Hey! I just moved to San Diego this past week and I'm having a hell of a time trying to find a place. Was wondering if there are any Prince fams who could point me in the right direction? I thought I would love apartment hunting but now I'm getting stressed and seeing all the homeless people isn't helping either.

Mission Valley

Lajolla

Rancho San Diego

Don't go South of San Diego.

I just recently(Oct 2014) moved to San Diego (from the SF Bay Area)and also had somewhat of a hard time finding an apartment. One thing i noticed about some San Diego landlords is they don't promptly return phone calls, and to be quite honest, can be somewhat deceitful and flaky. I thought it was just me until i read some comments posted on the website City Data(http://www.city-data.com/forum/). City Data is good for getting info(crime, demographics, cost, etc) on different areas of San Diego. Also these websites have apartment listings-Forrent.com (http://www.forrent.com/) Rent.com(http://www.rent.com/),Go Section 8( don't need to be receiving any government subsdies)-http://www.gosection8.com/. Also you got craigslist and Zillow. What are you looking for as far as price range, bedroom size, and travel time ? In regards to recommendations, knowing that info will help.

Oh yeah. The weekly(free) magazine, San Diego READER, has a few apartment listings. That's how i found my apartment. And if you need a temporary, somewhat cheap( around $175.00 a week to $650 a month)place to stay, you can check out the Jasmine Inn, Peach Tree Inn, or the Trolley Court. Or properties managed by HUGHES MANAGEMENT. Some of those places aren't all that great and are downtown, but they beat being homeless.

One last thing. Overall, San Diego is pretty safe but it has its share of ghetto neigborhoods and ghetto apartments. In my apartment search, i seen some garbage apartments.

[Edited 8/16/15 16:45pm]

I've lived here in SD since 1979. Welcome to America's Finest City (or so they say)! As for apartments...depends on what you are able to pay. Anywhere north of the 8 freeway (the city's dividing line) is going to be way overpriced. South of the 8 is somewhat affordable, but that's where the ghetto is. Good luck!

UncleJam said:

I've lived here in SD since 1979. Welcome to America's Finest City (or so they say)! As for apartments...depends on what you are able to pay. Anywhere north of the 8 freeway (the city's dividing line) is going to be way overpriced. South of the 8 is somewhat affordable, but that's where the ghetto is. Good luck!

Yep. I live in City Heights, in a so-so part. Once my lease is up, I'm gonna probably move to La Mesa or possibly El Cajon(both have a little cheaper rent than SD). I hear people putting down El Cajon but the areas that I've been to, seem OK. I'm still not sure if San Diego is "America's Finest City", but its up there. I think it all depends on a person's finances and mentality. If you got money to do things, then San Diego is really great. But if you are struggling, then San Diego can be a miserable place to live. All things considered. I think the SF Bay Area(as a whole) has more to offer than SD County. The SF Bay Area is comprised of more than just one county, so that might be an unfair comparison. San Diego's cost of living is better than the Bay Area's and SD's beaches are a 1,000,000 times better.

Graycap23 said:

Mission Valley

Lajolla

Rancho San Diego

Don't go South of San Diego.

Thank you! I didn't realize San Diego was as spread out as it is. The freeway here is insanity.

JoeyC said:

UncleJam said:

I've lived here in SD since 1979. Welcome to America's Finest City (or so they say)! As for apartments...depends on what you are able to pay. Anywhere north of the 8 freeway (the city's dividing line) is going to be way overpriced. South of the 8 is somewhat affordable, but that's where the ghetto is. Good luck!

Yep. I live in City Heights, in a so-so part. Once my lease is up, I'm gonna probably move to La Mesa or possibly El Cajon(both have a little cheaper rent than SD). I hear people putting down El Cajon but the areas that I've been to, seem OK. I'm still not sure if San Diego is "America's Finest City", but its up there. I think it all depends on a person's finances and mentality. If you got money to do things, then San Diego is really great. But if you are struggling, then San Diego can be a miserable place to live. All things considered. I think the SF Bay Area(as a whole) has more to offer than SD County. The SF Bay Area is comprised of more than just one county, so that might be an unfair comparison. San Diego's cost of living is better than the Bay Area's and SD's beaches are a 1,000,000 times better.

