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Thanks to everyone who has posted, and everyone else yet to post. I will certainly read every single post, so don't be shy. I don't need to talk neighborhoods, as there are plenty of other posts about that. I am really interested in the day in the life a San Diegoan with kids. IE I woke up on Saturday, ate breakfast on my private patio, and went to the world famous SD Zoo...... or I sat in traffic until 6:05 yesterday evening and was late to pick up my kids from the day care.
You can enjoy outdoor events all year round here except a few weeks of the year (when it rains).Doesn't get nearly as windy as the midwest either, so it's good for jogging/walking. There are various parks and lakes (Miramar, Hodges, Murray, etc...) for that, in addition to the oceanside areas and bays. Also, many trails and canyon preserves for hiking. People also like to hang around Balboa park just sitting in the grass since it's easy to get free parking there.
I, my wife, and my two young children are currently living in the Midwest. We are both 30 years old, have family here, a nice house, in a nice neighborhood, with house payments of about $1,000 a month. We are currently both in grad school and will finnish at the same time. We are both in fairly marketable professions, so we are less concerned with finding a job. We are tired of the cold winters, and we are tired of the less than exciting things to do in the summer when the weather is nice. We set it in our heads that we want to move to SoCal for the year round fun and excitement. We love to be outdoors, and it feels like we rarely get the opportunity here in the midwest to go outside and soak up sunshine. We know that there will be a longer commute to go along with that and higher house prices. Is there anyone out there that made the transformation from the Midwest to SoCal with children in tow? If so, what were some of your thoughts and feelings about the move? What were some of the pitfalls, drawbacks, and downsides that you are now stuck with? What are some of the things about your present situation that make you glad that you made the move, and not regret the time and money you spent and the personal relationships with friends that you sacrificed? Was it worth starting over?
I moved here after college from eastern PA- grew up in Ohio before that. SD is/was a fascinating place - its really the most ideal place I can think of to spend college life in- i went to law school here- each year that passes after i graduated I get less and less enchanted by the SoCal lifestyle.
You mention "We love to be outdoors"- it doesn't get a whole lot better than SD- bike, hike, surf, swim, ocean, desert, mountains. 300+ days of sunshine and rarely a moment where its below 60 degrees. This will be something you will love.
As far as the "longer commute" You can control that by living closer to work. It can be as nice or miserable as you want it to be. Coming from the midwest, you'll think the traffic here is a little crazy during rush hour, people can drive when it rains, people have difficulty merging into traffic, driving in rain, people don't know that the far left lane means "go like hell".
Real Estate will be a surprise even when you brace yourself for it. You'll be able to fit 4 small tract SD homes in your midwest house. If having land with character, a big house with character are important- SD may not be for you. Some people get around this by living in more affordable areas- problem with that thinking here- you can find alot of white picket fence, great neighborhood (dime a dozen) areas in the midwest. When you look at the more affordable areas here they usually lack good schools and aren't as safe as their counterparts.
I don't regret moving here- I see how alot of the rust belt is decaying, jobs are being lost and the old way of thinking prevails and generally its not a great place for white collar jobs, but I realize while SD is better it may not be the long-term answer.
Generally speaking I miss midwest people and enjoy hanging out with the honest sometimes cranky and abrasive east coast people. Granted there are some here.
I wonder a bit when people want to move for the weather and lead with it when they want to leave (minnesota, Ohio, NY, etc.), and I think if living in SD is less financially comfortable- it doesn't matter how much sunshine and warm weather is upon me, that's my opinion though, some people on here disagree with me on that.
pitfalls, drawbacks, and downsides that you are now stuck with?
1. Sunshine tax (pay is less here) and its accepted each day when people take lowball offers (even when times are good)
2. Schools are bad there are a few that are outstanding, but they can't mask the others which if you venture into you'll see why the state is monitoring them like crazy.
3. IMO you trade personal space (land, home) for good weather and great public land. On the rare ocassion here you can have both, you seem like the type of person that would fight like hell to make that happen.
That is funny that you should say that, because that is exactly what we did this summer. We left the kids with Grandma and Grandpa and came to CA for a week. We flew into SD, drove up the coast, and flew out of SF.
NotAFanOfSnow,
You and your family do sound like you are in a similar situation; you guys are just exactly a year ahead of my family.
Everyone else,
Research, research, research. I'm an incredibly (overly) detail oriented CPA, with plenty of time to goof around on the net. So, I have spent countless hours imagining myself in the Carlsbad Single Family homes on the real estate sites, or the University City condos. Our housing budget is going to come in around $400k with 20% down, and our incomes combined will be around $130k on the conservative side. I am not the type to gloat, or boast, so please don't take the personal income info personally.
