Lots of good ideas here, and best of luck to the OP in Sac. Its really cheap up there.
I’ve read pigg for a long time, but only posted today on this thread.
I suppose I would hope that folks would spend some time with long-time residents, who lived in different neighborhoods, to cast some perspective on San Diego. I’m in my 30s, and I end up at a lot of cocktail parties and bars, overhearing people who’ve moved here from other places, and they have insular conversations, limited knowledge of the area, and stereotypes of what’s a good and bad place to live.
For example, I grew up in Linda Vista, and wouldn’t trade that childhood for the world. It was a gas – diverse kids united by a working class ethic. Its the kind of neighborhood where you still see kids playing outside organically. That’s cool to me. Today, LV13 is the only “gang” and its small time. There’s a gang in Encinitas! Alcala Knolls and the neighborhoods close to USD are complete gems. The original WWII houses are small, but well-built.
Anyway, I came up expecting to live in OB, where I surfed and hung out. Then, after the boom, I hoped to live in a walk-able mid-town neighborhood like University Heights. With a couple of kids and wanting to live within my means, I’ve started considering some of the older “suburbs” with larger, usually custom houses. I guess I’ve been pleasantly surprised. But I’ve spent lots of time talking with friends of mine who grew up in these neighborhoods. Just like anywhere, there are streets to avoid. But all these years being bummed out about the global housing bubble and how it changed San Diego, there’s stuff out there now that gives me hope about livability in descent neighborhoods.
I lived in New England during grad school, and I’d move to Western Mass. at the drop of a hat. I love Iowa City (yes – seriously). Austin rules. But my job and family is here. And the ocean, and the mountains are here too. So, for me, finding a modest, interesting house in a family neighborhood, with all of this in reach, is just about perfect. As prices move toward affordability, and if one widens one’s vision, seems like San Diego is getting better. If only the Padres were getting better.
