San Diego is huge, so it's not really enough to go on.
Buying a house on the coast (Oceanside, Carlsbad, Encinitas, Solana Beach, Del Mar, La Jolla) or any of the "Rancho" areas, is pretty nice living. Rancho Santa Fe, Rancho La Costa... it basically means the unincorporated land that isn't assigned to a city, officially, but it patrolled by SD Sheriff.
Your job and your home also play a huge role. If you live in Carlsbad, but work downtown, half your life will be in your car. If you live in Coronado and work downtown, your drive is about 5 - 10 minutes.
The weather is perfect on the coast. That's it. If you can't afford the coast you will get very hot, in the summer. Coronado, if you can afford it, is an island/isthmus off of San Diego that is always cooler than inland and never gets under 50 degrees F. Statistically, there is no better weather in the world than Coronado... if you like perfect humidity levels and 72 degrees F.
There's a lot of variables.
It's like asking if California is a good place to move, but you're talking about Bakersfield or Fresno, or some other meth heroin shit hole, and not Malibu.
Always go for more money, is my advice. Just keep in mind, San Diego ain't cheap.
(post is archived)