Anyone from UK moved to or moving to San Diego?? (Encinitas: living, pubs)

[casablanca83]

Interested to hear what your opinions of San Diego are coming from the UK and how you've got on with settling in, meeting new friends etc..

[cruitr]

There is a UK San Diego Meetup group: San Diego British Mums, Dads, Baby & Toddler Playgroup (Encinitas, CA) - Meetup

[casablanca83]

thanks cruits, will have a look at that group!

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by cruitr

There is a UK San Diego Meetup group: San Diego British Mums, Dads, Baby & Toddler Playgroup (Encinitas, CA) - Meetup

You can also try this. Its a newspaper which is printed here in San Diego County and can be found at a few of the Brit pubs in the area.
Union Jack News - America's Only British Newspaper

[sdurbanite]

Here's a website that might be helpful to you. San Diego gets some positive reviews from British Expats already living here.

San Diego for Brits? : British Expat Discussion Forum

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by casablanca83

Interested to hear what your opinions of San Diego are coming from the UK and how you've got on with settling in, meeting new friends etc..

(This is not oddstray - it's oddstray's spouse): Hi, I came here in 1997.

You may find that opportunities to meet new friends are much more limited here than in the UK (unless you hang out with the Brit ex-pat groups, for example at the Shakespeare Pub on India Street). For example, the concept of a "local" (pub) simply doesn't exist - a "bar" here seems to be a place to drink more than to socialize. Otherwise, hanging out at Starbucks for free wi-fi can present some opportunities to socialize - especially if you have a dog.

If you have a special interest (in my case, motorcycling) or through work, it's easier to gain new friends. A lot of folks use their church as a place to socialize, much more so than in the UK, so if you're religious that's a bonus.

You might make a mental note that Americans in general seem to not value the longevity of friendships, and find it relatively easy to let friends go when they move away (and moving away is more common here).

OTOH, most individuals that I have met and got to know are generous to a fault and will gladly help out if you're in a fix. And they're much less critical and snarky than they are in the UK. I would warn you that being critical and snarky may well not have the desired effect - they don't get that sort of humor. The kind of English humor that is liked is Benny Hill - draw from that observation what you will.