Relocating to California

[waxybk]

So I am relocating to San Diego in May.

Anyone have any suggestions as far as areas to avoid? Areas that are the best locations? I've been there before so it's not like I am going there with no clue. But I have yet to scope out all the areas that might be good. I am going there in April, right before Coachella, for 2 weeks to check out other areas and lock down a place.

I'd appreciate some ideas...and welcome the sarcasm. It's pretty boring at work today.

[thelastgreatman]

Well, not San Diego, for one. So Cal sucks, at least move to the place that sucks the most but has awesome movie/music opportunities.

[J~$$$]

Delete.

[thefunkylama]

You can have my old appartment.

[waxybk]

Great,

Then I am all set.

Thanks for playing.

[psychic friend]

it has barely been an hour .... why not be patient to see other san diego people responding.

ignore the douchey replies from people who dont even live there.

[J~$$$]

"I'd appreciate some ideas...and welcome the sarcasm."

[psychic friend]

for the record, I only see alma's reply and she does live there. you should PM
her.

[waxybk]

I just figured it would add more salt to the wound if I played along to the mockery...I'm bored! It must be the self inflicted torture that I love....

Thanks for the advice though....appreciated =)

[J~$$$]

for the record, I only see alma's reply and she does live there. you should PM
her.

*Giggles*
<3.

[BROKENDOLL]

Are you moving there for work purposes? And where is that? We'll go from there because as far as I'm concerned, waiting in traffic for 2 hours sucks. S.D has grown and like any other place, has it's good and bad. The closer you can get to work the better. Leaves you more time to enjoy the rest of the city at your leisure and when it comes to leisure...From the mountains to the beach in less than an hour can't be beat. BTW... From S.D. to Coachella= 2-2 1/2 hours...Gotta be better than the trip from N.Y.

[whynotsmile99]

they got a great zoo and even better weather there.

sorry im not more help. Been to SD a bunch and like it a lot, but not sure where the best spots to live are.


next time you are up in Los Angeles though....

Zankou Chicken & Roscoes Chicken and Waffles

[disgustipated]

I just moved from San Diego in November. I loved the North Park/South Park areas, You get more for your money and you are only a few minutes from downtown and the beaches. There are many great neighborhood bars and restaurants and there are many more on the way.

[HowToDisappear]

Okay, you need to provide some information first:

Do you have a job lined up? If so, what part of town will you be working in?

Do you have a car? Public transportation is abysmal here (unless you are close to a trolley line) and that will affect where you live and work if you don't have one. If you do, how far are you willing to commute between work and home? Freeways are killer here during rush hours.

How much do you have budgeted for housing? This is undoubtedly the most pressing question of all as rents are quite steep here.

How old are you? What are your expectations of life here? Your interests? Your activities?

As a New Yorker, are you looking for some sort of sterotypical beach life? Don't mind high rent, high density, high crime, no parking, lots of noise, lots of partying? Then PB or Mission Beach will be the place for you.

Or have you got something else in mind? Like an area with older charm? Like disgustipated said, North Park is great; Golden Hill (sorry, I lived there for 8 years and I cannot bring myself to call it South Park ever that's an abomination) is becoming more gentrified and less ghetto (read more white and far fewer cheap rents) by the day and is wonderful, too.

Good luck. If you've got more specific questions, happy to help.

[BROKENDOLL]

I love your sig!

[sassypants]

I don't know anything about San Diego but I moved from IL to Los Angeles over a year ago and I love SoCal. Bonus: driving distance to Coachella

I really don't understand people that hate SoCal so much and still live here. Don't like? Move somewhere cheaper and stop whining.

[disgustipated]

Golden Hill is still there. If you go in a bit further (south) you will hit south park. From my understanding these are two different neighborhoods. South Park has The Big Kitchen, the best breakfast in town, plus Judy the beauty will sing you Greatful Dead songs.

[waxybk]

Regardless of what I head, SoCal is where I am headed. While I am there I plan on traveling up North, I want to get more tattoo work done up there anyway.

So as far as a job lined up, nothing yet. I am an accountant so I am assuming I can find a job pretty much anywhere, at least I hope so. I also want to live somewhere that I can find a part time job at a tattoo shop, no not as a tattoo artist. My commute here in NY is about an hour and 15, so nothing much more than that…

I’m 27, been through the party like an animal phase. I’d really like to live somewhere that I can go to some cool restaurants, a few bars, some shopping. I’m not looking for anything crazy. Of course having the beach nearby is key. PB is not really my scene. I stayed there for a week 2 years ago, and when I left I wanted to punch the frat boys in the face. Just a few chill bars around as far as going out once in a while. As far as activities go, I just like to go to concerts and shows, get tattoos, relax on the beach. I’m also pretty active I box, into yoga….blah blah blah…..I dunno, anything really

I will get a car when I get there. Public Trans. here is great, but I know it’s not like that in SD.

We (my friend and I) figured that we didn’t want to spend more than $1600. Less would be ideal, but that is the max.

Much thanks for the responses. It’s totally scary to move 3K miles away. I can’t stand NY, I am so over it!!!

[Wheres the beef?]

So I am relocating to San Diego in May.

Anyone have any suggestions as far as areas to avoid? Areas that are the best locations? I've been there before so it's not like I am going there with no clue. But I have yet to scope out all the areas that might be good. I am going there in April, right before Coachella, for 2 weeks to check out other areas and lock down a place.

