I love San Diego! Should I move there? (San Francisco, Orange: apartment, credit)

[vegaspilgrim]

I've thought about moving to California, and San Diego in particular, for a long time. I've been living in Phoenix (Tempe, actually) for the last 4 years while I've been going to ASU. I was born and raised in Denver. I've been to SD in the past, but it's been a long time. So, I went on a three day road trip to San Diego last week where I tried the best I could to get a sense of the city and the suburbs, do some exploration, drive the freeways, and have some fun. I tried to keep the "tourist" things to a minimum, and instead did the kind of things I would probably be doing on the weekends if I lived there. I stayed in the Mira Mesa/North County area. The places that I did a lot of exploring included North County suburbs (Mira Mesa, Rancho PQ, Sorrento Valley), UCSD, La Jolla, Del Mar, Pacific Beach, Mission Bay, Old Town SD, and Downtown.

Let me say, I was BLOWN AWAY by San Diego. It is hands down the most beautiful city I've ever seen. It goes without saying that SD blows away Phoenix, but it surpasses even San Francisco, IMO. It was absolutely perfect weather: sunny with temperatures in the mid-60's and a little bit of humidity (which makes it feel warmer than even Phoenix, which has the same temperatures this time of year but bone dry). And this is in one of the coldest months of the year! Phoenix always feels either plain too hot or just a little too cold. Denver is either too hot or too cold. The weather I experienced last week was literally perfect. At nights, I had to put on a jacket, and I had to use the defrosters in my car since it became very foggy, but it still felt very comfortable. The scenery is drop dead gorgeous! I have never seen a city that is so hilly, where every freeway is built in a canyon, with beautiful plants and flowers covering the hillsides! The desert east of San Diego that you pass through on I-8 as you climb up and down the hill on the Kumeyaay highway is the most gorgeous desert I've ever seen! And this might seem weird, but one of the first things I noticed when I stepped out of my car for the first time after arriving in San Diego was the smell! I think it was some kind of ocean breeze-- it smelled fragrant and heavenly!

When I first drove down La Jolla Shores Dr and saw the Pacific Ocean for the first time in years, it was so amazing I can't even describe it! I spent several hours each day just walking up and down the beach and watching the waves. I'm not a swimmer or a surfer, but just watching the ocean felt so peaceful and relaxing. And the city itself, especially downtown San Diego, was impressive! Downtown San Diego blows away downtown Phoenix out of the water-- there is no comparison. I'd say the level of "action" is about on par with downtown Denver, but downtown SD is more attractive looking. The buildings there, while not as tall as in Denver, have softer, brighter colors, and are less "dingy" looking. I didn't really party it up in Gaslamp, but that area looked like a ton of fun! I definitely wouldn't mind living in downtown SD. I'm not really a mall person anyway, but the Westfield Mall downtown is one of the best malls I've ever been to. BTW, the Indian place in the food court is awesome!

And the suburbs of San Diego are some of the best looking suburbs I've ever seen! I was there Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, so I experienced both the rush hour traffic and the "normal" traffic. While I wasn't quite used to the pace of driving there, I quickly adapted, just keeping up with the flow of traffic, going the same speed everybody else was going (which sometimes was well over the speed limit, admittedly). While the rush hour times weren't exactly a breeze, I would say traffic in Phoenix is actually far worse.

I'm not a hardcore athlete, but I do some bicycling and hiking, and I love being outdoors every moment I can get! I also consider myself a very low-key person-- I'm not really into partying, clubbing, the hardcore stuff, but I want just enough urban action every so often so I don't get totally bored. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't San Diego be just about perfect for my type?

Here's how I see it: life is going to be full of hard, hard work, no matter where I live. I am fully expecting to be working long hours and making a lot of sacrifices, at least when I first start out. It's those precious few hours after work and on the weekends, and those two weeks of vacation time a year that matter. In theory, I could live in Phoenix and drive to San Diego on the weekend whenever I feel like it. Heck, I could theoretically jump in my car right now, hit the road, and be right back in San Diego by 2:00am Pacific Time! But in reality, that's not going to happen more than 1-2 times a year, maybe 3 if I'm really lucky. Six hours of driving is still a lot of driving, and gas is expensive. I absolutely hate airplanes (I always feel sick on them and feel like crap for the rest of the day), and air travel is not cheap either. Hotel rooms in San Diego are NOT cheap, and every night you stay that's another hundred bucks AT LEAST thrown away, not to mention sleeping in the same sheets that hundreds of other strangers have slept in! I would have liked to stay an extra day (or two) in San Diego last week, but I had to leave when I do or I would have blown my budget for the month. Living in Phoenix, or Denver, means that realistically I would be able to see the Pacific Ocean and experience the beautiful climate of the Golden State 1, 2, or 3 stinkin' times out of the whole year. That's the unfortunate truth.

