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I just moved from San Diego to DC. Lived in San Diego for 23 years and my kids were born in San Diego.
There were a number of reasons for the move. Primarily to secure a job with a salary that matched the COL. Moving here I got about a $15K raise (for a job that has less responsibility) - and that was a key factor. I found here that there is some stress it's nothing like what I had to deal with in SD -- working 80+ hours a week. I work about 45-50 here --- and have way less stress and more time with my family. So it was a quality of living but not so I could keep up with the Jones folks just so I could *enjoy* life - not work my ass off for less pay and more stress. I found in San Diego things have changed over the 23 years I lived there..the employers know that they have 200 people that can do your job who are looking for work if you go so you get treated accordingly (crappy). I recommend no one underestimate the salary/COL issue and disparity-- it was probably the largest for us. For one of my staff jobs the workers I hired in CA had the requirement of a Bachelors and 3 years of experience and it paid $21K -- here I hire from a pool of high school graduates or Associate degree holders with 1-2 years of experience and the pay is $33K. That's HUGE. Given the COL (I don't see any real differential here vs. San Diego honestly regardless of what those calculator's say).
What I think is important is to identify what you want and then decide where is the best fit. For my daughter and I we had some specific wants including a great high school that was not cliquey (we did not get into our choice school in San Diego), welcoming community where we would know our neighbors and be part of the community, walkability, public transit availability, lots of activities geared towards history/culture/intellectual, an affordable townhouse, and a NHL team (ok that was me! lol).
The DC metro area fits us to a T. Sure we miss some things about CA (I miss the ocean and BookOff in Kearny Mesa LOL). We live in a suburb about a mile from the Metro which takes us into the District whenever we want, are in a community that welcomed us warmly and for which we know our neighbors, we have amazing history/culture to explore in the area and within a couple hours drive (going to NYC for New Years and very excited!), my daughter has a great school and a much larger variety of friends then she had in CA, and I get to see hockey on a regular basis. My neighbor's townhouse just sold for $84,900. 2 bdr/1 ba about 1000 sq ft. Housing where I am for that is up to $200K (depending on remodel status) and I can afford that.
However there were things that were not a factor for us (oddly enough in many cases the opposite of what the OP stated!) -- I didn't care about traffic as we accept it will be awful, smog I had in in CA (esp. when I had to be in LA/OC for work), taxes are about the same, and we actually wanted the opportunity to be in a urban walkable environment. I love that here - the energy of the city -- nothing like that and months later it is just as thrilling to me as the first time I came here. we've been doing architectural walks (downloaded from I tunes narrated by Cokie Roberts) of all the DC neighborhoods and wards..and it has been a blast.
Neither of us has any desire to go back to CA but that's because we found what we wanted here. Everyone has different wants. For some CA and San Diego are paradise on earth. For us it wasn't. That simple
Oh and regards to Earthquakes we had one here in DC 5 days after I moved. Hows that for irony? It was much the same as the Northridge quake (how we felt it in San Diego) in the early 90's for me. So I didn't get that trade off either..and here we get hurricanes...San Diego has fires (for which I would regularly get evacuated)...pretty close to the same.
Last edited by JosephineBeth; 12-17-2011 at 03:30 PM..
One more note... the "bad traffic" complaint anywhere is sooo subjective to where you've lived prior and what you're comparing it to.
For example, I just got back from spending a week in a region of Florida with about 600,000 people and ONE interstate highway that runs through the entire area. Traffic there was about ten times worse than what I experience here in San Diego because the infrastructure sucks even though there's a lot less people. I would much rather drive on a 10 lane freeway and have the option to exit and take surface roads if traffic is bad, rather than be stuck on a 4-lane highway with no other options to get where I'm going.
Also, no offense to the OP, but there's something a little counterintuitive about creating a thread to tell the world about how much you dislike a place you no longer live in. What's the point? You know people live here and enjoy it, are you just looking to stir things up?
The earthquake claim makes me laugh. I have lived in SD County all my life and have never heard of a destructive earthquake such as the 94 northridge quake in LA or the 89 (i think, may have been 1990) San Francisco quake. Now THOSE were major quakes, and I dont remember anything like that in the SD area. Earthquakes is the last thing on my mind while living here!
The housing cost is way out of control for renters as well as home owners. The only way you can make it here is if you have a descent paying job, or I guess if you work at mc donalds and live with 10 people in a studio apt, which I have seen here in north county before.
Every place has its good points, and its bad points, the OP earthquake thing makes me laugh though. I dont see SD as a earthquake threat or a reason not to want to live/move here.
I just moved from San Diego to DC. Lived in San Diego for 23 years and my kids were born in San Diego.
