Ha ha, I have to agree with UCGal that Del Mar is boring. But I love it anyway. You can live right on top of the beach and unlike most beach places, it’s very convenient to get in and out of (I used to live in LJ and it was too much of a pain to get in and out of — I realize that DM is much farther north but those interminable LJ traffic lights drove me nuts). Maybe that consideration isn’t so important to you if you are retired and spend most of your time in your local hood.
But yeah, Del Mar is boring. I live within walking distance to this theoretically great downtown area, and I NEVER go there because it’s all useless to me (super-spendy restaurants, boutiques, new age bookstores, pet treat bakeries, and one overpriced market — and yes I know about Board and Brew, sandwiches aren’t really my thing). It seems like the whole town was designed to exclusively serve elderly heiresses.
You can drive east a bit to find good grocery shopping etc in the Evil Empire (Carmel Valley) but that’s the last place in the world where you will solve your “boring” problem.
But in the end I can recommend Del Mar anyway… not the most exciting town on earth but a great place nonetheless. I can walk out my door and be on top of the bluffs overlooking the ocean, or be on the freeway in 2 minutes. LJ is great too — more dense, trafficky, and expensive, but with a lot more interesting stuff to do (which in my vocabulary means “places to eat and drink).
Oh, one more thing I thought of, this one in favor of DM. This is actually a big one. Because it’s up on cliffs you can get better ocean views and still be in walking distance to the beach.
So they’ve each got their pros and cons, as you’d expect… in the end it will depend on your priorities. But if being walking distance to town is important — make sure to explore the actual town. Unless you are an elderly heiress — then you’re good.
