Where should I move? Ft. Lauderdale, FL or San Diego, CA

[geckojohn]

Right now i live in the Bay Area, but i can't stand the high price of housing, the ghetto atmosphere, and i like being near the beach. (I went to UCSB, and love the beach).

I've been thinking about moving to Ft. Lauderdale or San Diego... i'm not really sure... i know that San Diego is a nice place to live, but i think that Florida has much better weather and a cheaper cost of living... so what would you recommend?

My dad just bought a house in 2nd house in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida - so he said that i could stay there for a few months for free... but I do really like San Diego and it's a lot closer to my family.

 

[ggavinmoss]

I'm inclined to say SD because I grew up there and love it, but what kind of work prospects do you have in either place?

-geoff

 

[xuanman]

Both have great weather, but remember that Florida is humid. SD is also a lot bigger than Ft. Lauderdale with more commercial opportunities. Depending on whether this is important or not, SD also tends to lean more conservative.

 

[anxi80]

im inclined to say SD, but dont listen to me, im biased.

 

[Ogg]

I thought san diego was known for its perfect 70 degree weather year round......
OF course Ive never been there.

 

[sillymofo]

Originally posted by: Ogg
I thought san diego was known for its perfect 70 degree weather year round...... OF course Ive never been there.

Well, not exactly 70 degrees all year round, but I'd much rather be in SD. Having been to FL and lived in SD for 3 yrs, my vote goes to SD.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Housing is cheaper in Ft Lauderdale.

No income tax.

Cheaper fuel / insurance

Much easier access to ocean.

South Beach is 1/2 hours away.

Little worry about fire.

 

[pulse8]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
Housing is cheaper in Ft Lauderdale.

No income tax.

Cheaper fuel / insurance

Much easier access to ocean.

South Beach is 1/2 hours away.

Little worry about fire.

But the rest of Florida SUCKS ASS and takes ~7 hours just to get out of the state and then you're only either in Alabama or Georgia.

In San Diego you can go to Nevada, Arizona, Mexico and other nice places in California.

 

[geckojohn]

Well, i actually grew up in Northridge LA area, moved to the Bay Area for high school, and then Santa Barbara for college. So, i've been all over CA except for San Diego... but I definately like Southern CA way better.

So, i think that San Diego will be a better fit because of the nicer weather and warmer ocean & good waves(because surfing is my fav sport).

 

[geckojohn]

Originally posted by: cr4zymofo

Originally posted by: Ogg I thought san diego was known for its perfect 70 degree weather year round...... OF course Ive never been there.

Well, not exactly 70 degrees all year round, but I'd much rather be in SD. Having been to FL and lived in SD for 3 yrs, my vote goes to SD.

Where in SD did you live?

I'm thinking about the Ocean Beach area or PB.

 

[anxi80]

Originally posted by: geckojohn
I'm thinking about the Ocean Beach area or PB.

the question wasnt directed towards me, but as a resident of americas finest city, i would probably go with Ocean Beach. my cousin lives in PB, and even though both places are a little bit more cost efficient than say downtown san diego or even anything on the coast (encinitas, del mar, cardiff, leucadia), PB is just a bit more dirtier and grungier, and in my opinion, a little bit more crime ridden and disastrous. Ocean Beach is more cleaned up in my eyes. of course, if your are looking for that kind of stuff in PB, then by all means! PB isnt necessarily that bad, but Ocean Beach just seems a little bit more cleaner to me, thats all.

edit: mmm, i could really go for a Torpedo sandwich at Theo's...all this talk of OB and PB...

 

[InverseOfNeo]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
Housing is cheaper in Ft Lauderdale.

No income tax.

Cheaper fuel / insurance

Much easier access to ocean.

South Beach is 1/2 hours away.

Little worry about fire.

Wow. You completely forgot to mention hurricanes and the fact that is a lot more humid than SD.

 

[Carbo]

As a resident of the Fort Lauderdale area I will chime in here.......
The famous Florida weather is a myth. The climate here can best be described as nine months of unbearable heat an humidity, followed by two months of horrible heat and humidity, followed by one month of acceptable heat and humidity.
While housing is cheaper here than in SD, it ain't by much any more. This area has seen about a 75% appreciation in housing prices the past four years. If you're thinking of buying, a so-so area will run you about $235K for a starter home. Go someplace where you want to live, and now you're talking about $275K and up.
Traffic is mind numbing 24/7.
South Beach in Miami? It's not a half hour away. It's a good hour if traffic is light. And when you get there, be prepared to be disappointed. It's way overpriced, and if you aren't a Spanish speaking homosexual you're not going to be too comfortable.
It's not even a close call...........SD rocks. Fort Lauderdale has become a caricature of itself that is best left for the aging and the whiners from NY.

 

[lokiju]

Well as with an eailer post, I voted for the FL option, only because I live here and am only about 10 mins south of down town Ft. Lauderdale.

