Just returned from a San Diego visit with some questions (Chula Vista: middle-class, rent)

[eric3]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Scripps Ranch has good schools and yes, does get hot in summer. It is also dull.

Original poster is coming from central Illinois. I am guessing he won't think anywhere near SD is dull!
:-)

[MisterMark]

Originally Posted by bbcdm

Another thing. My brother in law drove down from LA to meet us on Sunday, and he was amazed in how clean the air is in San Diego vs. LA.
Is there any particular reason there is such a difference besides fewer vehicles?

Sassberto's answer is correct. In addition, San Diego is built on canyons, valleys, and mesas, which helps to "mix up" the air a lot more than what you'd find in L.A., which is mostly flatland.

Due to the differences in the physical geography between the two places, San Diego is a much better "ventilated" city.

[Mugsy]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Isn't that San Ysidro schools though? If so it's cheap for a reason, those are some of the worst schools in San Diego County.

Well it is Nestor, Otay Mesa zip 92154...
San Ysidro is a bit to the south.

I am unsure of the school performances, as we do not have kids, so, you are probably right.

I do know that brand new schools have been built to go along with the new housing up the hill east of us.

Same zip 92154

[jkoz]

[quote=ranzchic;4921310]Re: chula vista

The only major highway is also a tollroad, and you have to pay both ways. I hear that many of the commercial stuff there like the new mall is struggling to attract people so I would probably expect tons of vacant commercial lots as well.

Otay Ranch Mall is not attracting shoppers from Mexico as expected, in part due to Las Americas Mall which is right on the border, but I don't think the mall will shut down and be completely vacant any time soon. They appear to be "downscaling" somewhat and have opened a discount clothing store as well as a Best Buy in place of some type of spa, stores that "fit the area" more. Most of the restaurants, etc. in the area surprisingly seem to be hopping, at least when I've gone. I can't help but wonder what effect the high number of foreclosures will have on the area in the long term.

Having to pay for the toll road is a bummer but I have been suckered into opening a Fasttrack account and have to admit I do like getting to work from Eastlake to Allied Gardens in 22 minutes!

[ranzchic]

Originally Posted by dirge85

Thanks for posting bbcdm, my husband and I are in a similar situation. We live in Columbus, Ohio and want to move to San Diego. If everything goes as planned, hopefully we'll be in San Diego in a year.

Anyway, your information was very helpful and answered some of the questions that I had (i.e., cost of car insurance, inland temperature, etc.). Thank you.

Also, I have a couple more questions about living in San Diego. I've always heard that California is a leader in developing environmentally conscious practices. Is this reflected in the city of San Diego is as well? Where I live now, doing anything you can to be "green" is important as well as buying locally, grown produce, etc. Is this also popular in San Diego? Is recycling mandatory?

Thanks in advance! Also, best wishes bbcdm.

It is alive and well in San Diego, especially in the neighborhoods close to downtown. Hillcrest and Ocean Beach seems to be really big when it comes to local stuff, and the farmer's market for both is alive and well. They even have a local food coop in Ocean Beach.

[TristramShandy]

Originally Posted by sdurbanite

Recycling in SD is alive and well. There was a recent article in the NY Times that ranked SD 5th for recycling, among the 15 largest cities. Link to article and table:


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/29/us...e2d&ei=5087%0A

Fifth in the top fifteen, but also fifth out of five in California. Props to the state as a whole. Wonder if San Diego will follow SF and LA's lead with banning plastic grocery bags.

[bbcdm]

Originally Posted by eric3

Original poster is coming from central Illinois. I am guessing he won't think anywhere near SD is dull!
:-)

When the closest thing we have around here to water is a brown dirty river, yes about anything is an improvement.

[bbcdm]

[quote=jkoz;4938667]

Originally Posted by ranzchic

Re: chula vista

The only major highway is also a tollroad, and you have to pay both ways. I hear that many of the commercial stuff there like the new mall is struggling to attract people so I would probably expect tons of vacant commercial lots as well.

Otay Ranch Mall is not attracting shoppers from Mexico as expected, in part due to Las Americas Mall which is right on the border, but I don't think the mall will shut down and be completely vacant any time soon. They appear to be "downscaling" somewhat and have opened a discount clothing store as well as a Best Buy in place of some type of spa, stores that "fit the area" more. Most of the restaurants, etc. in the area surprisingly seem to be hopping, at least when I've gone. I can't help but wonder what effect the high number of foreclosures will have on the area in the long term.

Having to pay for the toll road is a bummer but I have been suckered into opening a Fasttrack account and have to admit I do like getting to work from Eastlake to Allied Gardens in 22 minutes!

What kind of rough drive time is it from Chula Vista to Rady's? And being more to the south, what do the temps run in Chula Vista? I have also read in some other posts that the schools in that area have a very high concentration of spanish speaking classrooms. I wouldn't want to put our kids into a situation where they would be at a disadvantage right off in having a language comprehension problem. What are your thoughts?

[John_Galt]

Originally Posted by TristramShandy

Wonder if San Diego will follow SF and LA's lead with banning plastic grocery bags.

Actually, there is still a rather large debate on the issue of Paper vs. Plastic. In fact, just Google "Paper Vs. Plastic", and you'll see that there is nothing close to consensus on the topic.

For a balanced view, check out the following:
Paper vs. Plastic - The Shopping Bag Debate

IMO, there certainly isn't enough evidence that paper is enough of an improvement over plastic that we should be outright banning plastic bags.

-JG

[diverdude75]

I have been living in San Diego for ( years now with the U.S. Navy and I would most definately stay away from scripps ranch. That area was hit by both big wildfires the one last year and also the one back in 2003.

Mira Mesa is a very nice area with good schools, shopping, community colleges, recreation areas like softball fields, basketball courts, and stuff of that nature. It gets warm but nothing to hot.

If you are worried about the heat and humidity and the wildfires stay away from the area known as East County ( Lakeside,Santee, El Cajon, Crest, Ramona). I use to live out there and it felt like I was back in Florida in the summer out there.

I live in Point Loma which is really nice but one downfall of living west of I-5 is there is a larger population of College kids, so more partying. Also these areas around the beach has always been known to have a parking issue. Most of this area is street parking and there just isn't enough to support the crowd.