I'd appreciate some ideas...and welcome the sarcasm. It's pretty boring at work today.

Places you want to generally avoid:
Chula Vista
Imperial Beach
National City
East Downtown (10th street Eastward)
San Ysidro (although I dont know if anyone actually lives here. Its right on the border and ghett-O.)

A general rule of thumb is the closer to the border the worse it gets. But, as the same as everywhere, there are pockets of good amongst the bad.

Depending on who you are, some good places to live:
Point Loma
Ocean Beach
Pacific Beach
Mission Hills
Hillcrest
Mission Valley
Gaslamp/Downtown
Northpark
Del Mar
Clairemont
Mira Mesa

My photos are tied up on a crashed harddrive I am trying to recover and if I can I will post some pictures. I had a sweet spot in Mission Hills that over looked the harbor, airport, freeway, and the ocean. I miss San Diego

[waxybk]

I thought about Gaslamp/Downtown. I thought it might be an easier transition from NY. But I've never been there, so that's definitely on my list to check out. It might be too "city" like?

[HowToDisappear]

Golden Hill is still there. If you go in a bit further (south) you will hit south park. From my understanding these are two different neighborhoods. South Park has The Big Kitchen, the best breakfast in town, plus Judy the beauty will sing you Greatful Dead songs.

No no no no no. Golden Hill was always directly south of North Park. It's been called that for the last 150 years. Calling it South Park is a fairly recent phenomenon - maybe the last 15-18 years or so. South Park is a construct of the real estate game. Golden Hill had too ghetto of a connotation and they were trying to lure more well-heeled buyers into the neighborhood. So they just gave that part of town a new name. Parts of Golden Hill are quite dicey and others are unbelievably nice. That's just the way it is.

The Big Kitchen is definitely in Golden Hill. And yes, the food there is definitely awesome.

[disgustipated]

North Park sounds like your place. I paid $1500 for a 2 bed 1 bath house with a huge front yard, garage and covered patio in the back. It is mostly young families but more 25-30 somethings are moving in. I had a short bike ride to MANY low-key bars and nice places to dine. My commute to work downtown was through the neighborhood and only took me about 5 minutes. I could be on the beach in OB in a little over 10 minutes and on the beach in Coronado in under 10.

[disgustipated]

ok, well The Big Kitchen is right next to South park bar and grill so...whatever. Another of my favs was the Turf Club. For those in SD who have yet to eat there you need to go to this place.

[thefunkylama]

I live in Mira Mesa currently, in an area really close to the freeway and about 20 minutes from the airport (on most days, anyway). The neighborhood here is quiet enough for my boyfriend and I; there's a firestation down the road so sometimes that gets noisy, but between that and the police academy at the college across the street, it's a really safe place. That might also be due to the Marine Air Base less than a mile south of here, though. Parking can be a pain if you have more than one car, but rent's cheap; $1000/mo for 900 sq ft. 1 bedroom. Others in our area are similarly priced.

We are located about two blocks away from a strip mall, and the main thoroughfare (also 2 blocks) is littered with food places, banks, grocery stores, boutiques, whatever you want. If you go far enough west on either of the two main roads through the area, you get to Sorreno Valley and La Jolla, and also the 805 freeway. Less than a half-mile to the east is the 15 freeway, which heads south and splits into the 163 state route and downtown. From here, my commute to work in the morning (in Mission Valley) takes about 10-15 minutes; to the beaches further south, it's about a half-hour; to certain parts of downtown, 20-25 minutes. North County in general is 10-15 minutes away, Escondido is about 30 minutes (unless you're going between 3-6 pm on a weeknight), Hollywood 3 hrs., Disneyland 1.5 hours.

Mostly I have had some really bad personal experiences in San Diego so I'm getting the fuck out in Feb/Mar.

[miscorrections]

You forgot to mention that you live really close to Punjabi Tandoor.

[Sexecutioner]

you should move to the gaslamp, espeically coming from ny. it has everything you mentioned, food, shopping, etc. i live in pb, and while i also hate the fratboy scene, nothing beats being able to ride my bike down to the beach each weekend during the summer. i wouldnt want to live anywhere else in sd. but thats just me, i love the frickin beach, and anywhere inland just sucks imo. now i just gotta get my ass to north pb, where its not so obnoxious all the time. ob is like the hippy version of pb. you might like la jolla too...its pricey, and superficial, but it also has nice shopping and food. and its a very nice area. hillcrest area is pretty cool too, if you can handle all the flaming gays.

[TomAz]

coronado

[miscorrections]

La Jolla is def. not worth the price. It's beautiful and all but there's not much to do, people in Mercedes/BMWs obliviously almost kill you about every two seconds, and the shopping/food are way overrated. If it wasn't so convenient for me location-wise I'd try to live somewhere like North Park or Hillcrest.

[Sexecutioner]

La Jolla is def. not worth the price. It's beautiful and all but there's not much to do, people in Mercedes/BMWs obliviously almost kill you about every two seconds, and the shopping/food are way overrated. If it wasn't so convenient for me location-wise I'd try to live somewhere like North Park or Hillcrest.

where in la jolla do you live? i work right on coast blvd, by the museum.

[miscorrections]

Oh, I don't technically live in La Jolla, just close. Near UCSD.