PLACES TO LIVE SORT OF LIKE SD BUT NOT REALLY- give me suggestions!!! (San Diego: condo, restaurant)

[divagotstyle07]

Originally Posted by CNYC

You will be giving up one stresser for another.

Anywhere you want to be in America will be crowded and expensive.

Then again you can move every few years until you find what you want.

Yes, I agree. This is what I'm coming to terms with as a young adult!! (Well, im nearly 29 years old so who knows how long I can refer to myself as a young adult lol)

I am feeling the effects of "back in my day" thinking. I grew up in a very small farm town so there are many differences between the real world and the small town I grew up in with my own experience of it.

I am open to moving every few years. But I also know that once I get in a relationship or married, my guy might not feel the same way. Not everyone is a gypsy soul like me!! Haha

[eastcoastbias]

Isn’t Hawaii expensive? And If you don’t like SD how would the OC be any better.

What on your list is most important?

Generally speaking if you are from OH/PA and have lived in CA- the southeast would be a huge adjustment on many levels.

[divagotstyle07]

Originally Posted by eastcoastbias

Isn’t Hawaii expensive? And If you don’t like SD how would the OC be any better.

What on your list is most important?

Generally speaking if you are from OH/PA and have lived in CA- the southeast would be a huge adjustment on many levels.

Most important on my list is nice weather 8 months out of the year, located close to some type of water feature. Less crowded as well.

Why do you say the south east would be a big adjustment?

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by divagotstyle07

Lol I especially love the OMG CHECK! enthusiasm

Too bad I think orange county may actually be the worst place on earth hahah
Not my cup of tea at all!!!

Yeah just like places like Port Au Prince, Mogadishu and Kabul. Uh huh.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by divagotstyle07

Lol I especially love the OMG CHECK! enthusiasm

Too bad I think orange county may actually be the worst place on earth hahah
Not my cup of tea at all!!!

You're not the only one lol.

[Curious.In.California]

Originally Posted by divagotstyle07

Wow I'm glad to see someone on the other side of leaving san diego!! Are you happy you made the decision to leave?

Less crowds will positively impact me, I am sure. I get overwhelmed with how many people there are sometimes. Its sort of that background stress that you don't even realise you have, when you live in a city.

I've read studies about it! Interesting huh?

I'm in the same boat - well, sort of. My husband and I moved to San Diego 6 years ago and while we love it here, its just gotten too expensive and brought on a lot of stress. We don't want to leave (this is actually my husband's hometown - he grew up here but moved away for college and other employment opportunities but his current job brought him back to San Diego so that's why we're here). His mom still lives here so the thought of us leaving gets her all emotional.

We live in Mission Valley/Fashion Valley and its just too congested. Traffic is awful, even at night...we can hardly get any sleep because of the street noise. Instead of looking at beautiful views out of our windows, we stare at the homeless people on the street.

We were renting a 3-bedroom nice home on a golf course in the Palm Springs/La Quinta area before coming to San Diego. The rental amount for that home could only get us a 2-bedroom apartment here. I'm still in my 30's (hubby in his 40's) but we are so over apartment living! Although we do live in a very nice apartment complex (they were actually built as condos so they don't actually feel like the typical cheap apartment). But they keep raising our rent like crazy! Our combined salaries just cannot afford the constant rent hikes and keep up w/ the cost of living.

It will be very sad to leave (especially for my husband to leave his hometown) but the stress has just gotten to be too much. He is in the process of applying for jobs elsewhere and we'll see what develops. If both of us got major pay increases, we'd stay but I don't see that happening. He is underpaid for his job (his particular career is in TV which unfortunately, San Diego only pays in sunshine dollars. We're open to other cities its just a matter of finding that that "it" place.

Other cities I've lived in: Colorado Springs, Houston, Boise, Seattle, Salt Lake City, Denver and Palm Springs. Some of those places I liked and some I didn't.

Colorado Springs - although very beautiful, too small. Can easily get bored.

Houston - Loved all the greenery and the trees. Super fun sports town, tons of restaurants, mild winters but very humid summers. More rain and clouds than here which I doesn't bother me. People are very friendly there.

Boise - Too small, too brown, I was bored out of my mind living there.

Seattle - LOVED all the greenery, the trees, the water, the mountains, even the rain. Probably my ideal city...other than the cost of living. People weren't that friendly there, hard to make friends.

Salt Lake City - Beautiful mountains, great in the spring, summer and fall but winters w/ that inversion was just yucky. Much more affordable than Seattle or San Diego.

Denver - Similar to SLC but no inversion to worry about so in my opinion, I rank Denver higher than SLC. More sun in the winter too. Its also a fun sports town, always something to do. Cool people.

Palm Springs - Beautiful mountains (especially when covered w/ snow) but I'm not a fan of the desert. Too dang hot from May-October. Cool mid-century modern architecture and a fun vacation spot but not to live (at least for younger people).

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by sfosyd

Santa Cruz, CA

Extremely dog friendly. Redwoods. Beach and water. Not a city, smaller and more laid back. Center for holistic medicine, veganism etc. No snow. Lots of high quality engineer type men who commute “over the” hill to Silicon Valley. Access to San Francisco.

Cons: still California, cool summers, expensive.

I love Santa Cruz! Summers are perfect -- only two degrees cooler than the San Diego coast, and I always thought the mild summers were a big draw to California. :-)

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by sav858

You're not the only one lol.

Yes we know because politics and because annoying white people no bueno for you.

[sav858]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

Yes we know because politics and because annoying white people no bueno for you.

umm what? I've never said anything about "annoying white" people, I grew up in a suburb that was 80-85% white FYI. Sounds like you're projecting...

What is with OC people and their obsession with people's races..

[stablegenius]

Originally Posted by divagotstyle07

Lol I especially love the OMG CHECK! enthusiasm

Too bad I think orange county may actually be the worst place on earth hahah
Not my cup of tea at all!!!

I love OC. It's the only place in California I'd move back to.... but it is expensive...