People living in San Diego...
 

Fowarding this for a friend of mine, I think this is the board for some help :)

"Since it is necessary for me to do a "down and dirty" move to San Diego within the next 2 weeks, I'm asking for information from anyone who has actually lived in San Diego before. Normally if I'm just moving a couple of miles, I spend months getting ready, but that is not an option this time. I have a list of "neighborhoods" that are within the right range and price limit, but have no idea how good or bad these areas are. I will have 1-2 days to look at some available places, but then I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and snag one.

If anyone has any advice on the following areas, it would be greatly appreciated:

Balboa Park
Bankers Hill
Chula Vista
Carlsbad
Downtown
El Cajon
Escondido
Golden Hills
Hillcrest
Kensington
Mission Hills
Normal Heights
North Park
Old Town
South Park
Spring Valley
University Heights"

Hillcrest is cool, I had a friend who lived there. I used to live in Pacific Beach which is also lots of fun. Another friend lived in El Cajon and it got too hot at her house (no air conditioning in San Diego).

balboa park is nice.. a lot of homeless people though.
el cajon can be nice.. but their are some ghetto areas.
chula vista is about the same as el cajon..
downtown is busy.. lots of one way streets and traffic and homeless.
north park.. normal heights.. hillcrest.. pretty close to downtown and you can find some nice areas of town here.

a lot of san diego can be pretty ghetto..
if you're looking for a nice 'suburbia' in san diego.. try rancho bernardo, tierrasanta, or poway.

i've lived all over san diego.. im actually in ramona now. no clue why.

edit: beach areas can be nice too. some nice houses in la jolla and on mt. soledad.

What do you like?

I think the best areas are:

Pacific Beach - Great for parties, lots of girls, lots of bars.

Mission Beach - Great for parties, lots of girls, lots of bars.

La Jolla - Great for parties, lots of girls, close to Pacific Beach bars.

Del Mar - By the beach, athletic town (if you like to ride bikes and work out), kind of slower then other places, lotsa money.

Well, I would not live in any of the places you listed.

Carlsbad is nice. Been there many times.

Of those places listed,I would suggest

1)Bankers Hill close to downtown and pretty nice little area. And up the street is the best breakfast place in town. Hash house a go-go. The only bad thing about bankers hill, is that it's right in front of the airport, so when planes land in san diego, they'll be a few hundred feet above your apartment.

2)Downtown is fun. Great nite life, but hectic. More expensive than other neighborhoods.

3) Carlsbad is nice. Kinda of far from downtown tho. about 30min drive.

I'll throw in Pacific Beach ( because that's where i live ) and La Jolla.

Lots of places to live. Pacific Beach (PB) is kinda ghetto compared to La Jolla/UTC, but paradise compared to some of the other places on your list. La Jolla has lots of nice apartments. in the $1000-1400 range for 1Br. Same price for PB, maybe a little bit cheaper.

Haven't visited any of the other places so i can't comment. But i will say that El Cajon is out there. Chula Vista is out there.

Klik said it best, "if you're looking for a nice 'suburbia' in san diego.. try rancho bernardo, tierrasanta, or poway."

I'll add mira mesa, clairemont mesa , University City, del mar, solana beach areas for the suburbia lifestyle.

Hope that helps.
Good luck,

I live in Carlsbad-

or as I call it Camelot

Good rule of thumb.....Anything north of I-8 is nice....anything south is hit and miss...There are no shitty areas north of I-8...there are some nice areas south of I-8 but some rough neighborhoods also

It sucks here.

Don't move here.

i have a some places in Pacific Beach,

2br 1 bath with yard, pets okay $1275

and a 3br 2ba for $1675 avail now..
2321-2323 Grand Ave

also a 3 br house in Clairmont avail next month for 2k

also check out www.sdreader.com

There is alot of shit above I-8.

Dont forget La Costa :)

Stay away from a few nasty areas in Oceanside, Vista, and Escondido; All above I-8 :2 cents:

Oh ya...
are they working from home? or do they have to commute somehwere.

Your quality of life suffers pretty bad if you live in north county and you are drving to downtown everyday dealing with the traffic.

So for best suggestions would be to find out exactly where is the employment.

I live in LaCosta

La Costa is nice.... the 4 seasons up there has got one of the best breakfast brunchs. little pricey tho.

Im in the same situation as you.

Moving down to diego...


looking for place... but I am moving down hopefully around august

if you dont like it in san diego, and have to move back, i have a 4 br w/ pool in Las Vegas avail soon $1375 :thumbsup

Off Lavante :)

I am there every Sunday and Mondays for lunch

:-))

Ask Kimmy Kim what she thinks of the the resort I referred her there a year ago and I remember her saying how impressed she was by it

I am off Alga/ Aviara-

Ok, you are closer to La Costa
but not by much...LOL

:-))

How is El Cajon and Carlsbad on the same list? El Cajon is crappy and hot as hell - stay away from there at all costs.

Spring Valley can be ok, but mosly crowded, old and borderline ghetto.

Hillcrest - mini san fran. area

Downtown - its crowded, parking will be a bitch - but you will be in the middle of everything. If you like baseball the padres jsut opened up their new park downtown and its really nice down there.

