San Diego, CA

[yoquierocafe]

I have been waitlisted at USC but may be more likely to get in if I opt for the San Diego campus, which is actually in Rancho Bernardo. Does anyone know about this area? I am a recent college grad, but it seems to be more of a family town. Is this the case? How close is it to San Diego?

Rancho Bernardo is definitely the suburbs! I used to work as a nanny in one of the subdivisions and it is a FAMILY place, lots of parks, grocery stores, restaurants, but I am not sure that there is any sort of nightlife in the area. As a recent graduate you will probably be bored out of your mind if you live near there. That being said, you could always live elsewhere and commute to campus. Depending on your class schedule traffic can be tough, so you may need to consider that but, there are a lot of nice areas surrounding San Diego. Distance wise Rancho Bernardo is about 20-25 miles from San Diego. There are a lot of communities surrounding San Diego, and anything inland is going to be more FAMILY oriented (as rent is and houses are cheaper), so I would suggest looking at places closer to the beach. Also, since Rancho Bernardo is further inland it gets quite hot during the summer. Hope this helps and sorry to not shed a more positive light on the area.... let me know if you have any more questions.. good luck

[regphal]

Any suggestions for things to do for fun out in the UCSD area?? Or San Diego in general, aside from the zoo and Sea World of course!

[OregonGal]

Beach/water activities, hiking, biking if you're into outdoor activities. Tijuana?

[onlyonemorgan]

FYI for the people who have read through this thread...some of the campus shuttle routes are no longer going to be running next year (including the hillcrest shuttle). They will no loner be providing the bus stickers, so you'll have to pay for a bus pass. So, unless you have a car, I would suggest trying to live near campus. 

[evolution786]

Wow that sucks. Is there a list or map that shows which routes won't be running? And do you know how much a bus sticker costs? I'm debating whether that would be cheaper than driving and paying for parking at on campus, but I doubt it

[IfhhoteCannot]

I figured I would throw my opinion in here. I've lived in San Diego all my life. Honestly, I think it would be darn near impossible to not have a car in this city. The public transportation is not that great, especially in north county (which is where UCSD is). I would recommend living further from campus and commuting by car. However, if you plan on being a hermit and only doing school all the time (which seems fairly likely for a grad student), then you might get away with living on campus or very near campus and not getting a car. If you are into extracurricular stuff (nightlife, surfing, shopping), I highly recommend living in one of the places ewurgler recommended (North Park and Hillcrest I LOVE), or Clairemont which is cheaper, and getting a car.

[abeilles]

On 3/8/2013 at 4:42 PM, IfhhoteCannot said:

 I would recommend living further from campus and commuting by car.

 

but I've heard parking near/on-campus is really challenging?

[Vmmurphy4]

I just got into USD for MA in School Counseling. I live in IL so I would be relocating. What are good areas that grad students/ young adults live in that are 100% safe? Safety is #1 for a single female living alone

[mp429]

I've heard really different opinions on night life in SD. While I doubt ill have that much time, any opinions about the scene in SD for a person who likes live music and dive bars more than clubs?

 

I'd recommend Ocean Beach for good dive bars. Pacific Beach is not really clubby compared to Downtown buuuut it's definitely college-centered / party vibes. Not divey (though it *looks* divey). You can get great live music at 710 from time to time though.

 

I'm not too familiar with the other neighborhoods but have heard great things! Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, and La Jolla was where I spent most of my time due to living in La Jolla as an undergrad at UCSD.

Edited March 21, 2013 by mp429

[Darth.Vegan]

Someone said the Hillcrest shuttle is no longer going to be running, anyone have any info or confirmation on this?

[epsilon]

^I talked to a current student who said it will still be running, its just being combined with another route.

[shinydrag]

Bumping for updates on living on and off-campus in San Diego. I'm considering UCSD for their MPIA program. Is anyone aware of the costs associated with living alone (1 bedroom) these days either close to campus (perhaps 10-15 minute walking distance) or on-campus? Any information is certainly appreciated.

im a fifth-year UCSD undergrad. costs for a single near campus will cost around $750-$900. some of the popular apartments are costa verde, the venetian, costa verde towers, regents court, international gardens, pines la jolla, and la jolla terrace. i found my place through craigslist and going in person and talking to the land lady.

 

 

 

FYI for the people who have read through this thread...some of the campus shuttle routes are no longer going to be running next year (including the hillcrest shuttle). They will no loner be providing the bus stickers, so you'll have to pay for a bus pass. So, unless you have a car, I would suggest trying to live near campus. 

