jonlb21

Hey Everyone,

I was hoping to get your thoughts on possibly moving from Boston to San Diego. I’m 28 years old and I’m a super active guy. I surf, mountain bike, hike, kayak, play football, and hockey. I’ve visited San Diego a few times to surf and always seem to have a good time. So I’ve recently been debating staying here in Boston or making a change.

Here in Boston I have a great sports culture. Love my Patriots and Bruins. I can get sports packages out there to watch them but I get San Diego isn’t known for their sports culture. I also have a great apartment and pretty low rent. I pay $1200 in Brighton which is like 15 mins from downtown and have been there 6 years. Not going to lie the apartment is huge.
My concern when I do research is that it says San Diego jobs pay a lot less and in a lot of ways living can be more expensive than Boston. If anyone has any insight on this that would be helpful.

I’d love to be able to surf everyday but don’t want to give up things like hockey and skiing. I’m sure there are places I can find to hike and mountain bike. I guess I’m just looking for people to help me compare and contrast the 2 cities. Part of me wants a change, the other part of me is saying you have it pretty sweet where you currently are.

nytraveler

Anyone who has a great, large apt in/near a major city for $1200 a month should think about 3 times before moving someplace else.

The first thing you need to do is explore real estate prices in the sort of places you would want to live (I can't imagine you will find anything near your current rent) and then compare the salaries that are available and how many job openings there are.

DebitNM

What about a job ??

jonlb21

Yeah obviously I would need a job. I currently make $86K and I saw the average salary in San Diego is $48K

travelgourmet

My concern when I do research is that it says San Diego jobs pay a lot less and in a lot of ways living can be more expensive than Boston.

My understanding is that is largely true. In general, San Diego is notorious for having a huge gap between cost of living (especially for housing) and average salaries. But generalities are probably much less useful than your actual situation.

I'd start with figuring out what you are likely to earn out there. Once you have a handle on that, then you can calculate whether you can afford it. The answer will be very different if you are working at the Gap or if you are working at Genentech.

I have friends that have made the Boston to San Diego move and they seem happy with the choice. It is a nice city.

travelgourmet

I currently make $86K and I saw the average salary in San Diego is $48K

At $86k, I'm guessing you are a professional. I wouldn't focus on the averages, but how well-represented your industry is in San Diego. For example, if you work in the mutual fund industry, you aren't going to find much in San Diego.

gail

Have you ever been to San Diego?

If I have one major life regret it is that I did not try more different things before kids, mortgage, responsibilities took over. Your situation with salary and rent sounds ideal - but there is a big world out there to experience while you can.

nytraveler

You need to look at:

1) Specific job openings in your field and at your experience level to see what your salary might be (but I can tell you that the employees in our SD office make much less for the same job as those in the NY office)

2) Look at a livable (not necessarily comparative) apartment in a neighborhood that you would be happy with - and determine how much more than $1200 it would be

nytraveler

Sorry - if you look at a couple of relocation web sites it will help lead you through the process.

But if you just really want to move - then go ahead and do it. If it doesn't work you can always move back (but I would keep your Boston apartment and sublet it until you are sure you want to stay in SD).

Dukey1

And I can tell you that I strongly suspect despite the rather high state income tax as well as the high average cost of electricity from San Diego Gas and Electric that the cost of living in New York is higher than it is in San Diego or did NYC suddenly become amazingly cheap?

I assume you aren't planning to buy anything so you can simply fold the cost of property tax into the landlord's rent.

I agree that you need to look at job openings in your field rather than some "average salary" figures.

Assume you have a vehicle or do you? I think you'll need one out there and that means auto insurance, insurance, and registration fees. You compared those to the ones in Massachusetts?

And then there's the weather difference; assume you've taken that into account and also the overall attitude of people in California (and the political climate in San Diego County in particular).

You have a LOT of work to do.

Geordie

Test as I've tried to post 3 times

Geordie

Ok so it's now working I thought because I said Philly stinks of p!ss and sh!t I had been banned

I love SD, I have a client there and it's such a small city with good public transport, the low average is probably because of the navy workers

nytraveler

Granted living costs in NYC are higher than in SD - but there is not that much difference in rental costs in desireable areas near the coast (based on info from colleagues there). If one is willing to live inland rentals are cheaper - but we don't know what the OP will want.

Hence the need to consult relocation sites.

mlgb

Usually places where people want to live because of weather and lifestyle have relatively high rents and low wages equal to somewhere like Boston.

My sister made that move as she couldn't hack another Boston winter.

Remember your heating bill will be much, much lower. If you are within a few miles of the coast you won't have much of an a/c bill either.

But you are looking at $2000 to $2500 a month for something of a reasonable size within a bike ride of the beach.

Barbara

"it's such a small city"

Compared to what? San Diego is the second biggest city in California after Los Angeles and the eighth in the country. 1.37m in the City and when you add in the County, it's over three million.

