Moving to SoCal (Oceanside to San Diego?)
 

My wife and I are moving to SoCal next year and I wanted to get some info from those that live and work down there. I dig the Lifestyle, Car Scene, Food, Cultural aspect of it...I'm originally from Phoenix and spent a lot of time in the San Diego area...However, I'm not all that familiar with the cities/neighborhoods?? My wife will be transferring down with her job, but I will need to source a good paying job after we get there. I am a Certified Structural Journeyman Welder/Fitter (Cert Positions Unlimited/Thickness Unlimited) and was looking to use the wonder of the Web to Network. So...Are there any cities to stay completely away from? Suggestions for Work? Opportunities for Work?

I appreciate the help!! We are looking to downsize even more once we get there...I've sold all of my Cars, Projects, Motorcycles, and Parts...Working on selling the house now...then simply want to move into a Studio or 1 bdrm apt with my wife and little dog. We'd like to try something different, in a new city...Then 10 years later it's off to Hawaii!! Seriously...I've got it all planned out...just need to work on the details! :thumbsup:

Thanks Again!!

Well, you pretty much have two options in Oceanside--slums straight out of the show "Gang Land" or really crazy expensive. What's your budget looking like? How close to the beach do you want to be? In general, plan ~$1200+ / month for an apartment where you don't have to worry about your car being broken into on a weekly basis.

I don't know much about welding...so I can't really give you much help with that. :(

What city is your wife going to be working in?

For sure you'll want to consider the cost of living, but the commute down here can be a b***h if you are going the wrong way at the wrong time. Also, gas is pretty expensive at this point, so a shorter commute for the both of you would probably save you some money.

I've lived in SD County since '75. So I should be able to give you some suggestions if you can give some additional info.

I used to live in Vista, CA and drove the 78 into Oceanside, Escondido was alot cheaper also.

Inland is cheaper. The closer you get to the beach, the more you will pay for less square footage.

Oceanside can be kinda ghetto. Either look just outside of San Diego or San Clemente, if you like the beach scene check our San Clemente. Also, I would recommend purchasing a condo as opposed to renting. If you have a decent down payment say 10-15% the mortgage will be cheaper than rent and it is very unlikely that the market will go much lower if any.

BTW, San Marcos is a very nice place to live.

Lots of dining options, parks, and about 20min from the beach in Carlsbad.

Enough has been said about Oceanside. Try the Carlsbad area if you want to stay in North County. However, you might actually have some luck in the city of San Diego (or around it) depending on what you're looking for. I just moved down to SD from LA earlier this year, and I went through exactly the same thing you're going through so I have a good idea of rental pricing relative to what you get for apartments or condos by area.

I'll second that.

If you want to live closer to SD proper and the beach, Point Loma and Ocean Beach are good options.

Very true. OB is a little dodgy though; a few of my coworkers live there and it's not a place that I'd want to live.

If you're a welder, Solar Turbines is always looking for qualified, competent people. Send me a PM and I can send you more info. We run a 24/7 shop and we're CA's third largest exporter of goods worldwide. Lots of overtime (if you want it) and I think the union is optional.

www.solarturbines.com

check it out!

Ocean Beach (OB) isn't that bad. If you value sleep stay away from Pacific Beach (PB). Point Loma is a great location.

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 :sigh:

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).

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???

:D

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.

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

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!

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.

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 :thumbsup:

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

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.

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.