I mostly disagree with grandparent's diagnosis of the issue, but it really doesn't seem like a normal phrase to me. I live in one of these elite coastal cities, work with mostly Ph.D's, and my primary social circles have an unusual proportion (even for where I am) of educated folks as well. The phrase reads to me much like something that came out of Google Translate -- I know what it's trying to say, but it does not seem like the way a human would say it.