# Best places to live for cyclist in San Diego?



## zeeno (Mar 13, 2002)

Hey Dudes, I might be transfering down to San Diego from Washington with my job and was wondering where some good areas to live for ride-from-house cycling? Also I am a mountain biker and wouldn't mind having good access to off-road trails in the area. 
I will be working at the San Diego airport and don't really want a huge commute. Would even like to be able to ride to work. The other thing is areas that are more affordable. 
I might be asking for too much. I don't know. Any advice would be awesome.
Thanks, Dave


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## filtersweep (Feb 4, 2004)

Affordable? Good luck! Otherwise I would love to live in La Jolla.


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## I am The Edge (Jul 27, 2004)

affordable isn't a word used in the same sentence with housing in california.

live in la jolla, as filtersweep suggested, and drive or ride to the airport. don't worry about living near some good areas for NNC. the whole state is a good area.


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## -CM- (Jan 6, 2006)

Your desire for good cycling and a short commute are at odds because the airport is right near the heart of the city. It's been a few years since I've been there, but I don't think cycling to the airport would be too enjoyable on a weekday. You might want to seek out some advice from clubs in that area.


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## HAL9000 (May 1, 2002)

*It'll depend on your standard of living*

You could(might) find an acceptable rental unit (apt) in the Ocean Beach area or maybe a condo/apt in the Loma Portal area where lots-o sailors reside. Loma Portal isn't too far of a ride to the airport, same for Ocean Beach.

As far as liking the spin in to work, that will depend on how you handle or are able to ignore SoCal traffic. Harbor Drive & Pacific Hwy are certainly wide enough. San Diego's Trolls & Semi homeless can be seen riding their heaps along these same thoroughfares all the time. So you as an experienced rodie should have no prob.

Me, I really can't think of any roads (surface streets) in San Diego I would never ride other than the Freeway. Some I would rather avoid because they are just not a lot of fun. I would take any S.D. road like Harbor Drive or Pacific Hwy over say Hwy22/Brownsboro here in Kentucky.

You see Calif actually makes roads with enough asphalt for proper width for cars and bikes, not to mention sidewalks...


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## de.abeja (Aug 27, 2006)

Depending on what your housing needs are you can have several choices for your new home.

Are you bachelor? Kids? Pets? Need a garage? How much are you expecting/willing/able to pay in rent/mortgage?

If you are single and don't need a garage, you can live pretty much anywhere. Some commutable neighborhoods would be; Ocean Beach, Loma Portal, Linda Vista, Pacific Beach, Clairemont, Mission Beach, Bankers Hill, North Park, Normal Heights, Sherman Heights, Grant Hill. All of these are 10-40minutes from the airport by bike.

A little bit longer commute includes; National City, Chula Vista, La Mesa, Grossmont, El Cajon. I myself commute from Chula Vista to Mission Bay 17.5mi each way takes ~1hr w/traffic and lights, plus I go right past the airport.

Right near the airport is a bit spendy, but you can combo your bike commute with the trolley and live in a little more affordable area. Example; Santee is near Mission Trails park which has some pretty good MTB trails, the trolley runs right from Santee to Old Town which is barely a mile from the airport.

Rent ranges from $600 for a small old apartment usually in an old neighborhood (some good and some not so good.) on up to $2500 a month converted commercial lofts in the downtown bar district called the Gaslamp.

Give us some more specifics and we can help give you some actual options. Welcome to SD there are plenty of places to ride both off and on-road.


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## fantom1 (Aug 3, 2004)

As long as you don't mind a very hot summer and not being that close to the beach, East Escondido probably puts you the closest to good road and mountain biking (assuming you like hilly terrain).


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## de.abeja (Aug 27, 2006)

Esco is my hometown spent 20years growing up all over that city, and it IS a great place to road or mtb. But it is 30+ miles from the airport (where OP is going to work) in gridlock everyday.


