Considering a Buffalo to SD move (San Diego, Fortuna: sales, apartment, house)

[buffaloguy]

Hey everyone, I'm a 31 year old, single male and I'm strongly considering a move to San Diego. My best friend moved there 7 years ago to be with his fiancé and is now married with 3 kids living in Eastlake (?).

That alone certainly would help make this transition easier. I have a sales job in Buffalo currently and have been in my industry for over 8 years. However, due to the sale of the local bank I support to another bank, my position will be eliminated within the next 4-8 months. Fortunately, my company valued me enough to offer me a position in San Diego.

My salary would be around $45K but I'd likely make anywhere from $25-40K in bonuses annually. Plus my company is willing to give me enough in relocation that I would almost definitely be able to profit off it.

The negatives for me are as follows:
-I own a house in Buffalo and I can't sell it for at least another 10 months because Obama gave me $8K to buy it that I would have to give back.
-I am an avid floor hockey player (play 3-4 times a week in organized leagues) and I doubt there are any competitive leagues in San Diego
-I am a huge Buffalo Bills and Sabres fan and it will suck being so far away (and Sabres games starting at 4pm PST)
-The cost of living is clearly higher, but does that extend to food, gas, etc? For example, gas is $3.75 per gallon in Buffalo for 87 octane.

The positives:
-I will be able to work from home (so I could probably just turn the Sabres game on at 4pm haha)
-I will be able to golf year round (I'm a 5 handicap)
-I have a job lined up, which I'm surprised to see how few people do when moving out here after reading some other threads.


So here are my questions to you fine people:

1) Besides Hillcrest and North Park, what are some other safe, lively, younger areas where a single guy can live and meet some people?
2) Is it reasonable to expect to find an apartment for $900-1000 for just me (no roommate) in these areas?
3) How is Comerica Bank perceived for business banking in the community?

Any advice or info you could provide me to help make my decision would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for the read.