rc89pl

Hello everyone,

I thought I would reach out to some who live or have been to San Diego.

My girlfriend is interviewing for PhD program at UCSD and we are considering moving here from Boston.

We've been here since Friday night and I can say I'm hooked and would definitely like to move out here. Few questions:

- can you recommend any nice building with apartments in the 1200-1800/month range?
- favorite restaurants?
- places to go and see?

Of course very important thing for me will be to find a new job, but with Uber and Lyft in SD, I could get by for some time. However if anyone knows of some decent staffing agencies, please let me know!

Thanks!
-Rafal

ranles

Favorite rest. and places to see

go to tripadvisor.com San Diego and read thru the appropriate sections.

Also do a flyertalk search of San Diego

rubesl

My son moved to SD the end of November to work for the Padres, whose offices are in the stadium. He wanted a place where he could walk to work in 15 min.. He got a 1 bdrm w/ parking at 600 Front St. for $1,550/month (Front & Market) - both entry into the bldg & the garage are controlled access, so his GF feels safe. We were just there to see it for the first time & for a downtown apt. it's nice. There's a big Ralph's grocery store (owned by Kroger) a block away and he's a 5 min. walk from the Gaslamp Quarter & Seaport Village. Hope this helps.

P.S. We live in Detroit & every day he sends emails saying it's 75° & sunny!

VickiSoCal

That's a great location! We always seem to hit that Ralph's for something when we are there.

darthbimmer

Here are my suggestions for how to answer your questions:

1. I'm not a local so I can't tell you where to find an apartment that meets your needs. But I will suggest that you ask a slight different question: What's the best way to find an apartment in San Diego? Because it's different for various cities. In some you do craigslist, in some you go to an agency, in some you hire a broker.

2. Use Yelp.com to find and pick restaurants. It's a very widely used tool in California so it has lots of reviews. Also, be adventurous.

3. Figure out places to go based on asking friends, looking at maps, buying a guide book, doing keyword searches online, etc. It helps to ask or search with an activity in mind: hiking, art, dancing, etc.

Investor 11

For the OP,

You don't mention if you are only looking at the downtown area or if you are open to other areas in San Diego. My responses will be about the downtown area as I live here.

You'll be looking at the higher end of your price range for rent. There are plenty of nice buildings here to choose from. If you were hoping for one that has all the amenities such as pool, sauna and steam, movie theater room etc. I think you'll find that those will come in above your desired price range. With a little patience I think you'll find a building in a great location that will offer a gym, common area, underground parking and secure entry.

You've got a few neighborhoods within downtown to choose from. I formerly lived in the Little Italy area and loved it. I only left there after finding a steal of a deal in East village next to the ballpark.

My favorite restaurant here is Cowboy Star steakhouse. They've got great quality cuts of meat and one of the best happy hours in town that brings in a nice local crowd in a relaxing upscale environment.

We'll also regularly visit Neighborhood. It's a craft beer bar and restaurant that has what I think is one oft he best burgers into own.

If you're a Boston sports fan you'll be happy to know there are plenty of us out here already. There's a couple local bars that embrace that crowd and will always have Patriots games running on the TV's with audio.

Feel free to ask anything more specific here or by PM. And if you do decide to start looking for a place here, I'd love to recommend a real estate agent. I've used her to rent and buy downtown, she knows the downtown market inside and out, and she enjoys her job. You tell her what your parameters are and she will search until she finds it for you. I can't say enough positive things about her.

Good luck with everything.

MSPeconomist

Graduate students work long hours and proximity/convenience should drive your housing decision in addition to safety and security issues. How will she get to campus? Can graudate students get convenient and safe contract parking or must she use public transportation? Given these considerations, does it really make sense to focus on living downtown, despite the attractiveness of downtown San Diego?

