From Yinzers to San Diegans in August (San Diego, Chula Vista: real estate, apartment)

[hotdamnitsbecca]

Hi! We are a 20-something couple moving to San Diego in August and we
are looking for some help deciding where to live with respect to
dining, nightlife, culture, and budget. Being near by 1-2 miles of the
UCSD Medical Center in Hillcrest would be ideal.

In terms of an apartment, we are interested in finding a place that is
1 or 2 bedrooms and around 1200 or less. We both like biking, camping,
live music, dive bars, great food, and board games and we would love
to live in an area full of active people who like to go out and have
fun. We are moving from Pittsburgh and live in the "Italian"
neighborhood which also happens to be one of the more trendy places
(i.e. high % of hipsters), and would prefer the same kind of
style/feel. The preference would definitely be a smaller amount of
college students, "bros", and a greater multitude of young creative
types (apologies for the stereotypes).

In addition, the plan for transition from the eastern U.S. to California
is going to be contingent on finding a place to stay for a couple
weeks / months and any suggestions in that vein would be appreciated.
The preference would be a month to month rent apartment or a non-bed
bug ridden/sleazy hotel but in the vein of 200/week max.

Does anyone happen to know the low down on these places, there doesn't
seem to be much internet review.

http://sdmetrohotels.com/hotels-2/
Jasmine Inn and The Somerset House

In addition suggestions for the following would be great.

Best place to find a good cup of coffee:

Best places to get great cart food:

Best people/real estates folks to rent from:

Best place to buy bikes and bike parts from:

Best gaming stores in San Diego:

Best small time music venues to check out:
Also if there are any forums/music blogs for local shows?

Thanks for any help you can provide internets! Making the big move is
a heck of a time.

[bloom]

Somerset Hotel on Washington seems reputable; don't know per week cost
Coffee: Mashuganah Shack in Mission Hills
Cart Food: 3rd Friday of month at 57 Degrees wine bar parking lot
Bikes Buy/Parts: Cal Coast on Adams Ave

[moved]

The Jasmine Inn is an SRO. People live there all the time.
I bought my bike from Ocean Bikes in Chula Vista.
You may want to check out the Bedbug Registry for hotel/motel reviews. www.bedbugregistry.com
There are lots of dive bars here.