I know this isn't specific, but you could probably find a good place on Coronado or in Hillcrest like that, which would be generally under 30 min drive. There are a lot of condos and apartments in the golden triangle area, and downtown is pretty much limited to apartment style living as well, though you could have a lot of the things you are looking for there as well. Generally the further east you go, the more bang for your buck, though that might put you at a good drive from 32nd st. A lot of the places near there are pretty sketch anyway, so it will probably be somewhat of a commute for you regardless. When we looked around a couple years ago, there were quite a few good deals in some reasonable neighborhoods in the Chula Vista area, but I would not recommend that area in general.....but there are some diamonds in the rough among the more gentrified (is that even a word?) parts of town. You could also check out PB/MB/OB as there are some cool places around there, with a lot going on in terms of nightlife/bars/restaurants. That wouldn't be too bad of a trek to 32nd st outside of peak traffic hours. If you already have experience in SD, I apologize in advance if this insults your intelligence, but I know that I would have liked to have had some general area gouge before I moved out.