I love Carlsbad - but its pricy up there.. but worth it... but you will be a good distance from everything and traffic to/from the main part of SD is a biiiiiiiiiiitch.


South Park, Balboa Park, Bankers Hill, Chula Vista, Normal Heights, North Park -- just no.

One area you ldid not list that is nice is La Mesa.. nice area - much better than some of the palces you listed.

Thanks a lot for your help guys.

a good friend of mine has to undergo chemo therapy in San Diego...and he mother is moving down with her. She has to decide on a place in a couple days.


Thanks again!

I lived in La Jolla and would highly recommend it. Yeah, it is pricey but worth every penny. You're close to Black's Beach (nudist), good hiking, great food, the UTC Mall and access to downtown isn't complicated. My plans are to go back there soon.

I live in Solana Beach and love it.

Dang...that's WAAY cheaper than here in Seattle!

It really depends on what she's looking for. I think the ONLY two options (in my opinion) are either urban (read: downtown) or beach living. Anyone living east of the 5 is fooling themselves and would instantly move closer to the water if they could afford it.

I personally chose downtown: I love the energy and excitment. There's always tons of people out, a million things to do and a million places to go (bars, restaurants, movies, clubs, shopping) all within walking distance. I've got a gorgeous convertible that I put about 200 miles a month on (sigh) - it's just sad. My office is three blocks from my condo - my grocery store is literally right next door, the gym is across the street. It's just perfect - I couldn't set it up any better.. seriously.

I hear this bullshit about commute, etc and I think "That's just crazy.." (shaking head)

It depends on your friends price range too. The price ranges in San Diego can really differ. I live in San Carlos which to me seems like a good family environment... my 3 bedroom place is $1,700.

What about Mira Mesa, Clairemont, San Marcos,

How much can they afford and do they have kids? or single?

How much are they looking to spend per month?

That will determine where you can live here?

I have a condo for rent in Ocean Beach
1 Bedroom completely remodeled
680 sqft

1150.00 per month Will take small pet.

La Mesa over Chula Vista ( Eastlake Area) now thats funny...

Trust me when I say you don't want to live on Grand Ave or Garnet Ave

there is a 3BR 3Bath house around the corner from me in Bay Park over looking Mission Bay for rent....3700.00 per month

I've lived in San Diego since 1989, near the I-5 and LaJolla Village Dr, and my running club has been in every area on your list. If you want, email me directly at daveATdavecummings.COM and I'll give you a phone number that you can call me and we can brainstorm your options--a lot depends upon YOUR preferences!

Dave Cummings
www.davecummings.com

Thanks a lot for the info guys! To answer some of the questions asked, this is what she replied to me with:

"Guess I should have made this a little clearer, instead of just assuming everyone was already in the loop.

Our goal is to live as close as possible to the Naval Medical Center, in an area that we can afford ($800-$900 approx), where we won't be worried about getting mugged if we have to go get something out of our car at midnight.

While it is certainly a strong possibility that someone as cute and adorable as Danielle will sail through the next few months of chemotherapy with virtually no problems, we do have to factor in that our most frequent "hangout" is gonna be the hospital, and there may be some days that getting back home is going to feel like torture to her if she is ill. "

Hate to say it, but $8-900 will hardly get you anything in North Park, which isn't the best of areas, IMO. Although, I have no idea where the Naval Medical Center is so you could be in luck.

I'm assuming Danielle is a little girl. Give her my best wishes.

Heh, nope. Shes 22, finally getting out of the Army this year

I'd say Point Loma, Pacific Beach or Little Italy(downtown)...North county is beautiful, but there's not a very big social scene so if you like going out I wouldn't suggest it.

Good Luck...

Balboa Park
Bankers Hill
Chula Vista
Carlsbad
Downtown
El Cajon
Escondido
Golden Hills
Hillcrest
Kensington
Mission Hills
Normal Heights
North Park
Old Town
South Park
Spring Valley
University Heights"

I live in spring valley, by bonita it's a good area.
don't go to golden hills, normal heights, mission hills, north park, university heights, bunkers hill all ghetto.
Southpark is mostly asians if you like that.
All others are okay depends what part of it.
hit me up on icq

sdreader.com

Go to classifieds then appartments. Check it out by locationa and pricing. I get the Reader every Thursday Hardcopy. This is a good useful tool.

Rex is right, most of what would qualify as 'shit' is below the the 8.

Parking in Pacific Beach is tough. Tierrasanta and Rancho Bernardo are hot in the summer.

I like Point Loma or Carlsbad the best.

San Marcos is hot in the summer. It 'ok', nothing to brag about. (the local university is located there). Clairemont is filled with strip malls. Mira Mesa is really getting ghetto, cars parked on the street at night get broken into by surburban Asian wanna be gangsters.

I was saying those areas suck...

BTW, for 800-900 bucks you aint going to find much.. but a 2 bedrrom 1 bath in golden hills, spring valley or somewhere close to the ghetto..

Probably the best thing is just to go there and look. If your friend needs a cheap place to stay while she's looking, there's Studio 819 (www.studio819.com) in Hillcrest. They have studios with a reasonable weekly rate.