Is there anywhere within, say, an hour of San Diego without such a high cost of living (without living in the middle of some hellhole in the desert)?

12/17/2006 6:49:00 PM

TJ

12/17/2006 6:57:30 PM

looking to rent or buy?

12/17/2006 7:50:34 PM

not sure...it's not for me.

it's a long story

12/17/2006 8:42:28 PM

it's hard to get both cheap and not in the desert. when i was there, i lived in Pacific Beach...probably only La Jolla is more expensive.

I was stationed down in Imperial Beach for a little while...seemed pretty cheap, but also pretty sketch...right on the border.

Might want to look at Poway, north of Miramar up 15. It's about 30 miles from downtown, so the commute will be a bear most likely depending on where work is.

Basically, if it's not in the desert, expect to pay through the nose. Maybe Chula Vista or National City might work? You can expect prices to be tiered...between the beach and I-8, Between I-8 and I-15, and east of I-15.

12/17/2006 10:50:55 PM

Quote :

"it's a long story"

I got all day

12/17/2006 10:51:30 PM

my sister lives out there with a roommate for pretty cheap... i think they are in a good location too.

12/17/2006 10:52:40 PM

http://www.sandiego.gov/redevelopment-agency/ah.shtml

12/17/2006 10:53:04 PM

Tijuana

12/17/2006 11:29:12 PM

1. Baby momma?
2.

Quote :

"TJ"

12/17/2006 11:51:42 PM

I've heard La Jolla's pretty cheap

You might want to check out Fallbrook though, I don't think it's too bad there but I could be wrong

12/18/2006 12:10:28 AM

i actually live in la jolla and the rent's not that bad (~600 for a 3BR condo * 3 people) but it's not the most exciting area.


there's really no point in moving to SD if you're not gonna live in a relatively nice area b/c it will still be hella expensive. gas is pretty much the only thing out here that is more expensive, as for cost of living.

[Edited on December 18, 2006 at 12:36 AM. Reason : .]

12/18/2006 12:34:58 AM

Quote :

"I got all day"

Basically, I'm coming up on selecting which jet and duty station I'm going to. If I get Prowlers, I automatically end up at Cherry Point, NC. If I get F-18s (which I want), I go to either Beaufort, SC or San Diego. Either is fine with me, but I'm not down with going to CA for a permanent station unless baby's mama moves out there, too. I don't want to be all the way across the country from my daughter if I can avoid it...so while I'll put Beaufort as my preference (and probably get it if I get F-18s), if there is absolutely no possible way that she can move out there, I might ask for Prowlers.

Quote :

"it's hard to get both cheap and not in the desert."

It doesn't have to be super dirt cheap...just reasonable...but she's not gonna want to live out in the middle of BFE where it's 115 degrees in the summer.

Quote :

"I was stationed down in Imperial Beach"

is that North Island NAS? I've flown in and out of there once.

Quote :

"Might want to look at Poway, north of Miramar up 15. It's about 30 miles from downtown, so the commute will be a bear most likely depending on where work is."

I'd be at Miramar if I went out there, so that would prob work well.

Quote :

"i actually live in la jolla and the rent's not that bad (~600 for a 3BR condo * 3 people) but it's not the most exciting area."

that's not too bad. i've only driven through La Jolla, but it seems nice. I'm biased, though...I have a boner for that entire area.

12/18/2006 1:12:12 AM

I have family in Fallbrook, and I believe it's a bit cheaper. However, that drive from Fallbrook to San Diego fuckin blows. As in, a ton of traffic, I don't care what time it is.

Obviously La Jolla, Coronado, and Carlsbad are expensive. Check Oceanside, I remember seeing quite a bit of military people in that region.

12/18/2006 1:23:42 AM

Carlsbad is the shit. that's more up by Camp Pendleton, though (along with Oceanside)...I'd be further south.

I'm not saying it wouldn't work...it wouldn't be that far. that Poway town looks like it might be worth checking into.

12/18/2006 1:32:25 AM

Yeah, Carlsbad is cool. My uncle actually lived in Poway before moving to Fallbrook. Although I don't know what cost of living is in Poway.

