studerinstanley
New Member
PCSing out to MCAS Miramar in Jan or Feb. Any place you guys recommend to live? Myself and one dependent looking for a townhouse or apt to rent. Been looking at La Jolla, PB, and Scripps Ranch area so far.
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where to live in San Diego?
- Thread starter studerinstanley
- Start date
Raptor2216
Registered User
If you can afford it, nothing beats La Jolla. There are plenty of apartment buildings around since its a big college town and its very close to the base. I think BAH out there should be in the $1700 range and you should be able to get a nice 2br apartment or you can find some roommates for a house. There are some pretty awesome areas around UCSD but I'm sure it will cost an arm and a leg to rent one of those mansions.
PB is cool but its a bit of a commute to base and there's nothing like socal traffic in the morning and evening. If I remember correctly, the traffic is bad heading north in the morning and south in the evening around the base. If you like to surf, hang out with hippies during the day and drink/stumble home, PB is highly recommended.
I would also recommend Del Mar, which is a little to the north of La Jolla but the beaches around there are great and housing might be a little more affordable than La Jolla. It will probably be about a good 20-30 min drive in traffic and about a 15min drive without but again, a little more affordable. If I get lucky enough to be stationed out there, I would have to picj between either La Jolla or Del Mar. I spent my college time living in La Jolla so I can at least tell you that its an awesome area.
studerinstanley
New Member
thanks
Thanks. Looking more for a townhouse type of place. It will just be myself and my fiance'. Found a few in Scripps Ranch and one near Ocean Beach. Been mostly finding 2 BR apts in La Jolla but alot of them dont have good ratings from websites like apartmentratings.com.
Thanks. Looking more for a townhouse type of place. It will just be myself and my fiance'. Found a few in Scripps Ranch and one near Ocean Beach. Been mostly finding 2 BR apts in La Jolla but alot of them dont have good ratings from websites like apartmentratings.com.
FormerRecruitingGuru
Making Recruiting Great Again
Scripps Ranch is a pretty good community, especially if you're going to get stationed in Miramar.
Along with P, check out La Jolla, especially the UTC area. Another good place to live, also you're probably about less than 5 minutes away from the beach.
As a ROT in SD, the further you are from the water, the further your money goes.
PB is a great neighborhood for the single folks, but if you're more family-minded, I'd look elsewhere.
Biggest factor is the commute, as mentioned. If you can swing going there for a couple of days' house hunting, include a driving tour of the interstates and freeways during rush hour.
Something to look at is proximity to trolley stops. The trolley will take you all over and more and more apt complexes and such are being built close to the stops.
Just avoid Hilltop...unless you're of an "artistic" temperment. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
PB is a great neighborhood for the single folks, but if you're more family-minded, I'd look elsewhere.
Biggest factor is the commute, as mentioned. If you can swing going there for a couple of days' house hunting, include a driving tour of the interstates and freeways during rush hour.
Something to look at is proximity to trolley stops. The trolley will take you all over and more and more apt complexes and such are being built close to the stops.
Just avoid Hilltop...unless you're of an "artistic" temperment. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
I have lived in both Imperial Beach and Ocean Beach. IB would be to far of a commute up to the air station, but OB would not be so bad. Loved the area. My wife also loved the area. They have a huge dog park and dog beach in Ocean beach, close to many drinking establishments in OB, PB, and MB. Pretty cool place if you want to live by the beach with out spending way to much $$$.
studerinstanley
New Member
smittay, how long is the commute from OB to MCAS. Guy I was talking to today said I-8 and I 163 are the best roads for travel whereas I-15 is hellacious.
Stay away from Ocean Beach. Everyone I know that has lived there has had a horrible experience. Bums sleeping in their front yard, going through the trash in the back. No decent parking and tons of homeless.
PB is fun. If you want to party close to where you live and be close to the water, PB is a great place for that. Tons of young people, good places to eat, and not a bad commute.
Scripps Ranch was good a few years ago, but they are getting hammered by the real-estate market. One buddy of mine has a place there and has had to deal with squatters in his neighborhood (and this is a place that had homes for sale at $850,000 just 3 years ago).
If you don't have kids, then live by the water. That's the whole reason you went to San Diego in the first place. La Jolla is nice as well, but it's not as young as PB. Del Mar is nice as well. If your lady like high class shit, she will dig that place.
