a question (or 2) for the san diego mamas

[santosha]

hi! i hope it's ok that i'm jumping in here with a bunch of questions! (quick intro: i'm kristin 27, sahm/ yoga teacher to 2 boys 7yrs and 11 months, living miserably in the chilly burbs of nyc)

i used to live in san diego about 6 1/2 years ago and i am just dying to move back! i'm hoping it will happen the next year or two. can anyone answer a few questions?

what are rental (2-3 bdrm) and home prices like now? back in the day we rented a 2 bdrm house in mission beach for 750$ a month! i sure it isn't like that anymore. i would like to be in ocean beach, or maybe pacific beach, mission beach (and if we're talking north county- encinitas, solana, cardiff)

how about jobs? my husband is a graphic designer and has the most experience designing clothing.

could we get away with one car in OB- meaning dh taking the car to work?

is SD AP friendly?

good yoga studios? good midwives? home birth friendly? maybe unschooling friendly?

will you be my friend when we move there? :)

thanks

[bubbles]

Hi, We just moved back here after being gone for 13 years. Housing is absolutely outrageous right now. 2-3 bedroom houses to buy in OB are going to start at $350 K for a very small (750 square feet)major fixer-upper in the lower part of OB (not the best part). Up the hill you are looking at $550K on up for something that needs major work. Mission Beach area will much more expensive, PB probaby much higher also. As for rentals, you are looking at well over $1500 a month for a small apartment in the lower part of OB. In the normal heights area a friend of ours rents a small one bedroom place over his garage for $750. Two bedroom is going to be $1500 or more. It is really prohibitive right now. If you want to live in any of the more interesting areas you will pay a real premium. We tried to buy in OB, but ended up in Serra Mesa 'cause we just can't afford anything (rental or buy) in the neat areas of town. I am not trying to discourage you, but that is reality right now.
As for jobs, I can't say in your dh's field, but it is generally diffiult right now in most fields. Jobs tend to pay less since there is so much competition. Of course, you never know.
As for AP friendly, no-schooling, homeschooling and such. That is pretty good here. There is a yahoo groups called San Diego Natural FAmilies that you might want to read. We have a great La Leche League that connects you with a lot of those things also. Yoga is popular here with lots of options for taking and teaching.
I hope that all helps. I know it does not make things sound good, but the cost of living is pretty tough here. We find that it has been so worth the move back, but we are pretty fortunate with my dh's job.
Good luck:)
edited to add: good birth center, midwives available, homebirth friendly. You would not have trouble finding like-minded people. We even have a playgroup of AP parents that meets very irregulary to play and chat. See the San Diego Mamas part deux thread.

[santosha]

thank you for your reply!

$ wise it does sound kind of discouraging, not quite as bad as where we are now, but not much better. and i'm assuming a move would mean a drop in dh's salary. sigh. i really want to be back in san diego though- everything else sounds great. i've got a whole bookmark folder of cool wanna be in san diego things.

well, positive thinking- b/c our other choices in california are la or san francisco and they certainly won't be any cheaper!

[Pigpen]

Hi
I realize this is a little late but I wanted to add a couple thoughts. My husband is in the Graphic Arts field and he say's jobs are hard to come by. There are quite a few G.A. schools locally, but most end up having to leave the area to find work. I don't want to be discouraging at all, just wanted to tell you what I have heard. It is tough to buy a home in SD w/one income but not impossible. I live in the east county and have been suprised that I actually like it here. It's obviously much more affordable in my area. I have friends who have bought homes nearby for around $200,000. It's not OB :( That's a one of a kind community...I still shop at OB Peoples as often as I can (do you remember that place?) You will find a lot of folks into the natural lifestyle (somewhere inbetween all the Expedition driving soccar moms :wink ) Hope this helps...