Moving to san diego: sure, why not?
Photo: Slack12
There are a lot of reasons to move to San Diego. Obviously there’s the weather factor. That the city just increased its minimum wage from $9 to $11.50 is another good sign. Business in the area is booming and, in terms of real estate there’s some great stuff if you know how and where to look for it.
Home Hunting
Unless you are already familiar with San Diego and its suburbs, you’ll want to hold off on looking for a house to buy for at least a few months (it’s better to give it a year). Instead, what you want to do is find apartments for rent in San Diego. Renting is great because it gives you a safe place to live without requiring a huge commitment. Most leases top out at twelve months. That should be enough time to learn your way around, find jobs (assuming you aren’t relocating for work purposes) and explore the city to figure out which neighborhood really works best for you and your family.
Start Early
It is important to pay at least one visit to the city before you actually move there--especially if you’re going to be moving with kids. You need to make a scouting trip to tour schools and find that apartment we already mentioned. If you’re on your own you might be able to just fly in, check into a hotel for a few days and find a place relatively quickly (and to sweet talk a friend or family member to keep your stuff until you’re settled) but moving with a family takes more prep work. Plan on spending at least a week in town before you make the actual move with all of your stuff and the rest of your family.
It’s also important, if you have kids, that you start getting them used to the idea of living in a new city as early as possible. Spend some time exploring the city with Google Maps. Take virtual tours of places like the San Diego Zoo, Sea World, etc. Point out how close you are to attractions like Disneyland. Let them literally see where they will be living and going to school. It will help with the adjustment process and make San Diego seem more exciting than scary.
Hiring Movers Vs. DiY Moving
A lot of people choose the DiY route because it seems cheaper than hiring professionals to do the heavy lifting for them. Here’s the thing, though: depending on how far you have to travel from your current home to your new home in San Diego, the costs could end up relatively the same. This is because one-way moves are usually more expensive when you rent your own moving van. You’ll also have to pay for all of the gas you use and there are usually mileage fees as well. Add all of that to the amount of money you’ll spend driving your own car(s) to San Diego (do not try to cram your entire family into a U-Haul truck cab) and you might end up spending more to DiY it. Make sure you actually run the numbers before you make your final decision. It might be cheaper as well as easier to hire pros to do the moving for you.
Details Schmetails
There are lots of details that will need attending once you get to town. Obviously you will need to unpack your stuff (and find storage for whatever doesn’t fit into your apartment) and get your kids settled into their schools. You’ll need to get settled in to your new office or find employment. Then there are the “other” things:
- Getting a California driver’s license
- Registering your car(s) in California and getting new plates and tags for them
- Registering to vote
- Getting new library cards
- Registering any pets with your local city and getting their new collar tags
- Finding new doctors, dentists, veterenarians, etc.
- Setting up renter’s insurance, car insurance, etc
- Updating your address
These are just a few of the things you will need to take care of once you get to town.
Remember: moving to a new city or state is a big process. But! If you mind your details there’s no reason it can’t go smoothly.