Good Neighborhoods for 25-year-old in N. San Diego? (Carlsbad, Encinitas: apartment, for rent)

[LeFlux90]

Hey everyone,

It seems like I will be relocating in the next month or so to San Diego. My job will be located up in the Sorrento Valley area, very close to UCSD.

As a newbie to San Diego, which areas would you recommend I look for an apartment? Some important things to me are:

• Rent: Optimally looking for between $1000-$1400 for a 1-bedroom place.
• Location: I don't want my commute to be longer than 25 minutes, optimally...I also like to surf and be near water, if possible. I know most of SD is not far from a beach, so maybe this is redundant.
• I would like an area with good grocery store and restaurant options. Being walkable is a big plus too, but not crucial.

So, these things considered, where do you think would be a good fit for me? Should I be looking at places like Pacific Beach? What about Clairemont, La Jolla, etc.? I am assuming that University Heights, Hillcrest, and North Park are too far away?


Thanks for all replies!

[docmcstuffin]

Your 3rd point would point to University Heights, Hillcrest, North Park, etc. However, your 1st and 2nd point would point to UTC, Clairemont and Mira Mesa.

[LeFlux90]

Thanks, docmcstuffin! It seems like UTC/Clairemont/Mira Mesa would be ideal then. I'm curious to see if any other forum members have any other information.

[BigData]

Hey

I been living in pretty much every beach area SD have, currently live Downtown.

I think you live where you identify your self with.
Encinitas is laid back surfer hippie who are self employed kinda area. Usually pretty well off/behaved.
solana Beach somewhat similar to Encinitas
Del Mar has an older richer crowd not so much nightlife.
La Jolla (village not UTC) has older crowd and alot of tourists, its failry expensive and very cloudy!
La Jolla UTC is full of asian students
PB is all about the party, bars no nightclub, usually white middle class kids who study at Sdsu.
As soon as you go a few mile inland from these areas its all suburban,

except for north park/hill crest/

[loveautumn]

$1400 for rent is probably minimum you will find (if you can even find that price) for any of the beach areas in North County (Del Mar, Solana Beach, Cardiff, Encinitas, Carlsbad, etc). You might want to consider sharing a 2 bedroom with one roommate to lower your costs until you can get a feel for where you really want to live. Sorrento Valley/UCSD/UTC area is heavy traffic.

[LeFlux90]

Thanks a ton BigData and LoveAutumn! I appreciate the responses here.

I really like the Hillcrest/North Park/Univ. Heights areas, as well as the areas of Clairemont I've seen. I don't think I want to live in the North County beach areas if they are pricier than Clairemont or North Park...but I'll definitely look into it. Yeah, I noticed that Sorrento Valley/UTC area has some serious traffic. I may be working in Sorrento Valley, so we'll see how that goes.

[docmcstuffin]

Originally Posted by LeFlux90

Thanks a ton BigData and LoveAutumn! I appreciate the responses here.

I really like the Hillcrest/North Park/Univ. Heights areas, as well as the areas of Clairemont I've seen. I don't think I want to live in the North County beach areas if they are pricier than Clairemont or North Park...but I'll definitely look into it. Yeah, I noticed that Sorrento Valley/UTC area has some serious traffic. I may be working in Sorrento Valley, so we'll see how that goes.

If you work in Sorrento Valley and hate traffic, you might want to consider the West side of Mira Mesa. There are a lot side streets you can take to by pass a lot of the traffic. It's not as urban as North Park, but is quite similar to Clairemont. If you're into mountain biking and work in Sorrento Valley, there are trails you can bike to work as well.

[LeFlux90]

Thank you, doc! I will look into Mira Mesa as well then. It might be a good fit for me if it's similar to Clairemont and the commute is better.

[RainbowHope]

Originally Posted by LeFlux90

Thank you, doc! I will look into Mira Mesa as well then. It might be a good fit for me if it's similar to Clairemont and the commute is better.

Mira Mesa is a bit more affordable than many areas of San Diego as well, and if you are working in Sorrento Valley, that is a double win from a cost of housing/commute perspective.

[LeFlux90]

Thanks, RainbowHope! I will take a harder look at Mira Mesa...it seems to be a pretty good deal with regards to affordability and commute, as you and docmcstuffin mentioned.

Much appreciated!!