Thinking about moving to SD... (San Diego, Sacramento: lease, insurance, how much)

[Sunrise2015]

Hello all,

I am seriously thinking about moving to SD soon... I wanted to get your opinions about where's would be a safe place to work and live.
I don't care about schools in the area, I do care about safety and parking (A lot!) and being in a neighborhood that is close to a lot of places and have some things to do.
I know the downtown and the general area but I'm not too familiar with the surrounding.
Also, I am obviously going to make my own research but would love to hear you opinion about the rent prices for an average 1br over there.

Thanks so much!

[moved]

Got a job lined up yet? That's your #1 priority! If not, how much money do you have saved up? What's your monthly income, and how much can you afford to pay in rent every month?

[Sunrise2015]

Great questions. Yes, I'll be transferring so that's not a concern.
I'd like to be at the 1500$ ish a month or less if I can... but I am somewhat flexible with the money.

[moved]

What area of San Diego is your job located in? Unless you like commuting and sitting in traffic, you'll probably want to live close to your job. Public transportation here is OK, depending on where you live and where you're going. The buses and trolleys don't run all night, and some stop very early in the evening.

Rents for a one bedroom can vary depending on location and amenities. I pay $11.95 for my one bedroom, but that doesn't include utilities (gas/electric/water/sewer/trash). I pay renter's insurance ($15/mo (required), and $25/mo rent on my cat.

[Sunrise2015]

That's not bad at all for a one bedroom!!

And luckily I'm flexible on the location too. There are a few offices I can chose from. So I will choose according to the area I'd like to live in.

Like I said, I'm only familiar with San Diego, but will also consider La Jolla even though I'm not familiar with it, but heard good things. I'm assuming this area is also more expensive, but could be wrong...

[aewan68]

Originally Posted by moved

Rents for a one bedroom can vary depending on location and amenities. I pay $11.95 for my one bedroom, but that doesn't include utilities (gas/electric/water/sewer/trash). I pay renter's insurance ($15/mo (required), and $25/mo rent on my cat.

$11.95 for a one bedroom, quite the deal you got there. Insurance and pet fee aside, though I know this is a typo. lol

Seriously though to the OP, you have to look at where you will be working, unless you are like a high % of people here who don't work or don't have to work because they are loaded. Based on traffic volumes you will see plenty work, so don't plan your work too far from home unless you enjoy commuting in heavy traffic.

Parking can be a challenge in some areas too, even some offices get maxed out because they hire more than capacity.

I live and work in North County, if my career took me south, I would move south, no way would I commute on either of the two options, the 5 or the 15, no thanks. We like North County, and it's not too far from downtown and the amenities, but we'd prefer to be closer as there are things lacking here compared to what we are use to from where we moved prior. Closer to OC and LA, we tend to go to the OC but the drive isn't any better than going South.

Also, just curious why San Diego? Have you ever been here, do you have any presumptions on how life is here beyond TV and pop culture?

[moved]

Originally Posted by aewan68

$11.95 for a one bedroom, quite the deal you got there. Insurance and pet fee aside, though I know this is a typo. lol

No, it's not a typo.

I pay $1,220 for rent, which includes $25/mo for my cat. Renter's insurance is $15/mo, SDG&E is around $25-$30/mo, and water/trash/sewer will be around $30 starting in January.

My lease is up in May, and I expect the rent will go up $100. I'll be starting to look for another place starting in Mid-April, because I want to be downtown, or as close to downtown as I can get to be closer to work.

[moved]

What happened to moving to one of the other places that you were considering? Those were Austin, SFO Bay Area, LA, MD/VA/DC area (Silver Spring, Bethesda, Rockville, Alexandria, Arlington, Ellicott City, Elkridge, and Columbia)

[aewan68]

Originally Posted by moved

No, it's not a typo.

I pay $1,220 for rent, which includes $25/mo for my cat. Renter's insurance is $15/mo, SDG&E is around $25-$30/mo, and water/trash/sewer will be around $30 starting in January.

My lease is up in May, and I'll be starting to look for another place starting in Mid-April.

CA is the only place I know of that landlords charge a monthly pet fee, in other places we lived it's a flat rate one time, pet deposit, usually around $300. That's from my experience living and renting in 3 other states.

I can tell you this, your rent is way less than a 1 bedroom in a nice/sorta safe area in South Florida, usually around 900 sq ft or less, if that.

[moved]

This is the first place that I've ever lived where I had to pay rent on my cat. And I've rented in the MD/DC/VA, Tucson, Sacramento, Chico, and here.