San Diego Housing Bubble News and Analysis

because if houses in SD are a dump, houses in the bay area uninhabitable.

What I love about San Diego is that you can basically choose whatever lifestyle you want.

You want urban, we got urban. And suburban.

And rural.

Beaches. Fancy and dingy.

Name an ethnicity and we have a community build around it.

I personally choose to have a very "Euro" lifestyle uptown, renting a small place, taking a shuttle to work and walking around town. I love it.

Downsides (what I would warn people about)

It's not a good place to buy property at the moment.

It catches on fire quite a bit.

Crime in depressed neighborhoods is really bad. Its well worth it to pay a premium to live in a nice area.

Fabulous weather and proximity to ocean, mountains, and desert. That's pretty much it. The only other place I would consider growing roots in is Greece. A positive cash flow vacation rental on St. John or Kauai is on the list too.

If we move to Temecula, it will be temporary. Of course it is still close enough that the beach becomes the same type of getaway that a mountain camping trip is now - less than an hour drive. I live a couple minutes from the beach now and hardly ever go, not because I don't want to, but because I don't have time. Once I'm retired or have much more time to enjoy it, then being at the coast is a requirement.

I like Temecula for the newness of the city, low crime, and for the small town feel and family-oriented atmosphere here. I can bear the scorching summers ONLY because it cools off at night and I can open my windows. If that wasn't the case, I wouldn't be living here. I never have and will never run my AC all night. I'm not an AC person.

Having said that being so close to the beach was really nice. I never thought I could live in a 1959 dump like I visited, but it wasn't so bad. Having a not-so-nice house would be the trade-off for coastal living obviously. I definitely couldn't afford one of the million dollar houses up on the hill.

For those in the know, how is the area where the house was I was in as far as crime. Again, it was off of Genesis south and appleton. I'm just curious. There was chain link fences and unkempt lawns. It had to be a low income area. The man of the house was renting two rooms out just to afford to live there and it was a dump.

Thanks for the replies so far.

Lots of people hear "SD has great weather" but they don't really understand what it means to your lifestyle to have the kind of weather we have.

I can play soccer or beach volleyball any week of the year. Mid-Dec. Mid Jan. Doesn't matter. Still nice enough to play.

The list of things you can do outdoors here year-round here is endless: sailing, kayaking, any outdoor sport, barbeque. Name it.

The weather is simply never in the way. It is hard to appreciate that unless you have lived both here and somewhere that is cold in the winter, or hot in the Summer.

Gardening year-round. This includes citrus. Fresh lemons every month of the year.

I do not own an ice scraper.

I don't own an air conditioner.

I only wear jackets when I travel. A sweatshirt or wind-breaker over a long-sleeve shirt suffice.

I don't have to keep my engine warm overnight so that it starts. Even on the coldest days I get in my car, start it and drive away.

In 13 years I have never hit ice on the road. Not even sure I have been on a road with ice on it here.

Other things I like:
The terrain. I hate places where the trees are taller than the hills (Florida, for example). Something in my psyche doesn't like that. Here, we have canyons and beaches and mesas and bays and cliffs and mountains so it is very geographically interesting.

Proximity to Mexico, California agriculture and the ocean make for some pretty nice restaurants both low and high end. I love the food here. Not as good as SF, but good. Some of the ethnic foods are kind of lame here - Indian and Middle Eastern, for example, are not too exciting.

Thanks for your perspective, sdduuude. From what you posted, I can see why you like SD.

Just to clarify my previous post, I would need something nicer than the house I visited this weekend, but I can see why the person who lives there would live in it: It's 3 miles from the beach. He doesn't have the income to remodel it though.

sduuude, I agree with you about the terrain. It was beautiful and intriguing with all the hills.

Marion,

One thing you may not have realized. From Genesee and Appleton, if you go east a few blocks, then north a few blocks, you are suddenly in a pretty nice neighborhood with well-kept houses. It is really nice back there. Some of the houses back up to the canyons and there is a sense of seclusion.

So, you don't have to live in a dump to be in Clairemont. It is funny around here. Good neighborhoods turn dumpy fast, and vice-versa. As soon as you get near canyonlands, the neighborhood improves.

Also, the houses here are well-built. Nice fir timber that has aged and hardened for the last 50 years.

Shopping is convenient and not crowded also.

We live in Clairemont, but we "beach" in La Jolla.

I also love the freeway access from Clairemont.
5, 805, and 52 all easy to get to and the 163 is pretty easy also. Name anything interesting in San Diego and we are 20 min away. Downtown, PB, Mission Bay, La Jolla, Del Mar, Mission Valley.

Across the 52 is University City. Same well-built houses. Same canyons. Same beach access. Nicer houses. Nicer neighborhoods and schools. Of course, more expensive.

As I go east in San Diego county, I think it gets too hot. I'd rather live in Phoenix than Poway, for example, given the same budget for a house.

Thanks, sduuude. This house was on Galt street.