The Bay Area has become a rat race for any one who doesn't have a substantial income. Hipsters rule and seniors drool. Tenants are being "Ellis Acted" everywhere as corporations buy up properties and evict long term tenants. I wouldn't advise anyone who doesn't have a tech job or it's equivalent to move to the Bay Area. Not what it used to be.

hifidelity67 said:

Ya SD .. love those airport landings, right over the rooftops. [Edited 8/16/15 18:33pm]

I was thinking that today. I was like, 'One messed up move by that pilot and the top of that building is gone.' No way I'd want to be living or working on the top floor of any of those buildings.

JoeyC said:

I just recently(Oct 2014) moved to San Diego (from the SF Bay Area)and also had somewhat of a hard time finding an apartment. One thing i noticed about some San Diego landlords is they don't promptly return phone calls, and to be quite honest, can be somewhat deceitful and flaky. I thought it was just me until i read some comments posted on the website City Data(http://www.city-data.com/forum/). City Data is good for getting info(crime, demographics, cost, etc) on different areas of San Diego. Also these websites have apartment listings-Forrent.com (http://www.forrent.com/) Rent.com(http://www.rent.com/),Go Section 8( don't need to be receiving any government subsdies)-http://www.gosection8.com/. Also you got craigslist and Zillow. What are you looking for as far as price range, bedroom size, and travel time ? In regards to recommendations, knowing that info will help.

Oh yeah. The weekly(free) magazine, San Diego READER, has a few apartment listings. That's how i found my apartment. And if you need a temporary, somewhat cheap( around $175.00 a week to $650 a month)place to stay, you can check out the Jasmine Inn, Peach Tree Inn, or the Trolley Court. Or properties managed by HUGHES MANAGEMENT. Some of those places aren't all that great and are downtown, but they beat being homeless.

One last thing. Overall, San Diego is pretty safe but it has its share of ghetto neigborhoods and ghetto apartments. In my apartment search, i seen some garbage apartments.

[Edited 8/16/15 16:45pm]

I was just saying that to my mom about how slow people are at getting back to you. I just assumed it was that laid back San Diego lifestyle. I moved her from Long Island on August 11 so I'm still in NY mode which I'll get out of because I really hated the fact that in NY they will run you over to get to the Starbucks 2 blocks up....seriously, they are 24 hours what's the rush? I'm gonna look into your suggestions. Thank you for the advice I've noticed that I won't be going to the beach during the weekends...that traffic is insane. So far, I'm happy with my move. I'm a born and raised Louisiana girl and I missed having people smile and say 'hello' as you pass them on the street. You do that in NY and you get crazy eyes staring at you or some insane person who follows you for 2 blocks (yep, happened to me and the man was like 85 with a cane). I can't wait to have a Winter without 3 feet of snow.

estelle81 said:

UncleJam said:

I've lived here in SD since 1979. Welcome to America's Finest City (or so they say)! As for apartments...depends on what you are able to pay. Anywhere north of the 8 freeway (the city's dividing line) is going to be way overpriced. South of the 8 is somewhat affordable, but that's where the ghetto is. Good luck!

You're a true San Diegan (not sure if that's an actual title). I've noticed the crazy variety of prices here but even the overpriced stuff is better than NY. I was paying $850/month for a studio in my landlord's basement...it was a very nice studio thankfully and he was an amazing landlord...he had a pool in the backyard and a garden where he grew tomatoes, cucumbers, and eggplants. I'm going to miss coming home from work to a bag of tomatoes hanging on the door knob. But, sunshine over snow will eliminate that sadness

purplethunder3121 said:

JoeyC said:

Yep. I live in City Heights, in a so-so part. Once my lease is up, I'm gonna probably move to La Mesa or possibly El Cajon(both have a little cheaper rent than SD). I hear people putting down El Cajon but the areas that I've been to, seem OK. I'm still not sure if San Diego is "America's Finest City", but its up there. I think it all depends on a person's finances and mentality. If you got money to do things, then San Diego is really great. But if you are struggling, then San Diego can be a miserable place to live. All things considered. I think the SF Bay Area(as a whole) has more to offer than SD County. The SF Bay Area is comprised of more than just one county, so that might be an unfair comparison. San Diego's cost of living is better than the Bay Area's and SD's beaches are a 1,000,000 times better.

The Bay Area has become a rat race for any one who doesn't have a substantial income. Hipsters rule and seniors drool. Tenants are being "Ellis Acted" everywhere as corporations buy up properties and evict long term tenants. I wouldn't advise anyone who doesn't have a tech job or it's equivalent to move to the Bay Area. Not what it used to be.

