Where should I live in San Diego, CA?

I'm 26, will be 27 later this year, and am possibly moving to SD from KC MO in October or November. I've never been to SD but have been looking at apartments in different parts of the city. I want to be somewhere safe of course, I love baseball and I like to party, and I will only be using public transportation and my bicycle to get around. I'm very laid back so will want a nice beach close as well. Put yourself in my situation and let me hear some suggestions as to where would be easiest and most convenient for me to live.

I'm 26, will be 27 later this year, and am possibly moving to SD from KC MO in October or November. I've never been to SD but have been looking at apartments in different parts of the city. I want to be somewhere safe of course, I love baseball and I like to party, and I will only be using public transportation and my bicycle to get around. I want to be able to do something different every day so a central location would be nice. I'm very laid back so will want a nice beach within 10-15 miles as well. Put yourself in my situation and let me hear some suggestions as to where would be easiest and most convenient for me to live.

Pacific Beach sounds like the best place for you if you want to be near the beach and have a great night life. It is also fairly safe. The baseball park is downtown and it is very expensive to live downtown but that would be fun if you could afford it. Downtown is probably not as safe as PB. There are other great neighborhoods too. The gay district of Hillcrest is very safe and there are lots of nice apartments there. It is not like it is only for gay people. Tons of straight people live in that neighborhood too. It just happens to have lots of gay bars. There is a new bar there that just opened up that is kind of the "it" bar right now in SD called "Universal" for everyone. Uptown, Little Italy, Mission Hills, and Old Town are also safe and pretty nice. Mission Valley has lots of nice apartment complexes as well and is close to lots of shopping centers and restaurants and other ammenities but it is kind of isolated like suburbia. Same with Clairemont or La Jolla but they are all nice and safe. They are kind of far though. The public transportation system in San Diego is pretty good too. You can get lots of places by bus or trolley.

if i were you i would move to san marcos. there is a new small train that goes east/west connecting the cities of escondido, san marcos, vista, and oceanside. it takes you right to the beach. there you could take the coaster train up and down along the coast or the amtrack if you want to travel further. there is now a great system of public buses connected with the trains. san marcos is very safe - you may hear about gang shootings in vista, or down in the city, but never in san marcos. lotsa places to dine, great shopping, just overall fun...

it really depends what you are looking for. if you want to be in the party scene or more lively scene than the beach or downtown is for you. but if you are looking for something more like a suburb i would say chula vista (east of the 805) they have a new little community down there called otay ranch that is beautiful. i would compare it to homes in poway - but much newer. you can bike so many places down there - so many stores and shops and employment opportunity.

I would pay PB or downtown but unless your looking to live within a 2 miles bubble of a world your going to have a REALLY hard time getting around without a car. SD is not set up to commute around by public transportation. I knew a person who had to use the bus because they couldnt get a lic for med. reasons and to go 20 miles by bus took them over 3 hours so they spent 6 hours on a bus everyday commuting.. If you already have a job you are going to be limited to where you live based on the location of the job. Downtown is probably the only place you could really get around without a car, and have a decent job that pays enough to live in SD but there is no beach because its the harbor. You could live in PB but its kinda a touristy area and most jobs in shops and stuff arnt going to pay much more than minimum wage, (which isnt even close to sufficient for living in SD)If you have a career type job then you might be looking to commute really far. Even in the small town I grew up it it took 15 min to get across it by car, so by bike or bus it would have been well over an hour..... im not trying to put down your lifestyle but there is NO WAY I could get by here without a car. The city just wasnt set up that way.

We lived in PB and only had one car. We took my husband down to the trolley station and he rode his bike the rest of the way to the Navy base. It is difficult, but not impossible to get around. If you get yourself near a trolley station, its not as much of a problem. I'd say mission valley is a good choice They have malls, apartments, and a trolley station. Its also a little less expensive to live there, and not too far from mission bay.