Please Read: San Fran Thoughts & Addtl Info For Others On Move To Socal (San Diego: home)

[SantaBarbaraBoy1]

Im the guy that posted about 2 weeks ago about "Leaving Isla Vista" thread seeking advice on moving from UCSB to either the Bay area or down south. Thanks for the info from those that posted! Anyway due to various factors I have made the decision to move to San Diego county permanently. I just got back last night from a 6 hour car ride to San Francisco for the first time in my life at 28 years of age. To be honest, I am completely speechless and was overwhelmed! I spent two days down in the city on Lombard and Franklin Street near the wharf. Have to say that I was totally impressed with the charm of S.F. and the way of life is outrageous. Just a big WOW!! Now remember I am originally from the city of Indio near Palm Springs so this was a huge *&&$A%$ wake up call. Unfortunately, I just wasnt impressed with the outside areas of the bay e.g. mountain view, san bruno, etc. IMO the silicon valley area just appeared over hyped to me...just nothing to really write home about. The drive from goleta to SF was not that bad and I enjoyed my stop in Gilroy. Also wanted to say that I also was not happy with the fact that there are very few gas stations off the 101 in San Jose. I mean King City had more rest stop areas with gas. Anyway, my only 2 cents to anyone reading this is take a visit to SF for a feel of the city. Having physically visited made my decision more concrete. Also what turns me off is that Del Taco is virtually non existant in northern california...and this is a big NO NO where I come from. Seafood fantastic in SF...but I can get the same sort of thing in the wharfs in San Diego. Overall, SD is large enough for me to feel slightly unknown but small enough to feel at home whereas I felt completely lost and unknown in SF. And finally, since I am mexican I was also turned off by the lack of phenomenal mexican food up north. Im sure it exists but not like SD.

If anyone has any questions about moving to Palm Springs or surrounding area "Coachella Valley" feel free to hit me up as I was born and raised in Indio my whole life until I came to UC Santa Barbara.

Verdict: San Fran was great to visit but since I was raised a small town boy from riverside county/IE the idea of realistically living there is just not for me at the moment. I never lived the "big city" life so quite frankly I dont know what that entails. 2. Mexican Food..Mexican Food....Mexican Foooood gottta have it and will get more than I need living in SD. 3. Also dont care that I will get paid less in SD than SF since I plan to buy a home in a few years with my parents help near escondido. I plan on commuting into la Jolla for a job and dont care about traffic...no need to take the transit. Love sunny weather and didnt like the constant fog near golden gate. Didnt like the endless upward hills and extremely fast pace of life in SF. Finally, didnt see very many surfboaders out there and that was of a concern to me. Yes Sf very urban...but not quite for me today to move there. Oh yeah and gas in SF was rated at 4.10 a gallon. Right now its at 3.99 a gallon in goleta and my dad tells me that down in SD the gas is currently at 3.32 a gallon and thats good. Dont know if i can put up with the constant use of "hecka and hella" in a conversation every second as I spoke to this guy on the muni in SF while trying to get union square. Homeless people down near Market and 7th street was noticeable. Didnt like the driving in SF and a few people almost tried to run me off the road. I stayed at the Lombard Motor inn and the receptionist was the rudest person I had ever dealt with in the history of hospitality. Oh and finally, dont waste your money eating at a place called Lombard Cafe.

[krudmonk]

Why would SJ have many rest stops? The city survives by other means, not travelers.

[SantaBarbaraBoy1]

Have you ever driven from the pomona interchange at 210 &57 & 10 all the way down to blythe and noticed that there is basically a gas station sign visible from the freeway. This is my point!! Doesnt matter if you stop in fontana, corona, riverside, redlands, ontario, the list goes on and on until you reach blythe and there is a damn gas station and truck stops all over. I mean there is no real excuse as to not fueling up. Maybe someone should point out to me where the gas stations were when I was driving through San Jose? Im not here on this forum to pick on the bay area...in fact I really felt a real presence when I was there visiting. It felt cool and special and unique. But Im just giving my perspective on the issue of rest areas. Okay yes there was one in mountain view a little ways off the 101...but once again still not visible.

Oh and as I said before if anyone wants info on the Coachella Valley area then I am here to help. Also any info on living in Isla Vista as well...since Im leaving next month from this college scene for good.

[Nexis]

What impresses you about SD vs SB, if money wasn't an issue? Many ppl, not necessarily on this forum, consider SB to be the "ideal" place to be.