Yeah, I came out to Cali on vacation about 3 years ago and decided to spend a week in San Fran and 5 days in San Diego. I really didn't like San Francisco as much as I thought I would. The vibe didn't work with me as much as I had hoped for and even though San Diego has a lot of bums, they don't look as miserable as the bums in San Fran did or as scary. It was my first time in San Francisco and I didn't really feel comfortable there...it felt like some of its original essence had been lost. I did enjoy the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz though. Super cool pieces of architecture and history that definitely should be perserved as much as possible.

morningsong said:

estelle81 said:

Thank you! I didn't realize San Diego was as spread out as it is. The freeway here is insanity.

Chula Vista and National City have nice neighborhoods and they're south San Diego. There are demographics as with all cities. Its been decades since I've been apartment hunting but there's a mass amount of building going now. Apartments going up left and right. I gave you what I know of hope it helps.

Someone else said National City was very nice. Thank you! I'll have to check that area out. Lot of colleges here to which I didn't realize before getting here. Seems like everywhere is close to some part of SDSU...how big is this college?????

purplethunder3121 said:

JoeyC said:

Yep. I live in City Heights, in a so-so part. Once my lease is up, I'm gonna probably move to La Mesa or possibly El Cajon(both have a little cheaper rent than SD). I hear people putting down El Cajon but the areas that I've been to, seem OK. I'm still not sure if San Diego is "America's Finest City", but its up there. I think it all depends on a person's finances and mentality. If you got money to do things, then San Diego is really great. But if you are struggling, then San Diego can be a miserable place to live. All things considered. I think the SF Bay Area(as a whole) has more to offer than SD County. The SF Bay Area is comprised of more than just one county, so that might be an unfair comparison. San Diego's cost of living is better than the Bay Area's and SD's beaches are a 1,000,000 times better.

The Bay Area has become a rat race for any one who doesn't have a substantial income. Hipsters rule and seniors drool. Tenants are being "Ellis Acted" everywhere as corporations buy up properties and evict long term tenants. I wouldn't advise anyone who doesn't have a tech job or it's equivalent to move to the Bay Area. Not what it used to be.

Yeah. I should have also put, if you can afford it.

Its a shame about what a sizeable chunk of the Bay Area, has become. I was born in San Francisco and that place has changed so much that i felt uncomfortable the last time i visited(mid 2013). I was living in San Jose and almost everywhere i went(in sf) there were Hipsters, Techies, and people who back in the day(in SF), we called tourists. I'm black and i felt so uncomfortable in areas that used to be thriving with African Americans.

As a child, i lived in the Western Addition/Fillmore area. Growing up, that area was predominately African American but when i last visited, i seen only a few blacks. It was disheartening. San Francisco has been loosing blacks since the 1990's(i moved in 99) but now the outrageous cost of living and gentrification is affecting(and has been for a while) LA Mission(the mission district), Chinatown and other parts of the city. Its affecting everybody. I was just talking with a friend of mine who lives in the TL(tenderloin) and he was happy with having a piss in the sink room. He was saying that his landlord could rent the room for a thousand bucks. Easy. And he was right.

Anyway i was recently looking at this website that, in part, deals with the outrageousness of trying to find an affordable apartment in San Francisco, and i came across this.

The sfirst/aprtment sadness website, shows all kinds of outrageous rentals in SF. its worth checking out.

http://sfist.com/tags/apartmentsadness

via Craigslist

My apologies for the hiatus. There was Memorial Day weekend and then last Friday rolled around, the tip line was quiet, and there simply wasn't an apartment worthy of my depression as May came to a close on Craigslist. But now, thanks to not one but two different tipsters, I have something perfect that needs to be discussed immediately. So why wait until Friday?

Assuming this isn't a prank, what we have here is a box truck, ladies and gentlemen. It isn't really masquerading as anything else, but if were you to be searching for apartments under $1000 in the vicinity of Lower Nob Hill in the last 24 hours, you would have come across it. It's listed as "Box Truck Apartment" to be clear.

The author, whom I've tried reaching out to directly, states that he had been using this truck as his own living situation, and now he wants to rent it out, for his own financial gain, as living space rather than sell it because he has to leave town, perhaps temporarily. "I have to move from SF," he writes, "and this was a project i was working on- It's a box truck that I had just put wood flooring in and started to use instead of renting an apartment."

