San Diego or Boston (Carlsbad, Lincoln: transplants, daycare, big house)

[bosan]

I feel pretty lucky to have a really good job in this economy and have an offer in San Diego or could stay in Boston. I live in a nice Boston suburb. I've been in New England for about 20 years since grad school. I like it quite a lot. However, I'm intrigued by S.D. I could live pretty much anywhere in S.D. and have kids in H.S. to elementary school. I've looked in Carmel Valley or could maybe even afford a smaller place in Del Mar or La Jolla.

For transplants from New England to S.D., how did you like the change?

I admit the winters here in Boston feel about a month too long but I don't mind the change in seasons. I do regret not getting out more in the winter and the ability to enjoy outdoor activities year round is interesting about S.D. I don't like the tract housing feel to some parts of S.D. I've seen (big houses and small lots) but most everyone I met seems to be pretty happy about the weather.

Fire away, how would a Boston transplant do in So. Cal.?

[Sassberto]

A lot of people from the northeast either love it or hate it. It's hard to say which way you will go.

[oliver6323]

Well I am from Lexington and my husband from Lincoln. We moved to Carlsbad in January 09 and while I like living here, I don't love it like the Boston area. It is VERY different. It all depends on what you are looking for. The weather is amazing, as are the views of the ocean, but to me, the spring and fall in New England are without compare.

I would go back to Lexington in a heartbeat. But having said that, I am certainly not unhappy here. Just not as happy as I was living in New England. I have 2 girls in 9th grade and all they talk about is going to college back east.

Feel free to ask any questions if you need any more feedback from me.

[kettlepot]

I've lived in CT which is not quite Boston but I do have some sense of the New England area.

You will probably love the weather here for years and years, until you eventually become bored by it.

The car centered nature of the cities will be dispiriting, yet at the same time, when you do have to get someplace, you will be happy that these cities were laid out with travel by automobile in mind. Having to travel between cities on "highways" that are just miles and miles of stoplights and curb cuts, with cars pulling into the road slowing your progress is just as frustrating as a rush hour traffic jam.

The architecture is blah, but then so is much of the housing built in New England in the past 50 years. How more inspiring is a raised ranch in New England compared to a California Contemporary. They are both tract housing.

However, let me point this out. Housing in California, near to the coast, will never be a bad long term investment. If you move out here and decide you don't like it, you will not be priced out of the New England housing market. You could always go back.

[bosan]

Originally Posted by oliver6323

Well I am from Lexington and my husband from Lincoln. We moved to Carlsbad in January 09 and while I like living here, I don't love it like the Boston area. It is VERY different. It all depends on what you are looking for. The weather is amazing, as are the views of the ocean, but to me, the spring and fall in New England are without compare.

I would go back to Lexington in a heartbeat. But having said that, I am certainly not unhappy here. Just not as happy as I was living in New England. I have 2 girls in 9th grade and all they talk about is going to college back east.

Feel free to ask any questions if you need any more feedback from me.

I know what you mean about the fall and spring. Right now it's amazing here in Boston. Do your girls go to Carlsbad High or La Costa Canyon? What do you think about the high school experience out there vs. Lexington High (which I'm familiar with). Or can you tell yet?

[bosan]

Originally Posted by kettlepot

I've lived in CT which is not quite Boston but I do have some sense of the New England area.

You will probably love the weather here for years and years, until you eventually become bored by it.

Thanks for the input. Is the boredom with the weather something others feel as well? I'm in my late 40's and wonder if I would actually appreciate the year round warmth as time goes on. However, I certainly don't feel that I need it right now in life.

I'm also wondering if my kids (high school on down) would like being outside more in the winter (we could probably get a pool out in S.D but don't have one here)

[Sassberto]

The big reason people love San Diego is the weather and the beach lifestyle. That far outstrips the other reasons. If you are not going to take advantage of that - by boating, surfing, swimming, hiking, beachgoing - you might find it to be a bit of a monotonous, endless sunny day. If museum-going, cute shopping districts, history, theatre, etc... are your thing, you will find San Diego lacking after one or two years.

East Coast offers a lot of things to do, beach and summer being just one. In San Diego most of the lifestyle is centered around those activities. Most people who tire of San Diego have a lifestyle that is just not well-aligned to take advantage of what San Diego has to offer.

Personally after being here 15 years from the NYC metro, I find myself a bit bored of it. Not the weather so much, but the fact that SD is just a small city without very many "city" things to do. I like some outdoor activities but it is not the center of my life. If I am going to pay through the nose to live here, I would trade some weather for a bit more of a lively cultural scene, perhaps a place with a bit more going on. I could wander around Boston forever and not get bored of it. San Diego, you can see everything in a couple of months if you really try.

[WanderingMover]

From what I understand, Boston and the NE corridor's economy is in much better shape than anywhere near San Diego. My personal take is for children this is a good place to grow up but once you hit 17 there is nothing here for you. This is the most dysfunctional expression of capitalism I've seen anywhere in America. I'd feel awful if I had a teenager in SD, for moving away is a certainty just for them to ever have a shot at a decent life.

[oliver6323]

Originally Posted by bosan

I know what you mean about the fall and spring. Right now it's amazing here in Boston. Do your girls go to Carlsbad High or La Costa Canyon? What do you think about the high school experience out there vs. Lexington High (which I'm familiar with). Or can you tell yet?

My girls go to Carlsbad High School and it is not very good. Very overcrowded - some students don't even have desks to sit at. I hear La Costa Canyon is a bit better but not up to par with Lexington or Lincoln or those surrounding towns. The state of California is broke and the schools reflect it.

And you won't believe this because I wouldn't have unless I saw it with my own eyes.....but there is a daycare at Carlsbad High FOR THE STUDENTS!!!! They leave their babies and go to class. My girls go to spanish class and look out of their trailer classrooms right onto the daycare and see the teens come and pick up their kids or visit with them. It freaks them out a bit which I guess is a good thing!

We may move so that the girls can go to La Costa Canyon. But as I said, I don't think it is much better educationally.

[SEAandATL]

Boston, and Mass. in general, is one place I noticed that a lot of transplants in San Diego are from. Most of them like San Diego better mainly because of the weather. I think that since you have a job offer, why not go for it? I think that you'll find that it is a positive change. Since the cost of living in Boston is about the same as S.D., you won't be overwhelmed by the prices, and you seem to be economically well off. The northern suburbs are a good place for raising children.