<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad,</p>
<p>Wrong city to not be a surfer, that’s for sure. Still, some museums or even a decent bar around here would be nice.</p>
<p>I lived at the south end of Mission Beach and it was wonderful, but you needed a car to get most anywhere quickly. Even the grocery store was a mile or more.</p>
<p>public transportation…forget that you will need some form of personal transportation</p>
<p>San Diego, like a lot of California cities, is a sprawl. It is very difficult to gauge whether your son can get around only on public transportation. However, I don’t know of anyone whose employed kids don’t have use of a car, except perhaps San Francisco.
An entry level salary at $40K is very common here and most kids get by easily. I have heard however, that parents often supplement the cost of auto insurance for their kids during the first few years of their working lives.</p>
<p>First you need to know something about automobiles or know some on who does…second you need to find a good mechanic the person who knows about automobiles can help here….</p>
<p>Budget $1250.00 to buy any Honda, Toyota or Volvo 240. Before you buy the car take it to the good mechanic have him or her look it over very carefully and give you an estimate to “bring up to snuff” be prepared to spend $2000.00…… spend the money…maintain the car by “the book” drive it for 6 or 7 years…go out do the same after the 6 or 7 years…</p>
<p>Always remember to not spend money on a depreciating asset…the automobile is the prime example of a depreciating asset….</p>
<p>Depends. So are televisions and most other consumer goods. The more important question is “how much utility will I get out of it?”</p>
<p>Spend money on what gets you the most utility.</p>
<p>I appreciate a good car and it gives me lots of enjoyment (utils). My older ones have more than tripled in value since I bought them so they don’t all go down.</p>
<p>Relatives live in San Diego. We’ve visited several times. I would suggest the inexpensive used car option. Any chance this OP’s kid knows someone they can share an apartment with? That would really make this doable.</p>
<p>I can’t get TV reception without having to spring for cable. Another $$ sink.</p>
<p>I couldn’t imagine living in San Diego without a car. What am I going to do when the kids take my license away???</p>
<p>
It depends on the car and the deal. I’ve owned cars that have appreciated due to a good purchase deal on my part (used cars). I also drive an old (1966) Mustang as a daily driver and it goes up in value every year and is reliable and cheap and easy to work on as well. A careful choice of a used car should be on the flatter part of the depreciation curve. New cars do depreciate though. Regardless, knowing how to work on cars or having a decent mechanic is good advice.</p>
<p>Sharing an apartment/condo is a common way to cut housing costs for people just starting out. Depending on the person it can also decrease the loneliness and provide someone to pal around with.</p>
<p>ellemenope’s point of TV is a good one. The San Diego area is full of hills and valleys so over the air reception can be limited so most people have cable or satellite. My D had an apartment in La Jolla that received about 3 1/2 stations over the air. OTOH I have a couple of hundred cable channels but still can’t find anything to watch half the time.</p>
<p>Do you have any ideas of the area your S is interested in or the types of activities he’s most interested in? We might be able to help more with that info.</p>
<p>UCLARi: Bars = Pacific Beach/Mission Beach area. PB is only a few minutes from UCSD. La Jolla has a few museums but aside from that I guess it’d mostly be downtown for those.</p>
<p>289 or a Six?</p>
<p>289 - convertible</p>
<p>ucsd<em>ucla</em>dad,</p>
<p>Sure, PB and MB have bars, but you sure as heck can’t drink much when you go out… the buses all stop too early and cabs are prohibitively expensive.</p>
<p>And really, even downtown museums suck. SD makes me long for the Guggenheim, the Smithsonian, or even the Getty.</p>
<p>UCLARi:</p>
<p>You’re right about the buses. If people are into that they should think about living there so they can walk between their home and the nightspots as a lot of students and post-students do. </p>
<p>It’s hard to beat the Smithsonian!</p>
<p>Sweet. A good friend of mine in HS had one of those in orange and we felt very important cruising the DQ in it. Color me green.</p>
<p>One thing may change your affordability by a lot is whether you want to have a roommate. If you find someone compatible and committed to a lease, you can offset half of your rent, internet/tv and other costs. If you insist on living alone you will have to look harder to find what you want and make sacrifice on other areas to make it. It all depends on how you want to live.</p>
<p>I have found even in pricy San Francisco there are pocket of good deals like a former warehouse district that is on the up and coming.</p>
<p>My cousin lives in San Diego on a very limited income and cannot drive. He still manages to get around, though he has unlimited time.</p>
<p>I also drive an old (1966) Mustang as a daily driver and it goes up in value every year and is reliable and cheap and easy to work on as well.</p>
<p>An excellent example of an appreciating asset and one that has utility. I would requimend a 1966 289 ci Mustang convertible as one of the very best deals in the world. I would buy one tomorrow if I had the opportunity. </p>
<p>However most automobiles are depreciating assets and I suggest someone just starting out should avoid putting a lot money into them.</p>
<p>Is where my nephew lives near UCSD. One of the boy’s parents bought it and now the place is not appreciating, not making mortgage, and difficult to sell (all seniors).</p>