PB is fun. If you want to party close to where you live and be close to the water, PB is a great place for that. Tons of young people, good places to eat, and not a bad commute.
Scripps Ranch was good a few years ago, but they are getting hammered by the real-estate market. One buddy of mine has a place there and has had to deal with squatters in his neighborhood (and this is a place that had homes for sale at $850,000 just 3 years ago).
If you don't have kids, then live by the water. That's the whole reason you went to San Diego in the first place. La Jolla is nice as well, but it's not as young as PB. Del Mar is nice as well. If your lady like high class shit, she will dig that place.
Not long. It is only like 10-12 miles. The 163 is ok.. but it can get pretty packed during rush hour. As long as the commute times are planned well you should not have a problem though. And, despite what some people may say about ocean beach, from third party opinions, I have actually lived there and it is a nice place. I am sure it has its trashy parts, but so do all of the rest of the areas of San Diego such as Pacific Beach and Mission Beach. OB is nice. And the most affordable of the beachy areas. Good luck.
The best thing you can do though is catch a weekend trip there and drive around. See what you like, and see which area has what you want.
Will the dependent be working? Take that commute into account, as that may determine if you live north or south of MCAS.
Concur. Bear in mind, too, that pretty much nowhere in the county is more than about 15-20 minutes from the beach, so don't let proximity to the beach be your only consideration. Traffic out here is very predictable. If you know your way around, you'll find the traffic to be a minor annoyance - not a major headache (like the Quantico/DC area).
A quick note about LaJolla - the vast majority of the apartments listed as LaJolla are not in LaJolla "proper"; that is, west of I-5. Many are in the University Towne Center, near I-805, and just off the departure end of 24R/L at Miramar. Do with that what you will.
Other nice, close places with easy commutes to consider: Poway (NE of Miramar, and just north of Scripps Ranch); Tierrasanta (just SE of Miramar); and Santee (E/SE of Miramar).
smittay hit the nail on the head - take a weekend and just drive around. You'll get a pretty good feel for the area. Also, stop by the housing office on base when you get here. They've got a ton of gouge about where to live, where to avoid, etc. Most of the reputable properties in the area "advertise" through the housing office.
If you want a short commute and that is high priority, you can look for a townhouse in Tierrasanta. It is just East of the 15, about 3 exits South of Miramar (very close to QUALCOMM stadium, if you are familiar with SD). It is also pretty centralized so unless your fiance is working in North County, her drive won't be too horrible. And it is close to Murphy Canyone (miltary House) so you have a place for cheap gas and a mini-mart version of the commisary with in a couple miles.
It is super suburbia, though, so if you are looking to be in the action, it's not for you. Quiet and safe, but not the land-o-fun.
It is super suburbia, though, so if you are looking to be in the action, it's not for you. Quiet and safe, but not the land-o-fun.
If you're looking for a place near Miramar, OB/PB isn't a bad drive. I lived in Pt Loma and would regularly drive up to Escondido, and even with traffic being heavy/bad I would say it would take about 15-20 minutes to get to the gate at Miramar, less if no traffic. That's from the townhouse you saw in the thread I posted up for my landlord. Traffic in the morning going east on the 8 isn't bad, but it can get hellacious in the afternoon on the 8 at the I-5/I-8 interchange.
OB is nice, I lived right next to it, the whole time there (9 months) I saw one bum in our neighborhood.
As said before though, if you lived up in Poway/Scripps Ranch area, you'll get more bang for your buck. Depending on where you live the commute will actually be about the same because it's all on secondary roads and not the freeways. Plus, even though you'd only live a few miles inland, it gets damn hot there in the summer (100+ easy) as compared to down near the water.
If you have any more questions shoot me a pm, I moved about a week ago and I miss San Diego already!
OB is nice, I lived right next to it, the whole time there (9 months) I saw one bum in our neighborhood.
As said before though, if you lived up in Poway/Scripps Ranch area, you'll get more bang for your buck. Depending on where you live the commute will actually be about the same because it's all on secondary roads and not the freeways. Plus, even though you'd only live a few miles inland, it gets damn hot there in the summer (100+ easy) as compared to down near the water.
If you have any more questions shoot me a pm, I moved about a week ago and I miss San Diego already!
studerinstanley
New Member
Thanks guys. Definitely going to be trying to make a househunting trip there before the move. Hopefully I get it even though I'm taking a big chunk of leave for the holidays. Thanks for all the useful gouge on the area.