Moving to San Diego or San Francisco (Mission Hills: apartment complexes, condo) - California (CA) - City-Data Forum

trevis1227 · 07-17-2010, 12:35 PM

I am considering moving to San Francisco or San Diego right now. My sister and I are moving to San Diego and I will be there with her for a year and I want to move to San Francisco afterwards. I am a 27 year old student and small business owner and would like to know the best place to live in both places when it comes to peace of mind and yet a fun and engaging nightlife. If anyone has any suggestions of the best areas to live I will welcome your opinion. What I have gotten from other posts are Hilcrest and Mission Valley. What do you all think?

trevis1227 · 07-17-2010, 01:14 PM

I should add that we are considering both house and apartment. We are looking for a home that is affordable AND nice.

I know that SD is known to be expensive but like all nice cities, there are still affordable AND relatively to definitively inexpensive areas to live. For those of you that can point me in that direction, your guidance is certainly appreciated.

As for apartments, I suppose it doesn't really matter where the apartments are so long as they are surrounded by life, culture, and very little traffic.

tstieber · 07-18-2010, 10:57 AM

Wow, this decision totally depends on what you are looking for. SD is much much more affordable than SF at the moment, but it is also a sleepier city. There's plenty of nightlife concentrated in downtown and Pacific Beach, and in SF it's sort of spread out among neighborhoods and other places. SF has a lot more events, street festivals, music acts, larger museums, etc., but a grittier, urban vibe, while SD feels like a quieter resort city. But SF also has its palm-lined waterfront, highrise condo towers on the bay, etc. that remind you that you are still in California and not in the insanity of NYC. So if you crave big city life, do SF. If you're okay with a mellower vibe, save the money and do SD.

trevis1227 · 07-18-2010, 11:37 AM

Thanks for the info on both of the cities. When it boils down to it, SF is where I want to ben (according to the way you describe it). But it will be at least a year before I move because all of my research has confirmed what you tell me about the cost of living being much higher. Even then, my sister will remain in SD. So I will be needing to find the best area in SD to move to. I suppose a communte is ok. She will work at the naval base and punctuality is crucial so no more than a 30 minute commute.

kettlepot · 07-18-2010, 07:27 PM

Which Naval Base is she working at? 32nd Street?

Mission Valley will not provide you with any sort of Urban Vibe. It is very car centric. However, living in one of the large apartment complexes there may provide you with clean, safe, modern living.

Engaging night life can also be found in North Park and South Park. Neither are of the same intensity as the Gaslamp downtown, or Pacific Beach, but there is more of it there than elsewhere. South Park's nightlife is more of the restaurant sort, North Park is more of the club/bar scene.

Both North Park and South Park will be a quick commute to 32nd Street, provided that is the Naval Base your sister will be working at.

empearls · 07-27-2010, 04:26 PM

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Quote:

I am a 27 year old student and small business owner and would like to know the best place to live in both places when it comes to peace of mind and yet a fun and engaging nightlife. If anyone has any suggestions of the best areas to live I will welcome your opinion. What I have gotten from other posts are Hilcrest and Mission Valley.

What is your definition of nightlife? If you want a hip bar/club to walk to, you certainly do NOT want Mission Valley - unless Cheesecake Factory is your idea of a happening nightlife. You're also looking at $20 can rides if you like to drink while you're out. Hillcrest is nice and urban and is also known as the gay section of town (just as the Castro is in SF) and has tons of cute shops and nice apartments. North Park is also pretty awesome and has cheaper rents and more of a local music scene. Parts of University Heights are also very nice and friends of mine in Mission Hills LOVE their location.

PB is probably too young for you and OB is pretty chill - but it can also be a pain to get in and out of Ocean Beach - but if you want the beach it tends to be more affordable than Pacific Beach.