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The feedback from the other forums is the same. Most have noted the cost of living and the income I would be bringing in as a single mom similar to statements on this forum.
earlyretirement...I hear ya and believe me I have noted both sides of what people say and read your posts carefully - many thanks. I guess I just don't want to wait (this is something I have wanted for awhile) and to be honest I have been getting tired of DC. In my opinion it is so overrated. Trust me the only thing that has attracted so many people here are the jobs. DC in many areas has been sort of recession proof. Before the recession, DC was not nearly as popular as it is now and certainly couldn't hold water to what California offers. I am not a fan of seasons nor the humidity. I hate the traffic. We even have traffic here on the WEEKENDS. So many people are coming that they are just building more and more tall condos. I am normally a very positive person and try to make the best of situations, but DC is just not doing it for me anymore.
I will admit that I like Orlando and my son loves Disney, but it isn't what I want at this stage of my life. If I have to do it then I will.
earlyretirement...I hear ya and believe me I have noted both sides of what people say and read your posts carefully - many thanks. I guess I just don't want to wait (this is something I have wanted for awhile) and to be honest I have been getting tired of DC. In my opinion it is so overrated. Trust me the only thing that has attracted so many people here are the jobs. DC in many areas has been sort of recession proof. Before the recession, DC was not nearly as popular as it is now and certainly couldn't hold water to what California offers. I am not a fan of seasons nor the humidity. I hate the traffic. We even have traffic here on the WEEKENDS. So many people are coming that they are just building more and more tall condos. I am normally a very positive person and try to make the best of situations, but DC is just not doing it for me anymore.
I will admit that I like Orlando and my son loves Disney, but it isn't what I want at this stage of my life. If I have to do it then I will.
Oh no worries. You don't have to sell me on how bad traffic is in DC or quality if life. Quite frankly I'd NEVER move to DC. However, if I was already living there and was a single mother, and the father lived there as well as family and I had a stable and secure job then I'd probably have to think twice about my dreams of potentially moving to San Diego.
Unless you tell me you have tons of savings, or someone will be helping to subsidize your cost of living, I'd have to be objective and say its probably not the best idea right now based on the type of budget you have for buying a house and also your potential salary here. JMHO.
OP, I am an AA single woman who lived in San Diego for 3 years. I moved to SD for a job and then moved to New York City in 2011. San Diego has great weather and is beautiful but culturally, I really missed the northeast. In NYC and DC, one can readily find highly educated and accomplished AA professionals and AA culture. Not so in San Diego. If you are looking for a relatively strong AA culture then no, I do not recommend San Diego. That said, San Diego is very diverse and accepting and it wasn't in any way unpleasant. One thing I absolutely love about SD is that the black/white racial tension that plagues so much of our country is largely absent in SD. It truly felt freeing to live in a place that was so accepting of everyone. I left SD though because despite its charms, I was incredibly bored. NYC is a much better cultural fit for me. I would have fared a whole lot better had I at least been into the outdoor stuff. I didn't hike or go to the beach much. Didn't surf. What else was left for a single gal? I am strongly attracted to the arts and I did enjoy many local plays and touring broadway musicals but there was not enough to keep my interest.
And for the record, I didn't find San Diego laid back at all. It's overcrowded. Heavy traffic. Gotta wait in lines everywhere you go. Definitely not the laid back care free environment that a lot of people imagine. I worked hard while in San Diego...my life was not stress free. The pay is so much lower than here on the east coast. I found it very difficult to make ends meet off of a $60,000 salary. As a teacher and with your housing budget, I cannot recommend SD for you. Even if you do not care about the lack of AA culture, you need to know that life will be anything but stress free. Orlando has a much lower cost of living plus you have family there. Another thing I found difficult was being on the opposite coast from family. Those flights were long (6 hours) and expensive. My suggestion for you is to explore Orlando a bit more before ruling it out.
