Thinking of Moving to SD from Seattle (San Diego, Mesa: apartment complexes, rentals)

[Cotnkndie]

I am considering moving to the San Diego area after 38 years of rainy weather here in Seattle. I've owned a house here in Seattle for about 13 years. My sister is going to rent it from me until I decide if San Diego is the place for me! I don't know anyone in San Diego so I know it will be a bit lonely at first, however really wanting to make a change and try something new.

I'm at a bit of a loss about what I should do next. I was hoping that I could get up and leave in about a year or less if at all possible. I understand that San Diego is rather expensive so I'm willing to live in an apartment for a few.

I'm not quite sure how much I should save, where I should start looking for a job, how much money I should have saved up prior to moving.

Does anyone have any tips on where I should start? I really want to be up and running in San Diego before the end of next year, however I want to make sure that I have all of my ducks in a row before I get up and leave.

I am an accountant so I think it will be fairly easy to find a job, however after reading all of the blogs about salary vs cost of living I'm a bit worried.
Suggestions?

[LookingtoLeave]

I'm an accountant too and have found Monster.com and Career Builder to be good resources. Do you have any professional licenses? If so, that's great b/c I see a lot of manager-type positions, but some will require you have a degree and/or a CPA license. You can also go to the local SD newspaper website. The address is:

Shopping . Sign On San Diego . com > Guide to shopping in and around San Diego

Go under classifieds to look for jobs. Happy hunting!

[kettlepot]

You aren't giving us a lot to go on here. We don't know where you'll be working. We don't know what kind of area you like. We don't know how much you're willing to spend. We don't know what things you must have and which things you must avoid. Nor do we know how downmarket you are willing to go with your rental housing. You can save $300-$500 dollars a month if you are willing to live in a mom and pop rental built in the 1950s. And since you won't be staying there forever, why not save the dough.

Chances are you will end up working in Downtown, Kearny Mesa, the Golden Triangle, or Sorrento Mesa. Clairemont and Mission Valley are two centrally located areas with plenty of rentals. I can't say these places have much charm. They are both autocentric, Clairemont is mostly from the 1950s and through 1970s, and Mission Valley from the 1980s and through the present. There are other more expensive areas to live such as La Jolla Colony or University Towne Center. Each area has plenty of large apartment complexes but you will pay a premium there as you will be competing with people who were priced out of La Jolla and the UCSD area.

I suppose you'll want to bide your time before taking any old job. Therefore, I would guess you should have 9k-12k saved up, just in case the temporary accounting agencies have a surfeit of workers and not much to offer in the way of work.