Relocating from M*******achusetts (San Diego, Oceanside: rental, student loans, job market)

[Butchy_Boy]

I'm looking into moving to SoCal. I will be graduating next year with a BA in Business Operations Management and my girlfriend has a degree in Biology. We will be looking for a place that has nice weather, lots of things to do for a young couple, has a commutable large job market and can actually get a decent lot size. There are some things we are worried about however:

1. We are awaiting the 9th district Perulta decision to become official, we believe then CCW will be shall issue in San Diego County. Are there places to go shooting? Ranges, other unincorporated lands where you can just set up targets and plink around?

2. In addition to shooting we love offroading in our Jeeps. We would want places where we could have access to trails and other landmarks to go exploring to. In addition to the offroad world we would also like to have a thriving muscle car culture. In New England cars rust away within 8 years. No one here cares about cars except 10% of the population.

3. We want places to explore, things to see and experience. Hikes to go on, beaches to hang out we love it. We would want to be within 30 minutes of the beach.

4. I specifically want palm trees in my lot. I know it may seem silly but I'm so tired of oak and pine trees. I want to be somewhere where I can have cacti succulents and palm trees!

5. Finally we are from New England, most places here are ruralesque. Lots are not packed in like sardines to a can, our lots are all different sizes and shapes. We would prefer semi rural, or at least a half acre lot just to have some room and privacy.

6. We want nice weather, I hate snow it sucks, if we want to go see it I'm fine taking a day trip out to the mountains and seeing the snow [are there mountains within 4 hours?] I want sunny to go with my palm trees, I don't care if the temps hit 100 but I think 70-85 would be the best temp.

From you San Diego folk with that critera in mind where would you recommend looking to live? We will rent for a couple years first paying off our student loans and learning the area, but after that we would like to settle down. A good school system isn't a priority yet and money is not a concern. Thanks for any suggestions!

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Rental Budget?

http://www.padmapper.com

[lrmsd]

Palm trees are not indigenous to SD. But you will see them. People who have them on their 'lot' usually buy them at a nursery and plant them. You can buy or rent a place that already has them planted.
Plenty of cacti and that's generally the same deal, people plant them. You can also look into xeriscaping or native landscaping which is becoming more popular, as well.

Temps are generally in the 70's. Inland [more than a few miles from the coast], it gets quite warm in the summer, 90's and sometimes 100's. The coastal communities tend to be cooler, with overcast skies, sometimes much of the year, at least in the mornings and it burns off mid day. There are numerous CD threads ont he weather in SD and coastal vs. inland. Use the search button or do a general google search to see them come up.

Inland towards and into the desert is where you will find off roading. Google search it and you'll find plenty of info. An hour or two from SD is where you will find this option.

No idea about shooting ranges-again, google this info. To my knowledge, there's nothing in SD, but maybe towards north county inland or east county-el cajon, fallbrook, where it's more rural.

Most parts of SD county are within 30 minutes of beaches. It's part of the lifestyle here. Also, there are threads on CD forum re: hiking in SD. Google that-there are websites dedicated just to this topic-descriptions of the hikes, location, distance, weather and other factors to consider, etc. The city/county is full of canyons and preserves, some shared with bikers and horses, others not. Further out, anza borrego desert is pretty famous and good for winter/spring hiking. Laguna Mountain and the forests in that area have hikes and snow sometimes the winter, if you want it. These are pine forests, though not all has grown back since the fires this past decade. It's about an hour from most parts of SD. Julian is a small mountain town about the same distance-hikes in that area, too-most open canyon/rocky hikes. You can also venture north about an hour to laguna canyon in south orange county. Plenty of other fantastic hikes in OC, too.

Larger lots are not as common. And it's not rural as far as the 'town layouts'. I am from Mass. myself [born in cambridge, grew up in the metrowest about 40 minutes from boston]. It's completely different here. Larger lots you will pay for, as space is at a premium. So CAL doesn't have small town after small town. It has large metro areas punctuated by smaller cities/towns/suburbs and the occasional open space preserve. It is also fairly brown, though can be green after the rains. It's semi arid desert, mediter. climate-so google that for a description!

Within a few hours drive: Joshua Tree National Park and a longer drive for long weekend or more: Sequoia national park, vegas [plenty of hikes nearby there and probably shooting range options-it's under 5 hours drive from SD], Zion national park, Big Bear [skiing or hiking] is 3 hours, etc.

You should just come out and spend a week or two and drive around, explore and get the lay of the land. It's very suburban for the most part, with some older parts of the city that have more character. It's not leafy trees and it is densely populated relative to small town MA. It's not quaint like NE.

If you want privacy and more space, you can look at Fallbrook, Valley Center, Ramona, parts of old Poway (you'll be a bit further than 30 minutes from the beach, though and it's quite dry and warm in the summer especially and not really 'coastal palm trees') and if you have the cash, upscale enclaves like Rancho Santa Fe.

This is NOT MA or NE, however. And just b/c you are 'used to' rural, oh well, you need to make compromises when moving to new locations, generally speaking. And if you are going to move to a metro area in so cal, you best expect to see people most of the time. There are trade offs and only you can decide if they are worth it for you. You get the year round mild weather, access to some of the most renowned national parks and natural features within a day's drive [AZ/UT/other parts of CA, etc], 2 hour drive to LA, 4 hours drive to the american riviera of Santa Barbra, 8 hours to san francisco or a short flight, 9 hours to sonoma/napa, short drive into mexico, etc, etc. But, being willing to let go of some aspects of your current location is what most people find they need to do, in order to be successful here. Or, you may just find that you enjoy a couple of years in 'Cali' and then head back to NE to start a family and have more land/space.

It doesn't seem like you have researched at all before posting here. Better to use the search button and read the past threads b/c people are giving their time away for free, by answer others' questions in an attemp to provide earnest help. No need for folks to have to re hash what has already been said, however. Then you can ask specific questions that you cannot find answers to in the forum already [or by googling these simple terms/topics that you have asked about, which is what I would have to do in order to answer most of your questions! Don't make other people do your work for you!] And a final note: There are oodles of threads on 'moving from MA to SD'. Seriously. You should find pages of stuff to read about the cultural differences, lifestyle, communication patterns, social interaction, economic and payscale differences, etc.
bankrate.com has cost of living comparison calculators, as well.

[LuvSouthOC]

FWIW, there is a firing range in Oceanside.

[Butchy_Boy]

Asking is part of research. Political aspects change yearly, threads from 2008 and prior are no longer relevant.

[garbagefile]

i don't recall a local person ever referring to SD as "socal." that's mostly what the rest of the country refers to us as (which they often mean the LA area anyway)

the rest of your questions - you can do all that here. too much to itemize, but i wouldn't worry about it. just google each of those things individually and you'll see where and how