From NY now living in San Diego. (National City, Poway: job market, theater)

[bbjr]

Just wanted to hear from anyone who has made the move from the New York/New Jersey area to San Diego...Whats good? Whats bad? Whats different? How do you compare the people, the scenery, the job market, the things to do, the restaurants, the malls,etc...Just wanted to hear negatives and positives from anyone who has lived in both places. I just spoke to an old highschool friend (more of an acquaintance) of mine that I have not seen in 10 years, who has lived in San Diego the last 5 years, and other than the weather he had nothing nice to say about San Diego. He has moved back to NY he says for good. I was born and raised in NYC and now living in Bergen County NJ most of my adult life. My Wife and I and 2 young kids are planning on moving to SD within the next 6-9 months but after speaking to my friend I may be having second thoughts. My family and I have visited SD on 5 separate vacations and loved it more and more each time... I'm wondering if it was because we were on vacation and not at work, doing the daily grind that we do, when we're not on vacation. All of our relatives live in or around NY, but my wife and I are hoping that some of them will follow us out to SD once they see how awesome it is out there. Is San Diego as awesome as it appears? Or is it just an illusion?
Thanks a Million for any advice.

[Sampaguita]

I grew up in NY (Staten Island) & go back to visit family. I grew up in a very cultural-arts minded family & spent a lot of time at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center & Broadway between growing up there & going back for business. Personally, I got my fill and really didn't have a problem leaving that all behind. But that's just me.

Comparing NYC to SD is kind of like comparing apples to oranges IMHO.

What did you friend not like about SD?

It's a life-style change, for sure. WHY do you think a move to SD might be good for your family?

Not to discourage you (as I DO prefer living in SD to SI/NYC) but if you're used to & really love the activity, pace, diversity, cultural aspects (live entertainment, museums, Broadway, etc...), ethnic food choices that are synonymous with living in the NY/NJ area, SD may be a disappointment as far as making it your new residence.

[ubringliten]

BBJR,

Even though I have lived in NYC (Manhattan) for only 2 years, I still prefer SD over NYC anyday.

If you are ready for a lifestyle change as mentioned by Sampaguita, then SD is that. It's definitley a grown-up city with pretty mature people and family oriented. My girlfriend and I found the people here to be happy and very nice.

There are lots of things to do in SD and you can do it all year round unlike living in NYC.
Just picture yourself without the hassle of traffic, standing in the cold for a bus, waiting in the stinky hot subway in the summer, and not being able to make several errands in one trip. You can do everything every day of the year.

Since you have a family, SD is a nice place for families.

Just to warn you one thing though, you may think SD is dead from where you come from. I am originally from LA, and I still think SD is kind of dead. However, I prefer this over traffic or long lines at the checkout.

Good luck,

Chris

[Sampaguita]

Originally Posted by ubringliten

Just picture yourself without the hassle of traffic, standing in the cold for a bus, waiting in the stinky hot subway in the summer, and not being able to make several errands in one trip. You can do everything every day of the year.

Believe it or not, those are some of the reasons I decided not to return to NYC. I did a summer & a winter of that (commuting in the winter, living in the city one summer) and I decided "this is not the life for me" (this coming from "there's nothing better than NYC - everything is hick in comparison"! ).

[NYSD1995]

It's very different out here (I grew up on Long Island). It's a big lifestyle change but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I can try to briefly give you some pros and cons:

Pros:
- great weather and outdoor activities
- accepting, tolerant culture
- people are generally laid back (no NY-style freakouts when a line moves too slowly)
- no LI/NJ property taxes
- not everyone is a crook trying to rip you off

Cons:
- NYC job market is better
- NYC area has more cultural amenities in general
- SD people can be a little too "small-town" for my tastes
- Lack of public transportation makes housing choices a lot tougher
- CA schools are terrible and people aren't all that smart sometimes

[bbjr]