We did drive around and I did see the better houses, nestled on hills, really nice.

San Diego is just a great place to live. I lived in SD for 15 years. I loved having out of town visitors over to share SD with. Taking a midwesterner to the mountains, the desert, and the beach in one day is a real trip.

I had clients visiting from Kansas City once. At the time I did a lot of sailing out of Harbor Island Yacht Club. For dinner I rented a sailboat and took them over to Peohe's on Coronado Island. They were floored that they sailed to an island for dinner. Can't do that in KC.

SD doesn't have the shopping of OC. It doesn't have the culture of NYC (lived there too). SD seems mostly to be burbs and strip malls that all look alike. But all in all it's a great place to be, where it's not at all hard to enjoy life.

BTW, Marion, lately I've been looking at Temecula instead of waiting longer for SD to turn around. One of the Temecula cons for me is that it's so far from any major universities. How did you manage to get your Masters while living up there?

Things I liked when living there ...
The Weather, of course.
Proximity to desert, mountains for camping/hiking.
Great beaches.
Plenty of activities for the kids.
Cool parks.
It was 10-15 minutes to anything (downtown, Jack Murphy, Sea World, Balboa Park, Zoo, Beaches )
Mexican food.
Lack of mosquitos and flying pests in general.

Things I didn't realize that I liked until I moved away

Laid back attitude.
Minimal traffic (compared to LA)
Relatively inexpensive housing (Compared to LA)

Warm water? Brrr. Good thing they make wetsuits.

Pros - I can ocean swim/bike/run year around.
Con - Occasional sharks.

My family and I love San Diego not only because we have a great lifestyle, with great weather, but primarily because both my wife's family, my family, and most of our friends all live here--for us it will always be "home," and that sense of life is really what it is all about.

Another positive is that, due to close proximity, we have been able to raise our kids here while working in Hollywood, and that has been great, too.

Although we're only in our 40's, we remember a time when San Diego (even La Jolla, where we grew up, and still live)had a small-town atmosphere, and everyone knew everyone else. Those times were truly fantastic!!

We've lived and visited other places all over the world, and although San Diego is not perfect--all things considered--it's far more perfect than any other place we've ever seen, so, for us, this is IT!

First, I want to list what I don't like about San Diego.

1) Weather never really changes. It is so boring. I am not saying I want to midwest heat/freeze but a bit of a season, more rain would be nice
2) We are not near the desert, we pretty much live in a desert but most keep trying to have a yard like we are in the Pacific Northwest.
3) Because of 2), very few trees except old established neighborhoods
4) Because we are so spread out there are no real ethnic neighborhoods. For example while there is large east Asian mix along Convoy and Mira Mesa it is a far cry from Litle Tokyo, Koreatown, Monteray Park, up in LA.

But then again I rode my bike home yesterday from work in RB to Encinitas. Going over the connection from Bernardo Center to Carmel Valley Road along the north end of Black Mountain I can see for miles the valley beneath to the north. (Here hoping that the housing downturn will keep it undeveloped for a while longer). I love the feel of the beach towns as I ride through Del Mar, Solana Beach and Encinitas.
This morning as I head South along 101 I see surfers to my right and when the sun hits it just right the ocean surface sparkles like a necklace.

Vegabondo complained that the water is cold. Actually it has been getting warmer earlier in the Season. It used to be common for the water to remain into the low 70s well into Sep. The last few times I went to the beach the water felt much warmer than that already.

Marion,

If you want to "go coastal", there is variety in SD County. Esp is you're willing to live a few miles east of the beach. You certainly don't HAVE to be in the La Jolla area to enjoy a nice beach.

I owned a 1400 sf condo in La Costa (Carlsbad). I loved living in SD and thought I would HATE North County - but, much to my surprise, I liked Carlsbad a lot. I was (I think) just under 3 miles from the beach - I could jump in my car and be watching dolphins play in the waves at Tamarack Beach in about 7-12 minutes.

Walking that beach every Sunday morning was my own personal "church service."

I dont think I ever used my a/c in summer, and I had nice ocean breezes.

I've also been following the condo that I sold a few years ago for $385K (bought in 2003 for $300K) just for giggles. Zillow's value range on the place now is $245-315K!! So, that area is certainly affordable by SD standards.

Some of the negatives about living at the beach: May Gray and June Gloom...summer tourist traffic and water that isnt swimmable for most of the year. Mind you, I still love the coast, but if you want to dip your toes in the water there are only a few months out of the year when you can truly do that.

Say, didnt you just buy a home in Harveston? If so, you may be there for a while....

I think you don't fully appreciate the place in which you live. That's why I think some people who live in San Diego don't love it as much as people who visit every so often.

I live in Pasadena and try and get down to San Diego twice a year or so. I think there is a lot to like. The San Diego Symphony is wonderful. Their performance space is small - you don't feel like you are in a football stadium when you go there for a concert. I like the "walk-ability" of much of Downtown. Years ago I had tea at the U.S. Grant Hotel on winter afternoon and it was wonderful. I love La Jolla. I also like the museums in Balboa Park. The photography museum is great.

