3500max budget for San Diego home (for expats and their new baby) (Kensington: house)

[Happynomads]

Hi everyone,

My husband and I will be moving to SD in September. We've been living in London UK for the last two years and spend a lot of time in Paris, France (my husband is French; we lived in Paris for six years before moving to London).

Not only will we be living in California for the first time, we will also be welcoming our first child in late December!!! Its a very exciting time

Spending a maximum of 3500 a month,

- we are looking for a three bedroom house in a beautiful district with easy access to the beach or to parks

- i dont drive (ive always lived, worked and studied in cities that werent car-friendly). So while i plan to learn, walkability is important

- we like expats (for school and work we have travelled extensively so we'd love to be in a hood that caters to young, friendly people from all over...is there an expat hood?---we live in South Kensington London now and the couples we know come from all over--Italy, Greece, Croatia, Canada and of course the US)

- close to the beach

- close to restaurants and bars (we may be holed up but the mere idea that we could find entertainment close by is comforting)

- Baby and mom friendly (yoga, play groups for kids and moms, organic food or farmers markets close by)


Id love your input. Do we need to up our budget? Is there a multicultural, particularly urbane area of San Diego?

Thanks for your insight!

[kettlepot]

By the beach, beautiful, with local walkability sounds like La Jolla or northern Pacific Beach.

An urban, and/or urbane neighborhood sounds like Mission Hills, however, it's not right by the beach, though some parts of it have great views of the bay. Mission Hills has a bit of a downtown area of its own, plus it is close-ish to the restaurants of Hillcrest. However, reaching Hillcrest will involve more walking than you could do in your current state or with a stroller after your current state changes.

Kensington is another neighborhood you might enjoy. It's beautiful, walkable, with some entertainment and restaurant options there, and in Normal Heights, but it isn't particularly close to the beach.

And where is the job going to be? We wouldn't want to suggest a location that would subject you to a bad commute.