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Thanks for the advice so far. I am not that concerned about something like a 30 minute commute. I sometimes have to wait 30 minutes right now just for a bus to show up to start my commute so driving 30 minutes is not a big deal at all, it'll be a nice change; I'd rather be happy with where I'm living. Pedro thanks for the tips about UTC; I'm not really going for a sleepy area, so I'll cross that off the list.
Larry, thanks, I'm like-minded about the commute. I don't mind lots of gay residents at all, as long as there are some straight girls as well. I'm a live and let live kind of person for the most part; I'm currently living in the west end in Vancouver, which is basically Vancouver's equivalent of Hillcrest by the sounds of it (the crosswalks here are painted as rainbows, it's pretty great).
From the sounds of it the Hillcrest-Northpark area is probably a good fit. In most places I have lived the place to be is usually downtown proper (e.g. Toronto, and Vancouver, with the exception of Kitsilano), but it seems like that is not the case in San Diego? Is Hillcrest-Northpark more where the locals hang out than the Gaslamp area?
Hillcrest is a cool area with neat shops and restaurants, but if you're a straight guy looking to meet girls at a bar, it's probably not going to happen there. Many guys looking for girls will go to bars/clubs in Gaslamp, PB, North Park, etc.
North Park and University Heights seem to fit your criteria, but I always thought University Heights was really small and kind of out of place. North Park is one of those "gentrification" concepts going on around the US these days. As far as University Heights reminds me of main street areas in college towns, but without the college. It's really a small area with only a few places. If that is ok with you, it's a great place. If you like a lot of choices to walk to, it might not be the best fit.
Nanodan- Hillcrest and North-Park are great areas! I'm a lesbian, however tons of straight people go there with their gay friends! You'll just have to do some weeding out! You'll probably get hit on, but just go into it with a smile and say no I don't go that way! They'll pick up what you're putting down!
What type of girls do you like? They are sections of different types of women, not to generalize!
I lived in Encinitas/Del Mar/Solana Beach area and loved it! It is walkable if you live off the 101! The females in this area are 22-30 and classy, smart, sophisticated and stylish (most of the time financially well off and possibly play a little hard to get).
Gaslamp is just crazy all the time, a lot of military get hammered and tourists! It is fun, definitely go once or twice! Just crazy to live!
I would find a sublet for 1-2 months and check out the neighborhoods and then find something long term!
What type of girls do you like? They are sections of different types of women, not to generalize!
I lived in Encinitas/Del Mar/Solana Beach area and loved it! It is walkable if you live off the 101! The females in this area are 22-30 and classy, smart, sophisticated and stylish (most of the time financially well off and possibly play a little hard to get).
Gaslamp is just crazy all the time, a lot of military get hammered and tourists! It is fun, definitely go once or twice! Just crazy to live!
I would find a sublet for 1-2 months and check out the neighborhoods and then find something long term!
Encinitas/Del Mar sounds like a great area but I think it's a bit too far out of the city for me for now and probably too expensive being right by the water. I'm hoping to have access to lots of different people and things to do so I can hopefully meet people easier and settle into the area, given that I know not a single person in southern California. The areas also seem a bit out of my budget, since I have student loan payments eating up a chunk of my income right now and apartments there seem to be around the 1850+ mark for studio/1bdrm. Probably worth checking out though, if they're amazing I can spend an extra couple thousand per year on the housing.
I'm hoping to meet classy and smart women, so that area does sound nice. Northpark-Hillcrest seems to be more of hipster type vibe, which is fun, it's the type of areas I lived in Vancouver, but I didn't really mesh well with a lot of those women in Vancouver. Obviously a big generalization of course. But really the only other options seem to be gaslamp-downtown (and drunk military guys and homeless at the doorstep every night doesn't sound like my thing, I had enough of that in Indiana) and little-italy. Little italy seems like it might be nice but it looks very pricey as well, like 1900+ and looks like it would be a pain to commute out of there to the UTC area.
Then there is always living in the UTC area, but I like to have a bit of separation of my work/play areas and being near the city where things are happening is nice. Unless I test the commute and absolutely hate it.
If my move goes well I'll be in the SD area after the 23rd and will start to check out neighbourhoods. Once I figure out what I'm doing I'll post updates so anyone else reading this thread with similar criteria can get an idea of where I decided to settle in .
I have been coming to San Diego as a visitor for 25 years. Check out Ocean Beach area while you are visiting. May not be where you want to live, but its definitely an interesting area to visit with quite a few clubs and a few coffee shops. In addition, I am going to be purchasing a 1 bedroom condo in the residential area just east of Qualcomm Stadium and north of the 8. The area doesn't offer much to walk to, but it is a nice quiet residential area and possibly good for biking. Might be willing to rent my condo for a month (or two or three) for about $1250 if you need a place to land for awhile when you first move to San Diego. Its just northeast of the intersection of 8 and 15, so provides quick access to all parts of the city.
