San Diego and Santa Barbara people here?

[mila]

A good friend of mine and her husband (mid 40s) are retiring at the end of this year and are looking to rent an Airbnb to San Diego or Santa Barbara as they plan to eventually move long term to California.

They are both healthy and enjoy walking/staying fit, and are looking for a neighborhood that is walkable to good dining. They hope to be near the beach, but doesn’t need to be within waking distance.

Any neighborhood recommendations in either cities? They are trying to keep their monthly stay to ~$3-$4k per month, and likely in Sep or Oct.

[scribellesam]

North Park and South Park in San Diego are nice and more walkable areas of the city with lots of great dining options. Not near the beach but an easy 15-20 minutes drive away. Pacific Beach and Ocean Beach are beach communities with good dining but have a more party/stoner/college student feel to them, so I’m not sure what vibe they are looking for. There are probably some nice neighborhoods in North County too but I don’t know that area well.

[mila]

Jan 25, 2021 13:18:14 GMT -5 scribellesam said:

North Park and South Park in San Diego are nice and more walkable areas of the city with lots of great dining options. Not near the beach but an easy 15-20 minutes drive away. Pacific Beach and Ocean Beach are beach communities with good dining but have a more party/stoner/college student feel to them, so I’m not sure what vibe they are looking for. There are probably some nice neighborhoods in North County too but I don’t know that area well.

Good to know about he beaches, and they are definitely not into the party scene!

[devonpow]

I grew up in Santa Barbara but haven’t lived there since I went to college. I would look on the Mesa or downtown Santa Barbara off State Street.

[gretchenindisguise]

North County San Diego communities to look into:

Del Mar
Solana Beach
Encintas
Leucadia
Carlsbad

[sakoro]

I don't know what their budget is like, but I'll put a plug in for San Diego South Bay, which often gets snubbed due to our proximity to the border.

If they have a large budget, I'd look into Coronado, a peninsula city that is highly walkable and on the beach. I also recommend Bonita, an unincorporated area that has a lot of open spaces and trails. Also, eastern Chula Vista has many newer houses/ condos and townhouses with nice trails and a large regional park by a lake; however, it is pretty car-dependent.

[meganew]

Coronado and La Jolla if they can afford it. If I could retire at 40-something and get a teeny tiny condo or something there I would be happy for the rest of my life.

This is my day dream fuel for the rest of the day now, btw.

[formerlyak]

In SB, I'd look for someplace off State Street if they want walkable.

[sicilygirl]

In San Diego, I would stay away from Mission Beach (super touristy) and Pacific Beach (college kids), but Ocean Beach/Point Loma is a great area in my opinion. Very central within San Diego and easy highway access to explore other parts of the city.

Ocean Beach is sort of the hippie/laidback beach, but it has lots of great restaurants, bars, and shops and tons of cute beach cottages to rent.

Point Loma is the next neighborhood over and is a peninsula that has great access to Sunset Cliffs (gorgeous hiking, tide pools, and obviously views) and the bay where there are lots of boating/water activities. It’s also home to Liberty Station which has a food hall, shops, movie theater, small museums, and is sort of a hub for the arts. Point Loma is more bikeable, but OB is very walkable.

Access to Little Italy, Downtown, Balboa Park (and its surrounding neighborhoods which are all great - Hillcrest, North Park, South Park) are all within a 10-15 minute drive.

[sicilygirl]

Jan 26, 2021 15:27:31 GMT -5 meganew said:

Coronado and La Jolla if they can afford it. If I could retire at 40-something and get a teeny tiny condo or something there I would be happy for the rest of my life.

This is my day dream fuel for the rest of the day now, btw.

Coronado and La Jolla are both absolutely beautiful, with great beaches and shopping/dining but just wanted to mention that in addition to be really pricey neighborhoods, they are quite Trump-y (Coronado especially), if that matters to them.

[mags]

Ocean Beach is my favorite
We like Del Mar as well

My opinion is just from a frequent visitor. I never lived there.