Is San Diego the right place for me? (San Francisco, Chula Vista: fit in, transplants)

[Matty1]

I live in Maryland currently, looking to move to Southern California sometime in the next 4-7 months, just tired of living in the same place forever and ready for a change... teh facts:


- I have about $5,000 saved up currently, hoping to have around $10,000 before moving.

- I have a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication.

- I'm 23 and I live very modestly (read: I'm cheap)

- I'm not specific about my career, just something that pays the bills. Possibly something in property management or travel/hospitality


Things I like:

- sunshine, beaches, friendly people, laid-back lifestyle



Things I dont like:

- crowded areas, traffic, unclean/unsafe areas


Is SD a good fit for me? I feel like LA is just "too much" of everything... too expensive, too crowded, too hectic. I dont want to live out in a rural area, but I dont have to be downtown in the busiest sector of town... (I visited NYC once, hated it)

Would Orange County or other surrounding areas be a better fit?


Is this possible? How hard will it be for me to find a job? Will I be homeless within a few months? Help...

[sav858]

SD is a good fit for you. Finding a job will be the tough part though, pretty bad job market here currently. OC will be more crowded and have more traffic but it generally has a better job market than SD, although right now I'm not sure that's saying much.

[RD5050]

I would start off by finding a room for rent on San Diego Craigslist.

That way, you'll have some roommates to help you get adjusted here.

There are lots of 20 somethings sharing homes, condos, apts. all over San Diego.

It will also help save you on rent and utilities, which can be expensive if you live alone.

10K should be enough to start with.

Then after you find a job, you can decide to move into your own place.

Plan to give them at least 1 month rent & 1 month sec deposit when you arrive.

Rooms here usually go for around $500 - $700 / month depending on size of room, private bath, etc.

Another nice thing about renting a room, is the lease is usually month-to-month, so you can easily leave if the situation isn't good (problem roommate, etc).

[luvSD]

San Diego sounds like a good fit for you. Check here to get an idea of what the place is like:
San Diego Travel: Attractions

During peak hours, the traffic is bad and San Diegans drive fast. When you first get here, you will find that you need a heart of steel to drive on the highway, but given that you're 23, you'll adapt just fine.

Lots of sunshine, relatively clean - though as always, there are some scummy parts of town (always like that in big cities). Generally safe, but again, there will be shifty parts of town but ever here, it's not so bad if you don't go looking for trouble. The dangerous parts would be if you go to the Mexican border.

If anything, I'd be worried about you being homeless in less than 6 months time. $5 to 10K in saving isn't a whole lot given the cost of rent and food. If you can't find a job then you are in trouble. Maybe you can come for a visit and scout the place a bit and see if there is a chance of getting a job before you up and move from your home town. Maybe find a online newspaper to look at the classified ads to see if there are any jobs that you might qualify for.

[moved]

Qualifying for a job, and getting one are two different things.

[JamesandJanka]

I think you will fit in nicely. There is a huge population of transplants here in San Diego. I would say look at the southbay you could probably find a decent gig. I moved here 10 years ago when I left the army. I am originally from virginia and I haven't looked back since. I recently got married and my wife moved here from Toronto. Now she is more big city than me or you from what your wrote and she loves it here too. Just do some poking around and look at Chula Vista, EastLake, Otay Ranch you can find some nice places to get into. I don't care much for Orange County.

[zango]

San Diego is nice. Til you meet a girl and get a kid or two. Then you may wish you were back in Maryland. Very hard to raise a family here. Unless you make $200k-yr. But you will love SD. as long as you stay single w/o. many financial responsibilities.

[Mr. Fantastic]

I don't think San Diego is all that great on a budget. You need a car to get everywhere. The mass transit in San Diego is only served by a few light rail routes.

[clb10]

San Diego is nice. Til you meet a girl and get a kid or two. Then you may wish you were back in Maryland. Very hard to raise a family here. Unless you make $200k-yr. But you will love SD. as long as you stay single w/o. many financial responsibilities.

Maryland isn't exactly cheap...at least near the Nation's Capital.

In fact, some parts of Maryland are more expensive to live in than San Diego.

[Mr. Fantastic]

San Diego downtown is like a wannabe version of San Francisco anyway.