Tell me about Urban Neighborhoods in San Diego.

[SunnyDay70]

There are no "urban" neighborhoods in San Diego with the exception of downtown and possibly hillcrest. The rest is a surburbia.....

[anni karouni]

i am only considering little italy isit possible to rent a one bedroom with swimming pool for 1200 dollars thanks

[anni karouni]

i am a certified clinical psy who speaks also french and spanish are there job opportunities in san diego with those qualifications and whayt salary thanks

[anni karouni]

barcelona is a great city but if you have more than 45 you cannot find a job evev qualified i would be coming back to the usa to earn an income

[Clevelandgal]

So looks like I am moving to SD pending final details, and we are still interested in neighborhood type living. We are now looking at rentals in a few beach communities from OB to north PB as they would be an easier commute to La Jolla and sooth our 8 year land locked souls. I read so many threads and I cannot believe how they vary regarding the beaches...from horrible to quite livable. Given we are laid back middle aged professionals (but NOT wanting Yuppie areas), are there any parts of PB or OB that could work? I love Hillcrest but I think that could add some commute time. Am I missing any interesting areas between downtown and La Jolla?

[Clevelandgal]

any thoughts on East Village (just east of gas lamp)? Plus: cooler downtown temputures, lots of places to walk to. minus would be many tourists, and much less character than some of the communities that interest me such as North Park or Normal Heights. Just looking at craiglist-which I have been for months, I am suprised at the prices for what you get in North park and hillcrest. I guess these areas are popular, but I cannot believe I have found some places downtown that have the hardwood floors and one car garage I want for the same as North park with brown carpet, and street or outdoor parking. I know timing is everything with finding a place...but I found a few places downtown that seem to be in nice walkable areas. Any thoughts? I live downtown in my city and I have stayed in the Gaslamp neighborhood (The Horton) and have no complaints at all if this is where we end up finding a place our first year in town. Anything I am missing anything? How bad is it to move through downtown after rush hour to head north?

[SDgyrl]

I am really surprised to hear that you are coming across East Village prices that are the same as prices in Hillcrest and North Park. I just went through a search for a new place and this was not my experience at all. I considered East Village but found that most of the 1 bedrm condos were $1700 and up while 1 bedroom apartments for $1000 (and often less than) seemed to be the norm in Hillcrest and Northpark (the exception would be for the more upscale condo settings).

I opted for a $1500 1 bedrm condo in Hillcrest...it is more upscale than the typical Hillcrest $1,000 rental but still less expensive than the 1 bdrm condos I considered in East Village. In my search (a month ago) downtown rentals were MUCH higher than rentals in Hillcrest and North Park.

[Clevelandgal]

Final verdict: looks like a loft condo rental in Cortez Hill. It was not our number one choice but the clock was ticking to find a place and this was a safe bet since we could not lay eyes on the place (risky, we know) before getting out there. We rented through a Realtor so at least part of this is on the up and up.

Thanks everyone for your help. We think this will only be for a year, but it will give us plenty of time to explore and for me hopefully to get job and sink some more $ into the rental budget.