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As a life long San Diegan who is looking to leave SD with my family (child under 1), I wish you good luck. SD is a beautiful place to live in some aspects, but mainly if you stay west of the 5. The COL vs. wage amounts is ridiculous!!! Sure you can go outdoors about 90% of the year but that is because it is ALWAYS sunny, no rain = ugly landscape. We are actually thinking about leaving because I would like a better quality of life for my family and I don't see that happening here in SD. Tight job market, low wages, high housing and overall high COL, not to mention the city and state government in shambles, makes leaving SD a desirable decision for us. Other than the Zoo and SeaWorld, I don't think SD is that 'family friendly' of a place and now that I have a child I see that even more. I can count on 1 hand how many times we have been to the beach in the past 2-3 years.
I love San Diego and have much pride in my city, however, it has just become too 'tough' to raise a family here. If you do decide to relocate with your family here, good luck and enjoy the sun, palm trees and beach and make sure you pack plenty of flip flops
... Also from what I've seen, Ocean City, Maryland can't compete with the beaches near Carlsbad. ...
If I were a beach person I would choose the beach at Ocean City over the beaches near Carlsbad any day of the week!*
The town of Ocean City ... not so much.
*The beach is larger, and the water's actually reasonable temp for being in without a wet suit. That's only true for part of the year here in San Diego. During May Gray and June Gloom, Carlsbad will be one of the later parts of the county to see the marine layer burn off and show some sunshine.
San Diego is a GREAT place to live, work and raise family if you can comfortably afford it. There's SO much outdoor activities all year round, beautiful coastline dotted with beaches, proximity to other large cities - LA, Vegas etc if you need a change of scenery on a weekend
I relocated my family (wife and 2 kids) to SD from the plains of the Arizona desert about 2 years ago, and am glad we made the move. My family is VERY happy here and since my wife and I were not big fans of the 300+ days of scorching desert heat, with not much to do outdoors if you have kids, it was a win-win situation for us to relocate. I had a job lined up before the move so didn't have the added stress of securing employment.
The most important thing is making sure you have a job lined up - from the OPs post, his wife already has a job and he's looking (hopefully you find something soon). Another key piece of advise is to have at least a 6-month emergency fund stashed away in case you need to fall back on your savings to supplement your household income. Your rent/mortgage will be the single largest budget buster that can threaten your happiness here SD...and you certainly do not want to fee like you're "suffocating" just to get by. Most people find themselves in that situation, a few months into moving to SD.
Now some good news...utility bills are lower here due to the nice all year-round average temps for most of the year.
Cable and cellphone bills should be comparable to the DC metro area
Fresh produce is in abundance and very well priced - we tend to mostly shop at Sprouts and occasionally go to a farmer' market. FMs are pretty much everywhere
Our nightlife is practically going to the restaurant...we're not the night club/party type. Been there, done that in my day
On the flip side, San Diego property prices are outrageously high..we sure do pay for the "sunshine tax." Salaries and wages do not align well to compensate for the high COL. For most people that moved here, they had to make some sacrifices. You have to be willing to make a sacrifice in order to make the move happen.
Your budget of 650K will buy you a nice SFH in Carlsbad, but wouldn't be the same as you know it in the DC/Maryland/VA metro area. You'll get the biggest bang for your buck if you expand your options...San Marcos which borders Carlsbad will be the best option. San Marcos has great schools with high API test scores that are comparable to Carlsbad and even Carmel Valley area schools. Very low crime rate, close enough to the ocean with yearly average temps of 89 degrees or less.
With a budget of $4k/month, you'll have a wide range of options to choose from. I do agree with calbears23 to a certain extent...SD county in general is very spread out, you'll not find a concentration of AA families in any one part of the county and depending on where you end up living, certain amenities may not be within a walkable distance like it is back East. The landscape sure is not what you're used to in DC, but SD has so much more to offer. And yes, the grass is more gray/brownish than green as we can go for 5-6 months without rain.
