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To begin with, here are the details of what my life is like now and what I'm hoping to find in Southern California...
But first, to let you know, I'm not necessarily NEW to California. I've lived there on 3 separate occassions. Lived in East Palo Alto as a child, Los Angeles as a yound teen, and San Diego as a young adult... So, I'm not really new to Cali. I KNOW already that I LOVE California. Though, I consider myself FROM Atlanta, Cali is where I belong...
Right now, I live between Washington, DC and Phoenix, AZ. Yes, as strange as that sounds, the job I ended up landing in the DC area requires a good amount of travel, AND requires that I support two locations. One in DC and the other being in Arizona. So, I worked out a deal where I spend close to 8 months in the DC area, then the rest of the year in AZ. It was fine at first but now it's really getting stressful and tiring.
No matter where I move, I need to be able to have easy airport access, because I will be travelling to Washington, DC often. BUT the distance FROM DC is not an issue. Really, I want to live as far from that freakin city as possible, LOL. Which is why we (my fiance and I) are on the same page as choosing to look at moving to Southern California when we get married. I'll use either San Diego airport, or Orange County airport.
I am in the IT field, and plan on transferring my job to a position IN San Diego. Living in DC and having dealt with that ridiculous traffic, I'm okay with a long commute if it means a shorter commute for my wife. BUT I'd rather live somewhere that I can take advantage of using some form of mass transit for commuting, be it commuter train, or whatever. Though I say the commute is not an issue, I still need it to be "driving distance," meaning that I can live an 1-1.5 hours from work easily. While in DC, I already have a 1.5 hour commute for a 35 mile drive...
My finace is in the Medical field, and she hates long commute time to the point that it is a game changer. So, again I will move further from work in San Diego if it means a shorter drive for her. With that said, the place we move needs to be near a lot of medical facilities for her to easily find work and have many hours.
So, here's what we are looking for:
-AFFORDABLE HOUSING (relatively). I understand it's California and there's no such thing as "affordable." But at the same time, DC is no better. In DC, it's not uncommon to find 4 bedroom homes for $500K+. That's ENTIRELY TOO MUCH. I would assume the housing AVERAGE in the DC area is somewhere around $150K.
I define "affordable" as being: A two level home, 4+ bedrooms, 3+ bathrooms, 1,500+ sq feet, under $300,000.
-NEAR SOME FORM OF MASS TRANSIT. Commuter rail, buses, etc...
-NEAR MEDICAL FACILITIES. Driving distance defined as being a short, less than 30 mins drive without being FORCED to use freeways to keep it under 30 mins.
-LESS THAN 2 HOURS DRIVE FROM CENTRAL SAN DIEGO
-GOOD SCHOOL DISTRICT
The other requirements that we set for looking for a new city to move to, together are already met by Southern California.
We wanted: -Near a MAJOR city, -Easy to get back to Phoenix, -Good hot weather, NO SNOW EVER, -Driving distance from good beaches, -Outdoor friendly, -Major airports (so I can regularly travel to DC and ATL), -Good Food (and we are Mexican food addicts).
This is what pointed us to SoCal. Not surprised, because it's the perfect place for me. But now, time to find out WHERE in So Cal is best. Should I look into the LA area? Can I find those things in the South LA area? I LOVE San Pedro, CA. Is there a train that will get me from Long Beach to San Diego? What about Orange County? I hear Irivine is VERY nice. Is it affordable? Can I commute to San Diego?
Should I just suck it up and also LIVE IN San Diego? But I'm assuming it's not too affordable, but if so, WHERE in the San Diego area is it affordable? What about in between LA and SD? Oceanside? Escondido? Laguna Beach? Carlsbad? Vista? Riverside? San Clemente? Where? Please help.
We are east coast transplants (NYC/NJ) but have been here for 8 years and have owned where we live in now for 2. We lived in a condo downtown for 6 of the 8.
Sounds almost exactly like the criteria we had when we were looking to buy except for the schools which were not a top priority for us. We are pretty active in the community and if you like diversity both ethinically and from a socio economic perspetive then the city I live in is like a melting pot. There are even nicer places west and north of us that are similar (La Mesa, North/South Park, Rolando, Kensington) but can double in housing cost in some instances.
