Moving to SD from Chicago! Young LGBT family with children. (San Diego: rentals, crime rate)

[WindyCityMama]

Hey everyone! This is my first post here.. ever!

Background information- We are a young lesbian family with three children 6, 4, and 1. I am moving to SD with a job promotion. My partner will also have a job waiting for her. She will also be looking for some side-work in the theatre business (she is a stage manager).

So here's what I'm looking for...

-Reasonably priced areas to move (wanting to RENT and looking for either a large 2BR or a 3 BR, hopefully no more than $1600-1700/mo).
-Reasonably safe with a decent public school
-Ability to bike or use public transportation to downtown SD, where I will be working (we do not have a car, but that is in the works once we move!)
-Less conservative. I know that hillcrest in particular is LGBT friendly, but it is a bit pricey.

I keep searching the forums and everything I find seems to be outdated.. I've put off starting a thread for too long!

The thing I'm concerned most about is the crime. I want to live somewhere close in proximity to downtown. I've been looking at Core-Columbia, Gaslamp, and East Village. I'd love to live in Ocean Beach or Hillcrest, but money and distance may be an issue. I'll be working near Harbor Dr and Pacific Hwy, if that's not too vague.

I keep telling myself "Eh, I've been born and raised in Chicago. I'm street smart. I've lived in rough-ish areas." I wish I could compare SD neighborhoods to particular Chicago neighborhoods. that would make it easier!

So if anyone has any tidbits of info, that would be great!

How's the bicycling climate in SD? What can you tell me about public transit? Anyone have experience with both cities? I'd be moving in early to mid march.

Thank you all!

[sfosyd]

Congratulations! You will love San Diego.

The crime rate really does not compare to Chicago. Seriously, don't worry about crime. Your biggest issue is your budget. It sounds very, very low for a good public school in an urban San Diego neighborhood. I'd look at Mission Hills and South Park, both of those are a good fit. But you will need to up your budget. Hillcrest is a great area and Florence elementary is solid. North Park is a great option too but I think there you would probably want to do private school.

San Diego is very bike friendly and you will be arriving at the time the new bike sharing program, Decobike, is just getting off the ground!

[lrmsd]

There's actually a recent thread on here; i think the title is gay friendly with good public elementary schools'...it was from a couple fo weeks ago. In it, I mentioned two good elementary schools and a few charter schools you may want to check out [they usually operate by lottery, but by all means apply b/c you may just find get a spot.] Anyway, if you can find that thread, there were many posts, last I noticed several pages so maybe there's some info in there that will be helpful!

The Charters I suggested checking out are:
Urban Discovery Academy
SD Museum Charter School
SD Cooperative Charter school [this one is in Linda Vista-for all charter schools you'll have to provide transit; the other two mentioned are in central SD-close to or in Hillcrest].
Also, Albert Einstein Charter Academy is dual immersion german/english, k-8 if this is of interest to you. It's in Golden Hills [this is also a neighborhood you can look for rentals].

Definitely search SD city schools website and browse through both Magnet and Charter schools. Ex: SD Language Academy is by san diego state university; it offers dual language english/spanish OR english/french tracks, k-8.
New schools pop up on the charter list regularly, too.

Regular public schools: Grant elementary in Mission Hills is decent-but MH is tough w/your budget.
Birney in university heights [next to hillcrest] switched to IB program a few years back and is rumored to have improved...I know several parents who put a lot of sweat equity and involvement into that community. Not sure how it's panned out of late, but it's worth researching.

Living wise: In addition to Golden Hills, check Normal Heights, especially north of Adams Ave. Even south of Adams, just stay further from El Cajon Blvd. The blocks vary and the blocks closer to University Heights/Park blvd tend to be nicer, too. [Some cross streets have more through traffic while others are still mellow residential, relative to an urban area.]
University Heights is also a good area to look-again, further from Park Blvd, which is a major through street.

North Park: Away from El Cajon and University Heights Avenues is a good place to start. But it's hit or miss sometimes by block...Definitely worth looking. Also, maybe Talmadge?

I'm not sure about public transit lines specifically from these areas.
But they all border one another and can be categorized as similar to Hillcrest in culture, but a little mellower, actually as far as traffic congestion and people. They are liberal areas with good pockets of hipster culture and some diversity.

Bike culture: google b/c there are a couple of bike websites/groups online with maps, etc.
In short: It's decent for a city of its size and considering the so cal infrastructure 'car culture'. there are a number of lanes throughout the city, and many trails. People commute for work by bike; it's not Portland, OR by any means, but it's also not impossible or even ill advised, depending on where, when and how far you'll be biking. Research is the best option there.

ps-another tip for checking school reviews and ratings: Look up the schools on great schools dot org.
Good luck!
ps-I have no idea where 'core-columbia' is (I've been in SD for a total of 12 years since 1996); my spouse is a native and has never heard of it. So maybe it's a newly termed area? Gaslamp is not a destination spot or a place to live for a family. Mostly tourists and a few clubs. Gets old fast. Lots of homeless in the DT area. I don't think that area is really the spot for a family, even if one of the jobs is located there. I'd stick with the aforementioened areas near or bordering hillcrest.

Also, Ocean Beach is part funky/bohemian, with a lot of unsavory these days. It's also a pain to get in and out off, traffic wise, b/c there's only one main road. It does have an awesome food co op [Peoples!] but you can always travel there. It's good that you are getting at least one vehicle. SD, despite being okay for biking, it definitely a place where a car is almost required [especially with a family]. It's a spread out series of suburbs, essentially. And public transit is poor to decent, maybe good in some areas but never great or even a huge part of the landscape, despite some efforts and desires in that direction. You have to really work and set your life up to be a bike or public transit commuter/no vehicle resident of SD, much more so than many other metros.

Also, you definitely don't want to miss out on the amazing beaches of SD (which would be hard to access without a car)! And you will be excited to experience and enjoy ALL of them, not just one nearby where you live. La Jolla Shores, in a great residential area, is fantastic for families with young children. Del Mar village is beautiful and Encinitas is a nice, liberal, artsy and holistic type coastal small city with great beaches, too.

ETA: None of the areas I mentioned as 'hit or miss' are 'the hood'...well, I'd say they are, in some parts, the 'semi hood'. Nothing like Chicago hood. As someone else mentioned, you could live most areas of SD, even the higher crime areas, and not be personally threatened. It's a city with a low violent crime rate for its size, last I checked. More property crime, more drug activity, more car breakins [this is a big issue in the city as a whole, btw-so take precautions], that sort of thing.

[desertsadie]

OP- which neighborhood did you end up choosing and how do you like it so far? I'm in a similar situation. My partner, 3yo and I are moving to SD for work. We're looking for a progressive, gay and family friendly neighborhood with relatively easy access to SDSU (and possibly UCSD) and the beach. I'm feeling like Hillcrest might be good, but not sure about rental/home prices. I definitely want to check out the schools thread above too. Other suggestions or things I should be considering?

[gingerdancer]

When I lived in Hillcrest/University Heights/North Park border, I found it to be affordable, but I rented. It's also a cute walking community right near Balboa Park, my fave part of SD. I'm straight and didn't feel out of place. Hillcrest is not like the Castro in SF, it seems more low key. Mission Hills is also very nice but I thought it was more expensive.

Your kids will love balboa park, lots of museums and (when I was there) free museum days!

[sacite]

I am not a SD native, but after my last visit I left thinking Hillcrest had a lot to offer. A lot of places to eat, cogfee and it has some personality. Balboa park is pretty awesome. Just being there puts you in such a relaxed state. I'll probsbly be there everyday if I do move.