Can't wait to move from NYC, but need some info (San Diego: wood floors, rental car)

[DubHaze]

The hookers hide in alleys parking lots. LoL.... we walked to the video store last night and one girl ducked behind someone's car. Crazy!

North Park is pretty safe, in my previous post I was just saying that you can never be sure, and things happen even in the upscale neighborhoods. Get a little key-ring of mace or something just to be extra safe!

[moved]

I've never had a problem anywhere that I've lived, and I always go out at night by myself. I have no reason to carry mace or pepper spray, and wouldn't.

[Hazel09]

Sh0t- As a person born and raised in NYC you should really know what I mean...and that's the vibe of the place.

DubHaze-Thanks for such a well detailed description I'll certainly ask you more when I visit.

JakeDog- please explain...

[zango]

Yes, SD. is a slower pace than NYC. And you do get more for your money here than NYC. You are in a special category of people. Few can move to SD. and actually find a cheaper lifestyle. But NYC. and San Francisco and Honolulu all qualify. Yes, you can find a 1BR apartment in Normal Hts. or North park for $1k. A 2BR would be pushing it for that price. If you have a buffer of cash, you will do fine. I would suggest at least $10k savings to get you up and running. Good luck.

[JakeDog]

Originally Posted by Hazel09

Sh0t- As a person born and raised in NYC you should really know what I mean...and that's the vibe of the place.

DubHaze-Thanks for such a well detailed description I'll certainly ask you more when I visit.

JakeDog- please explain...

I'm sorry, but union workers should move to places like San Antonio, etc. unless they plan to live very very frugally. If you are a research scientist, doctor, successful business person, or have a great job lined up that pays over 100K, San Diego, the Bay Area, etc. are great places. If you don't, move to Dallas, OKC, etc. unless you are willing to suck it up and stop complaining about finding yourself in an expensive area.

[Hazel09]

Originally Posted by JakeDog

I'm sorry, but union workers should move to places like San Antonio, etc. unless they plan to live very very frugally. If you are a research scientist, doctor, successful business person, or have a great job lined up that pays over 100K, San Diego, the Bay Area, etc. are great places. If you don't, move to Dallas, OKC, etc. unless you are willing to suck it up and stop complaining about finding yourself in an expensive area.

So, I suppose you mean San Antonio, TX. I researched the city and found out that since Texas is "right to work" state Unions really don't have much power. About half of the illegal immigrants gets picked up by trucks and work for as little as $6/hr so there is a bit competition there when it comes to contruction jobs.
But it's is good to know that there are actually construction jobs there and my hubby would find work there even if not in the Union.

We are considering plenty of places to move to including (and leading) San Diego, Las Vegas, and maybe Texas...
We are taking our time deciding, researching and try to get feeling of the place(s) when visiting.

[moved]

So, I suppose you mean San Antonio, TX. I researched the city and found out that since Texas is "right to work" state Unions really don't have much power. About half of the illegal immigrants gets picked up by trucks and work for as little as $6/hr so there is a bit competition there when it comes to contruction jobs.
But it's is good to know that there are actually construction jobs there and my hubby would find work there even if not in the Union.
There are lots of illegals here also that will work for next to nothing. One of the Hispanic markets has day laborers that stand outside waiting for someone in a truck to pick them up for work that day. And most of the regular construction jobs are taken by Hispanics.

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by DubHaze

Well, it does seem like you know what you want, and what you can afford...

Rent- 1000 will get you a 1bedroom, some area's it will not be very nice, and have limited anemities (some apartments don't even have a fridge, you bring your own. weird.) at $1000 monthly I would look a little more inland from the beach. you will find a nicer place.

Here is our situation, hopefully it will give you some insight.

