What’s it like by the beach? I mean, it Is San Diego. When someone says San Diego, two things come to mind for me at least almost immediately. Amazing sunny weather and well the beach. I think most of us will agree that its pretty difficult to have a bad day spending time at any of San Diego’s incredible beaches but what’s it like to actually live at or near the beach. I don’t mean visit for the day, not spending the weekend in a vacation rental, I mean actually living near the beach full time, all the time.

These are the top 5 things you should know if you are considering living near the beach.

Lifestyle and Location

The number one thing you need to consider is exactly what beach or beach neighborhood are you considering living in. The lifestyle difference between San Diego’s beach towns can be drastically different per location. Living in a beach bungalow 3 blocks from the sand in Pacific Beach is going to be a drastically different experience then say living in a beach bungalow 3 blocks from the beach in Del Mar. Living in a condo on the cliffs at Solana Beach is going to be extremely different than living in a condo in Ocean Beach. Some areas are full of young college aged residents there to party. When the sun goes down, they come to life. Other beach areas are laid back, slow paced, and basically turn down as the sun goes down. Research the area you are considering carefully because if you get this wrong, you could be very unhappy.

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Cost of Living

A second consideration to make is the cost of living. Have you ever heard the saying location, location, location? Living near the beach and ocean is most likely going to have a premium attached to it. If you are looking to save money, you might want to consider either renting or buying something slightly more inland in San Diego because most housing anywhere remotely close to the ocean will be available but at a premium cost. Plus depending on the specific neighborhood, everything else might be more expensive as well. Locations that get more tourists than other generally charge more. Guess what? Tourists love the beach. What you pay for a sandwich or cup of coffee in the suburbs of San Diego is not always what you pay at the beach.

You Get Less for Your Money

Consideration number three is sort of related to what we just talked about above but for what you pay in housing, either buying a house or renting a house or apartment, you tend to get less space, a smaller home, and in a lot of cases, an older home. Not all the homes near the beach are old but a lot of them are. For rentals, a ton of them tend to be slightly aged. If you are looking for brand new shiny fancy apartment, look in the city in areas like Little Italy. You won’t find many of those in the beach areas. Also, let’s say you want to buy a home and have a little yard space? This can be very difficult to find near any of the San Diego beaches. Unless you are talking millions of dollars. It’s possible but it going to cost you.

Traffic

A fourth consideration that I see people forget about all the time is to consider traffic. Does traffic drive you nuts? Who doesn’t hate traffic. Try driving into La Jolla during rush hour. Ever driven south to North past Del Mar? Better yet, how about driving down Mission Blvd during the weekend in the summer or the 4^th of July? When the weather is good, and that happens a lot in San Diego, people flock to the beaches. Guess what else? Most people in San Diego drive. Beach communities can easily get overwhelmed with traffic on any given day. If you live at the beach and are trying to leave or maybe drive back home from a long day at work. If you pick the wrong time, you can find your self sitting in serious traffic just blocks from you own home. When I lived by the beach (which was amazing by the way), I just learned to use my car as little as possible. I made use of my bike and my feet at all costs. I knew when to be on the road and more importantly when to be off the roads. Near the beach, traffic is definitely a thing.

The Marine Layer

For number five, this is going to seem weird, especially if you are not from San Diego but the sun is not shining. You’ve been lied to. Seriously though, there is a marine layer near the coastline all the way up and down San Diego that can sit and block the sun on even the most beautiful San Diego day for the vast majority of the day, all the way into the late afternoon. You can be driving in from lets say Talmadge or Rolando near San Diego State where its 80 degrees and not a cloud in site. You roll up to the entrance to Pacific Beach and boom you see it. Gray clouds all the way tot eh south and north that seem to sit just over the waves, the sand, and inland a few blocks. There is usually very clear line or distinction. You will see clouds and mist of one side and then sunshine on the other. It pretty much sits exactly where you want to be on the sand. One of nature’s funny jokes.

So those are 5 things I think you need to consider if you are considering a move to and living near any of the beach areas throughout San Diego. That being said, I think living by the beach is fantastic. The pros by far outweigh the cons. If you need any help with moving to or living in near the ocean in San Diego, I’m always happy to help.

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