Some Tips

HOSTELS

Hostelling International USA (sandiegohostels.org) - $16-22 per night
San Diego Downtown - 521 Market Street (619-525-1531). Experience the eclectic Gaslamp Quarter! Great Nightlife! Minutes from city bus, trolley, airport Greyhound, Amtrak and Convention Center., Balboa Park, the Zoo, Sea World and beaches. Free breakfast.

Point Loma: 3790 Udall Street (619-223-4778). Located next to San Diego's famous Ocean Beach in the relaxed neighborhood of Point Loma. Free breakfast.

Banana Bungalow: Pacific Beach (independently owned) - 707 Reed Ave (858-273-3060). California's only beach-front hostel. Ideal location for surfing, sun-bathing and partying. Minutes from the best bars, clubs and restaurants. Freebies: breakfast, weekly BBQ, wireless internet access, body board, rollerblades, linens, parking.

The Island Inn: 202 Island Avenue (Downtown) 619-232-4138. This is a residential hotel which functions a temporary housing for approximately $120-$140 a week. The residents are limited to employed people making less than $38,000/year and the rooms have microwaves, refrigerators, and private baths.

Ocean Beach International Hostel: 4961 Newport Avenue 619-223-7873. This hostel is a great place to stay if you are interested in getting a feel for San Diego’s beach communities such as Pacific Beach and Ocean Beach.

Grand Pacific Hostel: 726 5th Ave 619-232-3100. Because this hostel is located in the heart of downtown San Diego, you may have trouble finding parking nearby, but it’s a good place to be if you’re thinking of living in any of the downtown communities such as Bankers Hill or Golden Hill.

Some resources for apartment/house listings include the Union Tribune, The Reader, The Gay and Lesbian Times, The Pennysaver, and For Rent Magazine. There are usually Roommate Wanted signs posted around UCSD (especially their housing complexes) and TSRI. Web pages that list apartments for rent in the San Diego area include The Reader rental section (www.sdreader.com) and The Union Tribune classifieds section (www.uniontrib.com/classifieds/rentals.html). Another invaluable resource is the Thomas Guide - a book containing a series of area maps put together on a grid, showing detail of the neighborhood street level. Thomas Guides are available in bookstores, grocery stores, and drug stores.

If you're having trouble with your landlord, or want to know more about tenant law in San Diego, some good resources are:

Tenants Legal Center of San Diego: 5252 Balboa Ave. #408 (858-277-7400) www.tenantslegalcenter.com

State of California Department of Consumer Affairs: www.dca.ca.gov/legal/landlordbook/index.html

The following is a listing of some of the more popular areas to live the approximate monthly cost for a one bedroom apartment is indicated in brackets after the name of the area.

Banker’s Hill

This area just west of Balboa Park is where the rich people lived a century ago. As a result, there are lots of beautiful Victorian homes here that have been converted into flats. Unfortunately, all the really beautiful houses are law offices. However, pilots line up their approach to Lindberg Field on Laurel or Ivy Street, which may explain why we can afford to live there now. You do get used to the planes eventually though, and there are ordinances that restrict incoming and outgoing air traffic during sleeping hours. Some major advantages to living in this area are its proximity to Downtown, the Gaslamp Quarter, and Balboa Park, creating a really nice residential neighborhood in a downtown setting.

Bay Park

Sea World, Mission Bay Park, and Fiesta Island along with a number of resorts, hotels, and other attractions make up the commercial and tourist elements near this seaside community. Bay Park borders on the westerly side of Clairemont across the freeway from Mission Bay, and offers easy access to I-5 and I-8. Housing options range from single- to multi-family housing units. The area east of Morena is very nice and residential, with great houses. This area perched on the water's edge has an elevation of about 125 feet, providing a magnificent view of San Diego, Coronado Beach, and the Pacific Ocean. The neighborhood is fairly heavily traveled, making noise somewhat of a problem.

Clairemont

Clairemont is just south of UTC and Scripps, between interstates 5 and 805. It is a large area and variable in living conditions. Some parts are very nice, while in others there are bars on the windows. In general, the more northern areas of Clairemont tend to be safer, nicer, and thereby more expensive. The best bet is to actually check out the specific place/area before moving in. It should be noted that none of the areas of Clairemont are that dangerous, especially when compared to most other urban areas. This neighborhood does not have the nightlife of the beach communities or Hillcrest, but there are many stores, shopping malls, and a few bars and clubs. A large stretch of Tecolote Canyon Natural Park cuts through the community's center, making jogging and biking in a natural setting easily accessible.

