Is San Diego What We're Looking For? (Orange, Carlsbad: middle-class, for rent)

[RunAllDay]

Hello, city-data forum-

We apologize in advance for the very long post- thanks ahead of time for anyone who provides us with good information. We posted this in the OC thread- but we don't mean to spam the boards, we're just casting a wide net.

Our situation:

We are undergrads going to school in the Northeast (we'd prefer not to give out too many personal details). We are track and cross country athletes for our schools (none of us attend the same school). Recently, we were discussing the fact that while we were reasonably successful runners, we weren't the guys getting offered contracts to run professionally after college by any means. There are hundreds of athletes in our position- not yet ready to give up serious competition and willing to make some sacrifices to achieve our potential, but not fast enough to pay our expenses purely through racing.

Our idea? Well, 5 of us have committed to getting the heck out of the Northeast and spent a couple years pinching pennies. As a group, we decided that, being as we were all born and raised in the New York/New England, it would be nice to do something entirely different- hence our post here.

As the thread title asks, is San Diego the right place for 5 recent college grads with dreams of running fast?

Here are the requirements any place would need to meet for us:

1) Rent: We would be 5 recent college graduates, one of us would be certified to teach. If we each take home 1500 a month, that would allow us to pay about 700/month each for rent. We don't mind bunking up, but we would obviously prefer a duplex or something where we could rent both sides and hopefully give everyone a room.

2) Employment: Cost of living is obviously quite high in California, as it is in Boston. In Boston, this cost of living is reflected in the fact that even a crappy job like telemarketing offers salaries of about $10/hr + commission on sales. Even typically low-paying jobs offer $10-15/hr here. Tax isn't particularly low in Massachusetts or New York either. Yet, we've managed to survive thus far in the Northeast (which, again, apparently has a higher cost of living than OC) off about 15,000 a year after taxes. What kind of tax would we be looking at in Orange County? We'd imagine we'd have to be in a pretty low tax bracket.

3) Standard of living- quite low from the perspective of a middle-class family, we'd imagine. We're college kids. We don't mind living in somewhat sketchy areas- One of us lives in a neighborhood with 2x the national average for violent crime and with a little common sense, we've never had a problem. We're all very tolerant people- hearing people speak Spanish in public doesn't offend our tender sensibilities and while our backgrounds are all lower-class white guys, we grew up in pretty diverse areas and have no trouble getting along in multicultural areas. At the same time, we've got no issues with suburbia- whether the area is a planned city with beige houses or a rundown area that WASPs fear to tread, if it meets our other qualifications, we're good.

4) Running specific stuff: In order to be our runners' paradise, it needs 1) to have excellent weather, which we'll specifically define as less than 10 days a year where the high temperature is less than 40 degrees or more than 90 degrees. Fog doesn't matter but we'd prefer an area with low-humidity. Our "perfect temperature range" is about 55-75 degrees. We also need access to soft-surfaces to run on (dirt trails, grass parks, friendly golf courses, similar offerings) and access to a high-quality outdoor track for training.

5) Area: we'd like to be close to the coast, because we noticed the temperature in the summer seems to rise precipitously even 15 miles inland. We need to be reasonably close to an airport in order to travel to different races. A vibrant local road-racing scene would be really great. We know that the Carlsbad 5k is a huge event down there, but beside that, we don't know much about the Socal running scene. We'd also be more than ok with living in a so-called "student-ghetto," that is, the cheap(er) housing often found near large universities. We'd also be of similar age to the students there, and noise/undergraduate shenanigans don't bother us in the least. Essentially, we're putting our "real lives" on hold for 2-3 years to find out if we've got the right stuff for running. If not, hey, we got to experience a different area of the country, hopefully meet some new people, have some adventures, and retire from serious, competitive training knowing, hey, at least we tried. We've got no plans to do this thing long term, unless by some miracle Nike or whatever shoe company comes a-knockin'.

Sorry this is so long. Here's the best summary we can do:

1) 500-700 dollars in rent, lower-class areas fine by us
2) good soft-surface running options
3) part-time employment in $12-18/hr range
4) normal weather is dry, 55-75 degrees
5) college town/city is preferable

Sorry for the novel!

-We Like to RunAllDay

[sav858]

Yeah San Diego would definitely work for you and you could find a place near the beach for around that much if you're sharing a home/apt. Getting the job might be the hardest part right now, there are plenty of jobs in that salary range but not many people seem to be hiring. I see lot of runners around here too, especially along the boardwalk. There are a fair amount of marathons, 1/2 marathons, etc.. year round.

San Diego's high temperature are more like 60-80 year round, the Bay Area cities in Northern CA near the water are closer to that 55-75 range if makes much of a difference to you.

[lrmsd]

san diego is san diego county,not orange county.
my husband is born and raised here and i've been here 8 yrs. SD is known,historically,to have low wages relative to cost of living. This is true.
I am originally from boston-born and raised in the the metrowest. Wages are higher there.

