Living car-less in San Diego (apartments, for rent, appliances)

[Mapnz]

Hi all,
I am looking at coming to San Diego from New Zealand with my spouse and 1 year old child and trying to decide if we can manage without a car.
I will be doing a postdoc at a research institute at La Jolla, so were contemplating if we can save money by not having a car and live close enough to cycle, walk or run to work. Anything up to 5-6 miles would be fine. Public transport for getting to work would be a plus if the weather gets bad but I hear that shouldn't be a problem!

My partner will be working from home and looking after our daughter so won't need to commute as such.

How possible would this be? From searching around there seem to be 1-2 bed apartments in la jolla, university city for 1100-1500 range which is our price range. We plan to use zipcar if we need to for trips, how is public transport from this area into the city? Are the amenities eg supermarkets etc closeby usable without a car? Any other areas closeby which may fit? Are we being crazy?

Any advice would be much appreciated.
Cheers

[sav858]

I've lived in UTC (University Town Center) without a car for two years and it wasn't that bad. Everything you need is within UTC for the most part, most amenities will be within walking or biking distance. Public transit in San Diego is okay, not the best but decent. There are several bus lines that run between downtown and UTC but overall if you're going to take transit to other parts of the city it might take a while. Having Zipcar as an option will help though so you don't always have to rely on public transit. Generally you want to have a car in SD but certain neighborhoods are easier than others to live without one and it can be done and UTC would be one of those areas one can live w/o a car.

[rickers]

Get a bicycle and a backpack you'll manage fine but when it gets rainy and windy as it sometimes does it may be a bit rough. Watch out for those car doors opening right in front of you.

[esmith143]

Originally Posted by sav858

I've lived in UTC (University Town Center) without a car for two years and it wasn't that bad. Everything you need is within UTC for the most part, most amenities will be within walking or biking distance. Public transit in San Diego is okay, not the best but decent. There are several bus lines that run between downtown and UTC but overall if you're going to take transit to other parts of the city it might take a while. Having Zipcar as an option will help though so you don't always have to rely on public transit. Generally you want to have a car in SD but certain neighborhoods are easier than others to live without one and it can be done and UTC would be one of those areas one can live w/o a car.

If you're affiliated in any way with UCSD, you can use their shuttle. If not, best to check with the institute to make sure they have showers (they probably do)

There's only one general goods supermarket in University City, called Sears, that's where you'll be doing most of the shopping for clothes, appliances, etc. There are no computer stores in the immediate area, you'll probably need to rent a car to get to one of those. Public transportation is present, there's a bus hub in University City, but buses are very slow (something like 1.5 hours to go 20 miles in any direction).

[ranzchic]

University is one of the few places in SD where car-free/car-lite is possible, even pleasurable. Good luck!

You definitely need a bicycle because we have almost perfect year round cycling weather

[Mapnz]

Thanks for all the encoraging replies. We may not be crazy after all!
Cheers

[rickers]

Get a Segway and ride around with a beanie cap with a propeller on top ! Sorry I couldn't resist trying to make a funny. I lived and worked in San Diego for quite a while with only a bicycle. You just want to live fairly close to your job. Riding a bike 25 miles per day and working full time may get a bit wearing on you unless your very young and healthy.

[Oerdin]

Buy yourself an old beater for $1500-$2000 and you'll be a lot happier.

[sfosyd]

Another option is to live in the Hillcrest area. This area is a lot more walkable than UTC, with Balboa park and multiple restaurants, grocery stores etc. UCSD provides a free shuttle from Hillcrest that runs weekdays from 6am to 9pm and they even have bike racks. It's about a 20 minute commute.

[rickers]

You all are making me homesick for San Diego. My little town of Mayberry Montana (Conrad) is very easy to live in without a car. Everything is within a block or two ! And I have an apartment for rent there (hint hint) ! and ya get to see stuff like this, Guess what the heck these are !
Sorry to high-jack the thread !