For those thinking about moving to San Diego - CLICK HERE

[Olivenhain]

mayhurst, if you've ever been to OR, WA, MT WY, ID etc. you would know what I refer to. It's pretty well known that many states resent Californians moving in and allegedly destroying their communities. Do a little research... Conversely, we Californians are more known for accepting all sorts of folks, even those from Virginia.

[ickingfudiot]

Originally Posted by mayhurst

Such a negative interjection by "Olivenhain" in the midst of many positive, upbeat posts. Oh well, I guess some people are born spoilers. Why basically slam the posters who are giving this thread such a positive vibe? I have found the vast majority of SD natives and transplants (long-time and recent) to be very friendly. We are considering a move to either San Diego or Raleigh, NC, from northern Virginia. Both are full of interesting, nice people and I have come to learn that we are all part of something much bigger and none of us has a claim to a location or lifestyle more than anyone else.

What do you want out of SD or Raleigh that you're missing in N. VA? I've been in the Raleigh/Durham/CH area for about 6 years and am getting ready to move to SD with my company of 12 people. We all got pretty sick of Raleigh, though the main catalysts have been here longer than me, but it might suit you better. Our main complaints were there not being enough to do around here - Raleigh's downtown is fairly small/limited, the entire area is very spread out (way moreso than SD) and very, very suburban (w/ stripmalls and megamalls to match). That said there are some cool places here and there but just not urban enough for what we wanted I suppose. Cost of living is pretty good in Raleigh too, but I'm not a huge fan of the weather which I found pretty comparable to where I grew up (Atlanta) - fairly cold in the winter relatively speaking, hot and very humid in the summer, which translates to me not wanting to do much outside when it's not the few prime spring or fall months.

[mini_cute]

Originally Posted by Birdlegs

We just moved here from AZ and presently live downtown. Really cool down here but we miss some green grass and space.
We are looking at Carmel Valley, Del Sur and 4S Ranch areas in north county.
I work in UTC and I really want a somewhat easy commute.
We also play golf and we're looking for a CC to join that won't put us in the poor house.
Would like to keep our housing real at under $1mm for sure and preferrably around $600 - $800k.
Somebody tell me where to look for my dream house!!!

Since you work in the UTC area, I think you'll find a better commute if you live in these areas:

North County Coastal:
UTC (beware of areas with jet noise)
La Jolla $$$
University City (this is where the jet crashed recently...)
Carmel Valley $$
Del Mar $$$

North County Inland:
Sorrento Valley
Mira Mesa
Scripps Ranch (personal fave)
Sabre Springs
Poway
Rancho Penasquitos
Carmel Mountain Ranch

My personal favorite is Scripps Ranch (I moved here in Jan 08) because it is 30 minutes local driving time to UTC and La Jolla and 30 minutes freeway driving to downtown, very well landscaped with many parks, has it's own recreational lake, city and ocean views from certain areas, gets some ocean breeze and fog (if you like fog), doesn't get the May Gray or June Gloom overcast effect like UTC area does since it is more inland (approx. 8 miles from here to coast), low crime rate, good schools, and is the 3rd fastest selling zip (92131) in the nation behind Sunnyvale and Austin according to an article in Business Week (that means more buffered home values).

Carmel Valley is also popular and more expensive than Scripps Ranch. It is across the highway from Del Mar and has a top San Diego high school: Torrey Pines High School.

[loveautumn]

I've lived here 31 years and it USED TO BE paradise, but please keep in mind:

1. It is extremely expensive to live here...bring lots of $$$.

2. It is completely different in every way from the East Coast, either you will love that or not.

3. Yes, the weather is great...the job market is not. It is very tight here right now. And you probably won't make the money you made back east in places like DC, Boston, unless you are a scientist.

4. Lots of Californians are fleeting this state...there are many good reasons for that. Just ask our governator.

5. It seems laid back here but in fact, it is very competitive and materialistic.

6. Friendships here are very different, not life long...in fact, if you move one town away, you might never hear from them again. Unless you have children, you might never know your neighbors.

7. SD is not an urban area...downtown doesn't have a real vibe to it at all (I've worked DT for 26 years). Where you live matters. It is not as superficial as OC or LA, but not close behind.

8. The coastal area is beautiful but the rest of SD County is really not.

Now I know I made alot of generalizations but I felt the need to get somewhat real here about San Diego. Please keep in mind it has alot of the same problems of other cities, and then some, just with better weather. I just want folks to be realistic before they make the move.