Thank you Sampaguita,ubringliten and Sassberto, I do feel alot better after reading your posts. Sampaguita you asked what my friend did not like about SD, and why I thought SD would be good for my family. My friend was not too specific but he mentioned that the friends he met in SD were flakey, he also felt that everything moved too slowly for his taste, and that he found it to be boring. I think SD would be good for my family because when we're out there I get this overall feeling of relaxation, like nothing is in a rush, it just feels like there would be more family time together. Also because I like the fact that SD in general seems more ethnically diverse. Where I live in NJ the schools are 90% White, 3% Hispanic, 4%Asian, 1% Black and 2% is misc. We are Filipino and the pre-school that our 4 year old attends doesn't even have another Filipino student in the entire school. Don't get me wrong I grew up in this enviroment (it sometimes wasn't easy in the earlier school years, kids can be mean) but I turned out OK. I just want our children to be more exposed to our own culture as well as other cultures. Sassberto you mentioned that SD can sometimes be "too small town..." What did you mean by that? You also mentioned that California schools were horrible and that the people can sometimes be not so smart...Please elaborate. We are planning on living in the Rancho Bernardo area in the Poway School dist. Are Poway schools as good as they say or is it just hype?

Thanks Again everyone for your help.

[MissA55]

BBJR, Poway School District is probably one of the best in the county - teachers receive the highest salaries, therefore making it the most competitive district in which to obtain a teaching job. Ironically, you've chosen one of the whitest districts, and although it's probably more diverse than the school your child is at now, it's still pretty white - like 60 percent or so.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by bbjr

Sassberto you mentioned that SD can sometimes be "too small town..." What did you mean by that? You also mentioned that California schools were horrible and that the people can sometimes be not so smart...Please elaborate. We are planning on living in the Rancho Bernardo area in the Poway School dist. Are Poway schools as good as they say or is it just hype?

Too small town = people live 2 hours from LA (world class museums, theaters, etc) but never have been there because there's "too much traffic" or "LA sucks"

Poway Schools are arguably best in SD (and SoCal in general) but I do think NY schools are more academically rigorous. If you look at the blue-ribbon lists you always see tons of schools in the LI/NJ area, but very few in San Diego. Culturally I think the NYC area is very education-centric whereas San Diego and SoCal is more lifestyle-centric. It's not necessarily a bad thing, just different.

[Sampaguita]

bbjr - I am Filipina. I actually know of a lot of Filipinos in the RB area. There are a lot of young Filipino families moving into newer areas/suburbs of SD County. The church that we go to, St. Therese in Carmel Valley, has a strong Filipino organization/presence and a new Filipino restaurant opened near Carmel Mountain Ranch. Haven't been yet but want to eventually explore. Most of the Filipino presence is in National City & Mira Mesa but we haven't really had any desire to live in those areas. I will say that it's great to be able to drive to any one of those areas and get palabok at Jollie-Bee or Goldilock's or mango cake at Red Ribbon Bakery or pan de sal at any number of bakeries. Or even order a tray of turon easily!

We don't have school-aged children yet but everything I've heard about the Poway School District is positive. When I was growing up in SI, there weren't a lot of Filipino children in school with me until 2nd grade. I was the only Filipino child in kindergarden & 1st grade but I don't recall being singled out negatively. In fact, it seemed to something "exotic" to other kids & parents.

As far as depth of and choices in schools, I agree with Sassberto that there are more more many choices in the NY/NJ metro areas. We would like to provide our children with a Catholic education so I'm hoping that by the time our children are of HS age, we will have some better options open to us (14 yrs more).

I can understand what your friend was saying about SD. If you're not ready for a life-style change, than SD might not be the right city. But if you're ready for a more laid-back pace, then maybe SD could be in your future. I honestly like the slower pace and every time I go back to NY, I start getting agita. LOL

[CrissCT]

Originally Posted by MissA55

BBJR, Poway School District is probably one of the best in the county - teachers receive the highest salaries, therefore making it the most competitive district in which to obtain a teaching job. Ironically, you've chosen one of the whitest districts, and although it's probably more diverse than the school your child is at now, it's still pretty white - like 60 percent or so.

That's funny you think that it's 60% white, cause all my neighbors are Filipino (we live in 4S Ranch in RB). Now I'm not saying every street is like that but here's one of my children's classroom makeup (and this is typical) - 20 kids - 6 white, 9 asian, 4 hispanic, 1 black. I love the diversity.