North County compared to SF East Bay (San Diego, San Francisco: appointed, renting)

[Tycho Brahe]

Not sure if anyone has enough experience to compare the two regions, but I thought I would give it a shot!

I was considering moving to San Diego, but I was disappointed that most of the jobs are not located in the city, but in the northern parts of the county. I am a city boy, not really cut out for suburban living. So I forgot about San Diego for awhile.

My wife and I took a trip out to the East Bay recently to see if Oakland would be a good spot for us. Oakland has numerous nice areas that are far from the violence reputation it receives. Long story short, my wife did not like Oakland, but really liked Lafayette, which is a yuppie town about 45 minutes out of SF by train. I did not care for Lafayette at all. Too expensive to be living that far.

So I started thinking, if I have to live in the suburbs, perhaps I should revisit the idea of moving to San Diego. The commute to Carmel/Sorrento valley should be as long as going from Lafayette to San Francisco, albeit without public transportation. How would North Country town/cities like Encinitas compare to Lafayette (Walnut Creek/Orinda)?

I basically want to get a job as a software developer and play in rock bands at night. Southern California has a good rock scene. Wished RFTC were still around.

[CarawayDJ]

Originally Posted by Tycho Brahe

Not sure if anyone has enough experience to compare the two regions, but I thought I would give it a shot!

I was considering moving to San Diego, but I was disappointed that most of the jobs are not located in the city, but in the northern parts of the county. I am a city boy, not really cut out for suburban living. So I forgot about San Diego for awhile.

My wife and I took a trip out to the East Bay recently to see if Oakland would be a good spot for us. Oakland has numerous nice areas that are far from the violence reputation it receives. Long story short, my wife did not like Oakland, but really liked Lafayette, which is a yuppie town about 45 minutes out of SF by train. I did not care for Lafayette at all. Too expensive to be living that far.

So I started thinking, if I have to live in the suburbs, perhaps I should revisit the idea of moving to San Diego. The commute to Carmel/Sorrento valley should be as long as going from Lafayette to San Francisco, albeit without public transportation. How would North Country town/cities like Encinitas compare to Lafayette (Walnut Creek/Orinda)?

I basically want to get a job as a software developer and play in rock bands at night. Southern California has a good rock scene. Wished RFTC were still around.

I haven't lived in those East Bay towns, but I am familiar with them. I'm considering the East Bay area myself for relocation. I'm also considering Seattle but that is another matter. The Lamorinda area, as well as Walnut Creek, are probably best compared to the closer in North County towns up the I-15 corridor, not the coastal towns along I-5. The only exception is that Lafayette and Orinda have semi-decent downtown areas with funky shops more like what you'd find in a coastal city. IMHO, the SoCal coastal towns have a different vibe and atmosphere from anywhere else in CA. Encinitas does not remind me of any of those towns. Poway does. My two cents.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by CarawayDJ

I haven't lived in those East Bay towns, but I am familiar with them. I'm considering the East Bay area myself for relocation. I'm also considering Seattle but that is another matter. The Lamorinda area, as well as Walnut Creek, are probably best compared to the closer in North County towns up the I-15 corridor, not the coastal towns along I-5. The only exception is that Lafayette and Orinda have semi-decent downtown areas with funky shops more like what you'd find in a coastal city. IMHO, the SoCal coastal towns have a different vibe and atmosphere from anywhere else in CA. Encinitas does not remind me of any of those towns. Poway does. My two cents.

I largely agree with this. If you want that cool downtown sort of vibe of a larger city on a smaller scale, Lamorinda is a good choice. On the other hand, if you want to play rock music at night in clubs or where ever, SD is the place to be.

Personal opinion; I do not like inland north county at all. I like most of coastal north county especially Carlsbad and Encinitas. Encinitas is probably my favorite town in the whole of the county, save maybe Julian.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by CarawayDJ

I haven't lived in those East Bay towns, but I am familiar with them. I'm considering the East Bay area myself for relocation. I'm also considering Seattle but that is another matter. The Lamorinda area, as well as Walnut Creek, are probably best compared to the closer in North County towns up the I-15 corridor, not the coastal towns along I-5. The only exception is that Lafayette and Orinda have semi-decent downtown areas with funky shops more like what you'd find in a coastal city. IMHO, the SoCal coastal towns have a different vibe and atmosphere from anywhere else in CA. Encinitas does not remind me of any of those towns. Poway does. My two cents.

Lafayette and Orinda have small little main street downtowns comparable to some of the smaller downtown commercial strips found in North County. They may be a little smaller than what you find in Encinitas or Solana Beach but I don't think it's that drastic. North County doesn't really have any downtowns that stack up against Walnut Creek's though. So as far as little Main St downtowns I think it's fairly even overall. Along I-15 I can't really think of any Main st type downtowns except for Escondido. It's newer and has more pre-planned subdivisions comparable to San Ramon, Dublin, and Pleasanton are imo than WC and Lamorinda.

The weather is more comparable to the I-15 corridor though, the I-5 corridor has cooler and cloudier weather than the 680/24 corridors. And I agree the vibe and atmosphere is different along the coastal corridor mainly because the presence of the beach and the culture it brings with it, so in that sense yes it is more like the I-15 corridor. Even though the 680/24 area is more moderate and conservative than other parts of the Bay Area I think it still has more in common with the coastal cities than the more conservative cities along the I-15 corridor in that sense.