ACTUALLY, they recently postponed any shuttle changes that were going to occur next year indefinitely. not saying that they won't happen but i know for at least a year, they won't.

 

but I've heard parking near/on-campus is really challenging?

yeah it really is, especially for undergrads. but i think graduate students get B-spot parking permits and there are usually quite a few on campus.

[abeilles]

im a fifth-year UCSD undergrad. costs for a single near campus will cost around $750-$900. some of the popular apartments are costa verde, the venetian, costa verde towers, regents court, international gardens, pines la jolla, and la jolla terrace. i found my place through craigslist and going in person and talking to the land lady.

 

 

 

ACTUALLY, they recently postponed any shuttle changes that were going to occur next year indefinitely. not saying that they won't happen but i know for at least a year, they won't.

 

 

 

yeah it really is, especially for undergrads. but i think graduate students get B-spot parking permits and there are usually quite a few on campus.

 

thanks!

[arzeller]

Hi all. I'm going to be moving across the country to begin my MA at SDSU this Fall, and would love some advice about different neighborhoods to live in. North Park/Hillcrest have caught my interest, but my friend who I'll be living with seems keen on living downtown... particularly Little Italy. I didn't visit this area when I was in San Diego, so I don't know much about it. It seems nice enough, but I'm just wondering if it's too far of a commute to school?

 

Also, there will be three of us living together who all have cars -- will this likely be a problem downtown?

 

Hillcrest/North Park/University Heights aren't out of the question yet either, but I honestly don't know how to make this decision.

 

Any info would be very helpful!

[Kava]

Hi all. I'm going to be moving across the country to begin my MA at SDSU this Fall, and would love some advice about different neighborhoods to live in. North Park/Hillcrest have caught my interest, but my friend who I'll be living with seems keen on living downtown... particularly Little Italy. I didn't visit this area when I was in San Diego, so I don't know much about it. It seems nice enough, but I'm just wondering if it's too far of a commute to school?

 

Also, there will be three of us living together who all have cars -- will this likely be a problem downtown?

 

Hillcrest/North Park/University Heights aren't out of the question yet either, but I honestly don't know how to make this decision.

 

Any info would be very helpful!

 

I'm from the San Diego area, and I really like Hillcrest. It's small, but the culture/food/walkability is great. Little Italy is also a good area for the same reasons, but I personally would like living in Hillcrest especially if you are going to SDSU. Also, I feel safer in Hillcrest at night (admittedly I haven't been to Little Italy at night in a while) because there are still a lot of people on the streets and restaurants are open pretty late. As far as cars, it depends on where you'll be living. I don't remember Little Italy having a lot of houses for rent, so I'm assuming you guys are looking for apartments. Some apartments don't have parking lots downtown and if they do, not three spaces, so you'll have to find parking on the streets (might be hard at times). This also goes for the Hillcrest area, but your apartment/house might have a place to park. I know friends that have rented a parking space in both Hillcrest and the downtown area...it can range from $100-200 a month per spot.

[socialequity]

How do grad students afford the high rent around UCSD?

[aberrant]

How do grad students afford the high rent around UCSD?

 

grad student housing is affordable. you will, however, expect to share an apartment with other people if you wanna keep your rent low (ps. "high rent " is a relative term, I would consider $600/mo for a bedroom in a 3bed/2ba apartment near UCSD cheap, as opposed to the equivalent price in West L.A., which has lower quality (wear and tear).

 

I do assume and understand that $600/mo for 1 bedroom in multi-bedroom apartment, for most people, is expensive tho. I'm now paying $440 for a 1 bed apartment somewhere in the East.

[katieliz456]

I'll be living in San Diego this summer for an internship at Rady Children's Hospital (near San Diego Mesa College).  Is anyone familiar with this area? Do you think my best bet would be to sublet from a student for June-early August? I'd prefer to live within walking distance of the hospital, but I'm not sure if that would be safe or within my budget. Any advice is appreciated!!  

[beccamayworth]

Hi all. I'm going to be moving across the country to begin my MA at SDSU this Fall, and would love some advice about different neighborhoods to live in. North Park/Hillcrest have caught my interest, but my friend who I'll be living with seems keen on living downtown... particularly Little Italy. I didn't visit this area when I was in San Diego, so I don't know much about it. It seems nice enough, but I'm just wondering if it's too far of a commute to school?

 

Also, there will be three of us living together who all have cars -- will this likely be a problem downtown?