It's a "project," you see, which makes him sound possibly like an artist of some kind, and not just a ridiculous shyster.

Here's the only other photo, which is an exterior shot. He wants $800 a month for it, so that's reasonable.

JoeyC said:

purplethunder3121 said:

The Bay Area has become a rat race for any one who doesn't have a substantial income. Hipsters rule and seniors drool. Tenants are being "Ellis Acted" everywhere as corporations buy up properties and evict long term tenants. I wouldn't advise anyone who doesn't have a tech job or it's equivalent to move to the Bay Area. Not what it used to be.

Yeah. I should have also put, if you can afford it.

Its a shame about what a sizeable chunk of the Bay Area, has become. I was born in San Francisco and that place has changed so much that i felt uncomfortable the last time i visited(mid 2013). I was living in San Jose and almost everywhere i went(in sf) there were Hipsters, Techies, and people who back in the day(in SF), we called tourists. I'm black and i felt so uncomfortable in areas that used to be thriving with African Americans.

As a child, i lived in the Western Addition/Fillmore area. Growing up, that area was predominately African American but when i last visited, i seen only a few blacks. It was disheartening. San Francisco has been loosing blacks since the 1990's(i moved in 99) but now the outrageous cost of living and gentrification is affecting(and has been for a while) LA Mission(the mission district), Chinatown and other parts of the city. Its affecting everybody. I was just talking with a friend of mine who lives in the TL(tenderloin) and he was happy with having a piss in the sink room. He was saying that his landlord could rent the room for a thousand bucks. Easy. And he was right.

Anyway i was recently looking at this website that, in part, deals with the outrageousness of trying to find an affordable apartment in San Francisco, and i came across this.

The sfirst/aprtment sadness website, shows all kinds of outrageous rentals in SF. its worth checking out.

http://sfist.com/tags/apartmentsadness

Apartment Sadness: Box Truck Edition

BY JAY BARMANN IN ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT ON JUN 2, 2015 12:30 PM

via Craigslist

My apologies for the hiatus. There was Memorial Day weekend and then last Friday rolled around, the tip line was quiet, and there simply wasn't an apartment worthy of my depression as May came to a close on Craigslist. But now, thanks to not one but two different tipsters, I have something perfect that needs to be discussed immediately. So why wait until Friday?

Assuming this isn't a prank, what we have here is a box truck, ladies and gentlemen. It isn't really masquerading as anything else, but if were you to be searching for apartments under $1000 in the vicinity of Lower Nob Hill in the last 24 hours, you would have come across it. It's listed as "Box Truck Apartment" to be clear.

The author, whom I've tried reaching out to directly, states that he had been using this truck as his own living situation, and now he wants to rent it out, for his own financial gain, as living space rather than sell it because he has to leave town, perhaps temporarily. "I have to move from SF," he writes, "and this was a project i was working on- It's a box truck that I had just put wood flooring in and started to use instead of renting an apartment."

It's a "project," you see, which makes him sound possibly like an artist of some kind, and not just a ridiculous shyster.

Here's the only other photo, which is an exterior shot. He wants $800 a month for it, so that's reasonable.

If he's charging $800 for that what would he be charging for a legit RV.....

Sooo...?

estelle81 said:

JoeyC said:

Anyway i was recently looking at this website that, in part, deals with the outrageousness of trying to find an affordable apartment in San Francisco, and i came across this.

The sfirst/aprtment sadness website, shows all kinds of outrageous rentals in SF. its worth checking out.

http://sfist.com/tags/apartmentsadness

Apartment Sadness: Box Truck Edition

If he's charging $800 for that what would he be charging for a legit RV.....

Probably 3 or 4 grand. One of the things i find offensive about some landlords(in SF) is they rent these closet size rooms, knowing that the place is probably not worth the asking price. Because of desperation though, people will pay the asking price. And sometimes more.

Anyway good luck on your housing search. That site rent.com is a pretty good place for finding an apartment. When i lived in Seattle, that's how i found a place. Back then they used to give u 200 bucks if u found a place through their website. Don't know if they still do that though.

Oh and i see that you are a woman, so, if u do have to do the short term, cheep, housing, then i can't really recommend the Jasmine inn. The female to male ratio at that place, is not good.

