Best suburbs to live in around San Diego? (Encinitas, Poway: home, neighborhoods)

[malcorub16]

Originally Posted by kcdlight

Hello all,
I don't want to live in San Diego, so I was hoping to get some input from the forum for the best suburb to relocate to.

Temecula?

What does I don't want to live in San Diego mean?

[Cardiff Kook]

Originally Posted by malcorub16

Temecula?

What does I don't want to live in San Diego mean?

I think they mean within the city limits, not the county. That being said, I'm pretty sure that would exclude Poway correct?

[RosieSD]

Poway is not part of the city of San Diego. It's its own incorporated city.

To the original poster, as I said, San Diego County is huge and there are a wide variety of places to live here -- everything from near the beach to out in the desert to up in the mountains. Drive time from work is a major consideration for most people but different people have different tolerances for time in the car. Some want to be 20 minutes drive from work, some don't mind an hour commute and some folks are happy to commute even longer for the right place in their budget. So, it would be helpful if you could answer some of the questions I asked, especially about where your job in San Diego will be located.

If you just want a list of "nice places to live" here in San Diego County, here you go:

South County San Diego (south of downtown San Diego): Chula Vista/Eastlake, Bonita
East County San Diego (east of downtown San Diego): La Mesa, Santee, Jamul, Alpine but you could go even further east for great communities like Julian, Pine Valley, Borrego Springs
North Coastal County San Diego (north of downtown San Diego): Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Cardiff, Oceanside
North County inland (northeast of downtown San Diego): Poway, Fallbrook, Escondido

However, the "city" of San Diego is over 50 square miles, and has many suburban neighborhoods within the city boundaries that can be great places to live too if you're envisioning living outside of downtown (which is actually a pretty small area). Here's a list of just some of those neighborhoods that are within the city of San Diego (but these can be many miles from each other and are also very different from each other, so again, it depends on what you want):

South Park
Normal Heights
North Park
Del Cerro
Rancho Bernardo
La Jolla
Ocean Beach
Point Loma
Kensington
Rancho Penasquitos
College
University HEights
Mission Beach
Bay Park
Mission Hills
Pacific Beach

The above list is not all-inclusive, because, again, the county of San Diego is HUGE. Hopefully, you now understand why I asked you to give us some more information about what you're looking for so that we can narrow down our suggestions and give you some proper direction about areas you might want to look in.

Perhaps your first step might be to head over to Google Maps and pull up a map for the place where you'll be working, then draw a circle around the distance you're willing to drive each day and see what it would contain. Since you have a year to plan, coming for a visit and driving around a bit to see what appeals would probably be smart and help you get at least a feel for how spread out San Diego (both the city and the county) really is. Come back with a list of communities within your boundaries, and you're likely to get all sorts of opinions about where you should live.

But, those opinions won't matter much if no one knows anything about what you're looking for beyond a "nice" place to live. We have plenty of those, so help us narrow things down so we can give you better help.

[moved]

Originally Posted by kcdlight

Good guess, but I will have a job, About 10K, no kids, 1.5k sounds okay, had budget set for 2K but if it is cheaper than that great. Not buying yet.

$10k isn't very much, if that's going to be your annual income, or is that what you have saved to move. What's your rental budget? Apartment, house, one bedroom or more? You need to post more information before you can get answers.

[Snort]

Hillcrest. Why not?

[malcorub16]

Originally Posted by snort

hillcrest. Why not?

chula vista, encinitas, or lakeside.

[skelaki]

Hopefully $10K will be your monthly income and not yearly because if it is the latter you can forget San Diego unless you have someone supplementing your income about 3x additional at a minimum assuming you are single.

Assuming that is monthly and is a real, not projected figure, you could live almost anywhere. Are yolu going to be working from home or commuting to work? If the latter, where will you be working and will you be driving or taking public transportation? Also, do you prefer to be near the beach, near the mountains, inland, etc?

You did mention a quiet suburb, so I'd elimnate Pacific Beach probably. It tends to be a young, party area (and it is part of the City of San Diego). You have to realize that the City of San Diego is quite spread out and includes places like Pacific Beach, La Jolla, Rancho Bernardo, Mira Mesa, Scripps Ranch, etc.

If you like the beach and want quieter areas, try La Jolla, Del Mar, Solana Beach or even Ocean Beach or Point Loma. Although, most of those are part of the City of San Diego. If more inland there's Clairemont (City of San Diego, again), La Mesa, ElCajon, Chula Vista (and others). If mountains, there's Alpine, Julian (not feasable if you must commute) and others.

As already mentioned, it is a big, spread out county.

[hitman619]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

Poway is not part of the city of San Diego. It's its own incorporated city.

To the original poster, as I said, San Diego County is huge and there are a wide variety of places to live here -- everything from near the beach to out in the desert to up in the mountains. Drive time from work is a major consideration for most people but different people have different tolerances for time in the car. Some want to be 20 minutes drive from work, some don't mind an hour commute and some folks are happy to commute even longer for the right place in their budget. So, it would be helpful if you could answer some of the questions I asked, especially about where your job in San Diego will be located.

If you just want a list of "nice places to live" here in San Diego County, here you go:

South County San Diego (south of downtown San Diego): Chula Vista/Eastlake, Bonita
East County San Diego (east of downtown San Diego): La Mesa, Santee, Jamul, Alpine but you could go even further east for great communities like Julian, Pine Valley, Borrego Springs
North Coastal County San Diego (north of downtown San Diego): Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, Cardiff, Oceanside
North County inland (northeast of downtown San Diego): Poway, Fallbrook, Escondido

However, the "city" of San Diego is over 50 square miles, and has many suburban neighborhoods within the city boundaries that can be great places to live too if you're envisioning living outside of downtown (which is actually a pretty small area). Here's a list of just some of those neighborhoods that are within the city of San Diego (but these can be many miles from each other and are also very different from each other, so again, it depends on what you want):

South Park
Normal Heights
North Park
Del Cerro
Rancho Bernardo
La Jolla
Ocean Beach
Point Loma
Kensington
Rancho Penasquitos
College
University HEights
Mission Beach
Bay Park
Mission Hills
Pacific Beach

The above list is not all-inclusive, because, again, the county of San Diego is HUGE. Hopefully, you now understand why I asked you to give us some more information about what you're looking for so that we can narrow down our suggestions and give you some proper direction about areas you might want to look in.

Perhaps your first step might be to head over to Google Maps and pull up a map for the place where you'll be working, then draw a circle around the distance you're willing to drive each day and see what it would contain. Since you have a year to plan, coming for a visit and driving around a bit to see what appeals would probably be smart and help you get at least a feel for how spread out San Diego (both the city and the county) really is. Come back with a list of communities within your boundaries, and you're likely to get all sorts of opinions about where you should live.

But, those opinions won't matter much if no one knows anything about what you're looking for beyond a "nice" place to live. We have plenty of those, so help us narrow things down so we can give you better help.

Christ Rose!
You looking to be the next MOD
Good Post

[malcorub16]

Originally Posted by hitman619

Christ Rose!
You looking to be the next MOD
Good Post

IRMSD is back?

[Spartanacus]

Originally Posted by moved

$10k isn't very much, if that's going to be your annual income, or is that what you have saved to move. What's your rental budget? Apartment, house, one bedroom or more? You need to post more information before you can get answers.

Don't forget to also let us know your social security and credit card numbers.