One thing you need to be aware is that a lot of people come to SD with high hopes, but end up leaving in a year or 2 due to the high COL and also sometimes poor planning and poor decision making. Some people get hung-up on specific zip-codes trying to compete with the Jones' only to end-up feeling sorry for themselves. Its all about priorities and how you align them in order of importance...as the old adage goes, "cut your coat according to your size" and you'll be alright!
At the end of the day, the decision to relocate rests solely with you and your family, posters on this forum can only offer firsthand experiences and insightful information to help you validate your own thoughts or confirm your fears.
Good Luck!
As usual, AZ2SD NAILS it. I think the most important wild card is your job situation. I'm not sure what field you are in but don't expect the SD job market to be nearly as vibrant as the DC market. Sure, there is a small handful of good professions but many are NO WHERE near as good as other cities, especially the DC area.
You will REALLY be hurting if you can't find a job for a while. I'm not sure how much savings you have but be honest with yourself and see how long you can last in the worst case scenarios. I've met some people with pretty solid backgrounds that couldn't find a replacement job for up to 1 year in their fields. I've also met several that had to take jobs they wouldn't normally take in any other city but they had to pay bills.
The area is GREAT if you can comfortably afford it. But that's the biggest factor in a place like San Diego...being able to afford it over the long haul.
Quote:
Originally Posted by So_Cal_Sarah
As a life long San Diegan who is looking to leave SD with my family (child under 1), I wish you good luck. SD is a beautiful place to live in some aspects, but mainly if you stay west of the 5. The COL vs. wage amounts is ridiculous!!! Sure you can go outdoors about 90% of the year but that is because it is ALWAYS sunny, no rain = ugly landscape. We are actually thinking about leaving because I would like a better quality of life for my family and I don't see that happening here in SD. Tight job market, low wages, high housing and overall high COL, not to mention the city and state government in shambles, makes leaving SD a desirable decision for us. Other than the Zoo and SeaWorld, I don't think SD is that 'family friendly' of a place and now that I have a child I see that even more. I can count on 1 hand how many times we have been to the beach in the past 2-3 years.
I love San Diego and have much pride in my city, however, it has just become too 'tough' to raise a family here. If you do decide to relocate with your family here, good luck and enjoy the sun, palm trees and beach and make sure you pack plenty of flip flops
I've met several people like this and I have several friends that feel the same way as you Sarah and moved out of SD. I don't think necessarily that the no rain= ugly landscape. Sure, maybe in some parts but so many gorgeous parts of San Diego.
I also disagree with your "SD is not family friendly besides Seaworld and the Zoo". Totally have to disagree with that. TONS of things to see and do with kids here. Plus the weather is so pleasant, I've found I'm always out and about with the kids. Several parts of the country where you will lose several months per year enjoying the outdoors either because (a) it's too darn cold in the winter or (b) it's too darn hot in the summer. SD is perfect in that regard.
I DO agree with you that it can be tough to comfortably afford to raise a family here for many people with young kids.
Coming from someone who grew up in Northern VA, you can't appreciate how much different it is until you are actually living in San Diego. You hear about sunshine and beaches and just assume that SD and california have to be nicer than DC. The unfortunate truth imo - this is just not true.
I ended up in the bay area/berkeley after trying San Diego for 2 years. Feel much more at home in the bay than I did in SD. You are essentially moving to the exact opposite of DC. Is that what you want? If so thats cool, but make no mistake about how different they are.
Once again, just my opinion - but I would much rather raise a family in the DC/VA/MD area than in San Diego.
Don't do it - you're going to miss DC area. You're not going to go to the beach everyday man, your kids have so many more options and activities on the east coast...
I lived in in NoVa and worked in DC for a few years....and not a day goes by that I praise the lord for my fortunate return to San Diego. Not once have I regretted leaving Capitol region...not once. I do not miss the Metro, the snow, the humidity, nor the hustle and bustle of the East Coast or the mid Atlantic. Not that I regret the whole experience....just happy to be home and have an outdoor life 365 days a year.
