Moving to SoCal (Oceanside to San Diego?)

[whataboutbob]

Originally Posted by shrike92

I think it's going to depend on where you and your wife are working. If you can avoid it, I would not want to cross North-South freeways (eg: start in carlsbad, take 5 south to 56 and then to the 15 north/south). Try to stay on a single one, and stay on a single side of San Diego. If you live south of the 8 it's not as big of a deal but up north the 5 and the 15 are worlds apart.

If you want a good idea of what it looks like, just search San Diego in google maps at 7am or so, and then again at 4pm or so. Turn on traffic and you can see which parts really suck. Those red/black areas are ALWAYS bad.

I guess I'll add my opinions:
Carlsbad: Good area, little pricey though. The beaches are not as good as Encinitas but you'll have everything you need up there.
Oceanside: Carlsbad's cousin who's down on his luck.
Encinitas: Surfers and suburbs. Good area and pretty good schools. Close to the beach.
Del Mar: Rich pricks, expensive but has really good schools.
La Jolla: Two parts. One part is wealthy people who would never settle for del mar. The other part is filled with students.
Pacific beach: lots of partying. If you go towards bird rock/mission beach it gets a lot nicer.
Tierrasanta: Central location, quiet and not too expensive. Very limited shopping though.
La Mesa: cheaper version of Tierrasanta, same as the carlsbad/oceanside thing.
San Marcos: Recently gentrified, lots of new stuff there.
Rancho Bernardo: Old white people, but also some industrial areas too.
Scripps Ranch: another suburb, nice area but also expensive.
Rancho Penasquitos: more suburbs! Mount Carmel is one of the best schools in san diego though (or at least it used to be).
North Park: Like PB but with much better bars/pubs.

Now that I think about it, everywhere in San Diego is expensive

I would avoid anything south of the 94 or east of the 125. If you want to get a general idea of what's available I would recommend PadMapper. It scrapes craigslist and compiles the info onto google maps: https://www.padmapper.com/

I second the commute path warning. I live in San Marcos, but commute to Point Loma daily on the 15/163/8. If I don't want to deal with traffic, I need to be on the freeway at 6AM, and don't want to get back on it before 6PM. It's not bad all day, but there's a 2-3 hour commute window around those time that sucks. Or, you can get a fastpass for the carpool lanes and minimize the traffic hassles for an additional fee (which is what I finally did after nearly 5 years of sucking it up in traffic).

[ESC POD]

Awesome!! Thank You All!! As the time approaches...faster than ever I hope!! I will have more specifics on job locations and will touch base on those cities? I really do appreciate the help guys...My wife and I are looking forward to SoCal!! We always feel like locals when we visit! Mission Beach is our favorite, I spend every morning at Cafe Mono after a run on the beach when we visit. Old Towne, Balboa, Coronado, and Downtown are our favorites to visit each time...We find ourselves "lost" in the public and always talk about living there. Now 33 years old, and having lived in Portland the last 12 year, I'm looking forward to a change...I Love Portland, but I Love a Challenge and Change. I'll be sad to leave Portland, but content with closing this chapter in our lives and opening a new one. Anyhow, I'll quit the "deep thoughts" routine before it gets too deep.

Thanks again guys!! Shrike92...My wife Loved your break down by the way, very straight and to the point, we shoot that way too. We've checked out padmapper.com and will be researching each city. It's too bad about Oceanside, I wanted to work with Tony Alva and build surfboards for the next 10-15 years...Shit, who knows? It might happen???

[Gen]

Originally Posted by ESC POD

Awesome!! Thank You All!! As the time approaches...faster than ever I hope!! I will have more specifics on job locations and will touch base on those cities? I really do appreciate the help guys...My wife and I are looking forward to SoCal!! We always feel like locals when we visit! Mission Beach is our favorite, I spend every morning at Cafe Mono after a run on the beach when we visit. Old Towne, Balboa, Coronado, and Downtown are our favorites to visit each time...We find ourselves "lost" in the public and always talk about living there. Now 33 years old, and having lived in Portland the last 12 year, I'm looking forward to a change...I Love Portland, but I Love a Challenge and Change. I'll be sad to leave Portland, but content with closing this chapter in our lives and opening a new one. Anyhow, I'll quit the "deep thoughts" routine before it gets too deep.

