Let me have it; don’t hold back (Los Angeles, San Diego: appointed, 2015)

[lostsoul359]

King Henry, google San Diego news everyday all day. News happens Fast. Write down the crime incidents that are happening daily google the crimes zip code it so you can pinpoint it.. Then, after a certain pattern emerges and it will...
Pick an area that is not on the Target list of news reports for crime and you will feel safer!

[RosieSD]

You've gotten some good suggestions for areas, but I'll add a few more SAFE, family-friendly areas within 30 minutes of downtown for consideration. You should also be able to find rental houses in your price range in these areas as well.

San Carlos
La Mesa (especially north of the 8)
Tierrasanta
Rancho San Diego
Jamul (the area around the elementary school in Jamul will put you closest to downtown; other areas are farther out and more rural).

A little farther afield from downtown, but certainly also worth a look as they are great family friendly areas, and some have lower housing costs: Otay Ranch/Eastlake (Chula Vista east of the 805), Santee, Scripps Ranch, Poway, Granite Hills.

Good luck with your decision!

[RosieSD]

Also, you might want to read through this thread from the recent archives. In it, people who live in different parts of the county describe what they like - and dislike - about the areas where they live:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-d...out-where.html

There are some great links in that thread to other resources (especially San Diego Magazine's annual neighborhoods issue) that will give you a good sense of what it's like to live in the San Diego area.

The truth is *most* of San Diego is safe relative to other major cities. There are very few areas to avoid as totally "unsafe" here. That's one of the things that makes the San Diego area such a great place for families to live.

Again, good luck with your decision!

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by lostsoul359

King Henry, google San Diego news everyday all day. News happens Fast. Write down the crime incidents that are happening daily google the crimes zip code it so you can pinpoint it.. Then, after a certain pattern emerges and it will...
Pick an area that is not on the Target list of news reports for crime and you will feel safer!

I'd be cautious about relying on newspaper articles to get a sense of an area's safety, as the vast majority of crimes never make the news -- only the sensational ones do.

A better option would be to go to Crimemapping.com and enter the address of any potential rental. That will show you crime data from police reports for up to six months for the surrounding area (be sure to set the default time to six months, otherwise you'll only see a week).

Tip: First, do a search on Crimemapping or the NO police site for the address where you currently live in NO. That will give you a comparison point for looking at different areas here.

But, again, *most* areas of San Diego County are going to be safer, crime-wise, than many other cities, including NO. That's not to say that San Diego and outlying areas are nirvana; they're not. But, this is a pretty safe major metro area to live in, with a few exceptions.


Good luck!

[josephben]

Live around University city. Houses average around 1M , really safe and clean area. With 200k, around 10k a month, you are looking at 5-6k left over after rent and all the fees. If you can't live off of that, you're doing something wrong.

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

Somethings to consider. Realize that I live three counties north of San Diego, although I am on the coast.

Electricity cost. In many coastal areas you will not spend money on Air Conditioning. In fact many homes, in my area don't have AC. Also our furnace hardly ever comes on. San Diego may have areas that are the same. In land that is a different story. So this would depend if you are on the coast. Many times people forget these costs and they are coming from places in the Nation that have high energy bills.

Food cost I have been told is cheaper here in California than in other parts of the Nation. I know I never have had to buy citrus or Avocados. Too many people have trees that produce the fruit. Even at the store I have heard that our food cost are cheaper. Not sure how true that is. I have only lived in California.

Clothing cost can be cheaper if you are willing to head over to the Garment District in Los Angeles. The clothes that end up in the store start somewhere but seem to get to the garment district before they hit the stores.

Maybe the San Diego people can shed additional light on cost of living.

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by SOON2BNSURPRISE

Maybe the San Diego people can shed additional light on cost of living.

Gasoline will also be more expensive here in California than in Louisiana.

Edit: According to the site below, which tracks gas prices nationwide, the average cost of a gallon of regular gas in New Orleans (where the OP currently lives) is $2.195 as of today, with some stations charging below $2.00 a gallon.

I had a good chuckle at that. I just paid $3.30 a gallon to fill up my tank this afternoon and thought it was a bargain. (I see on their lists, however, that Costco in Oceanside is only charging $3.15 a gallon today -- too long a drive for me, though!).


https://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/gasprices/index.shtml

So, yeah, there's one price difference between NO and SD to keep in mind.

[NYSD1995]

The big difference you will have to get used to is taxes and fees. Car registrations are hundreds of dollars. If you have a business the fee is 800 bucks, gas is more expensive, electricity is more expensive. Sales taxes are higher. State income taxes are higher. Service workers charge more for thing like home repair. Childcare costs are higher. Overall you will find pretty much everything, except sunshine and produce, is more expensive.

[mgforshort]

I spent two years in San Diego on minimum wage before moving to Orange County in 1980. I was comfortable, but things change.
San Diego has the best climate ON THE PLANET, in my opinion. It is the loveliest of all cities, better than anything Europe or the US can offer.
On 200 K a year you should be living like royalty. Utilities are next to nothing - yes the climate is that great. Beach is there. Mountains are there. Balboa Park is there.
The house you buy next year will be 3-4 million when you retire. Property taxes will hurt like hell, but you can afford it.
There are so many businesses and service providers that the cost of living will be low except housing and prop. tax.
Start packing NOW !

[SOON2BNSURPRISE]

While property tax is high, it is based on the price you paid for your home, not your neighbors. That may hurt when you first buy a home. When you have owned it a while and new people are moving into the homes on your street that does not hurt as much. We bought in 2010 and homes have increased since that time.

Figure 1% for the property tax and maybe .25% to .30% for things that the voters said yes to, at least in my area. I think my actual property tax is 1.28%.

To figure out how this works. You have a base value, the value of your home at the time you bought it. Normally that is the purchase price of the home. If you pay $800,000 for the home then you would pay 1% of that in taxes (plus anything else that was voted in, so lets say 1.25% to be safe.)

Each year the home can be assessed and your assessed value can increase up to 2%, or for the first year, baseline value plus 2%. So now the county says your home is worth $816,000. instead of $800,000. You will still pay 1% of the new value. Homes in your neighborhood can increase 5%, 10%, 20% in a year and the county can only increase the value 2%.