What an amazing, amazing city!!! (San Diego, Soledad: for sale, real estate market, mortgage)

[zfrawg]

Originally Posted by PK12

Lucky you! Mind if I ask about your job situation? (did you have one lined up before or you looked after you got to SD, what industry do you work in, or did you move to SD for school/some other reasons)?

I'm an IT guy, government contractor. I did have a job lined up, a company I used to work for back east had their corporate office out here, and for whatever reason they never had a need for me on the west coast. Fast forward to last Nov, my old boss called me out of the blue and asked if I still wanted to move out here, and of course I jumped at the chance. That said, the defense/contracting industry is supposed to be fairly robust out here (not as much as DC though), although I haven't noticed it as much, but I'm still building my professional network out here so I can't say for sure - also the sequestration stuff may or may not be affecting my industry out here, although it isn't directly affecting me a the moment anyway. Not sure what industry you fall under, so YMMV

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by zfrawg

... That said, the defense/contracting industry is supposed to be fairly robust out here (not as much as DC though ...

Used to be. Has been going downhill here since even before the sequester. It's also tending to move back east, to the DC area (to be closer to the $ource).

[NorthSDLifer]

Originally Posted by PK12

Whats wrong with MB and PB?

Nothing if you enjoy them. (That's not to meant to sound patronizing, btw.) There was a time I thought about moving to the quieter part of PB. Just wanted out of North County but didn't know much about uptown areas. I used to fantasize about moving downtown. Now I hardly ever give a thought to going down there.

[Think4Yourself]

Originally Posted by PK12

Here’s a Mexican food recommendation for you guys, in case you haven’t tried this place yet: Marcy’s, at Mission Beach.

$1.50 fish tacos, absolutely delicious and their salsas wrere really something else!! And they generally have a very extensive menu with all kinds of Mexican breakfast and lunch/dinner items. For about $6 you can eat like a king at a legit hole in the wall place

Next time you are in town and have access to a car try Mariscos German. Yes, it is a food truck but it's widely acknowledged as the best fish tacos in town bar none. Try the smoked marlin taco and the gobanador taco.

[bloom]

Originally Posted by Think4Yourself

Next time you are in town and have access to a car try Mariscos German. Yes, it is a food truck but it's widely acknowledged as the best fish tacos in town bar none. Try the smoked marlin taco and the gobanador taco.

Good but not great.

[PK12]

Originally Posted by zfrawg

I'm an IT guy, government contractor. I did have a job lined up, a company I used to work for back east had their corporate office out here, and for whatever reason they never had a need for me on the west coast. Fast forward to last Nov, my old boss called me out of the blue and asked if I still wanted to move out here, and of course I jumped at the chance. That said, the defense/contracting industry is supposed to be fairly robust out here (not as much as DC though), although I haven't noticed it as much, but I'm still building my professional network out here so I can't say for sure - also the sequestration stuff may or may not be affecting my industry out here, although it isn't directly affecting me a the moment anyway. Not sure what industry you fall under, so YMMV

I'm in the federal consulting/contracting space as well in a PMO role, the firm I work for provides a range of advisory/assurance services to multiple govt clients, including defense agencies. As such we do not have an office in SD, the closest ones I believe is in Irvine but they mainly do tax audit work which is not my cup of tea... so a lateral transfer is not possible at this time.

I guess I will wait until I'm completely fed up of the DMV area before I head out to SoCal... for all of its woes and faults, DC has a lot to offer, pretty much something for everyone, and really does grow on to you.

[PK12]

Originally Posted by NorthSDLifer

Nothing if you enjoy them. (That's not to meant to sound patronizing, btw.) There was a time I thought about moving to the quieter part of PB. Just wanted out of North County but didn't know much about uptown areas. I used to fantasize about moving downtown. Now I hardly ever give a thought to going down there.

Haha no worries at all – I happened to prefer MB over PB since the former is more laid back and less party-centric which I think is a better fir atmosphere for the beach - nightlife is better suited for the downtown areas IMO since I prefer lounges/rooftop bars/clubs.

On my next visit I plan to focus more on the La Jolla/Del Mar/Solana Beach areas.

Originally Posted by Think4Yourself

Next time you are in town and have access to a car try Mariscos German. Yes, it is a food truck but it's widely acknowledged as the best fish tacos in town bar none. Try the smoked marlin taco and the gobanador taco.

Yessir, this visit def made me realize that a car is more or less essential for getting around in SD – no discredit to the public transit system, I found the bus/trolley to be very efficient overall, its just due to the extent of the sprawl in SD.

Also want to indulge in hole-in-the wall Asian food on my nxt visit, something I neglected on this trip because generally the Asian food in the DC area is pretty darn good – but it’d be safe to assume that SD fares better

[zfrawg]

Originally Posted by PK12

I guess I will wait until I'm completely fed up of the DMV area before I head out to SoCal... for all of its woes and faults, DC has a lot to offer, pretty much something for everyone, and really does grow on to you.

Yeah, I'm pretty much a DC native (born in Miami and parents moved us up to the DC area when I was real young), for me I needed to get out for a while - my initial plan was to move out here for 2 years and then re-evaluate and see where things stand.

My only regret is that careerwise I gave up quite a bit as I was in line for a huge promotion at my last job back east, so now I'm just looking at it as a tradeoff I've given up additional money/stress for a different lifestyle. Still working on building a professional network out here, ultimately I think that will dictate whether I stay out here, or end up moving back east time will tell.

[revelated]

Make sure you properly adjust your budget to account for (A) lower salary and (B) punitive state taxes. Figure a third of what you make all told, on the latter.

[Think4Yourself]

Originally Posted by PK12

Here’s a Mexican food recommendation for you guys, in case you haven’t tried this place yet: Marcy’s, at Mission Beach.

$1.50 fish tacos, absolutely delicious and their salsas wrere really something else!! And they generally have a very extensive menu with all kinds of Mexican breakfast and lunch/dinner items. For about $6 you can eat like a king at a legit hole in the wall place

If you liked Marcy's then you should try Mariscos German. Try a smoked marlin taco and one of their gobernador tacos. You'll be hooked at first bite.