Imperial Beach (San Diego, Chula Vista, Vista: middle-class, apartments, rentals)

[jessemh431]

My grandparents would love to move to SoCal. They can't afford LA, so they're looking at SD and Ventura. I found many places for them in Imperial Beach, but I'm not sure if it's a good area or not, especially being so close to the border. How is it safety wise? Is it good for an 80 y.o. couple that doesn't like to drive. They have never driven in SoCal, and they come from a small city of 60k called Utica in upstate NY. They are nervous about it, so they would like to live near places where they can find nice restaurants, shops, and the beach. They would consider taking a bus as they have done it in LA, but how is the bus system in SD?

[Imperial1904]

You'll hear negative things about Imperial Beach. I'm not sure that would be the right place for your grandparents.

If they're coming from a very small town, driving anywhere in SoCal might be a little confusing. I would think the bus system in San Diego is a little better than L.A., but then again I've never taken the bus in L.A. I used to take the public bus as a teen to go to school and work or wherever I needed to go and have usually felt safe.

[roger9552]

Why don't you look into La Mesa which is east of San Diego and has lots of retirees and a downtown which they might enjoy walking around. The trolley goes through La Mesa. The beach is about 20 miles to the west but unfortunately the trolley doesn't go to the beach. The closest the trolley gets to the beach is Old Town.

[RD5050]

I personally wouldn't recommend Imperial Beach.

My one and only visit to Imperial Beach left me with an impression that I wouldn't want to go back.

You might have your granparents try Clairemont, which is a nice neigborhood within the city of San Diego.

It's peaceful, and friendly, with a suburban feel. It has mostly middle-class residents.

Pacific Beach is around 5 miles away (short drive to ocean), plus there are plenty of restaurants and shopping centers in the area.

Mission Bay (a great place to relax, take a walk, have a picnic, get exercise) is minutes away.

Single family homes in Clairemont can be expensive (avg 400K - 700K), but apartments can be rented for around 1000/mo, and condo's are available for around 200K - 300K.

One thing I really like about Clairemont is that it is centrally located within San Diego, so many great places to visit (La Jolla, downtown, beaches) are just a short drive away.

I recommend using Microsoft's Aerial Map at Live Local Search and use the "birds-eye" view. You can then view the actual neigborhood (actual photos) from overhead, so you can see how it looks. Google also has aerial maps, but they don't have the angled "birds-eye" view option.

[jessemh431]

So I guess they won't move there, but what places would you suggest that aren't too expensive, but less than 5 miles from the beach. How is Chula Vista or National City?

[Huckleberry3911948]

here seniors with cash, live in residential living which provides own buses and transport and amounts to sheltered living. if you are on your own and riding public transport its a 2nd class system, pretty sleazy. not a cute lil ol small townee seaside atmosphere. that went out with spats. i have personally rescued one lil ol lady being terrorized by some young thugs at a bus stop. by the way that was in la mesa 1/2 block from the police station!! san diego has got mean streets. this is not disneyland, thats up the road.

[jessemh431]

They're extremely healthy though and don't want to be in an old folks home. And when they visit me, they stay in Venice Beach and walk all over by themselves.

[Sampaguita]

I don't know whether this would be in their price range but towns like Encinitas or Carlsbad might be a better and safer bet for your grandparents. Sea Cliff is a gated community off Poinsettia where I've seen rentals for $2100/month. Most of the residents are retirees. It's a very short car ride (less than a mile I think) to the beach and just over the fwy is a shopping center with Ralphs & Rite-Aid.

I would not recommend IB for an 80 yr old couple from Utica.

Check out san diego apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslist and do a search for Encinitas, Carlsbad, Leucadia - you may be pleasantly surprised by some of the results. Again, not knowing your GPs budget, I may be way over their budget (or not).

Good luck!

[jessemh431]

I don't know how much they would spend for a rental, but to buy they would spend 300k on a 1 bed condo.

[Sampaguita]

They might be able to find some reasonsable rental rates then in the areas I mentioned. I was specifically looking for 2bdrm+/2bath when I noted the 2k+ rental rates in those coastal towns.