Del Mar

This once sleepy beach community is now home to the rich and famous (the median household income in this community is $81,001). Del Mar consists of breathtaking canyons interspersed with hillsides of homes. The commercial strip, Camino del Mar, is home to coffee shops and assorted expensive stores. The neighborhoods are really cute but very expensive. Advantages to living in Del Mar include proximity to TSRI, a breath-taking drive to and from work, and great beaches a stone's throw away. If you can find a place here that you can afford, definitely rent it. Disadvantages include traffic during the race season or the Del Mar Fair, and a long drive to downtown San Diego. Houses just off of Del Mar Heights Rd. are a lot more affordable. The inhabitants of Del Mar are the older, responsible types - just the opposite of the Pacific Beach crowd. So, if you want the beach but not all the hype, live in Del Mar.

Golden Hill

This is the area east of Balboa Park and south of North Park. Golden Hill is a residential area that is marked by several canyons that crisscross their way through the neighborhood. The presence of these canyons brings lots of wildlife to the area (coyotes, skunks, birds, and foxes) which can be both good and bad. There are also good parts and bad parts to this neighborhood. Anything south of A Street or north of Juniper Street is pretty sketchy (i.e.; populated by gangs and crack houses). But there are also some really great houses that can be rented really cheap. Golden Hill is in a prime location with easy access to highways, downtown, Hillcrest, North Park, and Balboa Park and a very rural setting (picture ice cream trucks rolling through the neighborhood on hot summer days). There are also a lot of small dive-bars and corner stores that dot this neighborhood. The commute to Scripps is only 20 minutes.

Hillcrest

This area is known as the nightlife center of uptown, as well as the gay district. There are lots of clubs, bars, good restaurants and coffeehouses here, and a rapidly dwindling number of movie theaters. But, you have to pay the price for the good location - rent is much higher than the surrounding neighborhoods, and the houses aren't as nice. Also, it is rumored that there is a high crime rate here.

Kensington

At the eastern end of Adams Avenue, on the southern rim of Mission Valley, Kensington is one of the most charming neighborhoods in San Diego. The many Spanish style houses along the streets have kept their original beauty. The homes reflect the neighborhood's cheerful character. The relaxing atmosphere of the neighborhood can be seen as Kensington residents enjoy a capucchino at the Kensington Coffee Company on Adams Avenue or walk peacefully through the neighborhood park. The Ken movie theater which plays mostly revival and art films and Kensington Video which offers a wide variety of videos that cannot be found at most other stores are also located here. Housing to the north of Adams Avenue tends to be much nicer than to the south. However, the neighborhood is rather pricey and rentals are few and far between.

La Jolla

If you have an abundant discretionary income, and you want the world to know about it, you live in La Jolla. In order to keep the place exclusive, locals have stifled traffic-flow improvement, and so rush hours are nightmarish crawls. But if you can stand snobby people and traffic, and manage to snag a cheap beachfront apartment, by all means live here. The village is cute and European-style with cafes and small expensive shops. Proximity to the beach and good surfing spots make this an appealing place.

Mission Beach

One of the cheaper beach communities to live in, Mission Beach is as filled with bars and young people as Pacific Beach, but tends to have less of a Frat atmosphere. The centerpiece of Mission Beach is the rollercoaster as seen in MTV’s SoCal summer. The houses here are tightly packed and very small, but all are located with minutes from the beach. Property here tends to be much more expensive during the summer months as vacationers like to rent the little beach houses.

Mission Hills

Mission Hills is just west of Hillcrest, and as a result the two neighborhoods blend together. The advantage of living in Mission Hills over Hillcrest is that Mission Hills offers a more residential setting that is within walking distance of lots of cool restaurants and bars. Mission Hills north of Washington Street is an upper class suburban neighborhood, and although the houses are really nice, you'll be hard pressed to find something in your price range here. If you do manage to score a house in this area you will be rewarded with low crime rates, and a peaceful neighborhood. Southern Mission Hills (south of Washington Street) is a maze of canyons and cul de sacs. It is lower rent than the north part, and is closer to Hillcrest and its diversions, but the houses aren't as nice and the neighborhood is not as quiet. Some places have really nice views of downtown or the bay.

Normal Heights

Located west of Kensington and between I-805 and Highway 163, Normal Heights was annexed to the city of San Diego in 1924. It was built around the Carteri Center, a planned shopping district. Residents describe Normal Heights as a charming suburbia with a lot of potential, which has something for everyone. It is described as being one of the less transient and more quiet communities of San Diego County, though Normal Heights' busy Adams Avenue is the hub of the community. Here you can stroll through 39 blocks of antique shops, local taverns, book stores, cafes, shops, clubs and restaurants. In the spring the free annual folk music Roots Festival takes place, where a myriad of music genres are represented, and in September of every year the Street Fair takes place, where a variety of arts and crafts vendors and exotic foods are to be found, among other novelties. The homes in Normal Heights range from cozy bungalow styles to large Victorian and traditional homes. They are typically neatly tended with well-manicured lawns.

