Moving From Canada (San Diego, Chula Vista, Vista: high crime, employment, living)

[Think4Yourself]

Originally Posted by Derpendur

Hello again,

Thanks for all the helpful thoughtful replies thus far, I hope it is representative of people in general in San Diego!

I'm 25, single, and (happily) unattached. I wouldn't mind living close to some night life or beaches, but my main concern is living in a nice neighbourhood. You have to excuse my bias coming from Canada where our urban centres are generally smaller and have less incidences of violent crime. But you are absolutely right that stuff happens everywhere so I should keep things in context. Mainly I was looking for if there are any neighbourhoods that I should avoid without question.

I don't mind longer commutes, but my main preference would be to either rely on public transportation or a bike to get to work. I don't even own a car atm, but it looks like a car is a necessity in socal.

Areas down by the border should be avoided, areas such as Southeast San Diego should be avoided, I'd also avoid El Cajon as a place to live though I'm told some parts of it are nice enough.

As a general rule all of San Diego is going to have an extremely low violent crime rate by American standards (though still higher than the Canadian average probably). At 25 and being single I'd almost recommend you rent a room in Pacific Beach (the young person party central part of town) simply because you'll be around other people who are mostly your own age, you'll find more dates, and probably meet more people who are at the same life stage as you are if you know what I mean. All of inland north county and even coastal north county are very nice with low crime rates but they're also mainly populated by married folks who have two kids and a dog so they go to bed early and likely won't want to hang out with a 20-something. Pacific Beach, the SDSU area, Mission Beach, and to a lesser extent Mission Valley will be more like what you're looking for. That will mean a slightly longer commute (20-30 minutes instead of 10 minutes) but I suspect you'll be happier in the long run.

Also for $1700 you should be able to rent your own place but since your 25 you might want to consider renting a room on Craigslist (especially if you decide you want to live at the beach) as that will mean you automatically meet some people because you're sharing a house with them. That will help you expand your social network and make new friends. That's just my take on things, best of luck.

[Derpendur]

I thought about the H-1B but it looks like the process to get one is more involved. The TN is super easy and approved at the border. My understanding is that TN is 'temporary' in the sense that your stay is tied directly with your employment; not specific to any length of time. I also think there are also ways to switch to a H-1B while working in the USA.

I'm also not sure how a TN vs H-1B will affect my Canadian residency for tax purposes with the CRA, but it looks like taxes are a tiny bit higher in the USA so I don't think it will matter much after foreign tax credits. But this is a completely different discussion that warrants an accountant.

I hope I didn't offend anyone regarding my questions regarding crime, I just want to be cautious
Based on what I have seen San Diego looks to be a beautiful place to live and I am excited for an awesome opportunity.

Would you describe Pacific Beach and others you mentioned as an area popular with young professionals? I'm getting a little old and tired for the 'get drunk and party every night' lifestyle that is prevalent amongst college students. I'm moving primarily to develop my career as opposed to live a crazy lifestyle.

Renting a room is actually not a bad idea. I could do something like that on a temporary basis while I find an area I like, or maybe I will end up liking my room mates.

Again thanks for all the help so far.

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by Think4Yourself

... Pacific Beach, the SDSU area, Mission Beach, and to a lesser extent Mission Valley will be more like what you're looking for. That will mean a slightly longer commute (20-30 minutes instead of 10 minutes) but I suspect you'll be happier in the long run. ... .

I've never done it during rush hour, but a commute from Mission Beach or even Pacific Beach to Carmel Mountain Ranch sounds like it would be longer than 20-30 minutes. I'm guessing it'd be 20-30 minutes just to get east of I-5 ...

Pacific Beach and SDSU might be too "young" for the OP, if he's working rather than living the student life.

Mission Valley has no soul.

Possible the central areas - Hillcrest, Mission Hills, North Park?

[AADAD]

Poway and Sabre Srpings are nice with decent commutes to the Coast along the 56. It is safe and warmer than the coast with nice amounts of sunshine.Downtown SD is 15 minutes as is the coast. Vas Y!

[sschibuola]

Yes the H1B is more involved and at this point the TN is the best way to go. It all depends (both in your mind and INS) if your intention is to stay long-term. Yes you are right it is tied to employment and does not have an expiry per se . . . But let's just say I renewed mine for 8 years, and the more "roots" I added in the US (house . . . Wife!) the questions at the border became a little more awkward . . .

But at this point you have plenty of time - come down, have fun, work hard and see where life takes you! Exciting times to be sure.