I think I remember a place called Escondido along 15 somewhere.

12/18/2006 1:45:49 AM

whats wrong with living in the desert?

(in a curious, non smartass tone)

12/18/2006 3:43:13 AM

with regards to renting, while san diego is much more expensive than say raleigh, it's not hard to find something (relatively) reasonable just about anywhere -- as a suggestion, clairemont mesa is centrally located, near miramar, and a little cheaper than coastal areas (i'd estimate you can find a 1-bedroom for ~$1000 and a 2-bedroom for $1500)

for buying, though, you'd likely have to go way inland to find something affordable and even then it won't be even remotely comparable to the housing market in the southeast -- places like santee or escondido, maybe poway though i know it has its share of pricey homes too (i think the median home price in SD is like $600,000 so good luck with that)

as far as the desert goes, i'd stay west of the 15 but even then anything east of the 5 can have desert-like qualities at times -- san diego is so sprawled out though, it's not like being 'out in the desert' is going to put you out of civilization, there's plenty of strip malls to go around... (personally, i don't believe in east county, but i don't really have a reason to stray too far from the pacific)

parts of the south (IB, chula vista, national city) can be pretty ghetto so i'd thoroughly check out any neighborhood before ending up there -- and while north county is really nice (oceanside, carlsbad) keep in mind that the traffic there can be insane if you're commuting south

good luck

12/18/2006 5:10:11 AM

I was about to raw dog my girl, then I read this thread.

12/18/2006 5:13:39 AM

^^^ just wouldn't want to be too far from everything and everywhere she wanted to go, and while SD has a great climate, if you go too far inland and get in the desert, it gets retarded crazy hot in the summer.

12/18/2006 7:57:03 AM

No, Imperial Beach is down on the TJ river...really the last thing before Mexico. There is the Naval Outlying Landing Field down there where helos do touch and gos all day long. It's also where Costal Warfare Group was HQ'd and where my Mobile Security Detachment was until we took over a warehouse on North Island (Coronado) so we could get out tac gear onto our cargo lifts faster when we got called out for action.

I used to live in Pacific Beach right by Mission Bay. I had a 1BR for about a grand, but moved up to a 2BR when my bro moved out...it was $1600 in 2004, but of course utilities and such pushed it well over $2k a month. But I was also pimping LT pay, so it wasn't a thing.

I'd check out Poway - if you're going to be at Fightertown USA, it's really close by.

12/18/2006 9:11:53 AM

I recommend Tiajuana......decent rent, good food, always a good gun fight outside, and you could traffic drugs on the side.....

12/18/2006 10:08:22 AM

go pad in shit chat fucktard

FYI on the commute...I-5 is much worse heading northbound in the morning, I-15 it's the other way around. living in PB and working on coronado, there wasn't much traffic outside the standard base logjams (and the fact you have to drive thru "downtown" coronado surface streets

[Edited on December 18, 2006 at 11:24 AM. Reason : .]

12/18/2006 11:22:37 AM

Tiajuana

12/19/2006 10:49:42 AM

fuck san diego

move to Beaufort

12/19/2006 10:59:25 AM

as much as i like san diego, i ultimately want to go to beaufort (although if i get F-18s, i'll still go to SD for a year or so to train, first).

the thing is, there is a possibility that if i put in for F-18s and get them, i'll get SD as my permanent station rather than Beaufort (which i'd put down as my preference). i'd say the odds of all that happening are low, but if there is no way to work around my daughter being in FL and me being in CA for 3-4 years, I'd be harder pressed to request F-18s...I'd be likely to choose the surefire east-coast EA-6B Prowler (which i don't really want, but hey...)

12/19/2006 3:04:36 PM

I will visit you in San Diego! can we go to tiajuana?

12/19/2006 3:15:29 PM

sure

but i have to get F-18s, first...should select shortly after I get back here from Christmas leave.

12/19/2006 3:28:26 PM

im going to write a letter to my congressman!!!

12/19/2006 3:36:13 PM