Newlyweds moving to San Diego from Alabama...YAY! Need housing advice! (Mission Hills: apartment, rentals)

[AlabamaRN82]

My husband and I will be moving to San Diego in June for one year...maybe more depending on what my husband finds after training. We are early 30s with no kids. He will be working in Hillcrest...not sure where I will be working yet. We want to make the most of the year we know we will be there...
Some of the things we are looking for are...

-have lots of restaurants, stores, entertainment within walking distance...most important!!
-fairly safe area
-one bedroom under $1300
-used to live one block from gulf coast so love the beach so as close as possible...would love walking distance...have read many things about the beach areas being party central??
-fairly quiet area...currently work night shift and sleep during days..will prob do the same there
-area with not many parking issues...we have 2 cars
-big dog friendly if possible...we would like to adopt a dog when we get out there but have seen most rentals aren't dog...ESP big dog friendly

Would love any advice on a great location to live in!! Thanks!

Also....I will be job hunting soon....any nurses out there to give advice on hospitals?!

[kettlepot]

I see several contradictory "Wants" in your list.

Such as:

One Bedroom apartment, but Big Dog Friendly
Quiet, but within walking distance of restaurants and entertainment and shopping
$1300, but near the beach

However, if the beach IS the thing, then Pacific or Ocean Beach. Both of these locations would obviously be near the beach, but have good restaurant and entertainment options. But Pacific Beach isn't quiet. And parking that second car will be difficult. Not to mention the cost issues. I recommend scratching the beach idea.

Therefore, what would meet your criteria near Hillcrest? Hillcrest itself has plenty of restaurants, entertainment and shopping. But parking in many parts of Hillcrest is quite difficult. Plus, it is where the hospitals are so it isn't particularly quiet. I would recommend Mission Hills, if you can afford it, or University Heights, west of Park Boulevard.

Mission Hills has shopping and restaurants, not as much as Hillcrest. It's upscale, so it may be out of your price range, and some parts might have airport noise issues. But then those would probably be the parts your could afford.

Therefore, I think University Heights might be a better choice. University Heights has some shopping and restaurants on Park Boulevard, but with a little bit of effort you could walk all the way to downtown Hillcrest and enjoy what that area has. West of Park Boulevard is not on the way to anywhere else so there is no through traffic, so no ambulances as well. It's really quite close to the hospitals. Not close enough to walk, but you could actually bicycle to the hospital. There is a park nearby for walking a dog. There could be some parking issues for that second car though. Hard to say for sure. It will probably be determined by what time of day you are trying to do the parking.

[MattCA]

North Park? Close to the bars but not trashy like PB. Close to Hillcrest but not in Hillcrest. I'm an EMT so I second the ambulance noise. Being to base hospitals and trauma centers it is known as the black hole and I always say I hear sirens all the time when in in the area.

[tonyinsd]

Why does everyone tell people to move everywhere but downtown?

You can get a one bedroom for $1300. And you want to talk about being able to walk to everything? What do you want? Petco? Gaslamp? East Village? Harbor? Horton Plaza? Ralph's?

You can even bike to PB if you want to. I've done it a few times.

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by tonyinsd

Why does everyone tell people to move everywhere but downtown?

You can get a one bedroom for $1300. And you want to talk about being able to walk to everything? What do you want? Petco? Gaslamp? East Village? Harbor? Horton Plaza? Ralph's?

You can even bike to PB if you want to. I've done it a few times.

Possibly because downtown is perceived as being crowded and noisy all day and most of the night. I have no idea whether that's true because I've never lived there. But if I were considering it, that's what I'd be careful to check for.

[lrmsd]

Downtown as it is termed, has only gentrified in the last 10 or 15 yrs. it has mainly clubs and overpriced tourist restaurants. Recent condos and lofts have tended to be overpriced, and you don't get the quality of life you do in other parts of SD [beach vibe, or so cal funky like north park or hillcrest]. I mean aside from weather, you almost would not know you are in SD, if downtown. At the same time, downtown is NOT a real urban area. There are far better cities to live in, if you want that experience.

I think this is why people don't recommend it. It's also crowded, full of tourists or drunk folks, and has a large homeless and panhandling problem.

Anyway, I think Ecninitas if OP wants coastal a nd walkable. 1300 for a one bedroom is possible, though you won't find a zillion options there for that price. And, it will be a drive to hillcrest.

I would not choose PB or OB, for reasons mentioned by others already.

I second University Heights as the best choice!
parts of north park and normal heights, which also borders Univ heights, are also recommended.
Besides, you'll only be 20 minutes drive to a number of beaches, including OB, mission beach, la jolla shores [i used to do it in sometimes 15, from normal heights!], etc.

Everything in SD is, for the most part, 'freeway close'.....about 20 minutes is a common term here.

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by lrmsd

Downtown as it is termed, has only gentrified in the last 10 or 15 yrs. it has mainly clubs and overpriced tourist restaurants. Recent condos and lofts have tended to be overpriced, and you don't get the quality of life you do in other parts of SD [beach vibe, or so cal funky like north park or hillcrest]. I mean aside from weather, you almost would not know you are in SD, if downtown. At the same time, downtown is NOT a real urban area. There are far better cities to live in, if you want that experience.

What do you mean when you say that downtown is not a real urban area?