We used to travel a lot by plane and car for work but it has slowed down the past 6 months until 1H 2013. I am a 10 minute drive east from the airport and downtown and the 15-20 mins to the beach in Coronado. We are also within walking distance to the nearest trolley stop of which there are two of.
The part of town that we live in is somewhat off the grid (eg. not cool, hip or wealthy.) The new homeowners we have met are all over the place from hippy granola types to professional gay couples to retired Navy. Its quiet and generally safe, but has more urban elements along its main commerical zones where there is a typical urban type crime.
Its really eclectic and hard to put a finger on because some parts are gorgrous and other parts look completley dumpy. Some really interesting people live here and we love it because its so different to many of the other areas around this diverse county.
We like where we live a lot but its not a 'best of' San Diego place to live by any means. Just being honest that there are probably better places to live based on what you wrote but of course you would only have to see for yourself.
- Keep in mind that 'old' homes here are post WWII and prior whereas out east its not uncommon to live a house well over 100 years old.
- Tons of great place to live in San Diego County for which I cant really speak for specifically. I mean honestly, we cna move to another part of this county and the feel can be totally different from the coastal areas to the inland and mountain areas.
- Its relaly important to see where you fit with job location first. While getting around the freeways blows away anything out east in terms of traffic ease, there are still the usual hours of traffic and will only get worse decade after decade. If possible its wise to stay as close as possible to where you will be spending most time of your time.
which part of San Diego do you live in? Maybe I missed it. I saw you said "downtown" BUT I later see you say "I am a 10 minute drive east from the airport and downtown"
Is that 10 mins drive East, down the 94? If so, I'm thinking that puts you somewhere around Lemon Grove, or Spring Valley. If so, I'm a little familiar with the area. Back in 99, I lived just off of Bancroft. I guess that also coincides with La Mesa being just north.
I didn't really say "Needs to be a safe area" as one of my criteria, mainly because I judge by my own means as far as where I do and do not feel safe. Don't like to take many others' advice on that part TOO much from this thread BECAUSE I find that my definition of "safe" is sometimes different than some other posters' definitions... For example, I'm willing to bet there are a LOT of CD posters that will say "Oh, Lemon Grove..? That's dangerous or ghetto..." BUT I don't find it to be that in any way... I know people that think El Cajon is also dangerous and unsafe, yet it's by NO means an unsafe place to live in MY opinion. So, I choose to listen for the advice on all the pros, then do my own research and critique to find my own cons... I'll visit the San Diego area and search out all of the places that people point me towards and determine myself if I think it's safe or not, beautiful or not, liveable or not, etc...
I would LOVE living in La Mesa. I've always liked it around there, BUT is it affordable? That's a question that I can't answer myself having not lived in Cali for about a decade now.
which part of San Diego do you live in? Maybe I missed it. I saw you said "downtown" BUT I later see you say "I am a 10 minute drive east from the airport and downtown"
Is that 10 mins drive East, down the 94? If so, I'm thinking that puts you somewhere around Lemon Grove, or Spring Valley. If so, I'm a little familiar with the area. Back in 99, I lived just off of Bancroft. I guess that also coincides with La Mesa being just north.
I didn't really say "Needs to be a safe area" as one of my criteria, mainly because I judge by my own means as far as where I do and do not feel safe. Don't like to take many others' advice on that part TOO much from this thread BECAUSE I find that my definition of "safe" is sometimes different than some other posters' definitions... For example, I'm willing to bet there are a LOT of CD posters that will say "Oh, Lemon Grove..? That's dangerous or ghetto..." BUT I don't find it to be that in any way... I know people that think El Cajon is also dangerous and unsafe, yet it's by NO means an unsafe place to live in MY opinion. So, I choose to listen for the advice on all the pros, then do my own research and critique to find my own cons... I'll visit the San Diego area and search out all of the places that people point me towards and determine myself if I think it's safe or not, beautiful or not, liveable or not, etc...
I would LOVE living in La Mesa. I've always liked it around there, BUT is it affordable? That's a question that I can't answer myself having not lived in Cali for about a decade now.
Hi again,
Yeah, sorry forgot about that minor detail. Yes I live in Lemon Grove but lived "downtown" San Diego on the border of the Marina District and Gaslamp, so your memory serves you well.
