r/Moving2SanDiego

I’m considering moving near Petco Park / Marina area because I like the walkability, but I’m unsure about the RB (Rancho Bernardo) commute.

Google shows around 26–35 minutes on a Monday morning for a ~24-mile drive, which doesn’t sound that bad, but is that realistic?

On why Little Italy, I have found more reasonably priced modern apartments than in North Park for instance, at the expense of a longer commute.

i’m a 22yo with ~250k in savings after taxes. i don’t have any schooling or a job lined up. i’m moving next week into a la jolla apartment and i’ll be paying $3k in rent before utilities. i plan to go to school there and i can live off of my savings for the first year at least without roommates but as the deadline is closing in i am stressing and wondering if everything will work out. are my savings a big enough cushion to hold me over until im able to split my rent and also find an entry level job in this competitive market? im taking this risk because im coming from oklahoma and am extremely unhappy here, as well as it being an unwelcoming place for a non conservative woman. any advice is appreciated.

I’ve been visiting San Diego quite a bit for work this year and have really been enjoying it. I just spent the last week there outside of work exploring neighborhoods I’m considering, especially Hillcrest and Bankers Hill.

I see a lot of negativity about SD online, but most of it seems to revolve around the cost of living. Fortunately, that’s not a major concern for me. My bigger questions are about lifestyle and community.

I love the beach, but I’m not a fan of CA beaches (cold water), so I probably won’t take advantage of the “sunshine tax” as much as others. I’m also coming from a mountainous state , and my job has me working in rural mountain areas for about half the year, so easy access to mountains isn’t a priority since I get plenty of that already.

My biggest concerns are whether the city will feel diverse enough and whether there’s a strong sense of community. Is there anything else you wish you’d known before moving to San Diego?

I realize spending time there for work is very different from actually living there, so I know my perspective is limited. Right now, though, I genuinely love the idea of moving. I’d love to hear from people who’ve made the move or have lived there for a while, what do you love, and what would you caution someone about?

After 10 years of living out of state, our family is moving back home to San Diego, where we are originally from. We are selling our house and want to find a good rental. Medical bills have tanked my credit score (selling house to pay some of those off) so I’m looking for a private landlord who will work with a higher than normal deposit or first, last + a few additional months of rent in advance.

Average verifiable income $22k per month. There are months it is much higher however. Need 3+ bedroom and 2+ bath and air conditioning is a necessity for us. No pets. Neighborhood flexible but I grew up in North County.

Any good private landlords?

(also posted in r/sandiego but I am now realizing this is probably the better sub for this)

Hello I am moving to San Diego soon and will be working in Sorrento Valley and commuting 4x a week. I am debating between living in PB vs north park. I want to pay less than 1600 for a shared room which seems to be possible in both neighborhoods.

In terms of commute time as far as I can tell north park to Sorrento valley is a bit more annoying then PB to Sorrento valley, but not by much. Is this true? ~35 mins vs ~25 mins.

In terms of neighborhood vibes north park seems more walkable and cooler, but pacific beach is obviously right by the beach and a big reason I want to move to San Diego is to be able to hang out on the beach. Like I feel like going to the beach is something I need to plan if I'm in north park, versus something I can do spontaneously if I'm in pacific beach, Also I kinda want to learn how to surf. However I have heard that PB has kind of a fratty college-y vibe, and everyone I know who has lived in San Diego say they prefer north park versus pacific beach. Would love to hear more opinions on the pros and cons of these two neighborhoods though.

I’m moving to San Diego in August and the owner/roommate asked me to put down 1/2 the rent ($900) as security deposit early to reserve the room (valid).

We’ve exchanged instagrams, video chatted so I can see the home/room so that’s what I’ve done to make sure it’s legit and that he’s a real person. But, what else should I do / ask for before sending the security deposit to protect myself and my money? And if worst comes to worst, what can I do to get it back if he ends up renting to somebody else?

It’ll my first time moving out of my parent’s house so I’m not too knowledgeable on this. TIA 🙏🏽

Has anyone purchased a manufactured home in San Diego or gone through the process? I'd love to hear about your experience and any tips you have.

