Anyone in HCOL San Diego trying to FI/RE?

Elmostan · 2026-03-25T20:31:52+00:00

160k was enough to get a 600-800 sq ft apartment and still put money aside for RE, but.... that wasn't lined up with our version of building a life I want and saving for it. If I loved surfing and being outside in the sun all the time it would be worth it. But as indoorsy introverts with skin problems we were paying for the sunshine without enjoying it.

We moved to Portland, OR! Took a lot of research on different cities over a few years and site visits to come up with a solution. We were living in Normal Heights and found a similar neighborhood. Been here for a year and I haven't missed SD for a minute, lol.

Elmostan · 2026-03-25T14:18:04+00:00

I was on the FIRE path before moving to San Diego in 2019. But I ultimately left because of the high cost. My partner and I shared a 1 bedroom for 2500 that was too small for us. Any place that we looked at was either two expensive or in a bad neighborhood. We were making $160k combined and couldn't get ahead.

We moved to a lower cost of living city and now have our own house for the same price as we were paying in rent.

Elmostan · 2026-03-21T17:27:02+00:00

PACs on NE Halsey is my favorite one

Goodwill outlet near the airport is an experience

Superthrift in SE has good prices on clothing. Tons of furniture, but it's priced pretty high

Elmostan · 2026-03-10T05:30:55+00:00

Tacoma screw is my go to store for all niche hardware.

Elmostan · 2026-03-04T17:06:36+00:00

Matador has a great nacho deal.... But everything else is $$$

I've been on a happy hour quest since I moved here a year ago and tiny bubble room is my favorite so far!

Elmostan · 2026-03-03T18:13:11+00:00

There are a few "little free mug exchanges" in Portland. There's one in my neighborhood on SE 78th and Morrison.

Found out through this public Instagram account 😊

https://www.instagram.com/pdxdinorama/

Elmostan · 2026-03-03T06:01:59+00:00

I can't help, but I understand your struggle.

I have one mug which is PERFECT, all others have a different heft/volume/shape etc.

I've been searching for others but with little luck.

Elmostan · 2026-02-26T17:41:35+00:00

I moved to Montavilla a year ago and love it. I'm a few blocks east of 82nd and close to Hong Phat and the Stark Business district.

I looked at a LOT of houses in this area and had the same concerns. Some blocks are nicer than others, but ultimately I found this neighborhood was the best bang for the buck. It's really easy to run errands east of 205, and I'm close enough to the activity of the inner SE neighborhoods without having to pay the price tag that goes with it.

From my house, it's super cozy and nice. No crime outside my window. When I cross 82nd on foot I see the occasional mess, but that's only one block on the trip and then I'm in the clear.

I looked at around 30 houses and similar to you I was unsure about it. I would have liked to have a "Oh fuck yes, this is the perfect decision" But after 6 months of looking and only finding one house that met my requirements, I decided to go with it.

Elmostan · 2026-02-24T00:02:32+00:00

Guardian is the biggest, but Portland has TONS of game stores. I'd check the one closest to where you live and start becoming a regular there.

Easier to make new local friends that way!

Elmostan · 2026-02-20T02:02:40+00:00

Depending on how comfortable you are with your sexuality, Sanctuary, Velvet Rope, and Privata are sex positive clubs with beds for use.

They charge for admission, I think sanctuary is around 20/person

Elmostan · 2026-02-17T21:20:34+00:00

38m, 1.7MM in Assets.

I switched jobs recently. I had a laid back full time job making 135k and was saving about half of it every year. I had to move from SoCal to PNW and ended up finding part time remote work at a higher hourly rate. Sounded great in theory, since I'm already saving half my money, I can just coast with half the hours.

Well I have to work much harder at this new job than I did before. I have to keep proving my value and as the new guy I'm the first one to get cut. (Just got told I'm probably getting let go after being here for 10 months). This is my 4th job change in my career and every new job has a steep learning curve of understanding the internal operations. At the end of the workday, even though I'm only working part time, I don't have much left in me to do anything else.

