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I'm late 20's and will be moving to SD. Where would you recommend to live/not live. Is it possible to get around without a car. I will be moving from NYC.
Pacific and Mission Beach are good for college students/surfers. Rents run $1,500 and up for a decent place. You won't be on the beach.
A more sophisticated 20s/30s scene is downtown. You'd probably like downtown -- it's getting more singles oriented and younger, with lots of nightlife. Similar rents to Pacific/Mission Beach.
Little Italy is a charming part of downtown, with views of San Diego bay and lots of sidewalk cafes and restaurants.
If you live downtown, you can get by without a car. You can do the same in Pacific Beach, but it will be hard to go other places.
Another area where you can get by without a car is Hillcrest, which is about a mile north of downtown. Rent for a decent place runs about $1,500.
If you can afford it, La Jolla has a walkable "village" area. But the average age of residents is very high. Not many young people can afford La Jolla. Rents are in the $2,000 - $3,000 range.
Crime is a problem everywhere in San Diego. Even the better neighborhoods near downtown (Hillcrest, Bankers Hill, Mission Hills, University Heights, Kensington) have problems. Sketchy but acceptable neighborhoods include Golden Hill, South Park, North Park and Normal Heights. Unacceptable: City Heights, Southeast San Diego neighborhoods.
In general: If you're inland from Highway 5 and south of Highway 8, it's best to settle north of Adams or west of Park Boulevard. Anything west of Highway 5 is good unless you're downtown, in which case it's a mixed bag.
That was a great response and exactly what I am looking for. I really appreciate it.
I have a computer science degree but was working in finical services. I'm just sick of new york and need a life style change. Does anyone have any info on the job market there. It seems to be pretty strong on the east coast right now.
Also if you have any other tips on where to find information that could be useful to myself that would be great. I'm 95% sure I will be there in a couple months and need to start working on the logistics of moving.
You may want to check out the San Diego Chamber of Commerce for information on the financial services industry here/employers, etc. Signonsandiego.com is a good website for general San Diego info - general happenings, news, restaurant info, etc.
Regarding the post above, all of the info he/she provided was really good. I personally would love to live Downtown, in Little Italy, Hillcrest, etc. Those are all great areas - Hillcrest is more rustic but really fun and you can get around a lot by walking (BTW, this is our local gay area). Little Italy has great views of the San Diego Bay and is very close to downtown; lots of cute apts/lofts. Downtown has seen a tremendous amount of revitalization and is booming. With the new baseball stadium, traffic can be really bad during a game, but otherwise, there are a lot of new lofts/apartments for rent.
In general, getting around San Diego without a car is extremely difficult. Esp. if you find yourself wanting to get out to the beach on a lovely day. However, if you will not have a car for a while (and I say a while because you're likely going to end up getting one), I would suggest living in the downtown area or another place with easy trolley access (to commute to/from work).
Another area to consider is Ocean Beach -- which is the "counterculture" or "hippie" beach area of San Diego. It also has a walkable downtown and rents are reasonable for the beach area. A little sketchy with the homeless, but no serious problems that I've heard about.
I don't know much about the job market since I'm retired. But past experience has taught me that it's best to have a job offer before you move.
San Diego (the neighborhoods around Balboa Park) is the smallest big city in the world (as opposed to San Francisco, which is the biggest small town.) By that I mean people tend to go to the same cafes/bars/restaurants/hang out spots again and again and again, usually with their little groups.
They're not cliquish in an unfriendly sense, but groups can be hard to deal with if you don't happen to like someone in a particular group.
If you want to see/meet a variety of people, you have to keep moving from place to place. Nobody else will.
And don't worry about not seeing that certain someone again...you're pretty much guaranteed to see him/her again -- whether you like him/her or not.
People here are very friendly but not very deep. They float through life and are likely to be content with just running into you when they happen to run into you. This means that you have to take the initiative as far as setting up events, inviting people places (if you can drag them out of their little ruts), etc.
New York this ain't.
Okay, if anyone thinks I'm being too hard on San Diegans, feel free to speak up. I do love it here, but sometimes, socially speaking, it can be booooooorrrrrrriiiiing! And when San Diegans are stressing, they can be as cold and inconsiderate as anyone else on the planet.
"People here are very friendly but not very deep. They float through life and are likely to be content with just running into you when they happen to run into you. This means that you have to take the initiative as far as setting up events, inviting people places (if you can drag them out of their little ruts), etc."
I so much agree. It's like people are friendly, but not because it is intrinsic like in say Dallas, but because they 'should be friendly'. The attitude is "oh, is that my nieghbor, I think he saw me in my yard, so I guess I ought to look up and wave at him".....
I also think that as a major city in the US, it is pretty conforming/noneventful here....not in a bad way (it does feel ultra safe here), but I constantly struggle in San Diego to find ways to feel inspired - especially professionally.
I think all this is related to the fact that everyone here is either a transplant of some sort and lacks attachment to the city (go to a Chargers game and count the Charger fans vs. the visiting team), or a native San Deigan that has never left San Diego.....the latter group creates somewhat of an insular environment.
That is what I have heard is the worst part about san diego is the people. Everyone is very shallow and flakey and cliqueish. I feel like a pretty personable person and can't resist the outdoor activities and weather, so I feel I have to give it a shot. I can pretty much get a job anywhere with my background so I'm not too worried. It might not be my dream job but I just need to pay the rent.
That is what I have heard is the worst part about san diego is the people. Everyone is very shallow and flakey and cliqueish. I feel like a pretty personable person and can't resist the outdoor activities and weather, so I feel I have to give it a shot.