I've never been to San Diego, CA so I really can't say on that one.

I like it here and there's plenty to do, MIA isn't more than a 25 or so min. drive from Ft. Lauderdale also.

But as xuanman said, it gets crazy humid in the summer time here.

 

[WinkOsmosis]

San Diego.

 

[EagleKeeper]

Originally posted by: pulse8

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
Housing is cheaper in Ft Lauderdale.

No income tax.

Cheaper fuel / insurance

Much easier access to ocean.

South Beach is 1/2 hours away.

Little worry about fire.

But the rest of Florida SUCKS ASS and takes ~7 hours just to get out of the state and then you're only either in Alabama or Georgia.

In San Diego you can go to Nevada, Arizona, Mexico and other nice places in California.

From FLL, you can get to Bermuda, Bahamas, Cuba, the keys and the Carribean within 1-2 hrs.
Central & S America is closer to South Fla than SD is.
Fresh gator also along with decent football teams.
With the exception of snow & the parks, most of what CA has can be obtained in Fla.
Better melting pot.
No outrageous car taxes and a reasonable state budget. (remember - they have family connections)

 

[geckojohn]

Mmm, fresh gator sounds good.

CA has better waves than Florida.

 

[C'DaleRider]

Originally posted by: EagleKeeper
Housing is cheaper in Ft Lauderdale.

No income tax.

Cheaper fuel / insurance

Much easier access to ocean.

South Beach is 1/2 hours away.

Little worry about fire.

Take Lauderdale............esp. for the no income tax. Cost of living is cheaper than CA.........and while it's humid, that's why God made air conditioning.

 

[rockyct]

I've lived in San Diego for about 15 years but right now I'm going to school in San Luis Obispo (it's between SF and LA, just had a 6.5 earthquake near here).

The cost of housing is extremely expensive in San Diego. It's at or near the top of places with the highest cost of living compared to salary. I think the average house there is around 300 k now and still going up. If you want something cheaper you are almost forced into living much further up north along I-15. Meanwhile, they have barely done anything to expand I-15 so the commute is terrible. Eventually, the cost of housing bubble will burst or at least slow down because I don't see how new families can move in here anymore.

That being said, San Diego is a wonderful place to live. There is never really more than a couple days of bad weather there a year. The summers can get warm but nothing like the southwest and it's usually a dry heat instead of the Florida humidity. Also, like other people said, there is so much to go nearby. There are ski resorts 2-3 hours away during the winter, the beach is close and usually pleasant, Mexican border is close if you don't live in North County. You can even live in the mountains and still be a short drive away from the city. You're also two hours from LA and all the stuff to do there and yet you don't have the smog.

 

[Mermaidman]

I said Lauderdale because of your focus on cheap housing and you have family there. San Diego's weather is much nicer in the summer, and the geography is more interesting--you'd be surprised how quickly you miss hills, let alone mountains!

 

[neutralizer]

San Diego is expensive to live, but it's nice. I live there... er... here now. I've been Ft. Lauderdale, my friend said something about crime and slow drivers. If you like driving behind old guys in Grand Ams, go for FL. Otherwise, San Diego all the way.

 

[DT4K]

I lived in SD for 6 months about 10 years ago.
I loved it.
I've never been to FL, but I was in New Orleans in May and if the heat and humidity in FL is even remotely close to that of N.O., there is no way in hell I could ever live there. I mean it was May for god sakes. Not even summer yet and it was in the 90's with 90% humidity every day I was there. Step outside and you are dripping with sweat within 5 minutes. I hated that weather.

San Diego has great weather if you don't mind all four seasons being pretty much the same.
The beaches are nice, it never gets too hot unless you go inland a bit.
I don't know how much it's changed in the past 10 years, but I would love to move back if I could afford it.
When we were there, the housing prices weren't bad at all. But now, it seems like it's almost as expensive as some areas around the bay area.
We lived in the Claremont area and it was really nice. It only took us about 10 minutes to get to the beach at PB, but the houses and the area were much nicer than PB, and places were cheaper.

 

[dman]

I live in WPB. The cost of housing has gone up quite a bit in S.FL (as well as everywhere). Broward County (inc.ft.lauderdale) is starting to see a plateau in housing prices as demand has fallen... at least that's what I've been reading. WPB is still climbing but expected to level off soon.


I suspect it's still cheaper to live here than San Diego, but, it might not be 'cheap' to live here--if that's what you are looking for. Overall the S.FL Job market and growth is projected to continue rising for a few more years, still a lot of people migrating here. Most of them still Senior's. NOV/DEC/JAN/FEB are the nicest months weather wise, which is when everyone comes to town, so it's also the craziest traffic.

The rest of the year it's too hot/humid, but, you get used to it, as you do pretty much anywhere else.

 

[SackOfAllTrades]

fsck SD, it's overrated and full of retards.

 

[sygyzy]

Come back to SB John. I am still here. Fellow Gauchos can hang out!