[sav858]

Have you considered living in central San Diego in the more urban/less suburban areas like North Park, Hillcrest, Ocean Beach, downtown, Little Italy, University Heights, South Park, etc.. and commuting to Sorrento Valley? The commute from central SD up to Sorrento Valley will be quicker than the commute from Lamorinda into SF. If you're going to commute to Carmel/Sorrento Valley area you're probably better off coming from the south along I-5 than from the north unless you're one town over like Del Mar or Solana Beach. Once you start getting to Encinitas northward your commute won't be any faster than a commute from central SD to CV/SV. Another advantage of Central SD is the weather will be sunnier than Coastal North County but not as hot as Lamorinda/WC during summer.

If you're a city boy I think North County will be too suburban and quiet for you although there is still a good amount of activity going on, just not as much as central SD. If you're gonna stay in the Bay Area I'd go with WC seeing it has the biggest and most busting downtown and is the most "urban" area this side of the Caldecott Tunnel. The BART ride is only 5 minutes more too.

I grew up in Walnut Creek, currently moved back here in Sept after 9 years in SD and worked up in Carlsbad for 4 of those years. So if there is anything specific or any other questions you have let me know.

[madegood]

Don't know if you're renting or buying but there used to be quiet pockets in Emeryville - The Watergate development over near Chevy's for example used to be pretty quiet. Parts of Berkeley/Albany might be OK too. It's still pretty pricey anywhere in the bay though.

Personally if it wasn't SF, North Oakland, Berkeley or Albany, I couldn't justify the money you have to spend to live in the Bay area.

Move to Serra Mesa or Mission Valley and you'll be close to San Diego's more urban areas and you'll be close to the freeways for commuting. North Park, Kensington, and Hillcrest are urban and close to the freeways as well.

[Tycho Brahe]

Originally Posted by sav858

Have you considered living in central San Diego in the more urban/less suburban areas like North Park, Hillcrest, Ocean Beach, downtown, Little Italy, University Heights, South Park, etc.. and commuting to Sorrento Valley?

I am not the one that needs convincing. If my wife did not like Oakland, she would definitely not like central San Diego. I was hoping there would be something like Lafayette, but with less yuppies, somewhere around San Diego.

Originally Posted by sav858

The commute from central SD up to Sorrento Valley will be quicker than the commute from Lamorinda into SF.

But that requires driving! I do not like to drive. I rather have a longer commute with public transportation than have to drive. It is not driving per se, it is traffic. I do not mind driving short distances, but nothing like central SD to Sorrento Valley. Ugh. It is such a shame that San Diego does not have many jobs in the city center.

[tstieber]

The responses here were great, really great, and really accurate! I also grew up in Walnut Creek and agree that the whole Lamorinda area feels more like the I-15 area of North County San Diego, with a little more space, ranchy homes, horses, similar vibe in terms of architecture, landscape, climate, etc. It even smells the same. Coastal N. County reminds me much more of Marin County in terms of yuppiness, education, liberal affluence, recreational lifestyle. I really like Encinitas and Solana Beach for their cute towns and proximity to the ocean, but you may also want to check out Olivenhain, which does not have any downtown at all but has better prices for nice homes and a funky mix of properties rather than cookie cutter suburbs. It's never easy to find a non-suburban home in a suburban area near job centers that's close to a cute downtown area. That's a tall order, but with some persistence, it can be done.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by Tycho Brahe

I am not the one that needs convincing. If my wife did not like Oakland, she would definitely not like central San Diego. I was hoping there would be something like Lafayette, but with less yuppies, somewhere around San Diego.

Encinitas and Solana Beach might work then, overall I don't feel they are quite as yuppy as the Lamorinda area but any differences won't be that drastic. I don't think Encinitas and Solana Beach are as quite pricey as Lamorinda either, especially once you get a little bit away from the immediate coast, but still up there by SD standards. They're pretty cool little cities imo, I'd rather live there than Lamorinda because if you're gonna live in the suburbs at least you got the beach and ocean right there.

But that requires driving! I do not like to drive. I rather have a longer commute with public transportation than have to drive. It is not driving per se, it is traffic. I do not mind driving short distances, but nothing like central SD to Sorrento Valley. Ugh. It is such a shame that San Diego does not have many jobs in the city center.

Well there is the Coaster commuter rail that has a stop in Sorrento Valley. You'd probably have to take a shuttle bus from the station to one of the surrounding office parks though, either that or bike. Probably will be the same or a little longer than driving but it's a nice train ride, pretty nice ocean views along the way. If your wife for some reason found central SD acceptable you could take the Coaster from there up to SV too but that's going in the opposite commute direction and trains are less frequent in the morning going NB.

[Tycho Brahe]

Originally Posted by sav858

I'd rather live there than Lamorinda because if you're gonna live in the suburbs at least you got the beach and ocean right there.

That is exactly the reasoning I had!

Good to know that the area is not pricey as Lamorinda, but access to jobs is far lower. Ultimately it is coming down to differences in expectations between my wife and I and not between different locations.