North Park

Located along the north and east sides of Balboa Park, this neighborhood consists of a mixture of business districts (along 30th St., El Cajon Blvd., and University Ave) and residential areas. Two notable land marks here are the giant "North Park" sign in the center of University near 30th Street, and the "The Boulevard" sign on the west end of El Cajon Blvd. North Park is host to the annual Toyland Parade that starts off the Christmas season. This neighborhood was one of the first suburbs of San Diego when the city began to grow early in this century. Residences in North Park range from the fair to dingy. Most apartments in this area are of the "six-pack" variety - ugly square buildings with parking spaces in front and entrances around the sides although occasionally you may be able to snag a house or a little cottage.

Ocean Beach

Ocean Beach is a lot more laid back than Pacific Beach. It has all the advantages of PB (beach, small vibrant community) but is a lot mellower. OB was a haven for flower children in the 1960s, and many have since retired there. As with many beach communities there is a strong surfing influence. OB is characterized by Grateful Dead/Phish fans and surf shops. Newport Avenue has character with many antique shops and old-fashioned diagonal parking. Residential areas are a mixture of funky cottages and more family-oriented neighborhoods. There are also expensive cliff-side homes along Sunset Cliffs Boulevard. Many dog owners chose to live here because of Dog Beach. This is one of the few beaches in San Diego that allows dogs.

Pacific Beach

Pacific Beach is a community for surfers, college kids, and people with multiple piercings and tattoos. The largest population group in this area is 25 to 34 years old. Its close proximity to the beach and abundant nightlife make it a popular place to live. Houses/apartments get cheaper as you get further inland, and beachfront property is pretty hard to come by, and usually pretty slummy and expensive. The Farmer's Market on Saturday from 8 am to 12 Noon at the Promenade Mall in PB (4150 Mission Blvd.) is another draw of the neighborhood.

University Heights

University Heights is located north of Hillcrest and west of Normal Heights. It's a quaint little neighborhood with several restaurants, bars, and bookstores and a nice park good for napping on a Sunday. The area is more upscale than the surrounding Hillcrest and Normal Heights, but it's not quite as affluent as Mission Hills. As a result, the neighborhood feels safe and very rural. Parts of University Heights just north of Hillcrest, and also north of Adams Avenue are good bets if you are looking for a house to rent.

University Town Center

University Town Center (UTC) is the closest residential area to Scripps. It is made up of almost entirely strip malls and apartment and condominium complexes. Although it lacks some of the interesting character of other areas of San Diego, its location with respect to Scripps (5-10 min drive) makes it especially appealing. Biking to Scripps is also a good option for those who live in the area - it doesn't take much longer to bike than it does to drive. UTC is generally the area of choice for first year Scripps students to live in. There are a good number of supermarkets (Vons, Albertsons, Ralph's, Whole Foods) as well as a couple of malls, shopping centers, and movie theaters in the area. The beach (La Jolla Shores or Torrey Pines) is only about a 10-min drive from most complexes. However, affordable housing in UTC for a grad student is pretty limited. Below are short summaries of some of the main apartment complexes in the area. These are just a small sample of the numerous housing options in the UTC area. In general, you can be confident that almost every place in the area will not be a dump.

Canyon Park 858-452-9920: This is by far the most common (and convenient) place to live in UTC among grad students and post docs. The 2 BR apartments have 1.5 bathrooms (a full one and another with just a toilet and sink). All apartments have either a small balcony or patio and refrigerator and dishwashing machine. There are 2 pools and hot tubs, as well as several laundry rooms and a "party room" which can be reserved. It is located about 2 miles from Scripps and is one of the cheapest places to live in UTC. The buildings date from the 1970s or so, and are in good shape. Currently, Scripps will deduct your rent from your stipend check, so you don't have to worry about making the rent payment on time. Uncovered parking is available.

International Gardens 858-587-9997: These apartments are located south of Nobel Dr., approximately 3-4 miles from Scripps. All of these units contain fireplaces and reserved underground parking is available. It should be noted that the 2 BR are dual masters, which means that each bedroom has its own bathroom.

La Jolla Canyon 858-457-5161: Located right next to Canyon Park. Not all apartments have dishwashers. There is a pool and spa, as well as a fitness center and supposedly a sauna. The apartments appear to be about the same vintage as Canyon Park. Uncovered parking is available.

La Regencia 858-558-0616: These are actually condos, with an advantage that every unit has its own washer and dryer. The complex is about 3-4 miles from Scripps. These condos do have air conditioning, a pool / spa, and a racquetball court.

Padre Gardens 858-453-4620: The cheapest place to live in UTC and it shows. The facilities are not in as good of condition as other places in UTC. There are pool facilities as well as a picnic and BBQ area. No pets are allowed and uncovered parking is available.

Trieste 858-455-0701: These apartments have gated access for extra safety. They are 3 miles from Scripps and some units contain washer/dryer and/or a fireplace. The whole complex looks kind of like a castle (or fortress) from the exterior.