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Old 05-29-2020, 11:53 AM
 
Location: San Diego
5,589 posts, read 4,534,522 times
Reputation: 12491

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OP is young and single. So live in/around North Park/Kensington area if you can or in other parts of san diego proper. She'd be bored up in North county, as it's mostly married people with kids in the suburbs.

Yes, you will need a car. This isn't Chicago. Mass transit exists here, but it's not convenient and can be sketchy for a single female. Don't listen to Newgen advice about cars. He's the resident car-hater, and thinks everyone should ride a bike or take public transit. Outside of a few defined urban cities, you'll need a car anywhere in the western US.
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Old 05-29-2020, 12:16 PM
 
1,798 posts, read 1,106,175 times
Reputation: 2479
Quote:
Originally Posted by Axxlrod View Post
OP is young and single. So live in/around North Park/Kensington area if you can or in other parts of san diego proper. She'd be bored up in North county, as it's mostly married people with kids in the suburbs.

Yes, you will need a car. This isn't Chicago. Mass transit exists here, but it's not convenient and can be sketchy for a single female. Don't listen to Newgen advice about cars. He's the resident car-hater, and thinks everyone should ride a bike or take public transit. Outside of a few defined urban cities, you'll need a car anywhere in the western US.
I'm not going to apologize for conveying the options available to this person. If you want a car, you either sacrifice living alone or living near the coast. It's their decision to make. You absolutely do not need to own a car, especially if you aren't even commuting. To suggest that foregoing car ownership isn't an option is idiotic.

Any more people who can't relate to this person's situation want to chime in?
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Old 05-29-2020, 12:17 PM
 
Location: San Diego, CA
3,416 posts, read 2,416,556 times
Reputation: 6159
Quote:
Originally Posted by Axxlrod View Post
OP is young and single. So live in/around North Park/Kensington area if you can or in other parts of san diego proper. She'd be bored up in North county, as it's mostly married people with kids in the suburbs.

Yes, you will need a car. This isn't Chicago. Mass transit exists here, but it's not convenient and can be sketchy for a single female. Don't listen to Newgen advice about cars. He's the resident car-hater, and thinks everyone should ride a bike or take public transit. Outside of a few defined urban cities, you'll need a car anywhere in the western US.
Exactly. North County, along with East County and the South Bay is where people traditionally go to buy a house and raise a family. You’ll find pockets of activity in them all that someone young will find fun. But when you’re young, and especially single, you need to be in the city or it’s beaches.
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Old 05-29-2020, 12:33 PM
 
1,798 posts, read 1,106,175 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wowitskristin View Post
Great things to think about---I'm not opposed to not having a car...at least right away, and renting when necessary. How is the transit if I did want to explore other nearby areas? I'm not overly familiar with the transit, but I know it's not as reliable as cities like Chicago.
Transit in San Diego is mediocre at best- you definitely have to plan your travel...you can't just show up at a bus and hope it will come in 5mins. But in general, most of the areas worth exploring, especially initially, are transit accessible. As I stated, you'd need to rely on friends or rent a car to explore the more rural areas. There is great nature in the city that is transit accessible (or bikeable from transit).

Quote:
I think the biggest importance for me, is to live alone. It's not a deal breaker, if I found the right person, BUT, I would consider that to be the first priority, then living right by the coast, then having a car. IF, however, I ended up finding a great roommate situation, I would consider it. If it meant I could be that much closer to the water. Just really depends.
My recommendation would be to try a year living in Pacific Beach, Ocean Beach, etc. without a car. You will quickly learn whether you can tolerate not having a car or are able to rely on other options. I don't see the value in immediately buying a car or making your relocation decision based on purchasing a car.

Get a feel for the neighborhoods and city living before making this investment.

Personally, I would prefer having a car in SD as long as it fits my budget. But your budget means that you can only choose 2 out of the 3 options.

Quote:
Thankfully I have a few months to sort through all of this. I plan to head out there in a few weeks to stay with a friend and get a better understanding of the neighborhoods.
Yes, and try the transit options while you are here. I don't know what your personal level of tolerance is for transit, biking, etc.. I've lived in NYC and other major metros, so my standards are pretty high. San Diego has very limited areas in which it would work, but it can and does for many people. Also, remember that we have great weather for activity, so biking is definitely an option if that is one of your interests.
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Old 05-29-2020, 02:49 PM
 
9,522 posts, read 30,361,645 times
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I would aim for what you would consider an 'inner suburb' lifestyle - you'll live in a neighborhood in the city, but compared to Chi it will feel a bit surburban. I would narrow my focus to Encinitas, the neighborhoods around Balboa Park, and the neighborhoods a bit north of the main parts of PB. I think 1200 may be too little, and parking will be annoying, but you can split the difference between walking to stuff and having a car so you can experience the rest of the region and CA as a whole. You will have a lot of like-minded neighbors. You're not commuting so you can have a car when you need it but not depend on it. Getting around day to day without a car here, is just a huge waste of free time IMO. It's so much easier to live farther away, jump in a car and visit the beach than to live near the beach and try to do everything else without a car, if that makes sense.
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Old 05-29-2020, 03:19 PM
 
