thinking of moving to san diego (apartment, insurance, how much)

[xen0blue]

I'm from Dallas, born and raised, a single white male in my 20s and am thinking of moving to San Diego for 6 months to a year, maybe longer if I like it, and I was wondering if there is anything I should know. What areas should I avoid, what areas should I look into, what is there to do, what the expenses are like, etc. I'm also unemployed (got laid off december and am on unemployment), how much does unemployment in california pay?

I'm a network engineer (computer related) but by a look at the job boards, san diego looks like it has 1/10th of the IT related jobs Dallas has (which surprised me).

I'd ideally like to get a decent apartment for ~800 dollars (which in Dallas you can get very nice 1 bedroom 850 sf for that much). I'd also like to know how easy is it to get around SD without a car? Being in Dallas of course I have a car, but I like to use public transit (trolleys, trains, I HATE buses).

[mlarsen23]

Dallas is the 4th largest metro area in the US - San Diego is the 17th. San Diego has a little more than half as many people as Dallas. But San Diego's economy is probably much less diversified than Dallas's. A huge portion of the San Diego economy is military and tourism. While I'm sure there are IT jobs related to these businesses, there are probably relatively few for tourism, and I'd imagine that the entry point to military IT is a bit different than for corporate IT jobs. The real corporate industries that are decently strong in San Diego are biotech and wireless. While these businesses certainly have IT needs, I'd guess they have less IT needs than more consumer focused businesses that process millions of transactions a day. What's more, San Diego and California's economy have I think been hit worse than Dallas by this recession. San Diego was a major bubble town, so the collapse of construction has hit it relatively hard. So with all of that in mind, it probably is true that there is 1/10 the demand for IT jobs than in Dallas.

In fact, just last week I literally saw someone standing on the heavily traveled corner across from my office wearing a sandwich board saying something like "IT professional for 26 years needs job", and then it went on to list his experience.

Finally, I don't know what you mean by decent, but I don't think $800 will buy you a nice 850 sf apartment in San Diego. You could probably get one for that price, but it would probably be in a worse location or in worse condition than what you'd get in Dallas. You'd have to spend at least $300 or $400 more for what I'd consider decent.

I don't know about unemployment insurance in California.

[loveautumn]

I believe you would still collect your unemployment insurance from Texas, that's where you worked.

It is literally impossible to get around SD without a car., especially at your age where you want to be mobile. Alot of people take trains, trolleys, etc. but almost all still have a vehicle. The train is primarily a commuter and trolleys only run in certain areas.

[sdlife619]

Why leave Dallas? The place seems pretty nice and decent.

$850 a month for a 1 bedroom apartment I don't think even exist in San Diego. Try more like $1200 and that's in a decent area. Everything is expensive out here, so before you decide to come out, make sure your bank account is full of money.

Our public transportation is decent for the most part, you can get around on the trolley which has many stops, but the trolley mostly runs through the urban sections of San Diego and some suburban communities as well. We do have the Coaster train which takes you from downtown SD up north to other coastal beach communities.

Basically stay away from the South Side or SouthEast San Diego which is pretty ghetto and dangerous at night in certain spots. East San Diego like City Heights is also rough, but doable if you don't get scared easily.

What kind of lifestyle are your looking for? Urban experience, beaches, suburbs, depending on what you want and what you can afford definitly matters out here.

[Norwood_888]

Add up all your living and household expenses and then add another 40 percent. That’s what its going to cost you to live here. You may be able to find an apartment for 800 a month but it will be in a neighborhood where people have to live with bars on their doors and windows and are afraid to go out at night.

[sandiegogolfer]

Originally Posted by xen0blue

I'm from Dallas, born and raised, a single white male in my 20s and am thinking of moving to San Diego for 6 months to a year, maybe longer if I like it, and I was wondering if there is anything I should know. What areas should I avoid, what areas should I look into, what is there to do, what the expenses are like, etc. I'm also unemployed (got laid off december and am on unemployment), how much does unemployment in california pay?

I'm a network engineer (computer related) but by a look at the job boards, san diego looks like it has 1/10th of the IT related jobs Dallas has (which surprised me).

I'd ideally like to get a decent apartment for ~800 dollars (which in Dallas you can get very nice 1 bedroom 850 sf for that much). I'd also like to know how easy is it to get around SD without a car? Being in Dallas of course I have a car, but I like to use public transit (trolleys, trains, I HATE buses).

You NEED a car!

Forget about public transportation.

If you are a native Texan you may hate San Diego.

I knew a lot of native Texans that lived here and they hated San Diego because they liked the home town community feel and that everyone helped each other out.

San Diegans are not openly friendly and will not go out of their way to be friendly.

Once you get to know them though most are good people.

They are kind of an aloof bunch unlike Texans in a lot of ways.

Honestly, I think you need to find a good job in Texas my instinct tells me that you will be happier there.

Cost of living is not good here and your dollar doesn't go far here.

[loveautumn]

Keep in mind alot of Californians are moving to Texas because the COL is so much less.

[Oerdin]

Originally Posted by xen0blue

I'm from Dallas, born and raised, a single white male in my 20s and am thinking of moving to San Diego for 6 months to a year, maybe longer if I like it, and I was wondering if there is anything I should know. What areas should I avoid, what areas should I look into, what is there to do, what the expenses are like, etc. I'm also unemployed (got laid off december and am on unemployment), how much does unemployment in california pay?

I'm a network engineer (computer related) but by a look at the job boards, san diego looks like it has 1/10th of the IT related jobs Dallas has (which surprised me).

I'd ideally like to get a decent apartment for ~800 dollars (which in Dallas you can get very nice 1 bedroom 850 sf for that much). I'd also like to know how easy is it to get around SD without a car? Being in Dallas of course I have a car, but I like to use public transit (trolleys, trains, I HATE buses).

IT is pretty saturated and right now they're laying people off rather then hiring which is why you don't see many jobs posted.