FinnDiego

Yeah. My commute is about 13 miles by car, 17 by bike. Just what you need! The shortest way to get anywhere is almost always by freeways which is fine when you're a) driving and b) they haven't been turned into parking lots. Public transit? Ha. Although I guess the trolley is useful if you want to get to the stadium...

The problem with living close to work is that for all tech jobs for example are in ghastly industrial parks in the middle of nowhere. I could live close to my job in Sorrento Valley / Mira Mesa and have a nice easy commute, but would hate my life in the evenings and weekends. Instead I hate my commute and try to channel that hate to riding a bike instead.

La Jolla and downtown aren't that bad really, you should be able to have a decent commute for at least one of you and not too bad for the other. Can I suggest getting a bike?

If walkability is a priority you're probably looking at the uptown neighborhoods, South Park, OB or north PB. Or downtown itself but I never go there...

Jacksdad619

Exactly - it's the damned canyons around here. I used to be an EMT in San Diego, and the biggest obstacle in many neighborhoods (and we're talking pre-GPS here - Thomas guides only) was successfully routing your partner to the right street and then discovering that the address you wanted was only a block away...and on the other side of a canyon

scrubbedexpat091

The trolley is far more useful then just going to the stadium, its not a bad way to get around. Ridership is down a bit since construction started, but still see's about 80,000 people a day riding it.

scrubbedexpat091

My mom used to complain about the same thing when she was an EMT in San Diego..

bewildering

One of my students drove (crashed) into rose canyon from regents street. Apparently she thought she got confused about whether genesee or regents connected across the canyon. I still don't get how she didn't notice the lack of, well, street as she drove.

Now she is a MD

Leah326

Hi Michael,

I moved to San Diego just less than 2 months ago and was also trying to work out the best place to live. It really depends on what you are looking for and what will suit your family and I don't think you always know until you get here and drive around for a while.

My commute in the UK was an hour and fifteen (to do 20 miles) and I wanted to avoid that when arriving here. I work off Mira Mesa Blvd and have been staying in UTC which is just one exit off the 805 and it took me 45 minutes to get home on Friday night. It depends on what hours you do though as you can avoid the traffic and most days I am in work in ten minutes and home in 15/20. The coastal areas are lovely but pricey.

Hillcrest and those areas nearby have a lot going on, but I personally didn't want the commute and I was struggling to find anything of a decent size with parking. UTC I find a bit samey - lots of big apartments and students around here, but near to some good shops. I personally love the North Coastal areas from Del Mar to Encinitas (particularly Cardiff), but decided in the end to move to Carmel Valley/ Del Mar Heights area as it was a reasonable commute to work (I work in San Diego and in Irvine) and a nice area. I ended up renting a cute condo as I didn't want to live in a big block of apartments.

You'll get more for your money in areas like Clairemont or further in, but it just depends on what you like and how close you want to be to the beach (it's sunnier further inland anyway). Personally I also loved Bird Rock area, but getting out of there in traffic wasn't too appealing either. If you get the opportunity to drive around on your arrival, then do so, as then you will know the areas that really draw you in. You can get a really good feel for the place within less than the first month.If you can work your hours around the traffic then commuting anywhere is really not too bad.

Welcome to San Diego anyway, you will love it I'm sure.

mikec81

Just a quick update for all those who offered some advice...

We eventually settled on over paying to live closer to the coast near my wife's job. We picked an apartment between La Jolla and Del Mar which looks like it's going to fit what we need. It's definitely expensive, but it seems pretty consistent with everything else in the area. My commute is going to be somewhere between 20 and 30 minutes depending on when I leave, which is not a problem.

Thanks to everyone for the help. We used a lot of the information to narrow down our options which was really helpful since we were not able to check the places out before we placed our deposit.

Jacksdad619

Welcome

Ozzidoc

Welcome!!