Thanks to everyone who has posted, and everyone else yet to post. I will certainly read every single post, so don't be shy. I don't need to talk neighborhoods, as there are plenty of other posts about that. I am really interested in the day in the life a San Diegoan with kids. IE I woke up on Saturday, ate breakfast on my private patio, and went to the world famous SD Zoo...... or I sat in traffic until 6:05 yesterday evening and was late to pick up my kids from the day care.
Just understand though, that yes, SD has Seaworld, the Zoo, Legoland, etc..., the locals don't exactly go to those places all that often. You'll go there when you first move here, but after that, you'll most likely only go when out-of-town visitors come to see you.
Most people who live in SD, spend the typical saturday doing errands, playing with their kids, and maybe a bar-b-que with friends... probably not to different than what people do in mid-west on a typical saturday.
sitting down? 48% cost of living difference from SD to most places in the Midwest. I moved from So Cal to the Iowa. I lived in San Diego for 18 years before that. Fun huh? Try living there. Count your blessings. SD? Ok. The "great" weather there. Not so. Everyone talks about how great it is there - weather. I challenge ANYONE on this. SD gets upper 90s in the summer. I've had a few 100+ days. During the winter months. Ok. 40s and 50s. But mostly 70 degrees year around? BS. SD has cheaply built homes (these are only 1.5 Million) Traffic like you would not believe. Family Community? Are you kidding me? No. All the land is bought up by developers making money.. not spent on nice big open parks. I'm talking hours of traffic. Jobs pay more? Ha. No. And I have two degrees from some of the top engineering schools in the nation. You will get sick of the road rage. Folks in So Cal - the marjority - are out for themselfs especially on the roads. 80+ MPH 90+ MPH - thats the flow of traffic - don’t challenge me on this. I lived it in south Diego for 18 years. Schools? We pulled our kids out because it got so bad (no bullying policy and curriculum sucked) and home schooled them because we could not afford private (better schools). EVERTYHING is over crowded. The main reason I left though is cost of housing. 1970s crap home for 1.5 mill? BS. No since of community and decency on the roads. Punks racing on the roads. Cops? What are those in SD? Fist fights on the sides of freeways from road rage - and these are professionals in ties and suits... not the ghetto. Monthly near head on collisions. Getting run off the road by drivers. No joke. Pick another place that is less crowded and doesn't have a deficit issue and thus can't hire enough police to keep you safe. I lived it and saw it for 18 years. It sucked. Now.... The Midwest. Today in Iowa I'm 100 acres + 4000 sq foot home out in the open Iowa country purchased for the same price as some 1300 sq foot crap home in SD. I have a 10 minute commute from work. Getting paid the same as I was in SD. #3 schools in the nation.
Just understand though, that yes, SD has Seaworld, the Zoo, Legoland, etc..., the locals don't exactly go to those places all that often. You'll go there when you first move here, but after that, you'll most likely only go when out-of-town visitors come to see you.
Most people who live in SD, spend the typical saturday doing errands, playing with their kids, and maybe a bar-b-que with friends... probably not to different than what people do in mid-west on a typical saturday.
And it's no different than New Yorkers going to the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, shopping on 5th Ave., going to the theater on Broadway (I'd bet half the people in attendance are visitors), etc.
They're doing their errands and hanging with family, too.
Just understand though, that yes, SD has Seaworld, the Zoo, Legoland, etc..., the locals don't exactly go to those places all that often. You'll go there when you first move here, but after that, you'll most likely only go when out-of-town visitors come to see you.
Most people who live in SD, spend the typical saturday doing errands, playing with their kids, and maybe a bar-b-que with friends... probably not to different than what people do in mid-west on a typical saturday.
Isn't this so true? I think of all the great places to visit when you live somewhere and yet, like you say, the novelty wears off and people spend their weekends the same regardless of where you live pretty much.
I was born and raised in Ca and have traveled all over the world, but have never been to Yosemite. Isn't that discusting: We are big horse race fans, used to love to go to Santa Anita, then we moved to Aracadia: all the years we lived there we visited the track once, it was a fund raiser for our son't football team. Before we moved to Washington DC we loved visiting all the historical sites, moved there, hardly ever went to DC proper except hubby did for work daily. I could go on and on.
The most positive thing though about living someplace like San Diego is the ability to do the outdoors things if you want, just to have them available and the weather indusive to playing outdoors..
Nita
sitting down? 48% cost of living difference from SD to most places in the Midwest. I moved from So Cal to the Iowa. I lived in San Diego for 18 years before that. Fun huh? Try living there. Count your blessings. SD? Ok. The "great" weather there. Not so. Everyone talks about how great it is there - weather. I challenge ANYONE on this. SD gets upper 90s in the summer. I've had a few 100+ days. During the winter months. Ok. 40s and 50s. But mostly 70 degrees year around?
