hey guys

I'm going to visit San Diego in two weeks for a possible job opportunity. The future employer will be in Vista. I heard the housing rates are horrible (about double where I currently live).

- what are some decent areas to live with reasonable rates?
- how's the Z/G community there? tuner shops? police presence? crime and vandals?
- how's the traffic? will i be putting a lot of miles on my Z for commute?
- what's the demographics there? ethnic foods?

thanks in advance

 

Hope that helps.

 

yeah, but most of the food is mexican.

 

+1 lol Gets old after awhile Tijuana is like 7 miles from my house

 

1. I live in mission valley and am loving it
2. There are pleanty of shops available. The socal area is haven to all ricers
3. Traffic is nonexistent as compared to other large cities
4. Tons of mexicans, politically conservative, tons of military schmoes and the chicks are unbelievable.

 

yeah, the commute shouldnt be that bad, unless you plan to live and work on opposite sides of the city/county. I lived in mission valley for 4 years,a nd i loved it, now i live in pacific beach, and my commute is still about 15 minutes each way.

 

thanks for the feedback. sounds like mission valley is a good place to start looking. i guess initially i'll be renting, then i'll buy. how much should one expect to pay as rent for 1 bdrm apt? $1200/mnth? median house prices are $700K, that's $400K more than PacificNW.

tons of mexicans eh? are there asians there? i heard SoCal has lots. not bringing up the racial card or anything, just wondering if there's a decent sized asian community and variety of asian food.

anyone move from Seattle/Portland to SanDiego? how does it compare? up here, i see sooo many CA plates. i'm assuming lots of ppl are fleeing from CA's high housing costs.

 

There's a large variety in prices for 1 bedrooms usually ranging from 1000-1600 - all depends on the age, condition, location, garage, etc. If you're in Mission Valley, I'd budget 1300-1550.

No reason to think of buying here yet, the market is far from bottoming out.

 

While Mission Valley is nice, if you work in Vista, why wouldn't you consider somewhere by work first? I haven't mapquested it, but I'm guessing it's 30+ miles each way...

 

Drive through UCSD or Mira Mesa.... plenty of asians. Diversity is one of San Diego's strong points.

 

There is a lot of mexican food for sure, but it is very easy to find any ethnic food you wish in San Diego. Just in Mira Mesa, there is virtually every type of food. Around the corner from my office is Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Mexican... and even Red Lobster.

 

first off, if you are going to work in Vista I would say live in Carlsbad. If you live in San Diego (like Mission Valley) your drive is going to be 30 mi each way. Plus you'd be traveling on the 5 or the 15, and they get congested.

- what are some decent areas to live with reasonable rates?
It's hard to tell. There are nice areas to live, which shitty surrounding sub-developments. I live in Little Italy and I pay $900/month to live, including all bills. It's a very diverse city, which is really cool. Check out Mission Valley, La Jolla/UTC

- how's the Z/G community there? tuner shops? police presence? crime and vandals?
Not too sure, I just moved down here. I see a lot of nice Zs rolling around though.

- how's the traffic? will i be putting a lot of miles on my Z for commute?
Traffic is bad if you are living outside of central (downtown) san diego and you are using any freeway that travels toward there. And is also bad at the end of the day doing the exact opposite.

- what's the demographics there? ethnic foods?
Like I said, I live in Little Italy where the food is absolutely amazing. There are a lof of little mexican restaurants that rock. I would say food is amazing here, there are endless places to check out.

 

After some research I found the following. Please tell if its true or not:

-that you should live/work north of the I-5/805 merge due to traffic.
-SE SanDiego areas (LemonGrove, SpringValley) are high in gang/ghettos; one should live North of I-8
-Ocean/Pacific Beach/LaJolla/PointLoma are nice areas
-Encinitas/Cardiff/DelMar are nice areas if you work in Visa

How long (bad) is the drive if I have to commute from Mirimar/UCSD area to Vista?

 

SE SanDiego areas (LemonGrove, SpringValley) are high in gang/ghettos; .
thats ture . right now homes are going down little its a good time to buy a house in san diego. traffic is not bad . 3:30pm to 6pm on weekdays are the traffic, goin on 5 and 805 south. LaJolla is where all the rich people live and have a nice beach .

 

[QUOTE=dkorr]After some research I found the following. Please tell if its true or not:

-that you should live/work north of the I-5/805 merge due to traffic.

I don't understand that at all. The merge is where the traffic starts.... If you live south, you're never in it... ?

-SE SanDiego areas (LemonGrove, SpringValley) are high in gang/ghettos; one should live North of I-8

Yes, I'd agree with that. While there are good areas within those areas, the statement is pretty accurate.

-Ocean/Pacific Beach/LaJolla/PointLoma are nice areas

I've never understood the attraction to Pacific Beach as a place to live. If you like kids and young adults partying all night, and/or like going to bars, live there. Otherwise, I don't see the appeal... but of course I'm old, married and have kids.

-Encinitas/Cardiff/DelMar are nice areas if you work in Visa

If you can afford it, yes.

How long (bad) is the drive if I have to commute from Mirimar/UCSD area to Vista?

I drive from Escondido (north) to Miramar Rd. every day. It takes me about 35-40 minutes with typical traffic at 6:30am-7:00am when I leave. If I wait until later, it typically gets worse.


I have no idea why it won't close this quote... it keeps telling me the message is too short with the /quote in there.

 

thanks!

so from what you guys are saying... avoid south of I-8, live near San Marcos/Carlsbad/Escondido...

any idea what kind of salary is required for decent living there? i hear Cali is very expensive but with salaries also reflect that as well. can i get by with $75K-$95K or is that edging towards poverty line. i read somewhere that one must make $100K household income to buy a 2 bedroom house there...

 

youll be good baller

 

I found it, here we go...

• The minimum annual household income first-time buyers need to purchase a median-priced home at $472,000 in San Diego is about $100,000. (San Diego Metropolitan, 3/07; California Association of Realtors)
• The minimum annual income needed to afford a one-bedroom rental apartment in San Diego is $48,200. (The San Diego Union-Tribune, 1/10/07; National Housing Conference Center for Housing Policy, “Paycheck to Paycheck”)

source: http://www.sdhc.net/giaboutus2.shtml

 

That sounds about right for the market today. A couple years ago, they were giving loans to anyone who could spell employed.

Of course it depends on how much you put down. It's just really effing expensive here.

But if you are going to make 75-95K (where do I sign up?) you'll be fine. You'll just have to rent for a while to save for a down payment.

There are many people getting buy on MUCH less than those numbers. There are more nice places to live in San Diego than just those and it would take too long to name them all.

If you are going to work in Vista, live up north- only for convenience for commuting. Otherwise, live where you can afford.... which on those numbers will be almost anywhere unless you require a lavish lifestyle.

 

Haha - for some reason when the OP said "Vista," I was thinking it was short for Chula Vista.

Unfortunately if you're young and single, you're going to be pretty bored with the Carlsbad region IMO.

A few notes about apartments in SD - in-unit washer/dryer can be a rarity and garaging is recommended to deter petty theft.