Hi sacite, thanks for the advice. I don't really have a choice though on accepting the offer or not, I pretty much have to. I didn't receive enough scholarship money to go back to school like I wanted so I need to save up again, and this is the only solid job offer I've gotten in 9 months of searching, and is double my current salary. I'm just going to have to make the best of it and try to find the neighborhood that is as close as I can get to what I want.
Hey Nano-I get you. People on this forum are ALWAYS telling people to "come here first and see what it's like before you make the move." It's practical advice but a job is a job. I also work in Biotech and my company opened an office here in SD. They told me I could transfer or be laid off. So, I moved. I moved from my family, friends, and the area I grew up. Granted, it was just Northern California so I can drive to see everyone in 9 hours or fly 1.5 hours. Still, the opportunity was to move or be out of a job and have to worry about the crappy job market in Sacramento and being underemployed (I received several job offers for director-level positions in other industries in Sac and I would have made 25% less than what I was making at my company).
So, I have been here a year. I lived in a 2 bedroom condo in Bay Park/Clairemont. It was close to the Bay/Ocean and walkable to some local stores/restaurants. I spent $1650 a month. It was temporary until I got my bearings. I recently moved to a super quiet family-oriented 'hood called Serra Mesa. We love it (even though we are sans kids). It's a single-family home with a yard for our dog. It's small compared to what I'm used to in Sacramento. But we find ourselves being outside a lot more here, even if it's on the porch overlooking the backyard. Our rent at the new place is $2350.
San Diego is more "expensive," but it's a relative term. Milk is milk. Taxes are 8% but that's not as high as some other cities in California. Housing is what is going to cost you the most. However, if you currently live in Vancouver, the housing costs should not be as big as a shock, isn't it VERY expensive to live there? So, you may fare better here in SD financially.
I think you will find more appeal in the city of San Diego, areas like University Heights, Hillcrest and North Park. I love to go to Hillcrest for dinner. I would say North Park is the least of my favorite out of those three - they are charging an arm and a leg for dumps there. You can easily find a cute/renovated apartment in University Heights. My friends live in a 2 bedroom, renovated apartment that is off Mississippi St, walkable to a lot but a residential street off the main drag. They pay $1800 a month. If I was young and single I would totally move to one of these areas. Banker's Hill is great and would be a lot of fun to live there. But, alas, I am not young and single!
Hey Nano-I get you. People on this forum are ALWAYS telling people to "come here first and see what it's like before you make the move." It's practical advice but a job is a job. I also work in Biotech and my company opened an office here in SD. They told me I could transfer or be laid off. So, I moved. I moved from my family, friends, and the area I grew up. Granted, it was just Northern California so I can drive to see everyone in 9 hours or fly 1.5 hours. Still, the opportunity was to move or be out of a job and have to worry about the crappy job market in Sacramento and being underemployed (I received several job offers for director-level positions in other industries in Sac and I would have made 25% less than what I was making at my company).
So, I have been here a year. I lived in a 2 bedroom condo in Bay Park/Clairemont. It was close to the Bay/Ocean and walkable to some local stores/restaurants. I spent $1650 a month. It was temporary until I got my bearings. I recently moved to a super quiet family-oriented 'hood called Serra Mesa. We love it (even though we are sans kids). It's a single-family home with a yard for our dog. It's small compared to what I'm used to in Sacramento. But we find ourselves being outside a lot more here, even if it's on the porch overlooking the backyard. Our rent at the new place is $2350.
San Diego is more "expensive," but it's a relative term. Milk is milk. Taxes are 8% but that's not as high as some other cities in California. Housing is what is going to cost you the most. However, if you currently live in Vancouver, the housing costs should not be as big as a shock, isn't it VERY expensive to live there? So, you may fare better here in SD financially.
I think you will find more appeal in the city of San Diego, areas like University Heights, Hillcrest and North Park. I love to go to Hillcrest for dinner. I would say North Park is the least of my favorite out of those three - they are charging an arm and a leg for dumps there. You can easily find a cute/renovated apartment in University Heights. My friends live in a 2 bedroom, renovated apartment that is off Mississippi St, walkable to a lot but a residential street off the main drag. They pay $1800 a month. If I was young and single I would totally move to one of these areas. Banker's Hill is great and would be a lot of fun to live there. But, alas, I am not young and single!
Thanks a lot for the additional advice. I have been looking online and I am definitely noticing that there are some very small, poorly maintained rental units in the North Park area going for quite a lot, so I'll expand my search a bit to check out the neighbourhoods you mentioned like University Heights and Banker's Hill. I'm going to be arriving in San Diego tomorrow with temporary housing for a month so hopefully I'll be able to get a decent feel for the neighbourhoods in that time.
Vancouver is quite expensive yes. The rent itself is comparable to San Diego, so there isn't much sticker shock for me, especially since I lived in San Francisco for a bit (that was a shock) and there are additional costs for gas, food, etc. in Vancouver. I may actually be able to live more comfortably in San Diego than I was in Vancouver.
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Ocean Beach