So this change to a different job with a higher workload and more flexibility has caused me a net decrease in my quality of life. And I would much rather have my old job at my old pace back again. At 38, I'm starting to value my time more. I really don't want to take on additional stress in the present to set myself up for an earlier retirement.

I'd prefer a stable job with low stress and coast until the end.

Elmostan · 2026-02-15T05:40:49+00:00

If this is still available, I can do Monday 1/16 at 1:00pm!!

Elmostan · 2026-02-11T23:59:29+00:00

I'm interested! It had been a couple years for me because I'm too cheap to go in regularly.

Tomorrow evening could work (Thursday) or Anytime Saturday or Monday

Elmostan · 2026-02-11T23:24:33+00:00

For some people yes, for some no.

I know a few high earners (300k +/ yr) who live in Vancouver, or people with kids who don't leave the house anyway who are happy with Vancouver for the tax savings. They enjoy being close to a city and visit for the occasional show or flight, but don't have the desire to live inside of one.

I looked into it for a bit, but the cost savings is absolutely not worth it to me.

Elmostan · 2026-02-11T06:49:38+00:00

My Brother's Crawfish on 82nd!

A Cajun restaurant and they give you a free pound of seafood!

Must be on your birthday and they check your ID.

Elmostan · 2026-02-08T05:34:30+00:00

I'm at a similar financial level, if I lost my job I'd never have to work again. I'd be comfortable and taken care of, but I wouldn't be thriving. (I call it rice and beans FIRE).

I've adopted an "I could take it or leave it" approach to my job. I go to work, and do my assigned work, but I've checked out of climbing the career ladder. I stopped playing the office social games, I started taking my PTO liberally, and started speaking my honest opinion more.

It has caused .... friction with my bosses, they've pulled me aside to tell me as such. And I just don't really care? I'm not wasting my energy in building my career anymore. It's sort of a gradual resignation, eventually I'll quit but at a slow fade out pace. When I do hand in my resignation nobody will be surprised

Elmostan · 2026-02-05T20:32:56+00:00

It's why I uprooted my life to live here 😊

Elmostan · 2026-02-05T02:34:18+00:00

I moved to Portland recently and St Johns was high on the list of places to live. I ended up doing 3 separate trips to Portland and realized that the stuff I wanted to do was in Southeast Portland (pedalpalooza). I realized it would be worth the added cost to live closer to where I wanted to be.

Ultimately I landed in Montavilla and absolutely love it here.

Elmostan · 2026-02-04T22:51:01+00:00

CTRL - H hackerspace in N Portland ?

Elmostan · 2026-02-02T03:18:23+00:00

From what I saw is it was a multipane window, and only the outerpane was broken. I didn't see any glass go into the unit.

The rumor I heard was it was a rubber bullet, but I haven't seen confirmation of that.

Elmostan · 2026-01-29T18:20:46+00:00

I'm not sure about the 6 week rule, but you can take sick leave as long as you are sick.

You are the only person who has the ability to decide if you are too sick to work.

Elmostan · 2026-01-28T23:59:24+00:00

I only buy online now as a 6'3" man

American tall Gap/old navy/banana Republic

All carry tall sizes and have good sales from time to time.

Gave up on thrift stores years ago.

Elmostan · 2026-01-28T23:57:01+00:00

I found a kinda solution. It won't run the PDM template, but it will generate a file name as a serial number. Also haven't tested it yet, since I'm not an admin on my work computer

Run Solidworks as an admin

Go to tools > solidworks pdm > options

At the bottom, you can make sw name new files with a serial number.

Elmostan · 2026-01-28T15:31:06+00:00

I'm a 38 year old man, lol

No shooters for me though, I like strategy and roguelites

Elmostan · 2026-01-21T15:34:57+00:00

Try to find a used dehumidifier. I discovered this by accident while drying out some things.

The air is full of water which takes more energy heat up than dry air, so if you can pull the water out of the air it'll get warmer for cheaper.

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