If I were you (and I sort of am - or was - I moved down at 30 with no attachments) I'd look in the La Jolla and Del Mar areas - very desirable areas so I honestly don't know what the rental market is like, but I think you'll find a slightly more young professional crowd than in PB or OB. And still a reasonable commute on the 56. I mean - its California, your young, single and reasonable well-off - you gotta live in a beach community at least ONCE in your life!

[Derpendur]

Originally Posted by sschibuola

If I were you (and I sort of am - or was - I moved down at 30 with no attachments) I'd look in the La Jolla and Del Mar areas - very desirable areas so I honestly don't know what the rental market is like, but I think you'll find a slightly more young professional crowd than in PB or OB. And still a reasonable commute on the 56. I mean - its California, your young, single and reasonable well-off - you gotta live in a beach community at least ONCE in your life!

Give er' **** eh? I like your style sir. You put a smile on my face. You are right I should try the beach community and just deal with the commute.

[mricu]

OP, where in Canada are you moving from?

I lived in Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Montreal and Halifax. The crime rate here in SD is definately much lower than all these places and the types of crime are not as violent as those found in those large Canadian cities.

I started off in Mission Valley and enjoyed it very much because you are essentially 15 minutes to anywhere due to the close proximity of the highways ... additionally the trolley is also there to make getting around very easy. I now live closer to my workplace in Chula Vista. Mission Valley is where a lot of young professionals live.

I was originally on a TN and my company converted it to an H1B. There was not pain in converting it and was very easy ... took all of two weeks. If your company is sponsoring you for your TN, I'm sure they are well aware of the process to convert TN to H1B. If doing taxes, I would recommened talking to an enrolled agent in town as they are most familiar with the tax treaties between US and all other countries and are IRS certified.

It may not be the case with you, but the biggest headache for me moving to the US is trying to understand the health care system down here ... it's mind boggling the choices available and what is and what isn't covered as well as where to go if you need treatment. Ask your workmates what your company offers and what they selected and why. Even after 3 years here in the US, I still am learning the ins and outs of the system.

[earlyretirement]

Originally Posted by Derpendur

Give er' **** eh? I like your style sir. You put a smile on my face. You are right I should try the beach community and just deal with the commute.

If you can afford it, DEFINITELY I'd say you'd love Del Mar. I go to the beach there at least 4 times a week. It's a VERY nice area and the commute isn't even too much longer compared to Carmel Valley. You can get to Del Mar from many parts of Carmel Valley in literally 5-10 minutes.

You can bypass all freeways. Just take Del Mar Heights over to Carmel Valley Road (which turns into Bernardo Center Drive) and then you can take Camino del Norte over to Carmel Mountain Ranch. I'm not sure what part you're working in but you can also jump on I-15 if you need to go down a few exits.... Or if you're living in that area and want to jump on I-56 you will be going against traffic where I-56 will be packed during rush hour in the morning heading West but heading East towards CMR there won't be any traffic so you can easily jump on I-56 as well for the back and forth commute to work.

I love taking that route and I've only seen police with radar 3 or 4 times in the past year (at the bottom of Del Mar Heights going Eastbound as you pass Carmel Country road. There is a big hill that goes down Del Mar Heights there and sometimes they will be sitting there with radar guns. But the entire rest of the road typically you can go fast and it moves quickly.

I'm not sure of rental prices in Del Mar but I'd assume up there. I also wouldn't say it's full of young professionals. More retired folks that I can see.

Anytime my friends and I go to any of the bars/restaurants there we typically are getting hit on by cougars. LOL. Not too much of the young crowd there for the most part compared to other areas. But the area is absolutely incredible.

[Derpendur]

I'm moving from Calgary. My company is sponsoring my TN. I am a little concerned about health care but my company seems to have a pretty good group insurance plan down there. So I will start with looking at beach communities: Del Mar, La Jolla, Pacific Beach. If rentals are more than what I am budgeting I will either look for something closer to Carmel Mountain in the north east part of the city, or maybe find a place to rent a room temporarily. Thanks for all the help everyone! Anything else I should be aware of?

[tonyinsd]

People are way too quick to write off downtown. For $1700 you could have a pretty decent sized one bedroom in a newer apartment with all the amenities. You'd also have the added benefit of being able to walk to everything when you are not working.

Crime? Yeah, it exists. I live in a high crime area statistically speaking. Go to the Trulia map and it's bright red.

But the crimes are things like drunk in public, vandalism, and so on.