NY to SD ? (San Diego, Mesa: apartments, appliances, house)

[Wanderlust716]

hello i have been hoping to relocate to san diego for a few years now and have visited the past three, i love the city and am comfortable there after visiting, i understand the "costs of living" are higher but the quality of life is also much better than buffalo ny.

i am saving up and looking to move with one friend who ill be living with, we hope that if we each have 10k saved we can get a place find work and be happy. i am curious however places to start looking to live i dont know the areas well enough to know if it is a good area. i dont need anything extravagant, if possible 800-1600 a month w appliances or utilities hopefully... parking would be great. im considering national city, imperial beach, la mesa, mira mesa, chula vista. if you can point me in the right direction please give feedback or if you have any advise on housing jobs and current affairs please let me know i hope to move september october ish

[oddstray]

Most important will be getting a job. Not easy to do here. What sorts of jobs are you hoping to find?

Having 10k each, and having each other as roommates, will be a huge help. I think $1600 a month shared between two is probably the minimum you should expect to pay.

Each of the areas you're naming has better streets and more questionable streets, except that Mira Mesa is pretty good overall.

[barryg]

Originally Posted by Wanderlust716

hello i have been hoping to relocate to san diego for a few years now and have visited the past three, i love the city and am comfortable there after visiting, i understand the "costs of living" are higher but the quality of life is also much better than buffalo ny.

i am saving up and looking to move with one friend who ill be living with, we hope that if we each have 10k saved we can get a place find work and be happy. i am curious however places to start looking to live i dont know the areas well enough to know if it is a good area. i dont need anything extravagant, if possible 800-1600 a month w appliances or utilities hopefully... parking would be great. im considering national city, imperial beach, la mesa, mira mesa, chula vista. if you can point me in the right direction please give feedback or if you have any advise on housing jobs and current affairs please let me know i hope to move september october ish

national city......not so great
imperial beach is ok but waaay south
La mesa is decent
chula visit is ok but has bad pockets
mira mesa is more centrally located and decent area

I'd suggest mira mesa, carmel valley, 4S ranch, carmel mountain area, penasquitos,......all pretty centrally located and good areas and in your price range but closer 1600/mo if you want a 2 bedroom.

[kettlepot]

The OP could easily find 2 bedroom, 2 bath places for 1200-1300 a month. If you can do a 2 bedroom, 1 bath place, there are plenty of apartments in the $1000-1200 range. The OP could even find 2/1 apartments in non-ghetto areas in the $900s.

However, utilities are just about never included in San Diego apartments. On the positive side, Gas & Electric will never exceed $100 a month if you control the summer time A/C use, and if every appliance that can be, is a gas appliance. Gas is sooo much cheaper.

But where you live should be guided by where you work.

[Wanderlust716]

thank you for the feedback i just got done working a summer camp here. and sadly i dont have a degree or a strong desire to work in any certain field, but i am ready and willing and more than able to work asap i realize i may have to take some jobs i dont want to work to get by until i find something a little better. even if the house isnt dreamy id be happier in California than Buffalo im certain of that. im paying 700 for a side by side and its 2 bed one bath nothing included ... i dont need a huge place just a comfy spot to got to bed after a long day my biggest fear is gangs and stuff like that if i settle into a bad neighborhood i dont want my stuff getting stolen / me getting jumped

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by Wanderlust716

thank you for the feedback i just got done working a summer camp here. and sadly i dont have a degree or a strong desire to work in any certain field, but i am ready and willing and more than able to work asap i realize i may have to take some jobs i dont want to work to get by until i find something a little better. even if the house isnt dreamy id be happier in California than Buffalo im certain of that. im paying 700 for a side by side and its 2 bed one bath nothing included ... i dont need a huge place just a comfy spot to got to bed after a long day my biggest fear is gangs and stuff like that if i settle into a bad neighborhood i dont want my stuff getting stolen / me getting jumped

You're going to have seriously difficult competition for any job that's not in some specialized field. It may very well take you six months to a year to find a job. So if you're going to do it, come with savings and/or a Plan B in case things don't work out here.

[Wanderlust716]

the person i am moving with has a degree in education and art, both of us have retail management experience and are more than willing to work. I have good references from the ada and summer camp programs ive worked 6 years at a camp for kids with disabilities im sure they have camps out west right? i dont care if i need to do labor or construction or go back to retail or find something in hospitality. we are trying to get a few more people in on the move and hopefully getting four people to room together will make it easier ? ive looked at the areas that past posts recommended and the consensus between the people that want to move is lets go for broke and be reasonably close to the beach ( within reason of course not beachfront but a short drive). i feel like i just need to jump in and do it the longer we wait the more on edge my nerves get i am worried about the job situation but i am confident in our resumes and work ethic to get us by.

so i guess more people more savings
specified areas to look for jobs and housing
getting our stuff moved whats the best way to get all our crap out there pods ? van lines ? u haul ?

[loveautumn]

labor/construction very limited - dominated by legal/illegal immigrants

Retail - lots of retail but competitive because alot of young people are out of work - won't pay much

Degree in education and art - not sure how valuable that would be out here. Teaching jobs are very difficult to get (unions) and are experiencing cut-backs.

Without a degree you will be very limited. You are moving to one of the most highly desirable places in the US to live and job market is very competitive at all levels.

The locations you have listed are not that great...if you have 2-4 people sharing, I'd say shoot for Pacific Beach/Ocean Beach areas.

Not trying to discourage you, can't blame you for wanting to leave the Buffalo area, but be prepared for what could be a long job search and the shock of COL here compared to Buffalo. Good luck to you!

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by Wanderlust716

... getting our stuff moved whats the best way to get all our crap out there pods ? van lines ? u haul ?

Consider carefully whether it's worth moving a lot of stuff. May be better to sell it there and then buy used or inexpensive stuff once you get here.

[Clevelandgal]

I would like to say that options are good for finding work supporting people with disabilities, but from my experience it was rough. Before moving here I had well over 10 years under my belt in professional positions with state and county government (involving service coordination, agency liaison, monitoring contracts, you name it) in 2 different states. Out here, I could not get an interview anywhere in my field. I must have applied for over 70 jobs. At some point I wanted to test how bad the waters really were and applied for some direct care positions requiring nothing more than a GED and no experience! No interview, and not even a "thank you for your interest" response. To drive home my point of the absurdity, I have published research in the field of intellectual disability, but no interview anywhere for me.


I ended up doing volunteer work in medical research and "fell back" on my Masters of Public Health, which I had not really been using work wise... I finally ended up with a job close to 8 months after getting here. I enjoy it, but I am sure some people with my educational and career background would feel they were overqualified. I try not to be in that frame of mind though.... because when I come home from this job I can hear the ocean.