There were a number of reasons for the move. Primarily to secure a job with a salary that matched the COL. Moving here I got about a $15K raise (for a job that has less responsibility) - and that was a key factor. I found here that there is some stress it's nothing like what I had to deal with in SD -- working 80+ hours a week. I work about 45-50 here --- and have way less stress and more time with my family. So it was a quality of living but not so I could keep up with the Jones folks just so I could *enjoy* life - not work my ass off for less pay and more stress. I found in San Diego things have changed over the 23 years I lived there..the employers know that they have 200 people that can do your job who are looking for work if you go so you get treated accordingly (crappy). I recommend no one underestimate the salary/COL issue and disparity-- it was probably the largest for us. For one of my staff jobs the workers I hired in CA had the requirement of a Bachelors and 3 years of experience and it paid $21K -- here I hire from a pool of high school graduates or Associate degree holders with 1-2 years of experience and the pay is $33K. That's HUGE. Given the COL (I don't see any real differential here vs. San Diego honestly regardless of what those calculator's say).
What I think is important is to identify what you want and then decide where is the best fit. For my daughter and I we had some specific wants including a great high school that was not cliquey (we did not get into our choice school in San Diego), welcoming community where we would know our neighbors and be part of the community, walkability, public transit availability, lots of activities geared towards history/culture/intellectual, an affordable townhouse, and a NHL team (ok that was me! lol).
The DC metro area fits us to a T. Sure we miss some things about CA (I miss the ocean and BookOff in Kearny Mesa LOL). We live in a suburb about a mile from the Metro which takes us into the District whenever we want, are in a community that welcomed us warmly and for which we know our neighbors, we have amazing history/culture to explore in the area and within a couple hours drive (going to NYC for New Years and very excited!), my daughter has a great school and a much larger variety of friends then she had in CA, and I get to see hockey on a regular basis. My neighbor's townhouse just sold for $84,900. 2 bdr/1 ba about 1000 sq ft. Housing where I am for that is up to $200K (depending on remodel status) and I can afford that.
However there were things that were not a factor for us (oddly enough in many cases the opposite of what the OP stated!) -- I didn't care about traffic as we accept it will be awful, smog I had in in CA (esp. when I had to be in LA/OC for work), taxes are about the same, and we actually wanted the opportunity to be in a urban walkable environment. I love that here - the energy of the city -- nothing like that and months later it is just as thrilling to me as the first time I came here. we've been doing architectural walks (downloaded from I tunes narrated by Cokie Roberts) of all the DC neighborhoods and wards..and it has been a blast.
Neither of us has any desire to go back to CA but that's because we found what we wanted here. Everyone has different wants. For some CA and San Diego are paradise on earth. For us it wasn't. That simple
Oh and regards to Earthquakes we had one here in DC 5 days after I moved. Hows that for irony? It was much the same as the Northridge quake (how we felt it in San Diego) in the early 90's for me. So I didn't get that trade off either..and here we get hurricanes...San Diego has fires (for which I would regularly get evacuated)...pretty close to the same.
JosephineBeth,
I've read many of your posts and I think your posts are the most objective and spot on target for reasons why you moved. They all are very informative as well.
It sounds like you really enjoy DC. I enjoy DC but the winters are too cold for me.
But your posts are always full of great information why San Diego didn't work out for you. The reasons are rational and spot on target and don't silly things in them. Also, what I truly admire about them is that even though you moved, you aren't bitter about San Diego. I have seen in the past so many people that initially loved San Diego but then had to move for COL reasons and then get bitter and give so many ridiculous reasons for moving or are very bitter. I've never found that in any of your posts.
I'm really glad you and your daughter are enjoying DC. The best thing about your story is it sounds like you moved out of San Diego for financial and COL reasons but then after you moved, you discovered so many more great things about DC that you fell in love with. It sounds like even if your employer offered you more money to move back to San Diego, you'd choose to stay in DC. That's always the sign of a successful and great move. Congrats and best of luck to you there in DC.
I found here that there is some stress it's nothing like what I had to deal with in SD -- working 80+ hours a week. I work about 45-50 here --- and have way less stress and more time with my family.
We live in a suburb about a mile from the Metro which takes us into the District whenever we want, are in a community that welcomed us warmly and for which we know our neighbors, we have amazing history/culture to explore in the area and within a couple hours drive (going to NYC for New Years and very excited!), my daughter has a great school and a much larger variety of friends then she had in CA, and I get to see hockey on a regular basis. My neighbor's townhouse just sold for $84,900. 2 bdr/1 ba about 1000 sq ft. Housing where I am for that is up to $200K (depending on remodel status) and I can afford that.
we actually wanted the opportunity to be in a urban walkable environment. I love that here - the energy of the city -- nothing like that and months later it is just as thrilling to me as the first time I came here. we've been doing architectural walks (downloaded from I tunes narrated by Cokie Roberts) of all the DC neighborhoods and wards..and it has been a blast.
As someone who lived in the DC area for 20 years, I'm curious how you're experiencing this. I'm not saying you're lying, but that sounds like the antithesis of the city.
Working 80 hours a week was something to brag about in DC. Among many, it was something to almost be ashamed about if you actually got to enjoy the whole weekend off. Here, I've found that nobody really gives two bleeps about work after they're off. DC is a very live to work place, while here you work to live.
