PLACES TO LIVE SORT OF LIKE SD BUT NOT REALLY- give me suggestions!!! (San Diego: look for a job, school)

[BBslider001]

Originally Posted by Curious.In.California

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).

This is crazy. It sounds like my wife posting about me. LOL...We had to leave Oceanside for the same reasons, and I am a native as well. It's been a year and I still get sad about it, but no other choice. It's funny how daily stress can start to overcome the good stuff when it's just day in and day out.

[nmguy]

Have you given any thought to Santa Fe, NM? It has 4 seasons, plenty of sunlight, beautiful vistas, great restaurants, and lots of culture. There's a reason they call New Mexico the Land of Enchantment. I lived there for 11 years and grew in many ways.

Although the city itself lacks the greenness that you seek, there's a national forest just outside of town that is breath-taking.

[Ragnar]

Originally Posted by cruitr

Charleston SC or Greenville SC... did you guys check out the weather each of these very nice cities had last winter?

While I had to wear long sleeve shirts most of the winter here in coastal SD, the entire state of SC had real winter weather. Just because the state has the word 'South' in its name does not mean you can toss your winter coats and gloves.

I've been following the weather of these two places for a few years now, and last winter was definitely colder and more wintery than is typical. Charleston rarely gets snow and Greenville averages about 3 inches of snow each winter, although it does get some ice and cold snaps. Still, I appreciate that Greenville has a clear change of seasons, but that the winter is typically short with an average January high of around 50 degrees. The cold snaps don't last very long. In contrast, I've been waiting for it to be consistently above 50 in WI since last November.

If you want to see real winter in a "South," head to South Dakota!

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by cruitr

Charleston SC or Greenville SC... did you guys check out the weather each of these very nice cities had last winter?

While I had to wear long sleeve shirts most of the winter here in coastal SD, the entire state of SC had real winter weather. Just because the state has the word 'South' in its name does not mean you can toss your winter coats and gloves.

To be fair, Charleston had an unusually cold winter with historic snowfall, but normally, that coastal city with its beautiful palm trees and flowers has rather mild Winters with some very warm days and a few brief cold snaps. Greenville, on the other hand, like most of the Interior Carolinas, does get some snow and ice every winter. My brother and his family live in North Carolina and usually see the temperatures drop into the single digits for morning low temperatures at least a few nights every year, and frequently in the twenties. So yes, beware of much colder spells in winter in most of the South, including places like Atlanta.

[Ragnar]

Originally Posted by nmguy

Have you given any thought to Santa Fe, NM? It has 4 seasons, plenty of sunlight, beautiful vistas, great restaurants, and lots of culture. There's a reason they call New Mexico the Land of Enchantment. I lived there for 11 years and grew in many ways.

Although the city itself lacks the greenness that you seek, there's a national forest just outside of town that is breath-taking.

Santa Fe is a very interesting suggestion! It's a fantasticly unique little city in the high desert. It does get some snow and cold, but is pretty sunny and mild over all. Weather generally tracks a few degrees cooler than Denver due to the change in elevation. It has an interesting historic downtown with a great arts and food scene. Not very much in the way of water around there, however. Also, employment for the OP may be a limiting factor. It may be easier for the OP to find employment in Albuquerque, but living in Santa Fe would be too far of a commute, imho. Santa Fe is definitely worth checking out though.

[loveautumn]

Santa Fe is beautiful but definitely not a mainstream lifestyle. and you might get tired of adobe style homes and Tex-mex food. Great place to visit though, but it’s not all that inexpensive to live there. Not real green there and no sports whatsoever.

[divagotstyle07]

Thank you all for your suggestions!! Right now I'm definitely leaning towards north or south Carolina, Georgia or florida!! I am so antsy to get my trip started where I can see how I feel about northern Florida, savannah, and Charleston. I am also planning on seeing Austin Texas and this has been suggested to me numerous times throughout the years.

Still haven't given up on my hawaii dreams though.

I will update this thread with my thoughts after my trip!! You guys are very helpful thank you!

[loveautumn]

Great! I’d love to read your feedback because I’m interested in some of those places myself

[homesickgirl]

Wilmington, NC sounds like it would fit your bill! We live here currently and LOVE it, but will be making our way back out to SD for work purposes...it pretty much has everything you were looking for.

[Axxlrod]

Encinitas.