Where should a single young professional live in San Diego? (Corona: rentals, condos)

[d1nashville]

What’s up folks? I am a single, young professional male (30 yrs old) looking to move to San Diego and wanted some guidance on where to live. I have a rent budget of $2k/ month (high end). I'd like at least 1 BR, 800 sq ft.

Wish List:
1. Relatively safe area: just want to be able to walk home from a local bar w/o getting mugged
2. Fun area: I want to go out and hit hot spots on the weekends, but be able to get to bed early during the week (so no 24-7 party areas)
3. Neighborhood: Close to beach & public parks/nice views

I already have a job where I can work from home. However, I need to be relatively close to the airport.

Questions:
I’ve heard North Park, Gaslamp, and East Village. I've also heard Pacific Beach...but it sounds like maybe that's for college kids who just graduated and still want to party everday? Any thoughts on those areas?

Where would you live based on this wish list?


Thanks in advance everyone!

[Clevelandgal]

I would look at Little Italy (a downtown neighborhood)- plenty of nightlife but mostly on the weekend. Very walkable to lots of downtown places . more mature than gaslamp/east village. could be loud on the weekend.

next to little italy- the Marina district. mature, great views, upscale places. it might not be as skewed young as other areas downtown, but close to everything and no problem with quiet.

Cortez: quiet, very safe, nice urban condos. BUT 1 mile (safe) walk to most of downtown and little italy . great views as they are at the top of the hill. In my complex: young, professional, enjoy a good time, but responsible and not obnoxious.

gaslamp/east village-night life every night. very loud unless you get on an upper floor and close your windows. touristy but lots of variety. walk able. easy to catch a cab. did I mention touristy, and loud?

probably not going to get mugged in any of these places unless you are wasted and flashing cash.

As far as the beach, all of the above are closest to Coronado Island (15 min) or if you wanted to go to PB about 20-30 min. Also 5 min to Balboa Park which is a huge plus.

The neighborhoods around Balboa Park (and very close to downtown-1-3 miles) are awesome: South Park, North Park, Bankers Hill, Hillcrest, Mission Hills. They are full of neighborhood bars and restaurants unlike downtown and the beaches which are more tourist oriented. Your age range and other demographics would be very well represented. I can't recommend these neighborhoods enough, but probably need to be able to spend some time here to scope them out as quality can range from street to street. In your price range you have plenty of options everywhere.

[windnsea00]

^What she said. I live in Little Italy area, a few blocks off the main drag. It's quiet, very clean and safe, a few mins from the airport and just as important walking distance to all of Downtown/Balboa Park/Bankers Hill and still quite close to all the great neighborhoods like North Park, South Park, Golden Hill, Mission Hills, Hillcrest, etc.

Pacific Beach is like a SDSU party every night, not really what you are looking for.

[d1nashville]

Thanks for your input windnsea00. And what a great summary clevelandgal! What can I expect to pay for a 1 BR in LI, Marina, or Cortez? Thanks again!

[Clevelandgal]

this is a great website that I wish I had found when I was looking:
padmapper.com
use the map to close on rentals in neighborhoods...however I hope someone can post a SD neighborhood map, because if you are not familiar with the area you may not know what you are looking at (92101 is the zip for downtown, littly italy, marina. 92103 Hillcrest, bankers Hill, Mission Hill. From there you can zoom out around Balboa Park.

I used the website (below) when we were looking from out of state and ended up renting a unit through them. It was no cost to us (they charge the owner), and we liked working through the realtor b/c we found craiglist (private) owners were very wary of dealing with people from out if state that were not in CA yet
Downtown San Diego Condos | For Rent

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Be careful how far East you go. I know 2 different people that live off of Adams Ave that now want to move. They had their places (garages and first level apts) broken into and they both have stories of transients, graffati, gang bangers, car break in and petty theft. They've lived in the area for years but kept moving around trying to find an apt with fewer problems.

[jacobwilliam77]

Pacific Beach would be perfect for you. Or the UTC area.

[Clevelandgal]

I don't think a lot of professional 30 years olds- would love living on Pacific Beach...except Bird Rock-OP might want to check that out.

[tonyinsd]

Originally Posted by Clevelandgal

next to little italy- the Marina district. mature, great views, upscale places. it might not be as skewed young as other areas downtown, but close to everything and no problem with quiet.

gaslamp/east village-night life every night. very loud unless you get on an upper floor and close your windows. touristy but lots of variety. walk able. easy to catch a cab. did I mention touristy, and loud?

I live right on the edge of the Gaslamp/Marina boundary. It is noisier than a cul de sac in suburbia, but it's not really that bad. You get used to it. I can hear the bass at Fluxx when the DJ goes on and I can hear the staff from Dublin Square moving the empty kegs if I'm up.

And that's the key. If I'm up. If I'm sleeping, it doesn't wake me up. Maybe you just get used to the noise or maybe I'm less sensitive to it. But I don't think it's all that noisy.

There are lots of tourists wandering around, more so in the Gaslamp than the East Village.

[d1nashville]

Thanks for the info everyone!