Shar

I am concerned that a "professional" would be checking out "fodors" for information on making a life change from East Coast to West Coast. I would think there are better places to consult than this for such a major move. IMHO this is for travel not for life changing experiences....

JeremyMcGill

Hello buddy! Glad to be a part of this discussion! Well, I don't think there is any problem with moving from Boston to San Diego. Nothing wrong there to have little change in life. If a part of you wants to do it then I think you should go for it. Though the cost of living is little high but still you can manage. My thought says, every city has their own specialty and don't need to be tallied. Adjusting in a new space is too like adventure and you're a super active guy so you know what to do. If I could help you with some good transportation facility then it's Pegasus Transit Ventura Airport shuttle, Los Angeles. Enjoy the freedom.

nytraveler

Well I'm concerned that a "professional" would think they would make $48K - even in San Diego.

auntie_raine

Here are some observations from someone who actually relocated from the east coast to San Diego:

1. You can definitely find a decent sized apartment for less than $2,000, particularly if you live outside of downtown (East Village, Gaslamp, Little Italy) or right at the beach. I note you say you live 15 mins from downtown Boston now - you should be able to find something the same distance away from downtown San Diego, but it will probably not be "huge" and you will be paying more than $1,200. For example, I live in North Park, 15 mins north of downtown, and I think you could find something decent for less then $2,000 here (but I do own now, so I haven't checked listings in a while). And North Park is considered the up and coming happening neighborhood in the city, with a lot of bars and restaurants. Check the San Diego Reader online for rental listings to get an idea of what is available in different areas of the city.

2. While San Diego is the 8th largest city in the US, it is very spread out, so that many neighborhoods within the city are away from downtown. For example, La Jolla, where I work, is a part of the city of San Diego, and it is 20 minutes from downtown. And people often speak of San Diego but are referring to the entire county of San Diego, so that they could be talking of the cities of Carlsbad or Oceanside, for example, which are in the county of San Diego but not the city of San Diego.

3. San Diego is known as a place where you can surf and ski in the same day. For example, Big Bear is less than 3 hours drive from downtown San Diego. Lake Tahoe and Mammoth are short plane rides away.

4. I was struck by the higher cost of living here in several ways. Gasoline for example is high, even when the prices in general are down. Food prices are also higher than where I lived on the east coast (NJ). The state income tax is 10%, I believe, so will take a big chunk out of any salary you might get. The sales tax in San Diego is almost 8%, and includes tax on clothing, etc. (many places, like NJ, do not tax clothing purchases). And California imposes an annual property tax on vehicles, rather than a set registration fee. It is based on the value of the auto, so typically goes down as the car gets older. But as an example - I think I paid a set fee of less then $50 every year in NJ as the registration fee for my car, but here in San Diego you could pay in the hundreds each year depending on the type of car you have (but a part of it is a deduction on your state tax return, I believe). Not sure how it is in MA. But I think Boston is also pretty expensive, so you would have to compare the nuts and bolts of the cost of living in each city.

5. I don't know what you do for a living, but in many ways, San Diego is like a small town. There are a few big industries (travel, biotech, education) but other than that finding employment can be tough. And salary ranges can be deceiving, as the travel industry is a big employment area here and many of those jobs can be low paying, skewing the figures. There is a lot of wealth here, but also a lot of people struggling. I can't provide any more insight without knowing your area of employment.

6. Utilities are not such a big issue here if you live closer to the coast, as we rarely use air conditioning or heating (at least I don't), but if you live inland a bit it will be hotter Living 10 miles east of the coast can mean 10-15 degree differences (the difference between 75 and 85-90 degrees is substantial).

7. San Diegans do follow the Padres and Chargers, but I wouldn't call it a rabid sports town. But there are so many transplants here that many people root for any number of teams, and no one bats an eye or talks trash (except for the Raiders). For example, I go to a Padres/Mets game every year (go Mets!) and no one has ever given me a hard time for rooting for the Mets-there are plenty of other Mets fans in the stadium (which is beautiful, by the way).

I think San Diego is a great place for an active person in his 20s to live, as long as you consider the financial side by carefully comparing apples to apples. You would probably be able to make friends very easily, as you are so active in sports. San Diego is a beautiful and fun place to live!

Christina

Whatever professional means, who knows, lots of people can make $86K who aren't "professionals" by many standards. I know someone who is a train engineer who makes more than that. I presume that means white collar, not beginning level, some education required. And lots of people in that category starting out might ask questions on here, why not.

But just comparing your salary to some overall average for everyone doesn't really make sense. You'd have to look at salaries in your field at your level.

I used to live in LA, not SD, but as for as liking to ski, sure, you can't drive to ski resorts for the day, but there are plenty of places to ski out west that won't be that far a plane ride. And I personally think the West is far superior to East Coast terrain and snow conditions. You've got New Mexico, COlorado, Utah, as well as California if they ever get some snow. You can get from SAN to SLC in only 2 hours on Delta and Alaska, for example, and nonstop to Reno or Denver on Southwest in only about 2.5 hours.