Thanks again guys!! Shrike92...My wife Loved your break down by the way, very straight and to the point, we shoot that way too. We've checked out padmapper.com and will be researching each city. It's too bad about Oceanside, I wanted to work with Tony Alva and build surfboards for the next 10-15 years...Shit, who knows? It might happen???

I'd like to move to Portland. I know it may sound weird, but I get damn sick of summer 9 months out of the year--by Summer I mean 85+ degree temperatures. I mean hell, last Tuesday it was 94 degrees. Wanna trade?

I'll be honest, as a native, I don't really understand the allure of Southern California. 80% of it is dodgy, the other 20% is insanely expensive. Tons of traffic, lots of heat, lots of nanny state laws, lots of taxes...I just really don't get it, aside from people that love the beach. I'd honestly leave if it weren't for my current career path.

[siXXtoes]

My home town Encinitas!!! but the best bang for ur buck i would say San Marcos

[ESC POD]

Originally Posted by Gen

I'd like to move to Portland. I know it may sound weird, but I get damn sick of summer 9 months out of the year--by Summer I mean 85+ degree temperatures. I mean hell, last Tuesday it was 94 degrees. Wanna trade?

I'll be honest, as a native, I don't really understand the allure of Southern California. 80% of it is dodgy, the other 20% is insanely expensive. Tons of traffic, lots of heat, lots of nanny state laws, lots of taxes...I just really don't get it, aside from people that love the beach. I'd honestly leave if it weren't for my current career path.

I totally get what your saying...when we moved to Portland from Phoenix, Portlanders were like "you're crazy!", giving up the sun and hot weather for rain!?! However, the seasons and rain were exactly what we were looking for!! 4 seasons, weather to adjust to every few months, and adapting to it have been fun! The Holidays feel so much more like the holidays when it's cold, snowy, leaves falling...it's part of the experience. Now we're ready for exactly what is 'old hat' to you?? Equilibrium?? I meet more SoCal and Phoenicians up here than anyone else?? Sure the traffic, population, and overall environment will take some acclimation...but growing up in Phoenix (similar craziness??) had us ready for it. Now leaving Portland as a native to SoCal, that would be a Culture TKO!! We Love Portland, but it's starting to get 'small town' for us??

Thanks again everyone!

[Fortney]

I work in Oceanside, live in Vista....both have some nice parts and some sketchy parts. The further away from the beach you get, the cheaper it will be.

[Jeff_DML]

I am a rich prick, I like north county but would not want to live there if I have to commute into san diego proper. Clairemont is reasonably priced, some sketchy areas I think, very centralized , think there are a lot of car meets around the area too. do you know what part of SD your wife will be working in?

[shrike92]

Originally Posted by Jeff_DML

I am a rich prick, I like north county but would not want to live there if I have to commute into san diego proper. Clairemont is reasonably priced, some sketchy areas I think, very centralized , think there are a lot of car meets around the area too. do you know what part of SD your wife will be working in?

haha no offence meant, I was just generalizing

I agree though, clairemont/kearny mesa are very central as well and reasonably priced.

[ZSwierczynski]

Avoid East County if you can.

Ramona/El Cajon(Depending if it is the Northern Part)/Lakeside/Santee. I have nothing against EC but it is just a lot further from the beach.

I live in Poway so I am like in NorthEastern of San Diego County. Poway is pricy but I am a student so to me, I don't mind it. I love living rent/mortgage free. Plus you are only twenty minutes away from basically everything. But I have some friends live in Poway and they say the rent isn't that bad. You just have to look. Some of the them live near the Nissan dealer and they usually pay about 800-1300 depending on the size of their apartment.

[stealth1]

The commute can suck from North County. It all depends where you are working and what time you are leaving your house. I live in Oceanside and my commute is over an hour to go 30 miles to be at work by 8:00. Same thing on the way home. If you and your wife like going out on the weekends, North County can be kinda boring compared to San Diego. If you aren't into nightclubs then Carlsbad and Encinitas are good beach towns to live in. I live in Oceanside and love my house, but there are alot of places in Oceanside I wouldn't want to live and the schools aren't always that great. Stick with Carlsbad and south of that and since you're here you might as well live by the beach. I drove up and down the coast today, when all else fails you can alway cruise the coast if you live by the beach.