People in SD are definitely flaky, I don't hang out with flaky people though, can't stand it. Some of the Brads and Betties are shallow but I don't have the genetics to hang with that scene anyway.
Sockets nailed it about ppl being either transplants or natives... and a some of the natives are a little "smalltown". Guy I work with lives 5 blocks from the house he was born in, has never really been to LA !! (except disneyland)
If you are serious about outdoor activities you will meet a lot of people that way... tons of opportunites join a running or cycling group or whatever.
Dunno about cliquish... I'm too old for that :-)
People in SD are just people like anywhere.
Anyway, PB, MB, OB, Downtown, UTC are probably good for you.
Some advice: don't expect to continue any kind of decent career in I.T. in San Diego unless you want to live hand-to-mouth with constant job uncertainty. If you move here I would wager that you will leave for economic reasons in a few years, and you'll have a big hole in your career.
Ask a lot of people here how they support themselves and you'll hear that they work in real-estate-related small businesses or that they sell windsocks or teach Tai-Chi.
The only companies that do IT work are Qualcomm (if you want to spend grueling hours fixing bugs in cellular call-processing firmware and studying 5-inch-thick standards documents for a lousy 60-80K a year), or Biotech companies doing mind-numbing statistical work and a zillion spreadsheets or Oracle programs for the latest LD50 (lethal-dose 50% on rat populations) test on some experiment for even lower salaries until the next layoff comes. San Diego is full of former IT people working in Starbucks for the health benefits or just to pay half the rent with a roommate.
I know. I worked in the NY area in telecom I.T. for 30 years and, after visiting SDO several times, dreamed of getting out there by just getting a job. (I've got the same education as you.)
If you go to SD, ditch the I.T. career and become a real estate broker and manage your life so you can live on next to nothing while you build a career.
Better advice: Get out of the rat race in NY (yeah, I agree pretty hellish unless you have Trump-wealth), and go to the Washington DC area, which is MUCH more civilized, clean, and livable for a youngish, educated career person, and lots of $$ to be made from the gov't profligacy and overspending that props up the whole region. Save & invest for 10-15 years and then move to SD in style, so you won't end up hawking souvenirs to tourists or working in La Salsa when you're 50 (look around SD and you'll see what I'm talking about). People are very grateful to spend 20 years in a union job as a cashier in Ralphs or Vons.
The San Diego people are fine, the city is beautiful (I sometimes think the locals don't appreciate how nice it is and just take it for granted) and it's a great place to live, but you need a nice nest egg or non-job-related source of income to do it. This is not career-town.
I lived in San Diego for two years and recently moved back to northern California to finish school. Everything you've heard so far from these folks is a pretty accurate description of life in SD. Its a wonderful city, but there are some things you discover about it only after you live there for a period of time... let me break it down.
People
Since you mentioned you're single, I'm gonna assume you're on the prowl. Watch out for the girls here. They're f'kin beautiful, they're plentiful and easier than subtraction, but it's really hard to find women with substance out here... not as hard as Los Angeles, but still pretty hard. If one night stands are your thing, this is the place for you. If meeting someone you can stand for more than a week is what you're after its gonna be a challenge.
Quote:
Originally Posted by starkt
People here are very friendly but not very deep. They float through life and are likely to be content with just running into you when they happen to run into you. This means that you have to take the initiative as far as setting up events, inviting people places (if you can drag them out of their little ruts), etc.
Truest ish I've ever read. Floating through life is the best way do describe a large portion of people in SD. Its all about killing time and being a beach bum for as long as possible until having to sober up and do something with life. Thats cool, but if you have any kind of ambition, its hard to be around so many of these people.
Environment
The weather honestly doesn't get much better anywhere in the world if you're into sunshine. The novelty will last about year until one day you are Christmas shopping and realize you're wearing the same shorts and tee shirt you did on the 4th of July. The city itself is way cool and pretty clean compared to the rest of SoCal. For having millions of people, San Diego does a good job of retaining a small city vibe due to its villages and hilly topography.
Places to Live
Hillcrest is a really neat community but its also known as the gay part of town. You'll find cute girls living there that want to be around gay guys for whatever reason.
Downtown is divided into several parts, most notably East Village and Little Italy. Little Italy is established and east village is the area by the ballpark thats trying to grow. A news article I read on downtown said its not shaping up the way it was planned though. Since condo prices are so expensive downtown investors are just buying them and sitting on them as prices rise. This means you have new neighborhoods with brand new high rises that are mostly vacant, thus leading to a crappy social scene.
Pacific Beach "PB" - Lots of bars and tattoo places as well as blondes with fake tata's. Hotspot for millitary and college kids, but since its expensive there are alot of professionals on the on the south side off of Riviera and north into La Jolla. PB is pricey.
Mission Beach - Just south of PB, lots of vacation homes and a little more tame than the bar scene of PB. Less pricey than PB but its still up there.
Ocean Beach - Haight Ashbury South. Lots of hippies/stoners that somehow afford rediculously expensive rent.
Mission Valley - aka concrete jungle. Close to everything via car ride and cheaper than the beach cities, but its one giant parking lot. I actually lived here for most of my stay and wouldnt if i could do it over again.
Anyways there are more, PM me if u want more info on places. I really miss SD. You gotta take the good with the bad and who knows, maybe I'll even move back down there when I have enough money to buy my own place and not live like a crum bum.
Last edited by IV_XI_XI; 12-13-2006 at 11:11 PM..
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Thanks
