San Diego Living

[SoCal_Warrior]

Just my .02

I just spent the last 3-4 years in Dego as a college student (SDSU) so here's my .02

My General Analysis: San Diego is an expensive place to live. It is hit or miss whether a house/apt you find is going to be awesome or ghetto - no matter what the price so be careful.

I preferred to live in the communities nearest to the I5/Hwy8 junction because it lands you about 15-20 min max from all points of San Diego: Beaches, bars/clubs, shopping, work, etc. :snorkel_1

TIPS: Learn the Highways, Learn the Communities, Learn the High Traffic Areas, Make Friends Who Live Near the Hot Spots. Good Luck :icon_mi_1

COASTAL COMMUNITIES West of the I5 (N to S):

• Ja Jolla: Wealthy/Expensive & rightly so. :icon_king
  • Home to Comedy Store comedy club, Torrey Pines Golf Course/Trails, Upscale restaurants and bars, UCSD
• Birdrock: S. La Jolla but there is a distinction for rental listings
  • Home to great restaurants along their Mission Blvd strip :chef_125:
• N. Pacific Beach [PB]: Region N. of Garnet Blvd, it is a mod expensive segue from La Jolla to PB.
  • Close enough to walk to the bars yet not as trashy as PB proper.
• Pacific Beach: Moderately expensive, active social scene 20s/30s
  • Home to Garnet Blvd strip of bars where every night is something (taco tuesday, thur $11 filet night, etc)
  • Home to Bros and PB Girls, a particularly annoying breed of college student/Californians you'll get to know quite well, typically characterized by Beach cruisers, drunken follies and striped polos - dude. :icon_zbee
  • Packed with tourists in the summer.
  • Can be very fun and does have some sweet places to live, but it also has some awful places so be careful. My buddy (a Naval Aviator never thought he needed to lock his doors - till someone walked in stole a ton of stuff while he was sleeping).
• Mission Beach: Moderately expensive, similar to PB but less wannabe pretentious.
  • Home to Belmont Park (Boardwalk type place with roller coaster, etc.), Great Dive Bars, Wavehouse (check it out online- I used to work there it's awesome)
  • Huge Clusterf in the summer :moptop_12
• Ocean Beach [OB]: Classic Dego Beach Culture: Lotsa Rostas - nuff said. Moderately expensive :icon_rast
  • Home to great restaurants, sweet dive bars, dog park & beach
  • I personally love OB :icon_smil
• Downtown [DT]: Expensive, Urban
  • Home to Gaslamp District [Big Clubs, Irish Pubs, Nice Restaurants, Petco Park, Horton Plaza Mall. :icon_hat:
  • You always have to dress up to go out dt, not overly so depending on where you go but def not laid back like PB/MB/OB.

:icon_mi_9 [Don't go South of Downtown, your leaving San Diego City: National City, Chula Vista, Imperial Beach...then Tijuana)

INLAND COMMUNITIES East of the I5 (N to S):

• University City: Idk much, but its near Miramar

• Clairemont: Decently priced and still close to civilization, fairly family oriented
• Linda Vista: Decently priced and still close to civilization, fairly family oriented
• BayHo: Right next to PB it has a few bars that have great food and is cheaper (and less annoying) than actually living in PB
• Old Town: Not much by way of living but it is a fun place to bring visiting friends/family. Think Historic Mexico/California :cowboy_12
• Mission Hills: Expensive, this is a very small community but it has a great view of San Diego and from what I've heard doesn't get all the airport noise.

FURTHER INLAND FROM ABOVE (N to S):

• Fashion Valley: Expensive, has some very large/nice/newer mega apartment complexes.
  • Home to Qualcomm stadium (traffic sucks anytime there's a game) & Fashion Valley Mall
• Mission Valley: Prices range depending on whether it is the older or newer buildings/homes.
  • Home to Mission Valley Mall
• Hillcrest: Moderately expensive and very ecclectic neighborhood
  • Home to the best small specialty restaurants: Extraordinary Desserts, St. Tropez, tons of awesome breakfast places.
  • Yes, it does have a disproportionate population of LGBT vs. other parts of San Diego.
  • Surrounding neighborhoods include Kensington Hts
• North Park: Less flamboyant, shall we say, than Hillcrest by way of restaurants, shops, etc. but similar ecclecticism.
• South Park: Dego's unicorn. It does exist and is very small.
  • Home to South Park Bar & Grill...that's about it. :magnify_1
• Balboa: Prices vary as do the actual homes.
  • It is beautiful and has some great trails, museums, parks. Conveniently located near dt.

 

[BACONATOR]

Welcome to San Diego.

But once you get settled in, I can tell you were all the good food and entertainment is

I can attest that E26 has some good recommendations, as his signature tells all.