Hello, I am a single AA mom of a 3 year old currently living in the DC metro area. However, I have always dreamed of living in California ever since I was a little girl lol. I have a very warm and friendly personality and love that California seems so laid back yet at the same time very progressive. I am a special education teacher and ready to make the move to a stress free life. The DC metro just has too much traffic, esp. where I live in northern Virginia and sometimes people aren't as friendly. Both my mom and my ex-husband think I need to try out southern cali for a school term to see if this is really my dream or else I would regret never having tried. I have no family in the area. Most of my family are in the DC metro area, although my mom will soon be retiring to Orlando, FL. Therefore, I will be on my own and need areas where daycare and living costs are relatively inexpensive. In addition, I am looking for areas with a significant African American prescence. This is one of the things I do appreciate about the DC metro area. African Americans really do well here. I am looking for something similar in Cali. Also, for those who've moved to southern California, how does it stack up against the DC metro area? How is dating for AA women?
Please any opinion or advice welcome...I have only one shot at this since when my son starts kindergarten I plan on staying rooted for a long while. I should also note that I am considering moving to Atlanta (I have family there too and it is closer to Orlando), but California is so my first choice. I will post this in the SD forum as well.
I have not read the whole thread, but wanted to pop back in and add to the OP: Check out Eastlake as a potential place to buy a home. People are finding affordable homes (around 250, sometimes less) and it is considered a good community for raising a family....It's in the 'south bay', inland several miles, and east of Chula Vista. You might try CV, Bonita and the surrounds for job searches, as well. Eastlake would not be a terrible commute, either, if you found work in one of the districts in central SD. Eastlake is fairly diverse, has lots of amenities and walking trails, etc. It might also be a good initial rental choice for you.
So you have a few choices: San Marcos, Temecula and Eastlake as potential areas to live, depending on your job location. San Marcos is north county San Diego [north county is quite desirable as an area, and you are just over the hill from north county coastal-Carlsbad/Oceanside.] Eastlake is south county....
good luck; i'm sure other good recommendations will come your way.....
OP, I am an AA single woman who lived in San Diego for 3 years. I moved to SD for a job and then moved to New York City in 2011. San Diego has great weather and is beautiful but culturally, I really missed the northeast. In NYC and DC, one can readily find highly educated and accomplished AA professionals and AA culture. Not so in San Diego. If you are looking for a relatively strong AA culture then no, I do not recommend San Diego. That said, San Diego is very diverse and accepting and it wasn't in any way unpleasant. One thing I absolutely love about SD is that the black/white racial tension that plagues so much of our country is largely absent in SD. It truly felt freeing to live in a place that was so accepting of everyone. I left SD though because despite its charms, I was incredibly bored. NYC is a much better cultural fit for me. I would have fared a whole lot better had I at least been into the outdoor stuff. I didn't hike or go to the beach much. Didn't surf. What else was left for a single gal? I am strongly attracted to the arts and I did enjoy many local plays and touring broadway musicals but there was not enough to keep my interest.
And for the record, I didn't find San Diego laid back at all. It's overcrowded. Heavy traffic. Gotta wait in lines everywhere you go. Definitely not the laid back care free environment that a lot of people imagine. I worked hard while in San Diego...my life was not stress free. The pay is so much lower than here on the east coast. I found it very difficult to make ends meet off of a $60,000 salary. As a teacher and with your housing budget, I cannot recommend SD for you. Even if you do not care about the lack of AA culture, you need to know that life will be anything but stress free. Orlando has a much lower cost of living plus you have family there. Another thing I found difficult was being on the opposite coast from family. Those flights were long (6 hours) and expensive. My suggestion for you is to explore Orlando a bit more before ruling it out.
Yep, SD does not have much 'culture' to speak of....particularly if you are used to vibrant, artistic, intellectual environments....SD is considered great for hanging out at the beach, with friends and family, etc. If you don't have that network, it can be very stressful, isolated and lonely.