 

Hillcrest/North Park/University Heights aren't out of the question yet either, but I honestly don't know how to make this decision.

 

Any info would be very helpful!

 

Parking in downtown is a nightmare! Plus, it's kinda far from the SDSU campus. North/Park and Hillcrest are both really great neighborhoods, closer to campus, full of cool restaurants/bars... I live in Normal Heights, which is in between North Park and SDSU (some people still call the area North Park), and I highly recommend it, it's slightly cheaper and you still get to reap all the benefits.

[tuschu]

I have an offer from UCSD. If you stay at graduate housing and pay 700$ for rent and utilities, could you survive with ~2000$/month? I am offered the same amount also by UT Austin, and no idea which one to pick.. 

[froup]

I have an offer from UCSD. If you stay at graduate housing and pay 700$ for rent and utilities, could you survive with ~2000$/month? I am offered the same amount also by UT Austin, and no idea which one to pick.. 

It depends only on you. I live off-campus and pay ~$850 rent out of ~$1900 that I receive after tax is subtracted, and it's fine. I do not need to spend anything on transportation since there are campus shuttles going past my place, and all metropolitan shuttles around the campus are also free for all students (at least for now). So it really boils down to food&entertainment&travel expenses (and moving expenses in the beginning, when I had to buy lots of small things for everyday life that I didn't bring here when moving), nothing extra on top of that.

 

So yeah, if you party every day you'll be broke. And if you never party you may as well get "rich".

[iopsychgirl123]

Hi! I'm going to be moving to San Diego this coming fall to start a masters program at SDSU, however I have no idea of my funding situation quite yet. I've seen some posts above about different areas to live, but was hoping someone from San Diego could give a little bit more background on their differences. I'd love to live in a place that is walkable to restaurants, shops, etc. However, I also would love some peace and quite and not to be surrounded by a ton of undergrads. And will most likely be on a tight budget as well.

 

I've come to terms with the fact that a roommate might be a necessity, does anyone have any particular advice on finding one? Any information anyone could give would be helpful!! I'm going to be flying out in a few weeks and would really like to check out some possible areas to live while there.

 

Thanks!

[beccamayworth]

Hi! I'm going to be moving to San Diego this coming fall to start a masters program at SDSU, however I have no idea of my funding situation quite yet. I've seen some posts above about different areas to live, but was hoping someone from San Diego could give a little bit more background on their differences. I'd love to live in a place that is walkable to restaurants, shops, etc. However, I also would love some peace and quite and not to be surrounded by a ton of undergrads. And will most likely be on a tight budget as well.

 

I've come to terms with the fact that a roommate might be a necessity, does anyone have any particular advice on finding one? Any information anyone could give would be helpful!! I'm going to be flying out in a few weeks and would really like to check out some possible areas to live while there.

 

Thanks!

 

 Will you have a car?

 

I currently live in Normal Heights and I honestly believe to be one of the best options in town - it's cheaper then most hip places (North Park, Hillcrest), there's a lot to do around (restaurants, bars) and it's pretty central. I don't drive, and I get to SDSU in 10-15 min by bus (most people take longer than that to park, lol). 

 

Living around Campus is very practical but there's really not a lot to do. 

 

I think I'd try to contact the new people in your cohort, other grad students, etc. to see if you could find a roommate. Do you know anyone in the area? 

[iopsychgirl123]

Thanks for your prompt reply! 

 

I'm pretty sure I will have a car, but I was hoping to not have to dive to campus. Although 10-15 minutes by bus is absolutely fine with me! 

 

Do you live with roommates in Normal Heights? I'm hoping to only have 1 or 2 at most and definitely have my own room. 

 

I was considering scheduling an appointment with a real estate agent to help me find a rental while out there, or just to show me around in general. Would that be a good idea? If so do you have any recommendations? Or are most of the good rentals more private? 

 

Unfortunately I don't know anyone in the area. I'm going to be coming out in a few weeks to visit so hopefully I will meet some other grad students, but my program doesn't have a formal visitation weekend so I doubt I'll meet other members of my cohort. 

[beccamayworth]

Hi! Yes I live with two roommates in a house (although honestly my room is tiny, I suppose it's probably an office and not a room); I found this one through craigslist, but I do think you'll have better luck through an agent (sorry I don't have any suggestions!)

 

Do you know if your program has a students association? It might be worth it to look them up (website, facebook) and try to contact them; let them know you're visiting, ask them if anyone is looking for roommates, that sort of thing