Moving to San Diego from Washington DC (Los Angeles, Hawthorne: real estate, apartments)

[deuce35]

Hi all,

So i visited Los Angeles in April 2010 for 2 weeks and wasn't a huge fan of it. I was there for some job interviews and in the middle of the vacation got a couple of calls from some places that were hiring in Encinitas and the Sorrento Valley. I reluctantly decided to check them out as well as Mission Beach...Wow thank god I did. I changed plans, didn't take any of the jobs in LA I was hired at, returned to DC and immediately changed destinations for SD. I found it was cheaper to live, cleaner, nicer people, fresher fruit (huge plus since i keep it healthy) and to me..it was the closes to heaven I think I could get at the moment...

So anyways on to my question, I was looking to move to the Hillcrest area, more specifically the Hillcrest Summit Apartment, and was looking to work for BluFi direct Mortgage or any mortgage company with a bit of a base/draw. I know the Hillcrest area is the gay district and i don't care, I'm not gay but i find gays are very clean and friendly!

Anyways, how bad is the traffic in Hillcrest and the rest of SD? I hear its bad but I'm from DC and our traffic hour is from 8-9 in the am and 4-7 in the pm. How bad is the parking situation in SD?

Is 1000 a month for a 1 bed 1 bath realistic?

I work in real estate as a loan officer so any other LO's out there please feel free to chime in. If you work for BluFi or live at the Hillcrest summit apartments, please feel free to chime in as well.

Also I dont plan on moving until the summer time, but plan on applying for jobs around April/May and visiting again in May/June to secure things.

Thanks is advance for any and all advice.

[moved]

Make sure and rent a place with parking, otherwise you'll have long walks home after you park.

[deuce35]

Thanks for the heads up, but do you know anything about the Hillcrest area? Is it a generally nice area?

[kettlepot]

Yes, the Hillcrest area is generally nice. The only issues of note in the Hillcrest area are traffic & pedestrian noise, lack of parking, and possibly living under the airport flight path (Grape, Hawthorne, Ivy and Juniper) or near the ambulance route to the two hospitals in the area.

Why do you want to live particularly there? Rather than say "I must live here!" I would suggest letting us know that you want a neighborhood with qualities "X, Y and Z." Then we could provide you with several options that would suit you. Some of them might be less expensive than Hillcrest, and you would be more likely to find a rental near your budget.

[Clevelandgal]

I am new to the area, but have explored a lot. Hillcrest is very nice. It has about every amenity one could want as far as general recreation, shopping and eating. It has a great community feel as well. Parking IS awful there though, so I would take the aforementioned advice of getting a place with parking. It is a trendy area so you won't get as much for your money as you may in other places, but if you like have a lot to do at our doorstep then it is worth it.

Kettlepot mentions Ivy, Hawthorne and Grape-those are indeed in the flight path but generally speaking they are really Banker's Hill arent they? Speaking of which-bankers hill is a nice neighborhood if you get a spot not under the planes (or you do not mind the noise).

The traffic in SD is no comparison to D.C (I was born and raised there). The freeways and interchanges are bad at rushhour though. My spouse is able to work at home in the morning, leave after rush hour and do the same thing in the evening. If your employer is flexible like that it can make a difference.

[deuce35]

Originally Posted by Clevelandgal

I am new to the area, but have explored a lot. Hillcrest is very nice. It has about every amenity one could want as far as general recreation, shopping and eating. It has a great community feel as well. Parking IS awful there though, so I would take the aforementioned advice of getting a place with parking. It is a trendy area so you won't get as much for your money as you may in other places, but if you like have a lot to do at our doorstep then it is worth it.

Kettlepot mentions Ivy, Hawthorne and Grape-those are indeed in the flight path but generally speaking they are really Banker's Hill arent they? Speaking of which-bankers hill is a nice neighborhood if you get a spot not under the planes (or you do not mind the noise).

The traffic in SD is no comparison to D.C (I was born and raised there). The freeways and interchanges are bad at rushhour though. My spouse is able to work at home in the morning, leave after rush hour and do the same thing in the evening. If your employer is flexible like that it can make a difference.

Have you been to DC lately? It snowed yesterday and people were stuck in traffic for 14 hours, I'm not exaggerating, google it. People were leaving there cars on 270 (The Beltway) the GW Parkway and on Wisconsin Ave (Those are main streets that run from DC to MD/VA)

Anyways thats pretty much what I'm looking for in a place. I found The Hillcrest Summit Apartments and on there website they advertise a well stocked fitness center (check) underground parking (check) the square footage is a bit small at 575 but I guess I make do.

Maybe you guys can give me some better apartments that I cant find online. I'm looking for an apartment with around 550+ square feet, gym on premise, washer/dryer in unit (but i have not seen many of them) and close to stores and preferably a target. I was looking for all that for around 1000 a month, it sounds like a bit much but the Hillcrest Summit Apts. comes pretty close.

I don't have to live in Hillcrest, it just seems to be closes to the financial/business district, from what I've seen online...

Anyway and all suggestions are very welcomed, thanks in advance! People in SD really are nicer than most on the East Coast.

[moved]

Hillcrest is close to a shopping center with a grocery store (Ralph's), but the big box stores aren't in the city. The closest would probably be Mission Valley for Target, and Walmart is not too far away on the 15.

[Clevelandgal]

hey don't forget trader joe's next to Ralph's! Also near the Target is an IKEA which is definetely nice.
Deuce-I started hearing about those DC snarls yesterday and assumed it was the usual 2 inches of snow that sends the city into a tailspin but i guess it was pretty bad-ice and all.

Where are those apartments (cross streets?) I noticed some places put the name of something trendy in their name when they really are not in that community. ie there is a pretty boring stretch of real estate between Hillcrest and North Park coming to mind.

[deuce35]

Originally Posted by Clevelandgal

hey don't forget trader joe's next to Ralph's! Also near the Target is an IKEA which is definetely nice.
Deuce-I started hearing about those DC snarls yesterday and assumed it was the usual 2 inches of snow that sends the city into a tailspin but i guess it was pretty bad-ice and all.

Where are those apartments (cross streets?) I noticed some places put the name of something trendy in their name when they really are not in that community. ie there is a pretty boring stretch of real estate between Hillcrest and North Park coming to mind.

Yea it was bad, they forcasted 2 inches on Monday, on Wednesday we had 6-8 depending on where you were located, I'm in Rockville which is a suburb of DC, about 20 mins from the nations cap, we had 8. I've never seen anything like it, in total they said 200-300 people left there cars on city streets and walked home. The metro stopped running around 9pm and people were left stranded. FYI there forecasting more snow for Tuesday, and its snowing as I'm writing this, but its only a dusting.

Here is the link to forrent.com showcasing the apartment:

Hillcrest Summit Apartments Apartments For Rent in San Diego, California - Apartment Rental and Community Details - ForRent.com

The cross streets are Montecito Way and 4th Ave.

Oh and FYI Washington DC ranked #2 for cities with the worst traffic! San Diego wasnt in the Top 10, La was #3 and Chicago was #1.

[loveautumn]

there is no real financial/business district in San Diego. DT San Diego hardly qualifies.