If you're comfortable sharing, what is your monthly space rent, and how much is your monthly payment with your chattel loan?

Planning a move to SD this Summer and know absolutely nothing about the area. For a couple reasons I need to be in or near the Hillcrest neighborhood.
I am retired and have two senior dogs. Is there a time of year where more units are available? Is a 1 bed/1 bath doable with a $2500-$3,000 a month budget?? Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Howdy

My wife (F 33) and I (M 33) have talked about moving from Houston to San Diego. We visited last May and fell in love with the city. We absolutely love the vibe, the weather, and the quality of life. We also have two children and we’d like to raise a family in SD. We are both educators (me with 10 years in the classroom and wife with 8 years plus a masters. I am currently working on my masters in administration - I want to be a principal in the next 1-3 years. We have started looking at the possibility of relocating and we don’t have any offers right now

We make good money with our districts but I’m curious if we would be able to afford living in SD with our teacher salaries. What are yalls thoughts? We also have two paid off vehicles and carry zero debt except for our mortgage (which we already own 60% equity in the home). Traffic/commuting is not an issue for us since we’ve lived in Houston pretty much our whole life - we are used to it.

Hello Everyone,

I'm a 24-year-old foreigner about to move to San Diego for work. Is it possible to live ok for a couple of years with 90k annual base salary? I don't have car, would that be a problem? Will I be able to live alone? Is it possible to save money?

I still don't know all the details about the work so I'm not sure where it can be located

I'd really appreciate your responses or any tips you can give me

Thanks a lot

Thinking about moving from Sacramento to San Diego and would love to get thoughts on making the move as an outdoorsy person. I spend tons of time in the sierras and on the rivers (boating, climbing, fishing, etc) but feel like I am lacking in my social life (24M) as everyone seems to be 35 and about to have kids.
I have tons of friends in San Diego but they are not as outdoorsy as me (no problem, I go out by myself all the time), how is moving to San Diego and the outdoors?
I’m nervous about missing trees and mountains and rivers. I’m originally from Oregon and love greenery, but everyone just tells me the beach will be 5 minutes away. If you have made a similar move (Nor-Cal or PNW) to San Diego what’s been good and/or bad?

Are there still people in San Diego that walks their dog want to find someone to hang out with our dogs.

Hi all! Our family is moving to a home near Del Mar Highlands in a a few weeks time. Our twins will be very newly 5 when the school year starts in September and we would strongly prefer them to be in another year of preschool before starting kindergarten in the 2027-2028 school year. We are zoned for Solana Beach schools and they do not offer transitional kindergarten. Could anyone suggest a reasonably local private preschool with two spots open next year for PreK? Budget is flexible but less expensive is preferred.

I know this is late and two free spots is a pretty big ask, but I hope someone can help. Thanks!

We'll likely have multiple hits (dotting the coast).
But this is the effect of a single Chinese Dong Deng-5's effects on Downtown SD stretching all the way to El Cajon - Lakeside.

The city is the shared home to the US Naval Pacific Fleet, (Aircraft carriers, Nuclear subs, various military aircraft and all their support crews)

There's all sorts of US military R&D cyber and support companies here.

Most people don't think about this (a point of discussion at last night's bonfire) but San Diego is a major bio sciences and bio engineering hub. We're also known for computer sciences, high tech engineering and a major conduit for trade from the Pacific as well as up from Mexico into the rest of the USA.

All of that is strategically devastated with a single nuke.

(Then there's the human costs)

Hello everybody!

I am moving from LA to San Diego for grad school and looking for ideally a furnished studio/1bed in downtown no more than $2-2.2k. I’ve been doing a lot of research and only found about one or two places. It’s so hard to find anything furnished. Just wanted to come in here and see if anyone has some insight or can point me to a certain direction with where to look. Also I as thinking I should reach out to a San Diego real estate agent and see if they can guide me, or if that’s a bad idea? Anyways, if anyone has any kind of information I’d greatly appreciate it! Thanks. 🙏🏼

Hey all,

We’re a young couple (25&26) with remote jobs and we’re moving to San Diego. We like walkable places (groceries, gyms, parks and beach), our budget is 2-3k for 1br. We have narrowed it down to those three neighborhoods because the listings look like they are in our budget. We’re concerned about traffic, but we have very flexible remote schedules so we could plan around it. Any advice is welcome!!

