San Diego - North County Suburbs and air quality...

[webbish6]

Thanks DNAgirl for the warning about fires. I'm sad about the cultural thing - I am a huge bookstore/library fan - I thought maybe there were some good ones around Carlsbad or La Jolla? There are so many universities around SD - usually those attract readings, good theater?
We'll be visiting Seattle a few times a year for work, so we won't miss it too much!

[SomeThings]

webbish, sent you the link to my complex as a private message... feel free to ask any questions...

As for the library, bookstore, theater, etc., North County Coastal IS a bit lacking in these areas. (I'm adjusting to having moved up there from closer to downtown.) There is a used & new bookstore (on Carlsbad Village Drive) that I'm DYING to visit, but haven't made it there yet. I've found some antique shops in Carlsbad that have an old book section--small, but fun to thumb through. I have been told Carlsbad also has a local theater (local being key here, so I'm not sure how good it is) but haven't checked that out yet. (Have only been there for 2 months.) Another theater was running a comedy show during the summer season and we DID go see that--was fantastic! (Witty AND funny while being clean--hard to find with comedy...) If I had known how good it was, I would have gone every few weeks. But it seems to be more like a "taste" of these things, versus being in a community "surrounded" by these things--does that make sense?

The library at UCSD (in La Jolla) is fantastic. Haven't sought one out in Carlsbad...

The La Jolla Playhouse (?? going from memory--it's been about 5 yrs since I've been to a production there) runs some pretty good plays. If you end up in the Carlsbad area, it's about 45 minutes to downtown--Civic Theater, (sometimes) Spreckles, and the Old Globe (in Balboa Park) will all have the larger productions. (Depending on the days/times, you can take a train (amtrak or coaster) into downtown.) I also REALLY like the Lyceum theater (again, downtown--horton plaza)--they have smaller, sometimes funky offerings. LA is not so far away as to be impossible (not everything makes its way down to San Diego), but probably not doable on a regular basis. A friend belongs to a performing arts group and they had a little event with locally written 1-act plays that was DELIGHTFUL (no costumes, no props to speak of, just actors & scripts in a church stage room).

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by DNAgirl

Also, if you are a Seattlite who enjoys that city's cultural offerings such as independent movie theater, music scene, restaurants, bookstores and libraries, then North San Diego county will definitely disappoint. Plan on driving up to L.A. on a regular basis for a bit of culture. But if you're coming here for the beach and mild climate, you'll love it.

Why would anyone need to drive LA to find independent movie theaters, live theater, concerts, art events and great restaurants/bars when you can find all of those things here? San Diego CityBeat is a great resource (I hate The READER and refuse to support it)

[webbish6]

Thanks you guys for the cultural update!
I did find a few things (I'm a writer and a bookworm, so for me, these are very exciting!)
San Diego has an big book festival - more info here:
City Book Fair 2008
Lots of readings and fun stuff like that. Seattle's book fair has been on a downward slope (don't know if it's even around anymore) so SD's book fare is pretty exciting!
Plus a lot of reading series through SDSU and UC San Diego. I'm still researching more about bookstores and coffee shops!
Still haven't found a place yet - but I'm calling around from back in Seattle, hoping to find a good place for us! The air definitely seemed better north of San Diego, especially along the coast, as everyone here said.