Okay, now on to the important stuff... I'm going to be graduating from ASU in May with a liberal arts degree, and my plan is to go on immediately to get a master's in accounting degree. Eventually I want to do corporate accounting/finance, but I might consider working for a major public accounting firm for a few years to gain that valuable experience first. Read this if you want to hear the boring details. I have several options available to me. I could go back to Denver and attend CU Denver, an AACSB accredited accounting program, where I can get in-state tution. This would be the cheapest method. After I get the accounting degree, and hopefully pass the CPA exam (although that's a whole issue in itself-- if I wanted to live in CA, I'd have to become licensed in CA, which probably has different requirements than CO), I could try to find a job in San Diego. I'm not sure how easy that is to do, considering I'd be a fresh graduate with no full time work experience, and no connections to SD. I'm applying to USC, insanely expensive, but a good school-- and just two hours away from SD. I could also apply to UA in Tucson or UNLV in Las Vegas, which wouldn't be horrible, but I'm sick of the desert. And then there's SDSU-- which happens to be one of only 5 AACSB accredited accounting programs in California! If I went there, I'd kill three birds with one stone-- preparing for a career in accounting, networking with the local San Diego business community, and meanwhile, actually living in San Diego! Question is-- is SDSU a good enough school that it would be worth going to for their MS in Accounting program as an out-of-state student? Is the cost of out-of-state tution worth it? If I went go to CU Denver, or UA, or UNLV, or some other school like that, would it even be possible to just pick and move to San Diego and get a good job in accounting right after I graduate?

[cnkad]

I am not going to give you any advise on you education..because everyone is different, but I will just tell you what my experiences have been. After collage, it is hard to find a decent job with no connections, no matter what school you go to. So it is helpful if you can network before you graduate. Also we found it is hard to get a job with no working experience, so internships in places you want to work can be really helpful too if you can find them.
About moving to san diego, again I cant really tell you what to do cause everyone is diff. But I have lived in san diego almost my entire life and I love it. In my experience everything you said about SD is right on.

[Rachel127]

Hey vegaspilgrim!
I live in phoenix, well scottsdale, as well. You are so right! San diego is amazing! I plan on moving there when I graduate too, phoenix can't compare. Good Luck moving there!

[sdurbanite]

It's was great reading about your positive experiences during your short visit here. I went to college in AZ, as well, and never looked back.

[mj88]

I think SD looks great - never been there but in pics it looks spectacular. I have been thinking of moving to CA - anyone know which would be more expensive in terms of rents between La Jolla and San Francisco?

[ubringliten]

Rents would be cheaper in SF and tons more than La Jolla.

[GratefulDeb]

I know how you feel. Since I know I am definitely moving on August 1st I have immersed myself in everything San Diego. I have drawn up a floor plan of my new apartment (including where all the furniture will go) and hung a map with my apartment location highlighted on the waall of my cube at work. As soon as I decided to make the move my migranes went away, I don't have to take sleeping pills and i am happy all the time. 6 months and 14 days to go

[roger9552]

San Diego is definitely a nice place to visit, I mean there are so many touristy type things to do. It is also a nice place to live especially when you are in your 20's and 30's. The weather in the fall and winter is some of the best in the country. I think the beaches are great. You really should enjoy the ocean especially in the off season like September and October. Early fall water temperatures are still pretty mild. Remember the ocean seldom warms above 70 and in the winter is in the 50's. Hopefully this winter we will get enough rain to green the vegetation up on the hillsides. It gets awfully brown by late summer. Last winter 2006- 2007 was so dry nothing really greened up.

Downtown has really changed alot in the 27 years I have lived here mostly for the better. The gaslamp district used to be seedy and an area to avoid now it is full of night life with the clubs.
Home prices have become riduculously expensive and that's why lately they have dropped from their 2005 highs. The high home prices have caused the city's population growth to slow. At one time San Diego had been the sixth largest city in population, it is now 8th. Traffic has increased faster than road construction and well that's led to more traffic. Thank God for Camp Pendleton which somewhat isolates San Diego from Orange County without it we would be even more crowded.
Funny the weather in May and June is overcast and cool just when you'd expect it to be warming up like in the rest of the country.
I have enjoyed spending my mid 20's and 30's here but I will leave when its time to retire. Back in the 80's it was less crowded and even more fun to live here. Unfortunately in the late 80's San Diego county was also growing by 50,000 or so people a year.

[iandi]

I know exactly how you feel. I lived in SD for 3 months in 2005 because of work. I was so smitten with the place. I had to come back to my hometown eventually, but I just couldn't shake the way I felt about San Diego. I had never felt that way about a city before. Honestly, it felt like I'd finally found a place to call home - I know it sounds weird, but that's how I felt and still feel. I've been back every single year since. I've made up my mind that I am going to move there, and I feel great about my decision!

[blondmom]

wow, you certainly have all the positive reasons to move to san diego. only downside...very expensive rents/homeprices in relationship to phoenix. but you know that. just make sure you can afford to live here, lots of people get stickershock then move home.