where should we live in san diego?

Question

my husband and i are chicago natives and have spent a few years living/working in NYC, but we've had enough of the cold weather and want to move west---specifically to the san diego area.

with that said, i'm looking for some advice on where to look specifically (downtown vs. northern, etc), and what we can expect to get for our money.

for context, i'm 29, he's 31 and were looking to start a family in a year so. however, we're not suburban folks---we love city life and what has to offer. we're big fans of being able to walk out our front door and have restaurants, shops, and folks enjoying the days/evenings. while we don't want to be surrounded by just-out-of-college kids, we also don't want to be stuck in a cul-de-sac per say. but we do want to be cognizant of schools in the area, crime, etc.

would love to be closer to the ocean than not, near restaurants, shops, things to do....any suggestions or areas we should consider? any articles, books, you can point us to?

thank you

Answer 1

If you can afford La Jolla I think that would be the best option. Great resurants, great beaches, and close to Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, Downtown, and Mission Valley. Also it has some of the best schools in San Diego. The Bird Rock and Windansea areas of La Jolla are great and best suited for you. Beautiful but not too big of homes. Very laid back beach culture and there are many little shops and restaurants to walk to along La Jolla Blvd. And downtown La Jolla has great shopping and dining, although on the pricey side. Northern Pacific Beach/Southern La Jolla is also good and less pricey than right in La Jolla. Although Pacific Beach is definately a party town with many in college and just out of college crowds, north PB tends to be more family oriented. It has that type of scene you describe; not quite the boring cul-de-sac culture but also away from the party scene of central PB around Garnett Ave. There are also tons of shops and restaurants to walk to along Turquoise St. There are many people your age around that area and many young families that aren't quite ready for the suburbs but over the central PB party scene. I would look at areas in Pacific Beach that are north of Missouri St or Chalcedony St and west of Lamont or Ingraham St. You want to avoid areas closer to Garnett Ave and farther east of Lamont St. And any area in La Jolla would be good but the Bird Rock/Windansea neighborhoods are less pricey and pretentious than other parts of La Jolla and would be better suited to what you are looking for. Look in those neighborhoods plus also look at Lower Hermosa, La Jolla Mesa, La Jolla Alta, and upper Hermosa; they are all in the same area I just described but just more specific neighborhood names. Other parts of La Jolla like on Mt. Soledad and La Jolla Shores/Farms are very expensive and exculsive; it's more of the country club type crowd,but if that's your thing look there too.

Northern San Diego County is much more suburban and dull but older neighborhoods along Pacific Coast Highway in Solana Beach, Encinitas, and Carlsbad aren't too bad. If you look into those areas try to find a place around the downtown areas and Coaster station. Downtown Solana Beach and Encinitas have nice little walkable Main St's. Areas east of I-5 are very suburban and automobile oriented and full of cul-de-sac type developments.

The neighborhoods to the northeast of downtown are also nice. Mission Hills is the nicest and most exculsive. North Park, South Park, Kensington, and University Heights are all decent neighborhoods. But they are also areas that are gentryfying currently and so you will have more of a mix of people there. There are some crappy streets in that area. School wise they aren't the best area. The area isn't ghetto but it's not the nicest either, kind of in between. But definately worth checking out since there are a lot of walkable, dense neighborhoods in that area. They are also farther from the beach and you would have to drive to get to it.

Point Loma would also be an area checking out; it's just west of downtown and the airport. I would avoid Ocean Beach though b/c it kind of has the biker/tatoo crowd there. But Pt. Loma is a nice area and close to the ocean.

Basically northern Pacific Beach and Southern La Jolla would be the best fit for the type of lifestyle you are looking for. You'll also meet many people like you; early 30's and just starting a family. And since many people in SD are transplants you'll most likely find someone from where you are from. People here are also really nice and laid back; you see 40yo professionals riding around on beach cruisers in board shorts and flip flops. Housing is expensive here and gets higher the closer you are to the ocean, but since you are coming from NYC it's not going to be anything shocking to what you are probably used to anyways.

You can find some more info from these two website and if you just do a google search i'm sure you can find more info too:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Diego
http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-diego/

If you have any other questions feel free to ask, I live in Pacific Beach and know the area pretty well. Good luck on your move!

Answer 2

Depending on how much you want to spend

You would probably like places such as Del Mar, Carlsbad, Encinitas. These have homes that are right along the ocean to a few miles inland. All with relativley low crime and fairly good schools. However, single family homes will average at about 500,000 but go much higher the closer to the water you are. The housing market is softening so they may be comming down in the next few months. These cities are considered central/north San Diego.

A bit inland you have places like Scripps Ranch and Carmel Mountain Ranch. They are inland and about 30 minutes from the ocean.

If you are serious about moving here you should probably plan for a week or so to really scope out the areas you would be interested in.

Answer 3

Check out Rancho Santa Fe

Answer 4

I would get the free info from san diego convention visitors bureau and drive around. There are several links for visitor info on http://citydigest.net/united-states/san-diego/ . You can call them for some general info too. One of best climates and coastal cities too

Answer 5

Down town, Gaslamp or Little Italy