Also, re: the pay: It's called the 'sunshine tax' or something like that. And my spouse, an SD native, says that it's always been this way in SD-salaries are not aligned with cost of living the way they are in the bay area or the NE corridor. Now that cost of living has gotten much higher in SD, it's even more of a challenge. There are a zillion threads about this on this forum. SD is not a place to grow your career, for most people. It's a place to settle in and enjoy your life, assuming you like/love it here. There is a reason it's considered the '8th safest city in america' or whatever....and it IS considered a great place to raise a family. It's a pretty good place for kids, based on my experience. [I'm originally from new england, plus lived in rocky mountain states, northern CA and now ten years in SD.]
For the record OP, although I have contributed suggestions, I personally hate living in SD -lol. Seriously. And I have children and live in a decent area (though we rent an apt. and don't own a house). I'd move tomorrow. Or as soon as I have the opportunity. But, I believe some people jive with SD and love it, or are otherwise 'meant to be here'. When people say they have always had a yearning and just a feeling, then I will not come down hard with my negatives, though I will mention them to people as part of the whole picture. Your replies from other AA women obviously are valuable for your decision.
At the same time, when people say SD is so stressful to live in, and NYC was better, well, that is a personal opinion, not a fact. And that may not be the same for you. I mean, SD HAS grown and the traffic is a bit more. But really, comparing it to other metros, it's cake. SD city has 3.5 million people, the county has about 4.5. Small potatoes compared to LA, NYC, etc.
Regarding driving, you can still be at the beaches-great, safe, free public beaches, from most places that you would live, within 20-30 minutes. You can be in a canyon hiking in the same amount of time. You can visit the mountains in an hour, with snow in the winter if you want it, and the desert on the way home to the beach. You can be in LA in 1.5 hours, depending on traffic, for cultural extras. SFO is an 8 hour drive or an hour flight. jAs this poster mentioned, if you are not into outdoors and really need vibrancy, I suggest looking elsewhere, or at least in LA. For a combo of both, the bay area, west coast wise. I don't know of any 'lines' to wait in everywhere you go in SD, unless it's the DMV? I don't really wait much, personally.
You will find year round, great quality affordable produce, and be able to be outdoors almost every day of the year, if you want to. These are some of the pluses that NYC and other large metros do not have. And the final hurrah, is definitely the weather. Even if you love seasons, as some of us do, you have to give it to SD for the weather....no humidity to speak of, little wind, mostly sunshine save for a few times of the year when there's a marine layer for part of the day, and mild temps. The weather really is as great as 'they' say.
Okay, that's my more than 2 cents on this thread. Hope the info overall helps you and others down the road who may be looking to make the move....
Last edited by lrmsd; 07-12-2013 at 11:07 AM..
Reason: edit
shmoov...I have visited the area before. I am coming again in August. Visiting is what made me want to move.
I still like the idea of you living with your mom for 3-5 years, saving money and watching the SD housing and teacher job market. Even if it means changing schools for your son. Have a good trip in August, and you never know what might fall into place for you, pragmatics aside!
Last edited by lrmsd; 07-12-2013 at 11:13 AM..
Reason: edit
zombocom...yes the move to Orlando is very tempting. My mom wants me to move with her as she has retired from the federal government and just purchased a home there with cash. I also have other familiy members who retired from the government that live there now so there is a big support system. So in essence I could live with her for free (just help out with utilities so I keep a little pride lol), not have to worry about paying daycare, and just work and save money. However, if I do this I won't be living my dream and I do think I would regret not taking the plunge. Also, I have to do it now because I really want to be settled when my son enters kindergarten.
Well, even if it isn't a great idea, you do have a fall back position (moving to Orlando if it doesn't work out), and it is possible that if you don't give it a try, you'll always wonder...
How many times have you been out to California? You know what they say, living in a place, and vacationing there are two different things.
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Also look at East Lake/Bonita/Chula Vista
