Oceanside

I agree w Oceanside.
Still a little rough around the edges in some places, but definitely up and coming.
Rents much cheaper than further south, but like anyplace, you do have to mind your belongings, especially bike.
Brew pubs and excellent eateries popping up and walkable.
You can ride North thru Camp Pendleton, east (inland) for hills n hills, or south and be sociable.
Surfing, pretty good but not world class. Much better in winter.
Running: along the beach, but for trails you might have to drive someplace.
What's your ETA?

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Karen ST Concierge

What is rent there?

Would be next summer.

Cheaper than the rest of the beachfront towns

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The secret of a long life is you try not to shorten it.
-Nobody

Plus Jarheads :) I haven't been for a couple years but it definitely has that military town feel (lots of BIG trucks and other boys toys that the marines spend their cash on). Perhaps that's the reason for the lower rents etc.

Where are you coming from?

I agree with Oceanside. You will likely struggle to find a place you can afford on your own (without breaking the bank) in Carlsbad, Leucadia, Encinitas, Solana Beach...

You can look there, but it will be slim pickings for what can be deemed "reasonable rent".

If you don't live right on the coast you can find places.

The good thing about Oceanside, as Karen mentioned, is some of the old area's that were getting very run down on the 101 are being built back up with new alehouse/ brewery's, and great restaurants to match. Yes, there will be Marines there, but in most cases they are not the ones that cause the need to be security conscious. With the lower rent you will find the accompanying neighbors. There are nice areas, and it's a good base to train from.

Jake

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Get outside!

Coming from TX....what about inland a little bit? I dont mind a little bit of a drive to surf, just long as not more than 30ish minutes...

You keep asking about rent but you just need to look on CL, none of us are just gonna do your research for you it for you and rent changes all the time.

The short version is that shits expensive, much more than texas. All of my experience with rent in SD is down further south closer to the city. Down there,there the cheapest 1 br you are going to find in any area where you are only marginally likely to be stabbed is probably around 900.

When you get closer to the beach there aren't a whole lot of 1br's and those there are don't really make all that much sense from a cost perspective, i.e. a 1 br might be $1300 but a 2br might be $1800 so it's a lot cheaper to just get a 2br and split it. I should disclose that those example prices were accurate up until like a year ago, but all I've seen recently is stuff going way up from there. For ex., I moved out of my 2br in PB where I paid $1700, they relisted for $2100 and it was gone within 2 days and that was ~1.5 years ago.

Going inland isn't a bad option but there are a lot of expensive high end areas inland too so it's not universally cheaper. You can probably find cheap stuff in Vista and even cheaper in Escondido. On the plus side, all of the best riding and trail running is inland but on the downside don't expect it to be 72 all summer like it is on the coast, summer temps in Escondido are more like 92. But you're from texas so you can probably deal.

For inland areas, you can also check out Clairemont, Tierrasanta, Mira Mesa, Scripps Ranch - mostly safer, cheaper areas.

Scripps is probably the nicest, but can get hot in the summer. Lake Miramar (5-mile loop) is pretty good for road run training (you'll see the Triathlon Squad guys out there) and you can access a lot of inland road bike routes.

Tierrasanta and Clairemont are close to Mission Trails Regional Park if you like to train on (hilly) trails.

All about 15-20 min drive from the coast (~10 mi).

Thanks for the responses guys!

What is San Marcos like?

I lived downtown for a while before coming up to north county. I'd say north of del mar and south of carlsbad is where you want to be. Oceanside is a bit sketchy... even if they are building some of the areas up... Encinitas is a great city. I live in Cardiff.

You need to live in north county (north of 56) if you love cycling. For a 1 bedroom west of the 5 you're probably looking at 1700+ a month, less in o side. If you're willing to live 4-6 miles east of 5 the prices come down lots.
Oh and taxes, yeah they're brutal, especially coming from Texas. But if you love the beach and outdoor stuff there is no place better...

Thanks for the reply. I was south of Carlsbad last week for work (La Costa) and really like the area. What scares me are the apartment prices. Is it possible to find anything under $1500? I swam at the new aquatic center Alga norte and found it ideal, as well as swam at La Jolla cove.

I live in the San Elijo Hills area, which is technically San Marcos, but just on the edge of Carlsbad. It's 10 miles to the coast, and an easy 5 minute ride from seemingly endless amounts of trails, and is on one of the most iconic SD loops (Elfin Forest/ Swamis) for a road ride. Easy access to get out east to ride in the mountains, and we are less than 5 miles from Alga Norte also. It's a perfect spot.

The downside is cost. You can find places if you really look, but chances are you should find a roommate. You could go up over the hill near Cal State San Marcos and there will be some new apartment complexes over there that are more affordable. It's not far at all and has all amenities close plus easy access to a highway. They also have an awesome track there that barely ever gets used.

You'll need to kind of narrow down your search a bit, but there are some diamonds in the rough out here. As mentioned above, plan to spend more on everything including taxes. It can be very expensive to live out here.

Right now is not a good time to look as it is the prime real estate season and with schools out rent is high now. In the fall/ winter/ spring, I think that the turning over openings likely have a lower rate, at least that is my experience.

If you are open to a roommate, even if it's a long shot, you may look into checking out the classifieds on the Tri Club of San Diego website. They have a spot there for people looking for a roommate and some have a place already. Just a thought.

Jake

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Get outside!