Hi all! My boyfriend and I both got jobs in Carlsbad and moving from across the country and need advice on apartment complexes or other housing types to consider in either Carlsbad/Encinitas/Oceanside. We have been looking so much on Zillow and even the nice apartment complexes seem to have mentions of black mold or rats/roaches in the reviews online. Am I missing something or is this common?

At this rate we just want to find a place that is clean/safe/comfortable with in unit laundry. We want to be within 20 min of work and budget is $3.2k give or take for 1 or 2 bedroom. We’re willing to spend more if it’s super worth it but we haven’t found that quite yet. We’re both moving from Boston so we’re really not that picky and have lived in very old style housing but would be nice to find something a bit more renovated this time around. Also is it normal to not be able to tour the apartment before you sign because of existing tenants? We have time on on our side because our jobs are flexible and okay with us moving sometime in the next few months.

Any advice is appreciated!

Hey guys, I’m making this post to get some ideas. So I’m from Jersey and want to move to Cali in the near future. Any advice would be very appreciated!

Background: I’m currently in PA school and want to move to Cali probably 2-3 years after graduating next yr. I know this seems far but I like to plan ahead lol.

I have also never lived in another state or on my own outside of dorming during undergrad so I feel like I don’t know anything.

Budget wise I’m not sure. Apparently average PA salary in Cali for emergency med (specialty I wanna go into) is $165k but don’t quote me lol.

\*\*\*\*edit\*\*\*\*\*\* okay per zip recruiter average annual income is $239k 🥸 not sure how accurate this is

I wouldn’t mind have a roommate either

Questions I have:
-how much money should I have saved up before moving?
-if any PAs in EM in Cali see this, what’s the job market like? Also pls lmk what area u work in
-what areas in Cali would u guys suggest? I would prefer an area that is walkable, lively and safe. I’m a F in my 20s. I love city life but also wouldn’t mind being by the beach.

Thank you u guys in advice for taking the time to read this & give me your opinions! Pls be nice 😔✌️

I’m trying to decide where to move in the fall. I’m from the northeast, with some time in Atlanta too. I lived in Santa Monica for 5 years (2018-2023) and have been in NYC since. I’m torn between moving to San Diego, back to LA, Boston, or Brooklyn (all very different choices). I’m single, f, 33. Have my own business. Went to school in Vermont.

I really miss having a car. Would rather drive to do an errand than walk or take subway. I also really miss the culture of having your friends over to your apartment. And hugely miss the abundance of outdoor activities. I want to do more than just meet a friend for dinner. I also have a dog now, which I didn’t before in LA.

My LA friends found me too New York, but I’m not cut throat enough for my NYC friends. Some people did say they see me in a coastal town and I grew up going to the cape a lot. But I’m someone that likes to be out and about daily and would struggle living in a place where nobody wants to do things.

Ideally I want to live somewhere where I can go on hikes, beach picnics, go to tons of concerts and live music, have my friends over for a dinner party, play tennis, go to the driving range to hit golf balls (did this in la with friends often as a wine night haha). I want to meet a guy who wants to settle down, have kids, but still wants to have fun after too. If I could go to the beach every day and a concert every night and call that life, I would.

Tbh part of the San Diego appeal is the only guys I’ve ever loved have either been 1) military or 2) kiteboarders. I love water sports and the only shows I enjoy are military ones so San Diego has naturally always been in the back of my mind.

The arguments for Brooklyn and Boston are basically staying closer to family and my niece and nephew. Brooklyn has a Vermont feel and it’s a great live music scene, more spacious apt and seems people actually have their friends over for cookouts etc. Boston everyone always thought I’d move to but I’ve always rebelled against? I like the people but I don’t know what I would do there for fun.

Thanks for your feedback! And I already know the, “don’t move here, it sucks” advice 😂

Need apartment recommendations based on area and management also where it’s walkable area and nothing 30 minutes away from the naval base San Diego?!?