San Diego vs. Washington

[ValGal]

Hiya,
I'm a newbie & lead to this site by my neighbor LightHouse Girl. Soooo here's the big debate...
I'm from Orlando, born & raised. Hubby has been stationed up & down the east coast for the last 15 years. Next year his tour here in Charleston, SC is up & I really really want to get off the east coast for his last few years (he can retire in just over 4 years). I KNOW Washington is beautiful but i'm fairly certain the lack of sun more than half the year would cause me to wither & die. I'm a summer FREAK & summer lasts most of the year in the south. I'm pretty sure San Diego is where I want to be but from time to time I hear some rather disturbing things about it. I get that there is traffic & the cost of living is high. Traffic is horrible in Orlando but it's all I've ever known. Can someone please put an end to the rumors that elementary school kids bring knives or worse to school & that the neighborhoods are horrible? There are always scary areas surrounding any decent size city. We just know to stay away from them. Someone please tell me housing is decent & my kids aren't forever going to be ruined from being in school in San Diego...
Thanks for any info you may have,
Val

[Becca]

Washington rocks

I know, I'm no help.

Good to see ya Val!!

[Germanchick]

Can't help you on San Diego, never been there. We are stationed in WA right now and both LOVE it. Sure,, it rains a lot but actually it doesn't seem that bad to me as it is not much different where I am from. lol

[Kaymara]

I am from WA so I am probably a little biased. Both are going to have big pros and cons. And the last time I was in CA was 90-96. But

Cost of living is high in CA. And raising in WA. But still lower in WA then CA. As far as schools go. Unfortuntly you will find that ANYWHERE now a days. Washington isn;t immune. Just research the schools. There are good schools in WA and in CA. If you like warmer weather and the sun then CA is probably where you want to be. It DOES rain alot in WA but not as much as other places. It is just grey clouds and drizzly alot of the time. Many other places get more rainfall total amounts then WA. And summers cannot be beat out there

Most the housing out there (CA) is pretty nice. And I know alot of the girls on here live in housing out in CA. I never lived in housing in WA just out in town. There is a ton to do in both places. In fact our top choices are going back to CA or WA. The cost of living does scare us for CA. And no your children wont be ruined by going to school out there. My neice graduated in CA an honor student, straight A's, scholoarship, head cheerleader, dance squad, homecoming queen, etc etc. It all depends on WHERE you go. And like with anywhere you will have good and bad schools. Just research em!

G'luck! Like I said we are debating WA, CA or even hawaii. I have family in CA and WA so I am leaning towards that since I havent lived near family in so long.

[April]

Never lived in SD and I'm scared of it too

WA is not as cloudy/rainy as people make it seem. But it is much cooler for so long. If you are a summer person it will be hard.
We have lived in Bremerton for 6 weeks and it has rarely rained during the day. For the most part it has been mostly sunny and in the 60's. I'm sure winter is wetter. From August to March we were in Whidbey Island and they get much less rain---less then half of Seattle. But it is colder and windy .

[Trey]

I lived in WA my whole life and just moved to San Diego a few months ago. I love Washington, but I am probably biased.
Washingto is good b/c I like having four seasons. The traffic is a little better than San Diego, but not that much. Another difference I noted is that in San Diego, there is a wait every night of the week. In WA, its only Fri and Sat nights that you have a wait.

Also with San Diego, cost of living is outrageous! Just things like gas, groceries, housing, EVERYTHING is much more expensive here! My hubby and I are really struggling and he is working for the Navy and has a part time newspaper delivery job, and I am working seasonally, as well as part-time with a little girl. And we are STILL struggling!

There is a lot to do down here, but I think that is the same in WA state.. The beaches are nice to go hang out at on the weekend (free).

I haven't lived in housing, but I have friends who do, and most of their places are pretty nice, but usually the houses are PACKED together, but thats how it is all over San Diego. We were shocked that million dollar homes down here are built just a few feet from eachother!

Regarding school, I do not have any school age children, but I think it depends on the neighborhood as well.... I know that Michelle has had some problems with her elementary school, yet I have heard great things about the Poway school district, so it just depends.

My best piece of advice would be to look at a budget and see if you can afford to live here. We lived in a two bed two bath apt in WA for 850 a month, down here, one the same size (albeit a bit nicer) is 1665, no utilities included. If you are going to live in housing, do a budget around that and see if you can work it out. I would be happy to give you estimates of services and what not...

HTH, if you have any more questions, feel free to ask.

[Gabrielle18]

I hope someone replies, I really would love to know more about San Diego too!!

[Brandi]

I would not underestimate how important it is to have sunshine and warmth if that's what you are used to. I was born and raised in the south and got this crazy hair up my butt when hubby was choosing orders. I thought I wanted a break from the heat and sun because that's all I had ever known. So, I'm thinking Great Lakes, IL- REAL WINTERS, REAL SNOW, a break from the sun and heat, etc. Well, long story short, I got about 4 or 5 months into living here and was MISERABLE from lack of sunshine and warmth. The winters are long and cold and cause me to suffer from extreme seasonal depression. I guess seasonable depression would be managable except for the fact that the season that causes me to get depressed is almost year round I know IL isn't exactly the same as WA but if the lack of sun and cold are anything similar, I know I would be just as miserable. I totally underestimated how much influence decent weather has over my whole emotional well being. That's definitely something to think about. I'm sure Becca can vouch for how much it's truly effected me. I'll never complain about the sun or heat for as long as I live after being here. The summers are mild and it's nice to have snow on Christmas. BUT, it's just too extreme. I'd rather deal with extreme sun and extreme heat than walk around feeling like a zombie I don't have any other advice for you. Just wanted to share my little experience.

[Rachael]

Ive only been to Washington driving through, but I have heard about the cruddy weather a lot of the time and for me that would be an immediate no go unless we had to go there no choice. I love the weather out here, and yes it really is expensive.....VERY expensive, but for me its worth it. The school situation really depends on the area you live in....like Trey said, the schools a little more north are a lot better then the ones down in chula/national city area. I dont think Pt Loma is bad either....really nice area. After living here, I dont ever want to leave. Ohhh and yes the driving sucks, but like you said you lived in Orlando and I have driven through Orlando.....pretty similar I thought! Good luck in your decision....definitely weigh all pros n cons and you can look up housing pictures online.

I have never been to WA but would love to go
We were in SD though for 4 years and absolutely loved it.
between SD, Norfolk, Charleston and now Corpus Christi we prefer SD over all of them and we are from NC.
I agree with kristi as long as you research the schools your kids should be fine. We only had one child there and he was too young for school so I have no help on that.
Good luck deciding