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## zeeno (Mar 13, 2002)

Hey all who responded, Thanks a lot for the info. I thought I would fill in anybody with more info about myself incase they wanted to give me more feedback. 
I'm a 44 year old, single male and I am not that much into the party scene or clubbing anymore. Occassionally I like to go out for some night life. It's not real important for me to live near any places with bars and clubs. It would be cool to live near some cool cafes and restuarants that I could walk or ride to. I thought it would be cool to be near the beach but it is not a big deal for me. I kind of like living in the outskirts of the cities I've lived in. I currently live in a 2 bed 2 bath condo with a one car garage here in Vancouver, Wa. which works out pretty good for me. It would be cool to find similar in San Diego but not sure if this could be done for the most I could afford ($250,000) 
I haven't totally decided if I'm going to take the transfer or not. As I get older up here in the north I get less tollerent of the cold, gray and wet climate up here. If anybody else has made the move and could give me some feedback that would be sweet.
Thanks a lot, Dave


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## fantom1 (Aug 3, 2004)

With 250,000 you're going to have to do some serious searching, and learn to live with a fairly long commute to the airport.


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## TXNavy (Apr 14, 2004)

I lived in Mira Mesa last year, which would probably suit your needs pretty well. I had good training rides or distance rides in several directions, and Penasquitos Canyon for mountain biking. For instance, I could go up one road for a one hour out and back ride with four or five nice, big climbs or go all the way to La Jolla and Mission Beach for a 50 mile ride through the city with a few mesa climbs in the middle. Penasquitos is a good every day trail ride, and there are really excellent trails within easy driving distance for more technical or longer rides. There are several regular groups that do regular night rides through the canyon, like this one: http://members.cox.net/garyfox/

There are condos in the 300's (see century21.com or any of the other sites) and good apartments for rent. Its a fairly new area so everything is nice. Commute to the airport would be about 30 minutes most times of day. I work in Old Town, which is about the same distance.

I just moved to the Gaslamp district downtown for a better night life and shorter commute, but I had no complaints about where I was living. Anywhere close to the airport (downtown, Point Loma, Old Town), you're going to be doing more road biking out the door and driving to do any real mountain biking.


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## de.abeja (Aug 27, 2006)

zeeno said:


> It would be cool to find similar in San Diego but not sure if this could be done for the most I could afford ($250,000)


Dave- If you are set on buying I would wait just a bit longer unless you have $250k ready to spend then you could pick up a pretty nice forclosure/repo pretty much where you want.

I would suggest that should you move down here that you rent in Santee/El Cajon first, here is a short list of why; 
-Both are right down the freeway from the airport, and have trolley access to the airport.
-They have some of the lower rents in the county and they don't fluctuate too much.
-There are good MTB trails nearby.
-Once you have established yourself you can figure out what parts of the county you like best and what would be the most suitable neighborhood for you, these two cities are fairly central to the county making exploration easy.
-If for whatever reason it doesn't work out here, breaking a lease is cheaper and easier than selling a home.

If you are heart set on buying, $250k will maybe get you a 1br condo conversion or possibly a 2br older unit further out in the suburbs.

Best of luck, and if you need any more help PM me.

(I am not a real estate agent, just lived here my whole life.)


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## zeeno (Mar 13, 2002)

To all who responded, you guys are awesome. Thanks much for all the info on living and riding in San Diego. I was checking out the real estate prices on zillow.com and it looks like they have actually come down a bit. If I make the move I will probably rent at first and wait and see what the market does. If I do maybe I can hook up for a ride with some you guys. Thanks, Dave


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## chang100 (Aug 29, 2003)

*check out this site*

http://www.sandiego-mls.com/

It's free to register and it lets you search condos & freestanding homes throughout SD county. I use it a lot just to keep tabs on the housing market.

You may want to check into North Park (92102) & South Park (92104), just east of Balboa Park and only 5 miles from Lindbergh Field. Both neighborhoods are up & coming, and housing prices aren't as high as downtown, Del Mar, La Jolla, etc. There's decent MTB riding within Balboa Park and surrounding canyons, and unlimited options for road riding. I left my house today and rode out past downtown, the airport (20 minutes' ride max from North Park), Mission Bay, Mission Valley, Hillcrest, and University Heights. Or you can head out to El Cajon and the really killer climbs in East County.

I've lived in Seattle and would never move back. You can be outside year-round in SD, that's why I stayed.


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## Fender (Feb 26, 2002)

fantom1 said:


> With 250,000 you're going to have to do some serious searching, and learn to live with a fairly long commute to the airport.



Actually, in La Jolla you can find lots of apartment conversations for approximately $250,000.


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