Make An Informed Decision If Moving To San Diego (Riverside: apartments, rental)

[seashell]

Five years ago, a job brought me to San Diego. On the day I moved here, July 5, 2002, the headline on the paper was: Home Median Price Soars to All-time high: $212k". That home now would cost a person about $640k. AND it's five years older.
Here are some realities you need to know:

HOUSING
*If you rent, you will pay a lot for a little. Ask about charges for water as well. There are basically 4 types of housing here to choose from:
1) old 1970's era apartments that are now "condos" Don't be fooled by the shiny new appliances. Ask about the water pipes, the foundation, the crime stats in even the nice neighborhoods.
2) old poorly built homes from the 1950's or 1960's that have lots of problems.
3) newer tract homes that look spiffy but be aware of your commuting costs, HOAs, mellaroos, high taxes.
4) new downtown condo towers with high costs and low resale.
*Be prepared to live in a much smaller place than you ever have and/or have at least one room mate.
TAXES
*If you buy, as a newcomer, you will pay premium taxes. Most people who have been here for years use special tax breaks such as "family trusts", so their tax rate may be $600 a year while yours will be $10,000 a year for the identical property next door. Do your homework.
*In areas with colleges, be aware of the student housing issues. You have several colleges and universities here with populations in the tens of thousands and they all need housing too.
AIR NOISE
Ask about airways. Planes zoom over many residential neighborhoods constantly- commercial and military.
*In high tourist areas, be aware that your life will be living next door to the non-stop (often drunken) vacationers, drivers, people people people. It is not pleasant.
COMMUTES
*Commutes during the fair, the racing season or the tourist season are horrendous.
*Commutes year around are insane because tens of thousands of commuters now live in Riverside county and commute into San Diego daily, so there are that many more cars, that much more pollution than say five years ago.
*Keep in mind that you live in a border town and there is an unbelievable amount of big truck traffic on the highways daily.
OVERCROWDING
*Get used to BEING IN LINE for everything. Shopping. The DMV. The cell phone store. Movies. Gas stations. Long lines.
LACK OF BASICS SUCH AS WATER, ROADS
There are too many people here and more hoping to move here and an inadequate infrastructure.
That means there are not enough roads, sewer pipes, electrical lines, fresh water to go around in the best of circumstances.
WATER AGAIN- pay attention
*Anyone moving here needs to think long and hard because San Diego is using it's final fallback water supplies now. In two years there has been less than four inches of rain. Nearly all the water here is imported from two sources that are tapped out. You will be drinking recycled sewer water.
POLLUTION
*Our beloved ocean is very sick. Every day beaches are shut due to sewage and other types of pollution. Here's a random example: on Memorial Day weekend we took guests to a north county beach and for miles, it was coated with sticky tar washing up. It was be there at your own risk. Oil spill. Kept pretty quiet so the tourists wouldn't be disturbed or distressed.
On Labor Day we tried again, taking guests to a popular beach. The beaches had been closed for five days but reopened for the big tourist weekend. When we entered the water we noticed the smell of sewage. We could taste it. We could see it. Only when we got out of the water and went to the water spout to rinse off did we see a very small sign warning that the water was contaminated with high fecal bacteria and that we entered the ocean at our own risk.
Routinely, for years, swimmers and surfers have gotten terrible viruses and illnesses from the water, such as meningitis. It is kept quiet so the tourism market will not be disturbed. Check out the health records for the city, county and state. See for yourself. Ask your family doctor.

BE AWARE OF WHAT YOU ARE GETTING INTO
*What we think we're moving to: a fabulous perfect permanent vacation place where we have come, visited and loved it so much we want to move here. No rain, no snow, and look at those gorgeous beach homes!
*Unless you are a multi-millionaire, here's your more likely story:
You will work hard to make ends meet. Often two jobs.
You will use hours a day just driving to where you need to go.
You will be too tired from working and driving to much enjoy the beach. You will probably get better beach time if you don't move here but take a great vacation here each year.
You will have air pollution, water pollution noise pollution and chemical pollution in your soils.
You will be surprised at how much construction there is and how dirty and noisy and burdensome it is for your daily life.
You will probably experience an increase in personal crimes and motor vehicle accidents from wherever you are coming from. Check out the DMV records, and the crime statistics. Crimes of violence and personal crimes are up again.
Remember that you are living in an international border county and city and there are lots of desperate people doing lots of desperate things. Use supreme caution in your everyday life. Keep your doors locked. Watch your back. Yes, even in La Jolla. I lived there for four years and had several personal crimes against me and had my home and car broken into. It was not unusual for the police search copters to use their spotlights in our neighborhood several times a month. We lived two blocks from the beach in a family neighborhood where homes start at about 2 million dollars.
Be prepared to feel increased stress and health problems as you live here. It is unavoidable.
Make sure you have a job when you come here. There are basically two types of jobs here: A high paying executive type position and a low paid service industry job. You will be competing for jobs with many many people.
And last, before you come, save money so that you can then leave. It's a long wait list, by the way, to get a rental truck to go OUT of the state. Make sure you have an exit plan for yourself in case things don't work out as you hoped.
Think it through and make an informed decision. The beach, the sun, the ocean just won't cut it for day to day living but it's unbeatable if you have a vacation. Be truly aware of wh at your real quality of life could be here.