My husband and I moved to SD from MN 9 months ago. We LOVE it here, recently found out we are expecting our first child, next June so we will be looking for a larger place. We currently have a 1 bedroom which is 1095.00 for our anemities it is a STEAL! We have covered parking, WASHER/DRYER in our home (This is HUGE, most places have shared or no facilities) and Stainless steel appliances (YES, we have a fridge.) ALSO, we only pay Gas/Electric (about 60 per month) and we pay for internet (we have HD tv, and HDMI outputs from Laptop, so we stream cable through our internet for free. Also because we have a LCD tv, we get a lot of free HDTV channels, Fox CW, ABC, NBC etc just by plugging it in.

It is decent sized (probably 650sq ft. we had to downsize a lot to fit all our crap in here) We live in a small 8 unit gated building so I feel SAFE at night. We live in North Park, which is an up and coming neighborhood, although it can be a bit seedy at night. I do hear a lot of sirens, and I know there is a prostitution problem on El Cajon BLVD... Women, should go no where alone at night in San Diego, go with your hubby to the store. NOT even in the rich neighborhoods like La Jolla, where a women was assaulted during her early morning jog. Point is, you aren't safe alone anywhere, nice area or not. So there was the little bit of bad about my neighborhood... moving to the good, there are a TON of restaurants, shops, grocery stores etc within walking/biking distance. We get a nice breeze being on the hill, but Aug/Sept you will want a portable AC, as most places don't come with AC. My husband and I bought beach cruisers and we can bike EVERYWHERE from here! He biked to the beach (That was a long ride, North park is on a hill, so he walked back up the hill) We bike to Balboa Park (10 minute ride) and even Downtown and to the Bay. (take the bus back up the hill, save your energy!) We LOVE being close to the SD zoo. we got memberships for 80 bucks, and got free passes for family to go enjoy as well! Its nice being able to just go walk around the zoo/balboa park. Balboa has free mueseums on tuesdays to enjoy. Mission Valley is right down the hill, so you have both large malls, IKEA, COSTCO, etc like two miles away. 10 minutes by car to the beach. OOOH! I forgot to mention... FARMERS MARKETS... I LOVE LOVE LOVE THEM! There is one almost everyday, fun to people watch get fresh produce, seafood etc.... ooh the flowers are way cheap there too.

San Diego is very laid back, and a melting-pot of culture. Neighborhoods to check out with decent rent, and anemities would be NORTH PARK, Normal Heights, Hillcrest (gay neighborhood, we go there a lot because it feels safe and lots of awesome shops/restaurants) Mission Valley (tends to be hot in summer(NEED AC), and traffic gets congested with Charger games.) We looked for places in Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, and Mission Beach but what we found in our range were slums, or college party kids. I am 24 my husband is 28, but we are over that lifestyle. I honestly think Ranch Bernardo, Poway etc are out of your price range, and are further away from enjoying what San Diego has to offer.

Job wise-- Tricky. There isn't as much carpenter work here, My husband actually found some self contracting work which has been going well, but when we moved here, we moved with about 10,000 and with the notion of taking whatever jobs we could get RIGHT AWAY. Now if that meant we would have to work at McDonalds till something better came up, thats what we would do. Luckily not. My husband had two P/T retail jobs, and I am a newborn baby photographer (my company is nationwide, and let me transfer, only 2.00 more per hour tho) and I found work as a Nanny for a couple families (My going rate is 13.00-16.50 per hour) There is work to be found, you just have to understand that 50-100 other applications are going out there with yours to compete with. You have to get out there and HUNT those jobs down. Network through new friends etc.

If you have any questions you would like to ask, feel free to DM (Direct Message) me if you would like to.

Heather

I remember when you first moved here and it looks like you've adjusted quite well. Farmer's Markets, prostitutes on El Cajon, biking downtown, Hillcrest restaurants, portable A/C...you already sound a native!

[melmel2010]

I am moving to SD from Brooklyn in March. How did you guys do? Where did you end up & how is it?

[moved]

Originally Posted by melbklyn

I am moving to SD from Brooklyn in March. How did you guys do? Where did you end up & how is it?

What do you want to know?