safe warm beach town (San Diego, San Francisco: apartments, to rent, crime)

[jnj123]

Hi,
I'm a girl who is planning to move out to California next summer.

When I move I will be barely 19. I live in a small town near Baltimore, Maryland.

I absolutely hate the cold weather here. I'm looking for a city on the west coast that has warm weather almost all year round that is also safe and is livable without a car.

My rent limit is under 1,000.

I was looking at San Diego in the 92107 zip code but I've read that Ocean Beach isn't very safe.

I would consider LA but I'm a little worried about how dangerous that would be for me because I would be moving alone.

Also I would like to live near a grocery store, preferably an organic one or a farmers market, and some cool boho, retro, hippie shops like I hear they have in Ocean Beach, SD or Venice Blvd, LA except I have read that those are both sketchy areas.

Thanks!

[ferretkona]

Yeah, beach town under $1000. You might find somewhere with a roommate near the beach in your budget. It will be a few blocks away for sure.

[californio sur]

Originally Posted by jnj123

Hi,
I'm a girl who is planning to move out to California next summer.

When I move I will be barely 19. I live in a small town near Baltimore, Maryland.

I absolutely hate the cold weather here. I'm looking for a city on the west coast that has warm weather almost all year round that is also safe and is livable without a car.

My rent limit is under 1,000.

I was looking at San Diego in the 92107 zip code but I've read that Ocean Beach isn't very safe.

I would consider LA but I'm a little worried about how dangerous that would be for me because I would be moving alone.

Also I would like to live near a grocery store, preferably an organic one or a farmers market, and some cool boho, retro, hippie shops like I hear they have in Ocean Beach, SD or Venice Blvd, LA except I have read that those are both sketchy areas.

Thanks!

"My rent limit is under 1,000".

For under a $1000 a month you will be hard pressed to find any beach towns in California. You might want to consider the Colorado river beaches in Yuma or Bullhead City.

[Xplorer]

You can easily find a room to rent for less than $1000 in any beach town... San Clemente is a good town to look into.

[Snort]

Even in San Diego, it can get pretty cold at night in winter. Florida is cheaper and closer to home. I'm not a big fan of that state, but if you really want warm and beach year round, southern FL comes to mind.

[Snort]

Even in San Diego, it can get pretty cold at night in winter. Florida is cheaper and closer to home. I'm not a big fan of that state, but if you really want warm and beach year round, southern FL comes to mind.

[jnj123]

Well I think I can put up with anything warmer than 30 degrees in the winter and i've looked at weather.com and it says it stays around 40 degrees or higher in the winter. so i think i can deal with that. and i want to go to cali for the exact reason of being as far away as possible from home. i've looked at plenty of apartments in the area and there are lots for around 700 -900 for studios and really i'm only living there for about six months until i go into Americorps i just want to experience somthing really different and flordia has warmer weather but the humidity is crazy

[coyoteskye]

Originally Posted by californio sur

"My rent limit is under 1,000".

For under a $1000 a month you will be hard pressed to find any beach towns in California. You might want to consider the Colorado river beaches in Yuma or Bullhead City.

I don't know SoCal well but even in Santa Cruz county, which is extremely expensive, it's quite possible (albeit a challenge) to find ones own place for $1000.00 a month and sometimes for less.
I was recently in a studio on a few acres with gardens and a hot-tub that i could use and it was under $800.00 ... and all utilities were included.
Granted, the landlords easily could have charged more but there are opportunities.

[jnj123]

i hear santa cruz is awesome really interesting unique people. are there any bad, not real safe parts of santa cruz. and San Clemente is it easy to get around without a car? i would like to just own a bike and be able to ride around everywhere

[coyoteskye]

Originally Posted by jnj123

i hear santa cruz is awesome really interesting unique people. are there any bad, not real safe parts of santa cruz. and San Clemente is it easy to get around without a car? i would like to just own a bike and be able to ride around everywhere

There is crime anywhere and everywhere.
There are many parts (most parts) of the county where you can feel safe.
And you don't need to limit yourself to Santa Cruz proper but rather, consider the entire county.
The last place i lived was in Soquel and we didn't even lock the doors at night although most people do and probably should.
The county is extremely bike friendly and the bus system is excellent and you can put your bike on the bus rack if / when you need to. They all have the racks.
Santa Cruz is on the northern part of the central coast on the "top" of the Monterey Bay and it's about 2 hours south of San Francisco.
The winters bring rain (it rains in California in the winter) but with many stretches of beautiful and relatively warm and sunny days in between the rains.
You'll never experience the east coast cold! nor its humidity.
It will be a bit cooler than Southern California in the winter.
Unless you're totally attached to Southern California, you might want to consider this part of the central coast ... a bit more (actually much more) sane than SoCal, imo, much less congested, generally safer (although i don't know stats) and it may be less of a cultural shock to you as an easterner.
S.C. county is open, tolerant, liberal, friendly, diverse and it's pretty darn easy to be a woman here as there tends to be a gentler male energy and there is absolutely no pressure to have the perfect body, etc.
It's also not an area where people care about the kind of car you drive, the house you live in or what you do for a living and how much money you make.

Santa Cruz County, California