Young graduate moving to SD? (Los Angeles, San Diego: condo, university, living in)

[nateg682]

So I'm moving to San Diego in roughly 10 months from the date of posting this question, but what I am really hoping to get is some feedback on living in the area. I know the cost of living is expensive and traffic isn't the highlight of the day, but I'm fairly used to this as I grew up in a city of 28 million people. Large cities are nothing new. I do speak fluent Spanish and spent 5 years in Mexico, so I think the Hispanic part of the culture could be a nice change (who knows...just an idea). I welcome both positive and negative responses. However, I would prefer if I could get some information more in respect to the lifestyle, culture, etc, for someone in their young 20's rather than commentary on city life. Not trying to pursue a skewed dream of living in California, just want to experience the west coast after spending a good deal of time traveling the East. Thanks!

Just on a side note, currently 22 and already finished University.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by nateg682

So I'm moving to San Diego in roughly 10 months from the date of posting this question, but what I am really hoping to get is some feedback on living in the area. I know the cost of living is expensive and traffic isn't the highlight of the day, but I'm fairly used to this as I grew up in a city of 28 million people. Large cities are nothing new. I do speak fluent Spanish and spent 5 years in Mexico, so I think the Hispanic part of the culture could be a nice change (who knows...just an idea). I welcome both positive and negative responses. However, I would prefer if I could get some information more in respect to the lifestyle, culture, etc, for someone in their young 20's rather than commentary on city life. Not trying to pursue a skewed dream of living in California, just want to experience the west coast after spending a good deal of time traveling the East. Thanks!

Just on a side note, currently 22 and already finished University.

There is a LOT of California. Why San Diego and not San Francisco or LA or Santa Barbara (eg.Getting an "east coast" experience in Atlanta vs DC or NYC)

So what is your goal? Party? Work? Both?

When I was 22, I certainly could care less about getting a real job. Partying, meeting new people etc was a much higher priorty.
I wouldnt have come to SD at 22, but if I did, PB is the place I would probably have landed for year or so.

[wymore]

Traffic may or may not be an issue. If you know where you are going to work before moving out, you can significantly alleviate this problem. For instance, I just recently moved out here myself and purchased a small accounting firm in Bonita. I got a condo in Santee which is about 15 miles away. Since I'm commuting south in the morning and north in the evening, I'm going to opposite direction of most of the traffic and don't have any issues at all.

[Pedro2000]

A lot of it depends on what you want to do. You say you lived in a city with 28 million people, San Diego isn't going to come close to that for one. And San Diego doesn't have a "city" vibe like a NYC or San Fran. It's a spread out suburban feel with many cool beach communities, some good inland towns, a few places near downtown and a lot of suburban types of plazas and malls everywhere else. If you're used to non stop action all hours of the day, San diego isn't really that kind of culture. There are many areas where 10pm rolls around and it's dead and everything's closed.

As already stated, if you're 22 and just want to party by the beach. PB is the place for you.

[nateg682]

Well there are hit and miss parts of it. "Party on the beach" is not quite what I was going for but definitely a plus. I really like the fact that San Diego has a close connection to Mexico, and I would like to be able to cross the border without having to travel 3000 miles. I did live in a city of 28 million, but I am by no means searching for this size of city nor even the feel for such a type of city (It took two hours to get a few miles down the road). From what research I have done, which is still in the early stages, San Diego has a laid back temperament with a small city environment, which is what I am looking for.

[malcorub16]

Since you mentioned being interested in Hispanic culture, being fluent in Spanish and already having lived in Mexico for 5 years, you could also make living in Tijuana and working in San Diego an option if you get a Sentri fast pass or learn to ride a scooter or motorcycle, both for facilitating a daily commute. I did this full time for three years and really learned alot about life on the other-side of the fence.

If you are looking for a predominantly Hispanic city, San Diego's hispanic population is a big part of the town but I will say that San Diego certainly is not San Antonio, Los Angeles or Miami. If you throw Tijuana into the conversation, then San Diego can definitely be considered a big Latin town, but without it, its not much more Latino than San Francisco or Dallas.

[moved]

I've been told that it's currently taking a hour to drive across the border with a Sentri pass. This is first hand information, and I'm sure glad that I'm out of that mess.