[Edited 8/18/15 21:36pm]

Been here since 1979. San Diego is fairly spread out. Depends on where you are working and how far you are willing to commute. The San Diego freeways are a nightmare - a 30 mile drive can take a good hour and a half during rush hour. I'm in the North County area and I actually work in Irvine. It's a 60 mile drive each way but only takes 45 minutes with the toll road. I'll take that any day over driving into San Diego....

I've lived here since I was 1 year old. It has changed so much. But, I love it. It is expensive and yes, the traffic is horrible, but we have everything here. The ocean, mountains, valleys, deserts all within driving distance of each other.

SAN DIEGO ORG INVASION!!!

We'll see. Right now seems to be mostly "drive bys".

i'm in wildomar but i'll be down that way in a week or so to see my daughter...

morningsong said:

Sooo...?

Sorry, my new job has my work schedule all over the place.

I'm living in Escondido. I was told by someone that it was awful here but if this is considered awful than I definitely made the right move driving from NY to CA. My idea of awful is walking outside and stepping over a dead body...guess my standards aren't very high when it comes to 'awful' FYI, I've never lived anywhere where I had to step over corpses but I've heard some horror stories.

[Edited 9/23/15 17:28pm]

JoeyC said:

estelle81 said:

If he's charging $800 for that what would he be charging for a legit RV.....

Probably 3 or 4 grand. One of the things i find offensive about some landlords(in SF) is they rent these closet size rooms, knowing that the place is probably not worth the asking price. Because of desperation though, people will pay the asking price. And sometimes more.

Anyway good luck on your housing search. That site rent.com is a pretty good place for finding an apartment. When i lived in Seattle, that's how i found a place. Back then they used to give u 200 bucks if u found a place through their website. Don't know if they still do that though.

Oh and i see that you are a woman, so, if u do have to do the short term, cheep, housing, then i can't really recommend the Jasmine inn. The female to male ratio at that place, is not good.

[Edited 8/18/15 21:36pm]

Thank you for the advice. I also like Trulia.com but will look at rent.com too

PurpleJedi said:

SAN DIEGO ORG INVASION!!!

Lol! You just want an excuse to come to the beach Ren ....and there's nothing wrong with that

I had to bite the bullet and rent a room until I get acquainted with SD. I'm living in Escondido and working in La Jolla. It's a very fun drive and I enjoy all the lovely traffic on the 78, 15, 56, and 5....yes that is sarcasm but it's positive sarcasm because I'll take the traffic over snow anyday of the week. The freeways here are crazy gigantic! As much as it costs to rent apartments here, I might as well just rent to own a house especially since I don't plan on leaving. I think I'm in my forever home. Thanks everyone for all the advice and I'd love to meet up at some point for a SD Org party. A little debauchery never hurt nobody

estelle81 said:

I had to bite the bullet and rent a room until I get acquainted with SD. I'm living in Escondido and working in La Jolla. It's a very fun drive and I enjoy all the lovely traffic on the 78, 15, 56, and 5....yes that is sarcasm but it's positive sarcasm because I'll take the traffic over snow anyday of the week. The freeways here are crazy gigantic! As much as it costs to rent apartments here, I might as well just rent to own a house especially since I don't plan on leaving. I think I'm in my forever home. Thanks everyone for all the advice and I'd love to meet up at some point for a SD Org party. A little debauchery never hurt nobody

Hope you find a place you can settle into soon. Yes, it cost to be here that is no joke. With the exception of this weird viscious heat we've been having it stays pretty mild here. Seasons? What seasons? We know nothing of these stinking seasons?


I keep hearing folks complain about the traffic, yes there is some, but I guess my time spent in LA many, many, many years ago let me know what traffic really was, what we get here is small pendence to me. But I'll admit it is slowly getting more crowded so maybe it's gotten pretty bad and I've gotten use to it. Still ain't like LA was those many years ago though.

People around here are like cats always wandering off in different directions, trying to round them up for an event takes some serious manuvering skills.

San Diego's rush hour traffic is just as bad as LA's...the difference is that you can drive thru LA at 10pm and still be stuck in traffic. It's never ending! At least in San Diego we know that it's gonna be rough from 7am-9am, and from 3:30p-6:30p. Other than that, we're good!

-

The thing that gets me is...why the hell can't anyone in San Diego drive in the rain? I know it never rains, but come on...slow the frak down! As soon as the ground is wet you have an accident on every freeway.