And I'm unsure where you'd find a $200K townhouse. I lived in Bethesda, and townhouses there would start at about $400-500K. In Rockville, you could knock about $100K off the price, but that's still not the $200K townhouses you talked about. Without giving away too much, where are you finding those $200K townhouses?
You will not make NYC in two hours. Try four. If there's no traffic. And the traffic in DC is statistically worse and when I go to visit, I'm like, how the hell did I live with this crap? A drive from Bethesda to Capitol Hill, which is only seven or eight miles, could take 45 minutes on a Sunday afternoon. Driving from NIH to Chevy Chase could take 20, and that's three miles.
Again, I'm not calling you a liar, but I'm just curious as to where you're finding all of these things. My 20 years of adult living in DC just don't match with your experience.
As someone who lived in the DC area for 20 years, I'm curious how you're experiencing this. I'm not saying you're lying, but that sounds like the antithesis of the city.
Working 80 hours a week was something to brag about in DC. Among many, it was something to almost be ashamed about if you actually got to enjoy the whole weekend off. Here, I've found that nobody really gives two bleeps about work after they're off. DC is a very live to work place, while here you work to live.
And I'm unsure where you'd find a $200K townhouse. I lived in Bethesda, and townhouses there would start at about $400-500K. In Rockville, you could knock about $100K off the price, but that's still not the $200K townhouses you talked about. Without giving away too much, where are you finding those $200K townhouses?
You will not make NYC in two hours. Try four. If there's no traffic. And the traffic in DC is statistically worse and when I go to visit, I'm like, how the hell did I live with this crap? A drive from Bethesda to Capitol Hill, which is only seven or eight miles, could take 45 minutes on a Sunday afternoon. Driving from NIH to Chevy Chase could take 20, and that's three miles.
Again, I'm not calling you a liar, but I'm just curious as to where you're finding all of these things. My 20 years of adult living in DC just don't match with your experience.
I'm with you Tonyinsd, I've lived in the DC area and the only place where you might find a townhome in the 200-300K that are short sales is in Prince Georges County and we both know that the schools and lifestyle in that part of Maryland can be very challenging. There are some beautiful homes in PG County, but the schools are some of the lowest ranking in the U.S.
I'm not buying it!
Many of the positive DC attributes are known-its urban, great museums, etc.but boy is it a rat race there. The traffic does not even compare to here. Yeah there are some bad times/and places in SD, but the rush hour does not last as long as DC or cover so much geography. Part of the lifestyle change may have more to do with taking a job with less responsibility, and not due to the city itself. I left when I was 21 and when I came back to visit I could not believe how uptight and type A everyone was. They looked awful too. Not enough sleep or exercise, too much alcohol etc. Regardless of what we think JB founds a great fit for her, but I would warn people the description given may not match what most people experience. And for what it is worth, I think North County and North Central SD County areas are more Type A/materialistic/surgically enhanced than the city areas, which are pretty laid back in many ways.
I'm with you Tonyinsd, I've lived in the DC area and the only place where you might find a townhome in the 200-300K that are short sales is in Prince Georges County and we both know that the schools and lifestyle in that part of Maryland can be very challenging. There are some beautiful homes in PG County, but the schools are some of the lowest ranking in the U.S.
I'm not buying it!
Like I said, I'm not saying she's lying, but I just don't see how it's possible. Maybe my perspective is skewed because I lived in Montgomery County. But the Washington Post recently did an article on what $500K would get you. You could buy a townhouse in Rockville or a 900 square foot condo in DC.
I'd say Rockville and La Mesa are comparable. Take that $500K into La Mesa and you can get a single family home and have $100K left over. Take that $500K downtown, and you can buy a 1,500 square foot condo with three bedrooms in the Electra and still have some money left over.
I just don't see where someone's getting a townhouse for $200K in the DC area.
My family and I moved away from San Diego 8 years ago this month. We moved to a suburb of Chicago primarily due to a job opportunity and the promise of affordable housing. We are life long, native Californian's that would have never moved but our inability to purchase a home in San Diego at the time forced us to. The first few years were great but once we passed the "honeymoon" period we started to become homesick. The only great thing about living here was the ability to purchase a very nice home for a very affordable price. Otherwise the Midwest is horrible. The traffic is outrageous and the cost of living, other than home prices in select communities, is the same, if not worse than San Diego. The weather truly sucks. You're lucky if you have two months in the Spring and two months in the Fall of good weather. Summer's are hot and mosquito filled. Winter's are terribly cold and long. Plus we feel like tourists here. Sure we've met other people and developed friendships but it's just not the same. It doesn't feel like home. It will be interesting to see if the posters that recently moved to Chicago and D.C. feel the same way, after a couple of years. As for us, we are actively looking for jobs in San Diego and plan on moving back home within the next 2 years. We have plenty of connections in the financial services industry in San Diego so jobs will not be a problem. As for housing, we plan on moving to Ramona or at worst, Temecula. Either way we will finally be home. I will say that this has been a good experience for us and really taught us not to take San Diego for granted.
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