Where to live in SD as DINKs (San Diego, San Francisco: to rent, house)

[mr_gondola]

Hey all - moving to SD, seeking advice. Probably renting for a year then will look at buying.

We are currently in Seattle, and hate the weather and the city gov. My SO, from NYC, thought she was a liberal until she saw the PNW. She's decided she's more of a moderate...

Details:
- Late 30s, DINKs (+dog). We don't party, and don't want to be on top of college kids or party/bar scenes. We do want to be walkable to restaurants/bars/shops.
- Safe, fairly calm area. We're coming out of Capitol Hill in Seattle, so fewer needles and homeless would be a treat...
- Ideally near-ish to the ocean.
- Easy commute to office (north UTC/Torrey Pines), though WFH a lot. Need airport once a month.
- Don't need to pay for good schools. Would just like a good gym and a lap pool nearby maybe.

Any advice is appreciated. We liked La Jolla Village when we visited, but I worry it's just a retirement location (?).

[NORTY FLATZ]

You really got that big of problem with homeless & needles there?

If so, then I can see why you want to escape.

Have you looked at San Francisco area? Not to "steer" you that way, but "walkable" means homeless/drug use here, unfortunately.

Good luck with your search.

[JoeSanDiegoHomes]

What's your budget? Bird rock is great, but isn't cheap. There are not a ton of walkable areas in the city that are also free of homeless. You may like Banker's Hill and North Park as well.

[T. Damon]

South Park is where you want to be. Think a smaller, chiller and closer to downtown Ballard. San Diego is far removed from the recent chaos of Seattle, Portland, SF and LA. Great walkable neighborhood, chock full of wonderful restaurants, pubs and shopping but not hipster central like North Park, very safe and few homeless, quiet canyon enclaves to escape to, 10-12 minutes to downtown (airport) and the beautiful beaches of Coronado. You would still have a moderate commute but the trolley to UTC will open up in a few months as an option. Great lap pool open in nearby National City that my partner goes to three times a week, Las Palmas

HOME - South Park, San Diego Official Site

https://www.sandiegorealestatehunter...at-place-live/ (no connection, just a site that showed up and describes the hood)

https://instagram.com/southparksandi...=14xspr9ryz3kw

[kettlepot]

When I was house hunting and commuted up to Sorrento Valley, I remember thinking that South Park was just one step too far from my work. I moved a bit further north, however, you should still consider it.

I would like to suggest Kensington or northern Normal Heights. There is a dog park at the border of Kensington and Normal Heights, and there is a YMCA with two pools at the border of Kensington and Talmadge. Both of these neighborhoods are very walkable, and have or had restaurants and small shops though it seems like Covid's biggest death toll may be small businesses like these, but that's everywhere.

Also, a budget might help us direct you better.

[Larry Siegel]

Mission Hills?

Also, I love La Jolla. It skews older because you need money to buy there, but it's not that expensive to rent. By LJ Village I assume you mean downtown, not the overcrowded, student-oriented housing development called the Village off of La Jolla Village Drive. La Jolla is the only place I know of that has *two* neighborhoods called the Village.

[mr_gondola]

Thanks, all. These are super helpful suggestions! Will research all these. Around the park seems promising (Ballard-like wouldn't be bad, T.Damon). Though it sounds like I may have to give a little on walkability to get some of what I want. Also wasn't aware of the trolley - mass transit would be great for SO.

Re: SF - Not a bad suggestion, but my SO won't go to SF (hates it as well...). I have friends there, and there's plenty of jobs, but it's just too expensive and competitive/rat-race for my taste. And homelessness is same or worse vs. Seattle.

Yes - Capitol hill is pretty bad. Across Seattle, many parks are being taken over by homeless camps since the city has stopped sweeps. It's not uncommon to see needles, though it comes and goes. Most nights there's someone walking down my street screaming and having a mental breakdown.

Budget - I'm flexible. We pay $2.3K for 800SF 1/1 bed apt., plus $175 parking, and a 1/1 was $3-4K in NYC when I was there (I had a 500 SF studio) Seattle RE that I like is ~$750K-$1.5M, so we're used to the sticker shock prices. I'd probably want min. 2/1 apt in SD, as at least one of us does WFH a lot. Buying is another matter - I have a hard time even thinking above $900K. That said, I don't need tons of space (2K SF max), and we are financially able to take on some cost.

Not that these numbers don't make me cry. I grew up outside Houston, and my dad paid $60K for the house I grew up in and then doubled their size in retirement for ~$200K. In my head, a 3 bed house = $200K...

Village - Yes, I mean the downtown with the seals, not the college area. I don't want to live with college kids, and don't want be on top of the mall.

Question:
(1) when I hear about "inland being hot", how far in are we talking about? Just east of the Park, or 45 min. drive due east on a highway? I was there in the summer a few years ago, and it was high 90s, so everywhere seemed "hot", and the pandas at the zoo weren't thrilled.
(2) What's my commute to UTC from around the park? I'm used to ~30 min. walking or mass transit commute.

[edit: removed spaces created by the quick reply feature...]

[moved]

You're going to have the same problem with the homeless here.

[joosoon]

Originally Posted by mr_gondola

Question:
(1) when I hear about "inland being hot", how far in are we talking about? Just east of the Park, or 45 min. drive due east on a highway? I was there in the summer a few years ago, and it was high 90s, so everywhere seemed "hot", and the pandas at the zoo weren't thrilled.

Depends on what 'hot' is to you. Some people will act as if anything east of the 5 is the desert but that's their own personal comfort zone talking. San Diego overall doesn't have protracted heat waves so even in the farthest flung areas of the moderately populated county, you're not going to be suffering for months on end. For what it's worth, the areas it sounds like you're leaning towards aren't going to get the brunt of summer heat. Full disclosure, my tolerance for high temps is higher than normal. I don't like the other end of the spectrum.

[sfosyd]

As someone who has lived in Seattle, the homeless situation in SD is not nearly as bad. The weather is just amazingly better, it affects everything you do especially this time of year with the shorter days.

Prices are roughly the same as Seattle so don't think you will be saving money, unfortunately. You probably know this but the state income tax will be painful. For most income levels, up to about 500k annually, Oregon is actually worse so there is that ;-)

I agree with the recommendations of staying around Balboa Park. I'd also highly recommend University Heights, commute would be a bit better than South Park, it's quiet as well, has a great neighborhood park, close to North Park/Hillcrest, and has a really nice commercial district along park blvd. Recently bought a house here, and cannot say enough good things about it. Fantastic community. It's possible to find a SFH for under $1,000,000 but not easy. We just squeaked by but found an absolutely fantastic quiet canyon 3 bed 2 bath home that is walking distance to everything.