I just love San Diego I lived there for three years and loved every minute of it. I was very sad to leave. They call it the best city in America for a reason. The cost of living in CA is very expensive, even more so in southern CA. You might want to try looking into some of the suburbs in San Diego you can find “cheaper” housing there, think small because that is really all you are going to get. We paid about $1900 in rent for a two bedroom small apartment and about $250 for water and $200 for electric. If you are going to rent an apartment be sure to ask them what utilities are included. Gas ran about $100 or so per a month might be more now with the hike. Also remember that gas for your car is about $3.59 per a gallon and stuff like food here is a little more expensive than say NM Here are some good places to look for a home:
There are a lot of places that are nice to live. I lived in Ocean Beach which was wonderful! Very small little town outside of San Diego, nice beach feel. I lived here and just loved it! Had a place close to the beach. Great nightlife and wonderful people.
http://gothere.com/sandiego/oceanbeach/... www.oceanbeachonline.com
There are also some really great lofts and places downtown. They are really re-doing the city. If you are person that would be interested in living in downtown be sure to do some research, you can really get some neat places.
Chula Vista is a great place, it is one of the fastest growing cities in the suburbs of San Diego, could be a good place for housing. They are growing fast and there is a lot of new construction. They have some really good schools and a low crime rate.
http://www.ci.chula-vista.ca.us/... La Mesa is also a very fun place with small town charm. They have some wonderful places to live here and it is very beautiful. They have everything you need and are consistently updating their city.
http://www.cityoflamesa.com/ Escondido is wonderful!!! Had friends that live her they love it. Good place for their family. Nice area. I love going to visit them people are so friendly here. Love it love it love it! They have some really cool old houses and townhouse here. Very cool
http://www.ci.escondido.ca.us/ Encinitas is also a great place. They have some crazy homes here. This would be the "Mega" burb of San Diego. This place has both costal living in inland appeal. Nice area can get a little pricey. If you live here you will have to deal with the I-5 commute which can be a pain.
http://www.ci.encinitas.ca.us/ Ramona is a little further out but, this place really is a cool little town. Has the old main street, people smile, real charm here. Nice town you could get a nice place for your money here. Ramona has great parks and can you believe they are a horse friendly community! Nice place be sure to check them out I really like it here!
http://www.ramonachamber.com/visitors_gu... San Marco is also a young upstart community. Nice place to establish some roots. Nice neighborhoods. There are 3 colleges there, and the town itself is really working hard to establish it self. There is a lot of new housing and retail popping up all over this place be sure to check them out.
http://www.ci.san-marcos.ca.us/... Also Try PB (Pacific Beach) very nice place can get over run with tourist, good beach town. You can find some studios here is you do some looking. There is a great nightlife here and a ton of stuff to do with in walking distance of your pad.
www.pacificbeach.org/
In all the places that you are looking to move be sure to contact the local chamber of commerce they will send you a FREE location packet that has cost of housing info, crime stats, income stats, ect… Very helpful when looking for a place to move! As for jobs I did not have an issue with finding one but, it depends on what you want to do. I would check on Monster, Yahoo and some other jobs sites, see what they have posted. I would also start the process before I moved, a lot of companies will do phone interviews. Also Google companies in your field and research them go to their websites find out what they are hiring for! There are a ton of companies in the San Diego area you should have no trouble finding a job! I hope this helps you, good luck on your move and say to the ocean for me!