I lived in in NoVa and worked in DC for a few years....and not a day goes by that I praise the lord for my fortunate return to San Diego. Not once have I regretted leaving Capitol region...not once. I do not miss the Metro, the snow, the humidity, nor the hustle and bustle of the East Coast or the mid Atlantic. Not that I regret the whole experience....just happy to be home and have an outdoor life 365 days a year.
You couldn't pay me enough to live in DC. Seriously.
Don't do it - you're going to miss DC area. You're not going to go to the beach everyday man, your kids have so many more options and activities on the east coast...
And then there is the opposite view.
I would never, ever, ever go back to the DC area. You could drop me in that big White House on Pennsylvania Avenue and I'd still say no.
If you want a rat race, I must strive to constantly get that promotion and live for working environment where people put on dress pants to go to the Costco, then DC is for you.
If you would rather cut off your testicles with a dull butter knife than live in a place like that, get out. Fast. Before you're too old and too bitter and too stuck in Beltway traffic to leave.
I would never, ever, ever go back to the DC area. You could drop me in that big White House on Pennsylvania Avenue and I'd still say no.
If you want a rat race, I must strive to constantly get that promotion and live for working environment where people put on dress pants to go to the Costco, then DC is for you.
If you would rather cut off your testicles with a dull butter knife than live in a place like that, get out. Fast. Before you're too old and too bitter and too stuck in Beltway traffic to leave.
I'm not a big fan of DC but admit don't know much to judge it, but from above you make it seem there is 0.0 redeeming features about it (that could be true though the national museums are nice when without crowds). For the Northeast, I personally prefer greater Boston and further north New England (a lot of greenery etc) and for nostalgic reasons maybe alone, North Carolina (I have a friend now in Asheville, never been myself, but does sound nice, though like SD, jobs there a big issue) as well as New Jersey (they say NJ has been reforested etc, though I hear expensive to live there but also expensive in all of the above and SD and any decent greater city area so only undesirable places like midwest and wacko (loser Bush/Perry) TX (with maybe exception of Austin) are less expensive). I don't prefer the climate anymore on the east coast, having been softened out here with its ideal perfectness.
DC is great if you're all about your job, and buying the right car, and living in the right neighborhood, and having the first question out of someone's mouth be "what do you do?" And then when you reply, having them tell you about how they're SO important and their role as the second deputy assistant to the special undersecretary for toilet paper procurement is so critical and then saying, oh, wait, I have a message I need to look at.
If that's the kind of life you want to live, where you live to work, have at it. Screw that. I used to talk about how it was hard to work ten to 12 days in a row around Christmas time and how it was tiring, and people would look at me like I was crazy. Why? Because they did that all the time.
As for the monuments and museums, they're great. But ask someone who talks about how wonderful it is to have those this question.
DC is great if you're all about your job, and buying the right car, and living in the right neighborhood, and having the first question out of someone's mouth be "what do you do?" And then when you reply, having them tell you about how they're SO important and their role as the second deputy assistant to the special undersecretary for toilet paper procurement is so critical and then saying, oh, wait, I have a message I need to look at.
If that's the kind of life you want to live, where you live to work, have at it. Screw that. I used to talk about how it was hard to work ten to 12 days in a row around Christmas time and how it was tiring, and people would look at me like I was crazy. Why? Because they did that all the time.
As for the monuments and museums, they're great. But ask someone who talks about how wonderful it is to have those this question.
"When was the last time you were there?"
Enjoy the jaw drop and blank stare.
As someone preparing to leave the DC area, your pinpoint accuracy describing the DC metro area never ceases to amaze me. Well done once again
As someone preparing to leave the DC area, your pinpoint accuracy describing the DC metro area never ceases to amaze me. Well done once again
GMU,
When you making the move? Not long now...no? You will LOVE living here.
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