San Diego - Let's find me a place to live

[Oban]

I drove through La Mesa. 

Once.

As for having everything in one place, Gaslamp/downtown is hard to beat.  Pretty much anything off of Market Street is nice and would probably be near-ish to your budget while still providing acceptable temperatures, transportation, shopping and night life.

[Trippy]

Indeed.  I'm looking for a house in the Mountain View / Palo Alto / Los Altos area, and I don't think you can buy tear-downs for 500K out here.

You used to be able to in Mountain View until all you Google people took it over. It's one of the more expensive places to buy a home now. I haven't looked to see how much prices have dropped in the last few months but a tear down in a minuscule lot in those areas was around $750K - 800K with Palo Alto still being the highest per square foot (Los Altos has some areas with larger lots than you typically find in MV or PA).

[Selby]

Poway, Penasquitos (where I grew up) and Scripps Ranch are inland enough to not get really cloudy beach weather, and coastal enough to not get really bad summers.

I lived in Penasquitos for 5 years, and this is pretty true.  You get mostly decent days, but there are a few mindblowingly hot days in the summer (it was the aforementioned 110°F for a week or two in 2004-2005 timeframe that led me to install AC in the house).  No nightlife in that area though, and Scripps Ranch is turning into La Jolla East (lots of snobbery and overpriced houses).

Mira Mesa has nice parts, but most of it is very congested and the traffic in and out is just horrible during rush hour +/- an hour.  Having 3-4 families who don't speak English (and not Spanish) living in the houses next door to you are a turn off to some people as well.  There's some gang activity from the imported cultures moving in (mostly Asian) so you need to watch which part you live in.

I drove through La Mesa. 

Once.

Yeah, don't do that if you can avoid it.

I must say, up here in the Bay Area where I now live, houses are stupidly priced still.  I can't imagine trying to touch a house in Palo Alto or Mountain View these days.

[Torinak]

Indeed.  I'm looking for a house in the Mountain View / Palo Alto / Los Altos area, and I don't think you can buy tear-downs for 500K out here.

You used to be able to in Mountain View until all you Google people took it over. It's one of the more expensive places to buy a home now. I haven't looked to see how much prices have dropped in the last few months but a tear down in a minuscule lot in those areas was around $750K - 800K with Palo Alto still being the highest per square foot (Los Altos has some areas with larger lots than you typically find in MV or PA).

Dangit, it was about to fake-edit his post to replace the 500K with 750K, based on the tear-downs I saw when I lived there, and comments from friends and colleagues who are still trapped in the heart of Silicon Valley.  My favorite was the tear-down that was across the street (or next to?) a car-junkyard that backed onto 101, and was "a bargain" at 700K...in 2005.

[Quinton]

Indeed.  I'm looking for a house in the Mountain View / Palo Alto / Los Altos area, and I don't think you can buy tear-downs for 500K out here.

You used to be able to in Mountain View until all you Google people took it over. It's one of the more expensive places to buy a home now. I haven't looked to see how much prices have dropped in the last few months but a tear down in a minuscule lot in those areas was around $750K - 800K with Palo Alto still being the highest per square foot (Los Altos has some areas with larger lots than you typically find in MV or PA).

For the record, I moved to MV back in 2000, well before Google moved in, and five years before they went and bought the company I was working for. (it's not my fault!)

Decent single family detached on 6000-7000 ft^2 lots (would benefit from some remodeling, but in pretty decent shape) seem to be going for 850-950 in MV right now.  The same sort of thing in Los Altos or Palo Alto tends to be 200-300 more.  Palo Alto has a bit more variety of construction, where Los Altos has pretty much the same sort of 50s ranch homes as MV.

[K9]

Wherever you end up, always be prepared and wary of the giant squid menace.

[AcidCat]

Since I rent an apartment in ghetto El Cajon I am completely unqualified to give you housing advice. Out here we definitely need our air conditiioning, and we live next to brown people. It's okay, they are actually pretty cool. East County SD representin' yo.

[schild]

we live next to brown people. It's okay, they are actually pretty cool.

and they live next to white people. It's okay, they are actually pretty cool.

[AcidCat]

we live next to brown people. It's okay, they are actually pretty cool.

and they live next to white people. It's okay, they are actually pretty cool.

I don't know ... some of my white neighbors are pretty shady characters.

[Oban]

I don't know ... some of my white neighbors are pretty shady characters.

Probably wetos then.

[Signe]

I have a feeling that most of you in California will be eaten by giant squid, anyway.  I'll go ahead and predict that.  I have to find a way to stop caring about all of you.

[Quinton]

I have a feeling that most of you in California will be eaten by giant squid, anyway.  I'll go ahead and predict that.  I have to find a way to stop caring about all of you.

Does that happen before or after the state sinks into the sea, taking us with it?

I guess what I'm asking is, "are giant squid a threat to those of us who don't live right on the beach?"

[Signe]

I don't know.  I guess as the state starts to sink into the ocean, more of you are apt to be eaten.  It is the logical outcome.  Maybe you should move to Nevada.