Aansell

Hello All

Me and my wife will be immigrating from the uk to San Diego for my work this September. I'm currently researching areas to live and would love to hear some recommendations from others.

Me and my wife are both professionals in the tailend of our twenties, with a newborn baby. Ideally we're looking for an area which has plenty to do, preferably within walking distance. As my wife will be taking care of the baby for at least the first year and would like to get out and about as much as possible and hopefully meet new people/other parents (already looking at meetup.com) before returning to work.

My work is based out in Carlsbad, so commuting is obviously a concern , I don't want to be spending to much time on the road back and forth.

I've currently been recommended La Jolla Village or the village of la Jolla (bit of confused on which one), as it has range of shops/coffee/beach places etc all within walking distance, which would be ideal. However i'm not sure if the commute will be an issue?

Also Encinitas has been mentioned by a few people as somewhere to consider.

Hopefully those of you living there will be able to help us out with these suggestions and recommend other potential areas.

Thanks in Advance

Owen778

I happen to have been in La Jolla for a field trip for work last year. It's a great place to be, in terms of restaurants and shopping. Housing is extremely expensive, though.

There are others here much more familiar with California, though I'm not sure how many of them know the San Diego area.

One word of advice, though: don't use the word "immigrating", unless you're actually immigrating, i.e. moving to the US permanently. If you're on an L1 visa, for example, you aren't immigrating. I assume you've confirmed which visa you will be on? Your wife will be able to work if you are on an L1 visa, but not if you are on H1.

SanDiegogirl

Where you live, apart from where you work, also depends on what you can afford for renting/purchase of accommodation.

The following are all family oriented, reasonably affordable (this is subjective since San Diego county is considered expensive for housing compared to a lot of places) places to rent and purchase. They are all commutable to Carlsbad:

Oceanside
Encinitas
Escondido
Rancho Bernardo
Poway
San Marcos
Cardiff
Carmel Valley areas

They all have plenty of new properties and established ones. Shops, small theatres , cafes in the areas mentioned; and of course the beaches are not far away.

The following is still commutable but more expensive:

Del Mar

La Jolla is probably one of the most expensive areas to live around San Diego (and it is a good 45 mins commute to Carlsbad up the I-5 in the rush hour).

I live in Poway

As said, depending on what visa you are getting will depend on whether your wife will be able to work.

Also unless you live right in the middle of a downtown area you WILL be getting around by car most of the time.

scrubbedexpat091

If working in Carlsbad, I would try and concentrate on finding something around that region in North County, commuting from La Jolla (which is pricey region to begin with) is not fun.

Pretty much anywhere along the coast in North County is decent. And honestly (having been born and raised in San Diego region and family still there) there are very few bad area's. Some less then desirable area's, but the only 2 places I would totally avoid are El Cajon and Spring Valley but someone would have to be loco to commute from those places to Carlsbad...lol

username.exe

My wife is from Carlsbad.

Of the coastal towns in North County SD, Oceanside is the most affordable - and it's nice being on the coast. Very short journey to Carlsbad. All the coastal towns are beautiful, and personally my favourite part of California.

Vista, San Marcos and further away Escondido are all cheaper/more affordable because they are away from the coast. Beware of the heat for anything inland though, it can be significantly hotter in the summer inland than the coastal towns.

scrubbedexpat091

Inland San Diego just sucks in summer. My dad is on the coast and my sister inland, and it can easily be 100 at my sisters and a nice 75 at my dad's and they are really only about 12-13 miles apart.

SanDiegogirl

Bit of an exaggeration. While it certainly will be hotter inland as compared to the coast it rarely hits 100 degrees - have know it to hit mid 90's but only for a few days.

It certainly does not suck; and does not get the coastal fog which can spoil many a summer day near the beaches.

FinnDiego

My usual recommendation would be uptown neighborhoods (Mission Hills through to North Park), but the commute to Carlsbad would be quite a pain if you work normal person hours.

I'd say Encinitas or Carlsbad too, as close to the coast as you can afford. La Jolla is expensive and I feel you'd be a few decades too young for it really and Del Mar seems a bit difficult. Oceanside is a military and parts feel that way, but other bits can be pretty nice and it's a fair bit cheaper I believe so worth a look.

I hear good things about parts of Vista too, but I'm not sure I've actually been there. Or maybe it was just the breweries...

Gillymonkey

Like others have said, Encintitas, Carlsbad or Oceanside.

If you want inland - Poway or Rancho Bernardo.

No matter what I would thoroughly recommend getting 2 cars, it will make things much easier for your wife having her own vehicle as public transport is rubbish.

scrubbedexpat091

Nothing I said is exaggerated or not true. It can indeed easily be 100 inland and 75 on the coast, may not happen everyday, but it does happen several times per year.

The inland average in summer is in the high 80's for the high temps.

The coastal average is in the low to mid 70's.

Unless a heat lover, the inland regions are indeed pure hell in the summer. 80 is already an uncomfortable temp for a lot of people.

sherbert

Why is no one suggesting the OP actually lives in Carlsbad?!

It's a really lovely town and has loads of shops and cafes and an amazing beach and, if you live near to the main hub your wife will be able to walk around easily. If you're living in La Jolla or any further south, note that you will crawl up to the office and back home again in traffic every day. And I am not exaggerating. Rush hours a are 7-9:30 and 14:45 - 19:00 (north in the morning, south in the evening).

Encinitas would also be good (you could even go up to Carlsbad on the train if your wife needed the car).

La Jolla and La Jolla village are very expensive. Unless you live in the village proper there's honestly not much to do and your wife will be bored to tears after a few months.

scrubbedexpat091

I think Carlsbad is the nicest of the North County city's. If I were to ever live in North County (I am from the South County) that is where I would choose.

sherbert

Me too! Every time I go there I say the same thing.

Yorkie74

Heh, we also moving with a newborn (Due in May to the USA, Idaho.) How you getting on with logistics etc.

rosemaryw

Check out the commute times and find out if there are planned highway maintenance projects. A 40 minute commute can easily change into 90+ minutes with accidents, on holidays, friday afternoons etc and that is no fun and very tiring.