[Oerdin]

Originally Posted by loveautumn

I've lived here 31 years and it USED TO BE paradise, but please keep in mind:

1. It is extremely expensive to live here...bring lots of $$$.

2. It is completely different in every way from the East Coast, either you will love that or not.

3. Yes, the weather is great...the job market is not. It is very tight here right now. And you probably won't make the money you made back east in places like DC, Boston, unless you are a scientist.

4. Lots of Californians are fleeting this state...there are many good reasons for that. Just ask our governator.

5. It seems laid back here but in fact, it is very competitive and materialistic.

6. Friendships here are very different, not life long...in fact, if you move one town away, you might never hear from them again. Unless you have children, you might never know your neighbors.

7. SD is not an urban area...downtown doesn't have a real vibe to it at all (I've worked DT for 26 years). Where you live matters. It is not as superficial as OC or LA, but not close behind.

8. The coastal area is beautiful but the rest of SD County is really not.

Now I know I made alot of generalizations but I felt the need to get somewhat real here about San Diego. Please keep in mind it has alot of the same problems of other cities, and then some, just with better weather. I just want folks to be realistic before they make the move.

I couldn't disagree more or a lot of your points.

1. Expensive yes but not extremely expensive. Try NYC or San Francisco if you think San Diego is extremely expensive.

2. This one is right.

3. People probably make about 10% less then if they lived in a really big city like LA but that's mainly because so many people want to live here. Supply and demand with the supply of workers willing to move here being really high but the good news is if you work hard and keep upgrading your skill set then you'll do just fine.

4. The state is actually pulling in more people then there are people leaving because as bad as the economy is the rest of the country is even worse off plus the recession has lowered housing prices.

5. It can be competitive but not nearly as materialistic as some other places I have lived. In fact the laid back surfer bum ethos still exists and is fairly common. People really are more friendly then in most other places.

6. I have lots of life long friends in San Diego though I did grow up here. Some of them I've known for for almost 30 years and still hang out with at least 2-3 times a month. I don't think that's very uncommon.

7. Downtown has a nice vib but it isn't NYC if that's what you mean. Lots of people do like to stay closer to home though so where you chose to live does effect things to a certain extent.

8. What the heck are you talking about? Do you ever go hiking or camping around here? One of the best things about San Diego is that 50% of the county is protected parkland free of development plus given the diversity of geographical relief you end up with more micro climates in San Diego County then any other county in America. Just look at the variation in rainfall; on the cost we get about 11-12 inches per year, while rainfall goes all the way up to about 100 inches per year in Cuyamaca, while the desert east of the mountain might only get 4-6 inches per year. That's a whole lot of diversity in this county Climate wise. Try going up to Palomar where they have cedar and cyprus trees with trunks which are 5 feet in diameter.

[cobmw]

You're wrong on #4. More people are leaving California for other states than are coming here from other states. While the population is growing it is coming from immigration. Wish we had some accurate numbers on illegal immigration.

[MantaRay]

I'm thinking of retiring to the San Diego area (Chula Vista) in the future (at least it's currently #2 on my top 5 list) and the main prohibitive thing is the housing costs. Homes in the south are WAY less expensive. So it becomes sort of a task to build up enough in retirement savings plus a cost differential between my home's value and how much a similar home in San Diego would cost. Right now Denver is tops on my list and the type of home I would be looking for would run in the $350k to $415k range. In Otay Ranch, I would spend about $550k to $580k. That's at least a difference of $200k over Denver. That's a lot of money. So the comment I saw about San Diego not being as expensive as NYC or SF, the two MOST expensive big cities in America, is academic for most of us regular folks who would like to be able to move there but see prices far beyond what the real market supply and demand dictate. If there's anything good about this housing crisis, it's that the premium in prices for speculation/flipping are being erased so that in the end, prices will actually reflect supply of housing versus the demand of people actually living in a single home. And it seems that a great number of Californians, by their own admission, not to mention info published by California cities, have moved due to cost as well. At this point my idea to retire to Chula Vista is just an idea, and the stock market so far isn't cooperating with that idea. The place IS expensive for regular folks like me, regardless of the costs of NYC or SF. And I really don't think that the ratio of homes to population (a truer measure of supply/demand) is THAT different from a lot of less expensive cities across America. San Diego has long since run afoul of true supply/demand forces.