Moving from Seattle to SD (possibly) in the very distant future (San Diego: apartments, rent)

[hubey21]

I currently live in Seattle. My gf's dad was just reassigned by his company to San Diego and he keeps sending her pictures and now she won't stop talking about it. In the long term I'd like to stay in Seattle. Constant sun year round is not something I'd be into and I've read a lot of things as far as impact on complexion for fairer/easily damaged skin people like her and I. I can appreciate all the joy the sun can bring to a person's day but if someone could tell me what the approximate cost of living, traffic situation, and types of people I'd be dealing with I'd love to get some insight. Right now our rent for a 571 sq ft studio apartment is just under 1200 and our utilities are 50 dollars (total for all of them. Yes, seriously). I don't drive to work now but the bus station is a 5 minute walk from my apartment and my bus ride is 15-30 minutes depending on the time of day. Thank you for any responses.

[oddstray]

Your biggest challenge would be finding jobs here.

You could get accustomed to protecting yourselves from the sun (hats, sunscreen, etc.). We don't have constant year-round sun, but we do have sun considerably more often than Seattle.

In the complex where I live, 900 sq ft two-bedroom apartments are renting for $1400-$1600. Depending what you're including in utilities, they might be comparable or more here. There's a transit station 10-15 minutes' walk away that will easily take you into downtown San Diego, and the ride is 30-45 minutes depending on traffic. Public transportation to other parts of San Diego are less accommodating.

Since you want to stay in Seattle, can you talk her into regular vacations into San Diego instead of moving here?