COL in my opinion is slightly lower in SD for food,winterizing non existant,etc. (for your lifestyle/interests at this point in your life)
And I think in SD you can do better in rent-ie,find something for even less than 700 each,to live in a house together. Think clairemont neighborhood of SD-nice safe homes from the 50's mostly,on cul de sacs,4 bedroom 3 bath types,10 minutes to the bay where people run,runs along tecalote canyon in clairemont are possible,it's central to the city and the freeways,10 min. to pacific beach,and many other locales where you could do this for less than 3500/month. (Not everywhere in the city mind you,but it is possible. There is no need for less desired areas per se on that budget;they may not be 'hip',but they will be safe in that price range.)

Job wise,I personally think 10-12/hr is more realistic. But you might get lucky.
SD is not a runner's town per se,but yet alot of people run. My young son has done the jr. carslbad every year for several years. there are a number of races year round,between SD and LA and the mountain communities. check out www.raceplace.com for a schedule.
There are beaches and trails for running,which I guess would be soft surface for you. The marathons and half marathons do have SD on the circuit,and the big african runners are always here, for them,etc. so I guess maybe that does qualify as a runner's town? Anyway,it's an outdoor/fitness town,for sure.(:

It's also not a college town (SDSU,USD and UC San Diego not withstanding,it's not like boston,which has a palpable college town vibe to it),and yes,as someone mentioned,the weather in N. CA is more in the 55-75 range. SD is closer to high 70's low 80's as a normal range in my experience. Right now it's 50,but that's short lived for a week here and there in the winter.

Have you guys thought about Santa Cruz? It comes to mind based on your list.
Alternatively and not CA,what about Boulder,CO?

I lived there for several years,and it has 'the best of the best' in every field,including many olympic runners training there b/c of the altitude.(My husband regularly saw well known japanese runners there training all the time for example,and this is standard]. Very liveable college town of 100k,less than an hour from denver,and year round running/cycling. [snow often melts quickly at 5k feet altitude,sun shines about as much as in san diego-ie,constant!-and people are often in shorts by afternoon during parts of the winter.] I just mention b/c it comes to mind with running,to me,automatically. And you can live on what you mentioned. The front range of the rockies does have jobs-and would be easier than santa cruz in that regard,though maybe slightly harder or the same as for san diego.
ps-GREAT post. So clear,well thought out,enough details for people to give good advice.

[lrmsd]

To add-yes,the bay area in additoin to santa cruz might be good for you-weather and lifestyle wise;it's gorgeous and has a great culture. but rent would be higher,and a college town would be tougher to come by. [i dont think berkeley would be what you guys want,judging from your post]
San Diego,Santa Cruz,those would be the areas I suggest.
Not Orange County at all.

[lrmsd]

Also,san diego is hot in the summer,for sure. and the summers have been extending here,getting longer,in the last several years,so even just a few miles inland is far hotter than it normally was. Used to be only end of august/early sept. was very hot in SD like other parts of the country. Now it's often a couple of months.

Portland and Eugene are runner's towns,too,but yea,jobs would be tough is the only thing.

[cruitr]

1) 500-700 dollars in rent, lower-class areas fine by us - CHECK
You will be able to rent a nice 5 bedroom home here for $3000 per month

2) good soft-surface running options - CHECK
There was a recent thread on this topic.

3) part-time employment in $12-18/hr range - ??
Not my area of expertise.

4) normal weather is dry, 55-75 degrees - CHECK
You're describing San Diego's weather.

5) college town/city is preferable - CHECK
Several good schools and 'hoods to choose from.

This is a great local event --> http://san-diego.competitor.com/

[lrmsd]

Originally Posted by cruitr

1) 500-700 dollars in rent, lower-class areas fine by us - CHECK
You will be able to rent a nice 5 bedroom home here for $3000 per month

2) good soft-surface running options - CHECK
There was a recent thread on this topic.

3) part-time employment in $12-18/hr range - ??
Not my area of expertise.

4) normal weather is dry, 55-75 degrees - CHECK
You're describing San Diego's weather.

5) college town/city is preferable - CHECK
Several good schools and 'hoods to choose from.

This is a great local event --> http://san-diego.competitor.com/

55-75 is not really true,unless it's the heart of winter.
70's is the norm,and into the 80's for a few months of the year.
high 60's or low 70's is the norm for san diego.

[djxpress]

You guys sound like the perfect candidates for PB. Go visit PB, you'll find tons of souls just like yourselves (as in: living with roommates, from the east coast, just starting out). You guys would be in heaven.

Plus, it's pretty much a fact that SD has the best average weather temps, year round. The only place that may be better is somewhere in NorCal on the coast (I like cooler weather).

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by djxpress

You guys sound like the perfect candidates for PB. Go visit PB, you'll find tons of souls just like yourselves (as in: living with roommates, from the east coast, just starting out). You guys would be in heaven.

Agreed. You'll probably run into people you went to high school with, too. I just hope one of you doesn't go by the name, "The Situation".

[Encinitan]

I will only address the running part of your post since most people have already covered the rent and employment and weather aspects. SD is pretty much a runner's dream. The mostly rain-free weather, low-humidity, consistent temperatures and other aspects make it so.
There are many running clubs and races (5K, 8K, 10k, halfs, full marathons, etc) held here. Encinitas, where I live along the North County coast, is home to many triathletes, endurance runners, and cyclists.
So at least for that part of your experience, I am confident you all will find the running scene to your liking here.