Malcolm, no offense but posts like yours crack me up. Are you really trying to compare living out in the country in Iowa to living in San Diego? That's kind of silly don't you think? If a person can't afford to live somewhere they should be all means move somewhere cheaper, but don't kid yourself and others by even trying to compare the 2. Places like the midwest, texas, etc. are cheap for a reason. It's called supply and demand.
You couldn't pay me any amount of money to live in the country in Iowa. If that's your thing then great. But it's highly unlikely that anyone looking to move to San Diego is even remotely interested in Iowa. Again, most people are moving in the other direction for a reason.
The weather alone in Iowa is enough for most warm weather people to say fuggetaboutit. An average January temp in the 20s? Yeah ok sure I'll rush right over. Some people are willing to pay more for nice weather, among other things. You can't or won't - but don't try to convince anyone that Iowa is a better place to live than San Diego because that's just silly. 90+ out of 100 people would choose San Diego if money wasn't an issue.
Malcolm, no offense but posts like yours crack me up. Are you really trying to compare living out in the country in Iowa to living in San Diego? That's kind of silly don't you think? If a person can't afford to live somewhere they should be all means move somewhere cheaper, but don't kid yourself and others by even trying to compare the 2. Places like the midwest, texas, etc. are cheap for a reason. It's called supply and demand.
Supply and demand doesn't always correlate to reason and practicality. Just look at the stock market. Or just look at the So. Cal real estate market as of late.
Don't be fooled by this everyone wants to live here jargon. People are moving out of So. Cal in droves. So are businesses. Yes, there is a constant influx of flakey people and mexicans desperate to escape a life of abject poverty and violence. The demographic and economic currents are definitely shifting.
Here's what this boils down to - how much do you really care about the outdoors/weather? Because very little else distinguishes it from other mid-large size cities, unless perhaps your career is somehow associated with the military.
I moved here from TN. Yes, we had cold winters and hot summers, but it's really not that bad. The truth is you spend most of your time in a climate controlled setting anyway - at home, work, car, etc. It's just a question of how much do you really value being out in the sun. I think A LOT of people overestimate the value of this in their life. It's probably a big deal for old people who greatly suffer from temprature extremes, buy young healthy people not so much. I've found that I got enough camping, biking, hiking, beach time in the South as I needed, but that's just me.
Some people really are wired for that surfer/outdoorsman personality so I can understand why they make the sacrifice to live here.
This can't be stressed enough - the cost of living adjustment is outrageous. It's not just housing, it's everything. Little chickensh/t things that just add up.
I'm a relative newcomer but my impression is the city reflects what my friends in New York City used to say - this place is great if you are young and poor or old and rich but it sucks to be in between - ie, thirtysomething, middle class, small children, etc.
I'm a relative newcomer but my impression is the city reflects what my friends in New York City used to say - this place is great if you are young and poor or old and rich but it sucks to be in between - ie, thirtysomething, middle class, small children, etc.[/quote]
sitting down? 48% cost of living difference from SD to most places in the Midwest. I moved from So Cal to the Iowa. I lived in San Diego for 18 years before that. Fun huh? Try living there. Count your blessings. SD? Ok. The "great" weather there. Not so. Everyone talks about how great it is there - weather. I challenge ANYONE on this. SD gets upper 90s in the summer. I've had a few 100+ days. During the winter months. Ok. 40s and 50s. But mostly 70 degrees year around? BS. SD has cheaply built homes (these are only 1.5 Million) Traffic like you would not believe. Family Community? Are you kidding me? No. All the land is bought up by developers making money.. not spent on nice big open parks. I'm talking hours of traffic. Jobs pay more? Ha. No. And I have two degrees from some of the top engineering schools in the nation. You will get sick of the road rage. Folks in So Cal - the marjority - are out for themselfs especially on the roads. 80+ MPH 90+ MPH - thats the flow of traffic - don’t challenge me on this. I lived it in south Diego for 18 years. Schools? We pulled our kids out because it got so bad (no bullying policy and curriculum sucked) and home schooled them because we could not afford private (better schools). EVERTYHING is over crowded. The main reason I left though is cost of housing. 1970s crap home for 1.5 mill? BS. No since of community and decency on the roads. Punks racing on the roads. Cops? What are those in SD? Fist fights on the sides of freeways from road rage - and these are professionals in ties and suits... not the ghetto. Monthly near head on collisions. Getting run off the road by drivers. No joke. Pick another place that is less crowded and doesn't have a deficit issue and thus can't hire enough police to keep you safe. I lived it and saw it for 18 years. It sucked. Now.... The Midwest. Today in Iowa I'm 100 acres + 4000 sq foot home out in the open Iowa country purchased for the same price as some 1300 sq foot crap home in SD. I have a 10 minute commute from work. Getting paid the same as I was in SD. #3 schools in the nation.
Wow. Sounds like someone couldn't quite hack living in the "big city". I think you are much better off living out in the country in the mid-west, away from people. Do you work for the US postal service by chance?
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