Does San Diego have any drawbacks, negatives, or downsides in living there? (Fresno: apartment, lease)

[aewan68]

Originally Posted by BBslider001

1) truth here

2) This only bothers some. I, for one, love it.

3) Gotta know which beach to go to and be willing to maybe scale a cliff and not go to easy access places.

4) Maybe, again depending on where you are going and what you are doing.

OP, if you come, just don't be a kook and you'll be fine. be kind and patient and realize there are many others trying to live here as well.

I was comparing beach access/parking to South Florida, outside of South Beach in Miami and a few other locations, beach access and parking is a lot easier than here, more parking often and even if you have to pay for it, you won't drive around in circles for 30 minutes to 1 hour trying to find a spot.

Traffic and parking, well point is don't go to Balboa Park on Resident Free days, due to the scarcity and value of land here, many strip malls and shopping complexes have small parking lot's with tight spaces, I have experienced times when there is no spots. Usually though you can find a spot, but some areas are well noted for not having much parking.

[aewan68]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

Having lived there (and now in the Bay Area), I'd agree with what others have said about 1 - high cost of living and 2 - relatively poor job market. Here are a couple other things I really didn't like:

1. Identity crisis - Big city by population, but provincial, small town mindset. This is evident in everything from the amateurish news stations (tune in the news there then watch how much more professional it seems in LA/SF), the lack of major employers, the small airport for a metro of 3+ million, the inability to hold onto professional sports teams, etc. If I wanted a small-town Mediterranean style community, I'd move to Santa Barbara where I wouldn't have to deal with the big city problems, traffic, etc.
2. Too laid back - Might be good for retirement, but people seem more interested in surfing, partying, you name it, vs working. Some people call it a better quality of life and it may be, if you're independently wealthy. Otherwise, its an expensive place to live and most people seemed too type B and content with living the college dorm lifestyle vs career oriented.

I agree with you on the laid back mentality, I see it at work there is a weak work ethic and coming from the East Coast mindset, it has been hard to adjust to it. It's totally acceptable to walk in late and leave early, yet still get paid six figures $$$+ At least at my current employer, much of what I see would not fly on the East Coast or the Bay Area. Way too much emphasis put on social events and drinking craft beer at work, along with lazy mindset and wasteful thinking.

Job Market here is better than where I came from (South Florida), lot's of opportunity and better pay, but with some strings attached. Though one might consider South Florida to be akin to San Diego on the work ethic, it's not, Employers there pay less and do not allow the bs that goes on that I have seen, you are held accountable for your schedule and work, pressure is great unlike here there is no pressure it seems, it will get done next week mentallity. Granted YMMV based on who you work for.

Sure the Bay Area has a lot more opportunity, but the trade-off with living there is not worth it anymore IMHO, almost moved there twice, last time being 2012, now it's even more out of control and many I know that make good money are planning on leaving, they are often disappointed though when they follow-up on leads here with me and the salaries.

There is a hope for SD County that more Bay Area companies relocate here, I have read it some say a few have but I don't see the mass influx and there is plenty of available office space in Carlsbad/Vista here in North County, especially along Palomar Airport Road and they even are building or built more office buildings. Just driving to and from work daily, the business parks have lot's of "For Lease" signs popping up.

Santa Barbara is a nice area, but it's also a college town with not much in terms of work and jobs.

[Losfrisco]

Having lived in San Diego for nearly five years now a lot of my assumptions have changed.


-It's far more urban than stereotypes imply. Walking around the west side of San Francisco and seeing seemingly deserted beach neighborhoods made me realize this. Hard.

-It's lagging economy is a reality, but maybe a little overstated.

I would say the cost of living is commensurate to the amenities you get in San Diego, but as others have stated, the lack of "A-type" personality culture contrasted with this high cost of living makes for a somewhat awkward environment.

On a less serious note, the abundance of people sporting "home team" gear everywhere in SD, especially the beach, is incredibly lame. I'm a transplant, I wear SD gear just to avoid this cliche and I feel like an iconoclast around here. We get it....you're from the midwest and Michigan football is the greatest...thanks for that reminder.

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by matisse12

interested in hearing your views

What a silly question. All places have negatives and downsides to living there, and it really depends on your expectations.

[roadwarrior101]

Originally Posted by spoonman1

When did you leave the SD area for the Bay Area?

Its been over a decade, so I'm sure some things have changed. But, I still have friends down there and do visit periodically. Now it seems a bit more congested, but other than that, no real fundamental differences.

[AmericaBravoCharles]

Rude locals

[benshaton]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

Having lived there (and now in the Bay Area), I'd agree with what others have said about 1 - high cost of living and 2 - relatively poor job market. Here are a couple other things I really didn't like:

1. Identity crisis - Big city by population, but provincial, small town mindset. This is evident in everything from the amateurish news stations (tune in the news there then watch how much more professional it seems in LA/SF), the lack of major employers, the small airport for a metro of 3+ million, the inability to hold onto professional sports teams, etc. If I wanted a small-town Mediterranean style community, I'd move to Santa Barbara where I wouldn't have to deal with the big city problems, traffic, etc.
2. Too laid back - Might be good for retirement, but people seem more interested in surfing, partying, you name it, vs working. Some people call it a better quality of life and it may be, if you're independently wealthy. Otherwise, its an expensive place to live and most people seemed too type B and content with living the college dorm lifestyle vs career oriented.

If you're career oriented, you might as well live somewhere where jobs pay well compared to the cost of living, and it doesn't matter that the weather sucks enough a lot of the time that you don't want to go outside.

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

Having lived there (and now in the Bay Area), I'd agree with what others have said about 1 - high cost of living and 2 - relatively poor job market. Here are a couple other things I really didn't like:

1. Identity crisis - Big city by population, but provincial, small town mindset. This is evident in everything from the amateurish news stations (tune in the news there then watch how much more professional it seems in LA/SF), the lack of major employers, the small airport for a metro of 3+ million, the inability to hold onto professional sports teams, etc. If I wanted a small-town Mediterranean style community, I'd move to Santa Barbara where I wouldn't have to deal with the big city problems, traffic, etc.
2. Too laid back - Might be good for retirement, but people seem more interested in surfing, partying, you name it, vs working. Some people call it a better quality of life and it may be, if you're independently wealthy. Otherwise, its an expensive place to live and most people seemed too type B and content with living the college dorm lifestyle vs career oriented.

What makes you think our job market is poor? SD has one of the lower unemployment rates in the country so people are working. And on top of that, according to the latest Census figures, our median household incomes increased the most last year.

Unemployment rate among large metros
https://www.bls.gov/web/metro/laulrgma.htm

Median household income
https://www.wsj.com/articles/median-...how-1536762535

Not sure how you think more people in SD are living a college dorm lifestyle than the Bay Area. You live in the most expensive housing market in the county and there are definitely more people rooming together up there just to make ends meet. Not to mention, 75% of the tech workforce in Silicon Valley has a H-1B work Visa so you know there there lots of people living in cramped apartments all of the metro area.

https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/01/...e-report-says/

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

Its been over a decade, so I'm sure some things have changed. But, I still have friends down there and do visit periodically. Now it seems a bit more congested, but other than that, no real fundamental differences.

Well, that explains it. Ten years is a long time to be gone.

[Prophet619]

Hayseeds moving here and then slagging California. Seriously, just go home.