Housing in San Diego

[Sly1978]

I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on where to rent in San Diego. Obviously living on base is out of the question with the wait that they have. I don't know anything about the city so I need some advice on a nice area to look at that will keep me on an O-2 budget and within decent driving distance of the NAS. I'm married with 1 kid who's going to be starting school in the fall so I'm looking for either a townhouse or duplex (or single-family home if I can get it).

 

[Steve Wilkins]

Don't know if you'll be able to find anything on Coronado. Most places may be out of your price range. But that would be the first place I'd look. You never know, you may run across a great deal. If you have to live across the pond, Mission Valley tends to have a lot of townhouses. It's a nice area close to PLENTY of shopping. Chula Vista is another place you may want to consider. The prices down there tended to be a little bit cheaper than some of the other places up around the city. The further north of the 8 (hwy) that you get, the longer your drive is going to be.

 

[Gatordev]

Mission Valley is defintely a place to start. I had a bud that was married w/ a kid who lived two exits north on the 15 from Mission Valley. I can't remember the area's name, but it was a little cheaper and looked to be a nice neighborhood. After 9/11, Mission Valley to Coronado was about a 15-20 min ride, for what that's worth. Might be better now. I'm sure Brett will swing by and give the MV lowdown.

 

[Brett327]

One of the nice things about MV is that you have access to a bunch of different freeways, so I'm generally able to avoid the bulk of the traffic. You can shoot down the 15 and be in Coronado in about 15 minutes. Plus, as already mentioned, you're pretty centrally located and there's a ton of shopping everywhere. If you're set on a house, it's going to cost you. I know stuff in Claremont is about $2000 for a very meager place. As a point of reference, my 2BR apt. in MV runs about $1800 for about 1150 square feet, but I would say that it's at the higher end of the price range. Know that your BAH is going to go up significantly, so you can factor that into your housing budget. Check it out on the website, but mine went up nearly $1000 between Whidbey and San Diego. Let me know if you have any other questions or if I can otherwise hook you up. You're going to love SD.

Brett

 

[Gatordev]

I think Claremont was the place I was trying to think of.

 

[Rubiks06]

Anybody know anything about Santee. Its a little bit farther west than claremont. Just wondering if anyone knows about the drive or how the community is.

 

[jus2mch]

Anybody know anything about Santee. Its a little bit farther west than claremont. Just wondering if anyone knows about the drive or how the community is.

The community is nice if you have a family, but personally I think it's a little to far out from the bases. Especially if there is bad traffic.

 

[jus2mch]

I'm wondering if anyone has any advice on where to rent in San Diego. Obviously living on base is out of the question with the wait that they have. I don't know anything about the city so I need some advice on a nice area to look at that will keep me on an O-2 budget and within decent driving distance of the NAS. I'm married with 1 kid who's going to be starting school in the fall so I'm looking for either a townhouse or duplex (or single-family home if I can get it).

Chula Vista near Bonita is being built up nice.

http://www.homesalessandiego.com/mls/

Search 91913 in google maps or property listings.

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

Chula Vista near Bonita is being built up nice.

http://www.homesalessandiego.com/mls/

Search 91913 in google maps or property listings.

From someone who's lived in this area, this part of town is nice for JOs who just got married and want someplace basic to start off with. Otay Ranch, Rolling Hills Ranch, Eastlake, Rancho Del Rey are just a few communities I can think of that I highly recommend.

Add 91914 to that zip code list.

 

[boobcheese]

I just relocated to SD last month and house hunting here sux. After spending a week of looking someone suggested using AHRN.com. Its a good resource and allows you to search by distance from your duty station, zip code, etc. We used this to find a place in Del Cerro which is just a couple of exits east of Mission Valley. The schools here are some of the best in San Diego (I think both of the elementary schools in the area are rated 10 of 10 on greatschools.net) and rental prices are fairly reasonable. We were able to find a nice 4br/3ba with a yard for $2200/mo which is pretty close to BAH. As Brett mentioned the freeway access in this area is very good and I can make it to North Island in about 20-25min.

 

[tlord82]

I was recommended by several people into looking downtown for apartments. They said you could find surprising deals, a nice area, and the ride to Miramar would be against the traffic. What does the crowd think?

 

[FormerRecruitingGuru]

I was recommended by several people into looking downtown for apartments. They said you could find surprising deals, a nice area, and the ride to Miramar would be against the traffic. What does the crowd think?

Even though prices are going down around SD, its still seems hard for me to believe theres affordable apartments downtown.

 

[Ralph]

If your going to Miramar check out Tierrasanta. Its only 5 minutes and its really nice.

 

[Pcola04/30]

WHat about northpark and the neighborhoods around balboa park?

 

[jus2mch]

WHat about northpark and the neighborhoods around balboa park?

North Park is for the don't ask don't tell crowd, but definitely has some nice areas.