We love (wife and I) it here in LG because of how low key quirky it is but still accessible to all the things we really like doing in San Diego without being too far from anything, plus we still have lots of ties to the downtown area. Trust me, we walk around downtown LG and take the trolley OFTEN. While there are some odd looking folks and tweakers on the trolley, we have never been felt threatened by any means.
I guess we just have filters having ridden mass transit our whole lives. Becuase trust me, these same 'kinds' of people are in every city, the only differnce being that there are more people that ride mass transit to filter out the transients.
As far as affordability, its easily one of the more affordable cities in the county but IMHO and is one of the best values and has strong community involvement. If you can get past the stigma, its actually a bit on the sleepier/boring side which is perfect for us.
If you are familiar with the area, then you know that its pretty tough to paint a broad brush on what its like here or some of these older areas. This is as opposed to other parts of San Diego that have VERY strong, clear cut definition in terms of what you see is what you get. Definitely there are diamonds in the rough here in terms of getting a nice house in a nice part of town.
Its kind of like driving through NJ (if you ever have) and thinking ALL of NJ is like the northern part of the Turnpike where there are factories and airport are when in fact there miles of farms to the south and north west.
We would like Mt Helix too, but most of the homes for as nice as they are were too big for our needs. I follow Real Estate very closely in LG but also other areas of SD. There is no question that since the summer, prices have started to rise and only cream of the crop properties in any zip code are selling over list price. Really interesting dichotomy between the foreclosures/short sales and traditional/flipped homes.
As far as expensive housing, yeah its here in abudance. I say that if someone is willing to shell out 500k+ for a home and be happy, then go for it, I think its great, there are so many nice places to live here. Our net worth, job, or hapiness doesnt dictate 'how much' we are supposed to spend on a home. I know too many people now and in the past that are still living paycheck to paycheck earning well over 6 figures. They are constantly stressed out.
I find the people near where I live now could give a hoot about all that and although they might not have sophisticated taste or savor a bottle of vintage vino we have, they are still some of the nicest people I have met in SD without the BS. I will take that any day.
Definitely with folks like my wife and I moving in as well as a new CSA, school and new trolley station, I think there are a lot of really great things to look forward to in this little forgotten part of the county.
Housing has changed in SD and with bank actually letting people borrow on what they earn, we are seeing that the <500k is market is sizzling. Its either live in the 'ghetto' like LG for some or just perpetually rent. Nothing wrong with either one, but if you want to really lay some roots down, you have to start somewhere.
Send me a PM if you have any other questions. Here is a quick view on some recent sales and decent homes for sale right now in the Grove. Well price inventory that shows well and has been updated are typically not lasting more than 30 days. Many of the better homes are going over list and above 300k.
But again, there are TONS of great places to live in SD that if you are comfortable about your budget, it could land you somthing really nice.
First, stop calling it Cali as that is a place in Colombia and not a state in the US.
Second of all, yes, you can find single family homes in San Diego for $300,000 though they will be in older parts of town, further to the east away from the ocean, and likely not in the best school district. Take a look at some of the results I got for "San Diego, CA, 4 bedroom, 2.5+ bath" with a $300,000 price limit.
That's in Fallbrook so the commute would likely suck for both of you but it is only $299,999 for a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath, two story, single family home with just under 2200 sq ft on a 9,148 Sq Ft Lo. It was built in 1993.
So you can get most of what you're looking for under $300,000 but you're going to be a long way from any hospital for your wife so she's going to be commuting a long distance. You might want to also check out Santee, Tierra Santa, Mira Mesa, and Clairemont Mesa but realize those "affordable" parts of San Diego City proper are still going to be above $300kk for a single family detached home.
^^ These are really good websites as well and the other neighborhoods and cities have affordable homes. But being that you wanted mass transit only some of them might work. Santee does have a line that goes out from there which is quite nice. Many see the trolley as a negative because it brings in a 'bad element' but I imagine that will change over time.
They are centrally located too which is a plus. But the real question comes down to which hospital she will be in and where you will be working. Because Chula Vista/Otay Ranch is affordable and nice too but for many folks that have to travel up to central SD or even further north, that commute can get old fast.
The housing prices here are comparable to DC. So if you think those are ridiculous, you're going to think it's ridiculous here.
Of course, you could live out in Temecula but then, yeah, you'd get the cheaper house, bigger yard, etc but you'd have a two hour commute. So what's the point of that?
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