Her prospective graduate department, and especially "older" students, should be able to supply lots of tips and suggestions. (Sometimes the best apartments are passed down from generation to generation of students in the same PhD program.) There should also be a campus office specializing in helping students and staff to obtain apartments near campus.

rc89pl

Great suggestions. Thanks a lot. Your son made a great move!

Thanks! PM enroute!

There is a waitlist for nice apartments they have there. We are still weighing options, as we are not opposed to driving and having two cars. Shorter the commute, the better - no doubt about that.


Thanks everyone for chiming in. All feedback and suggestions are greatly appreciated. Hoping to join the Boston crowd in San Diego.

Hawaiian717

Just stumbled across this thread, but as a UCSD graduate and San Diego resident, I thought I'd chip in my thoughts in case it's still helpful.

First, if she's going to be at UCSD, the UTC area, close to campus, is where I'd look, especially over downtown. Traffic on the stretch of I-5 between downtown and UCSD is opposite of what you'd expect, the morning commute is congested northbound (away from downtown and towards UCSD) and the afternoon commute is congested southbound. So if she's commuting from downtown, she'd be driving in traffic. Also, investigate the cost of a UCSD parking permit. They're not cheap and supply of parking spaces is limited.

If you find a place in UTC, she may not have to drive to campus at all. Between UCSD's own shuttles and the MTS bus routes (in particular, the SuperLoop routes), bus coverage between the area and campus is pretty good.

UTC (the name specifically is a shopping mall, but I use it to apply to the surrounding area as well) has tons of apartment and condo complexes. When I was looking I just went around and talked to the various leasing offices in person and got their info, but that's obviously difficult to do if you're back in Boston currently. I'm sure you can do lots of online research.

Other areas to consider would be University City (south of UTC), which has more single family homes but might have options for renting. Further south is Clairemont Mesa, which is less expensive than University City but not as nice. In either area, if you are close to Genesee Ave, there's still the possibility of decent MTS buses to get to UCSD.

Another option would be to go east into Mira Mesa. There are both homes and apartment complexes scattered around, though some areas are nicer than others. Bus to UCSD is possible, though it can be a little slow. MTS has a proposal for a new "rapid" service between Mira Mesa and UCSD that would help there; it would be quicker because it would make fewer stops.

FrAAmer

As a UCSD Alum and also a San Diego resident sine 1974, Hawaiian717 posted exactly what I would post.

The UTC/Regents area is close to the school and shopping and also close enough to North Park/Downtown/Little Italy and North county where it is all happening.

It is also close to some of the best beaches in San Diego

There is another thread all about restaurants in San Diego with new ones opening up monthly. Look at the restaurant guides online for San Diego Magazine, San Diego Home and Garden and also the San Diego Reader.

As to places to go/see- there is recent thread with some great advice. When you move here, repost and I am sure many of us will share our favorite places.

Also, there is a very active Flyertalk Community in San Diego and we have Do's a few times a year at restaurants all over San Diego. Let San Diego 1K know you are interested and she will put you on the list. We're having one in Encinitas next Saturday April 5th.

tmiw

Just to add, if you're going to move to MM, it gets less nice the farther east and south you go (e.g. closer to Miramar College).

IADCAflyer

Thats pretty much the rule in San Diego....things get less lucrative/exclusive the further east and south you go (excepting Rancho Santa Fe).

Xelint

and La Jolla

mlshanks

Attended UCSD back when dinosaurs roamed the earth (Class of '83), and I'd agree with most of what's been written, with a few swings and roundabouts. Check if there is availability of university apartments for grads....and also the university off-campus housing board. In the 4 years I lived off campus, I lived in UTC, Pacific Beach, North Claremont, and Mira Mesa. Friends were in University City & Del Mar. I'd agree that I would NOT look Downtown, as the commute is beastly.....and La Jolla (other than the university) is likely way out of your price range.

Xelint

One other area to consider is Tierra Santa. A little more low key area away from the water but pretty easy to get to the University and to downtown.