1,798 posts, read 1,106,175 times
Reputation: 2479
Quote:
Originally Posted by Sassberto View Post
I would aim for what you would consider an 'inner suburb' lifestyle - you'll live in a neighborhood in the city, but compared to Chi it will feel a bit surburban. I would narrow my focus to Encinitas, the neighborhoods around Balboa Park, and the neighborhoods a bit north of the main parts of PB. I think 1200 may be too little, and parking will be annoying, but you can split the difference between walking to stuff and having a car so you can experience the rest of the region and CA as a whole. You will have a lot of like-minded neighbors. You're not commuting so you can have a car when you need it but not depend on it. Getting around day to day without a car here, is just a huge waste of free time IMO. It's so much easier to live farther away, jump in a car and visit the beach than to live near the beach and try to do everything else without a car, if that makes sense.
Perfectly stated. This is the value judgement that the OP needs to make.
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Old 05-29-2020, 03:37 PM
 
Location: San Diego Native
4,433 posts, read 2,390,968 times
Reputation: 4801
Quote:
Originally Posted by newgensandiego View Post
SIt's not impossible.

I didn't say it was impossible, I said it's impractical and might limit the person based on the activities they listed in the initial post. It's also not impossible to be homeless in San Diego, but I wouldn't give advice to someone looking to relocate here to do so.


Quote:
Most Americans have no grasp of the true cost of owning a car.
It doesn't sound like you do to be totally frank here.
I've owned a few dozen in my lifetime, all of which has been spent in San Diego. In five decades, I've never felt that a car was a burden; it's the exact opposite. The SD metro area is a postage stamp in the grand scheme of the entire county footprint. As others have said, this isn't Chicago.
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Old 05-29-2020, 04:40 PM
 
Location: South Park, San Diego
6,109 posts, read 10,811,441 times
Reputation: 12470
It’s too bad that San Diego of just a few years ago actually had several more and quite flexible options to go without owning a private vehicle. Car-to-Go, Zipcar (which I guess still has a presence here if highly downgraded) among others that have effectively gone away. My nieces and their SO’s reveled in those Car-to-Go days. The scooter and bike rental craze has come and gone, leaving a transit system that works ok in just a few specific core areas mostly and ride share Uber/Lyft both of which now present a fearful proposition.

I’ve been living a limited car use life here for some time, close enough to still walk all over the Balboa Park/Downtown core and even as my car tended to grow cobwebs before the pandemic -bought new in late 2001, has 70k miles- now it’s just covered up and forgotten, I’ve never not had one here.

Certainly having a paid for car that you rarely drive doesn’t add up to more than a couple of thousand dollars a year which I can easily afford just to have the almost rare convenience of out your door and you’re off.

Last edited by T. Damon; 05-29-2020 at 04:53 PM..
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Old 05-29-2020, 07:08 PM
 
88 posts, read 170,678 times
Reputation: 63
Thanks all for your input! I'm likely gonna book a flight this weekend to go stay with my friend in Imperial Beach, in July. Thinking about 2 weeks!

I'll focus on exploring more of the neighborhoods surrounding Balboa Park, but will definitely explore others just to get a feel of what's out there. I think I would get a car when I move, maybe not immediately, but who knows. I've been doing some research, and I have a good, used car in mind within my budget, that I would get. The car isn't my main concern at this time, but it will be in the future. Given this whole pandemic, and when I'd like to move, there's only so much I can prepare for at this time!

Thanks again and would still love any other advice!
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Old 05-29-2020, 08:10 PM
 
Location: La Jolla
4,185 posts, read 3,223,112 times
Reputation: 4096
Quote:
Originally Posted by Axxlrod View Post
OP is young and single. So live in/around North Park/Kensington area if you can or in other parts of san diego proper. She'd be bored up in North county, as it's mostly married people with kids in the suburbs.

Yes, you will need a car. This isn't Chicago. Mass transit exists here, but it's not convenient and can be sketchy for a single female. Don't listen to Newgen advice about cars. He's the resident car-hater, and thinks everyone should ride a bike or take public transit. Outside of a few defined urban cities, you'll need a car anywhere in the western US.
For OP I would actually recommend City Heights or the Midway area. Midway-not cool, not trendy but by the water in the core city. Could probably get something good for $1200 if she looked hard enough.

No, a car would not be needed-I hate to have to keep reminding people this but San Diego has one of the most comprehensive mass transit systems in the nation that is currently undergoing one of the most ambitious and expensive upgrades in the country. I believe ride share companies also offer subscription type plans for work commuters.
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