I'm in LA for the next week hunting for places to live, your input would be most helpful! (San Diego: renting)

[Pequeño_Bonsai]

Originally from the DC region, I'm currently on a road trip from San Diego to San Fran with my partner. We've researched the three major cities heavily and are now scouting for where we'd like to settle down. (I'm a consultant and can relocate to and work in any area that has a major airport close by.) Currently, I'm in the LA region for about a week and absolutely love it! Our only issue is that there are a tremendous amount of suburbs to drive through and we'd greatly appreciate your help in narrowing down our search.

For a couple in their late 20s/early 30s that is looking for a permanent home, where should we be looking? (We absolutely loved Del Mar in San Diego if that helps.) Children will not be in the picture although we do have 1 large dog. We're looking to purchase a home when we relocate and have a combined annual income of approximately 150k with no debt. We've already taken a look at Santa Monica, Pasadena, and Long Beach although have only liked LB so far...

Any help you can provide would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

[Charles]

So location for work is completely irrelevant except for the airport?
What is your housing budget?
Would you consider renting at first to really buy some time before committing to purchasing?
Any relatives in California?

I still think you need to do a lot more research. The request is so wide open. Normally people have a job to anchor their search radius to.