a plan and some options, like one of those decision trees. It also is important to remember that we evolve over time, so we may not be the same people in our 50s are we were in our 20s, and being forced to follow the path set in the 20s may not guarantee a happy life. In fact, a naturally curious person who wants to be a life-long learner may want to be able to choose new adventures over the course of a lifetime. Sometimes, it takes money to explore some of those opportunities.

In our case, we wanted to live out west. We didn�t pack up the car and move. We took about 15 years, and life didn�t suck in the interim. When it was time to go, we could quantify the cost of a screw up at one real estate commission (sold the first house FSBO) and two moves, or about $20,000 in 1996 dollars. I was fortunate enough to have a flexible work situation that allowed it to happen. It worked out great. Sure, there are trade- offs even now. I got stuck working this weekend instead of being able to hunt. That is just a first world problem I could fix whenever I choose to. I�ve got no regrets.

If you can figure out a work/life situation that makes you 100% happy now and for the rest of your life, then you hit the jackpot. If you can figure that out in your 20s, you hit the Powerball. I wouldn�t let perfect get in the way of pretty good, but I don�t recommend rolling the bones and just going with that.

I know this didn�t solve much, but it was the best I could do.

I'm surrounded every day by guys who describe to me how they loaded up their truck or van with their tools and their dog 10, 20, 30 years ago, and moved out here with little money and less prospects.

Some are living in trailers still nailing off sheeting.

Some own some incredibly successful businesses and are very well off.

Not one of them has told me they regretted it.

Obviously george doesn't think much of my experiences and advice, but conversely, I don't think much about his lack of decisive action.

I think he got your point...now STFU! California.

Those that regretted it don't live there any longer.

Not my experience in other places.

I would regret the he!l out of nailing off sheeting in old age as a conscious life choice. If that is what I have to do to get by, well, I understand that.

Nailing up sheeting here or in chicago, I know I'd rather do it here.

Some people have simple needs, wants and desires, but still have an admirable sense of direction in life. Can't fault them for that..

Move where u want to be with an rv. Take any job even walmart etc and work back up from there. Locals tend to hire same

True enough, but I think the discussion is a little more complex than �would you rather be nailing up sheeting in Chicago or Montana?"

Funny thing is, I don't.

This is strictly my personal opinion and no offense at all to those "there" who call it home, but I would rue the day I move one foot further east.

Edit: actually, we may be First World yet but only because that is a relative value and dependent on many things, many of which are declining. There are inner city and rural areas that border on Third World and many in the middle class may find themselves on the slippery slope to Second World status soon.

You can move where you want and hold down a job.

You can have a profession and go where it takes you.

Those are the choices I have always had.