There's a great bike ride up PCH from La Jolla beside UC San Diego up into Del Mar. It's hilly and tiring, but the smell of the ocean air is wonderful. I love Torrey Pines. Driving through there, at night, with the windows down, smelling the pine trees and the ocean, is wonderful.

I think you don't fully appreciate the place in which you live.

So true.

Not complaining and not necessarily cold - I just would not call our water warm. For the record, I swim every Friday (year 'round) with my Tri group off Moonlight Beach. You get about 60 Days of water temps in the high 60's low 70's. Not the arctic, but not Hawaii.

I almost decided to post, for a 3rd time, my "Top 25 Reasons Why I love SD." But I realized I would probably violate an unwritten Pigg rule or something by doing that. So you can search for it.

I also agree with the "taking where you live for granted" point. While I loved living here the last 2 times I did, I still realized I took things for granted after I moved away. I hope to not do that as much this time, but I know I will.

I am actually missing some things about the Bay Area already. It does offer many things SD does not. But there are other things I don't miss and being here 2 weeks has already solidified the strong reasons why I moved back to begin with.

Every place has a pro and a con, but I don't miss living in New York, Connecticut, or Florida and don't feel I took much for granted when I lived there. Maybe NYC a bit, which is a place that I love to visit, but don't want to live in. Hey, where have I heard that before?

Hey, Raptorduck, thanks. I looked up your top 25 reasons. They're good. Totally with y'all here. Toward the end of my 15 years in SD, I was bored with the place and took it for granted. I was ready for real weather and a change. I forgot that real weather means you can comfortably spend about 5 days in the year outside. Since school ended this year, we've had a moderate to severe thunderstorm every single day.

For a couple years I commuted back and forth to the Bay area (Cupertino) from San Diego. Being a software geek type, it was fun to be there, but it always felt good to be back in SD.

NYC was a great place to visit and I thought I would enjoy it there. After a year, I decided it was a nicer place to visit than live, and I can't imagine raising a family there. But, I'd still like to have an apartment in midtown someday.

SD is not a world class city like New York, Paris, London,... It doesn't have the best educational center in the country. You could fairly say it's fairly bland and vanilla. But you know, it still is just a really nice place to live. I can't wait to get back.

Best of San Diego?

I hope someone has mentioned the swarms of hottie college girls in small bikinis strutting their stuff at Ocean Beach!

I do miss them.

Now that we are up in Silicon Valley, we'll be going to Santa Cruz beaches tomorrow, but it just won't be the same as Ocean Beach.

*sigh*

Ahh, but my wife is 6-months pregnant...and if we were going to Ocean Beach she would probably watch my neck twisting to gawk at the hotties, and then she would kick my ass when we got home. So at least i'm avoiding that scene!

Hi, dharmagirl. No, I didn't buy a house in Harveston. I would consider that area, but prices are still too high for me to buy at present. I think they will continue to depreciate a bit more.

sddreaming, I received my Master's from Azusa Pacific U. It's a top-rated Christian University. The main campus is in Azusa, but they had a satelite campus in Murrieta that I took advantage of. I needed something close because I have two kids in school down here in Temecula. In retrospect, I wish I had gone to a UC school. Less Money.

My neck of the woods is not very popular right now. But I love the climate here.

I mean right here.

I came from the San Fernando area as a kid and moved to Agoura as a kid and then to Thousand Oaks...

Too hot!!!

I moved here to SD in 1992 and will never move away.

I lived first in Mission Beach and then OB both too crowded.

Went from there to Hillcrest, too hot.

On to North Park, again too hot for me.
We settled in National City.

Too Hot.

Now in Nestor area.

I am wearing a sweater now, nice cool breezes.

No A/C needed and summer lasts 6-12 weeks for me this is so nice!!

Up on the mesa, and if you find the secret, it may come with a view to downtown or the ocean! SHHHH

I've been thinking about what to answer here...

I'm a native. Born in what used to be Doctor's Hospital (now Cabrillo) in Loma Portal. Lived in Clairemont till age 4, when we moved to University City. Hey, fast times at ridgemont was MY highschool class. I'm as local as you get.

But, I've also spread my wings. I've lived in Bellingham Washington, Atlanta GA, and outside of Philly - where I met my husband.

I love San Diego because it offers the lifestyle that works for me. Beach, mountains, good weather. Lots of outdoor living. I live close enough to the coast to not need AC in the summer or even much heat in the winter.

I love San Diego because it's a great place to raise my kids. They are growing up learning to boogie board, ride bikes year round, and never have it too hot or too cold to play outside.

For me, it took living in other states to fully appreciate what San Diego has to offer.

Guys love the comments on why you love/like San Diego. I'm learning a lot. On my visits down there, I have discovered a mexican place in La Holla (sp?) that serves the best seafood burritos. They are to die for!