Thanks for reading. I hope you each do your research.

[ohhi]

yeah, okay. thanks for the info but what city doesnt have negatives?

[seashell]

If someone is considering a life move here, don't you think it's better to be aware- and to ask the questions concerning the actual quality of life day to day rather than the quality of life when one is on vacation?

[PhotogRyan]

As a recent transplant from Vegas, I can say that some of this is true.

Condos - I lived in a 70's-era condo as my first place. Leaky faucets were quite annoying. Currently renting a 3bd/2ba apartment in Little Italy for .. $2900!! And yes, I do have roommates!

Driving - Traffic is everywhere, just try to pick a place close to work, or something centrally located. I'm just glad I don't live in the north, northeast, east, south or southeast areas.. lol..

Taxes - They don't have state income tax in Vegas, but then again, I wouldn't be paid nearly as much!

Ocean/Beach - I've heard that most of the dirty water is in the south bay, but I haven't had much time to enjoy the beach yet Beaches are a big negative during the holidays, but during the normal weekends they're fine.

Personal Crimes - I've had some clothing stolen from my old condo complex, and I've had my car (black 2001 acura) scratched from the trunk to the front driver-side bumper. Not nice.

[Redrover]

Wow seashell, I am super impressed by your extremely comprehensive assessment of the reality of living in San Diego. We are merely coming for a short visit next month, hence my interest in this board. At no time have we EVER considered a move to California although we do appreciate the state for visits (we lived in Redlands decades ago). But given the state of your state, why do you remain? I realize that your employment is what brought you there but surely you could find comparable options in a more hospitable locale. Of everything you enumerated, the lack of potable water seems the most ominous with no real solution in sight. As for the issue of too many people, I feel your pain. I live in Houston and the never-ending increase in population here makes life more and more unpleasant. The bottom line is that all those people who move(d) to San Diego for the glorious climate and proximity to the beach are ruining the very things they moved there for. Until and unless masses of humanity decide that they can happily exist in middle American communities, the situation for California and other coastal cities will only deteriorate further. The Chamber of Commerce may not appreciate your all-too-realistic litany of San Diego's woes, but you may just have saved some hapless soul from making a move he would forever regret. ( I would gladly give you more reputation bumps but sadly am forbidden to do so.) Good job!

[shannon94]

San Diego is my hometown and I love it dearly and visit often.......however alot of what seashell says is so very true....sad but true.... I love to visit...but the last few times I have it's actually been nice to get back to Texas after a couple weeks. (Can't believe I'm saying that!)

[Sanddawgg]

Seashell, I moved out of San Diego three years ago, and although I love it there, I found most of what you say to be true. Sad to see what San Diego has become. Although the crime numbers are low compared to most major cities, our experiences were otherwise. I experienced gunfire in front of our house, car stolen out of our drivedway, drive by shootings. Even had a couple in their sixties, killed while walking down the street when some gangbanger high on drugs ran over them doing sixty plus in the neighborhood. I'm not saying don't live there, but pick your neighborhood carefully! You can't go just by appearances. We lived in an older, well manicured, well kept neighborhood, but the gang bangers were always cruising through on the area. Be aware of what it can really be like there.

[bloom]

Originally Posted by Sanddawgg

Seashell, I moved out of San Diego three years ago, and although I love it there, I found most of what you say to be true. Sad to see what San Diego has become. Although the crime numbers are low compared to most major cities, our experiences were otherwise. I experienced gunfire in front of our house, car stolen out of our drivedway, drive by shootings. Even had a couple in their sixties, killed while walking down the street when some gangbanger high on drugs ran over them doing sixty plus in the neighborhood. I'm not saying don't live there, but pick your neighborhood carefully! You can't go just by appearances. We lived in an older, well manicured, well kept neighborhood, but the gang bangers were always cruising through on the area. Be aware of what it can really be like there.

What neighborhood?

[sfw1979]

Why do you stay then? SD is awesome and hoards of people will never stop moving there. California is expensive for a reason.

[Sanddawgg]

Bloom, it was in Paradise Hills.