Things To Know Before Moving to San Diego

By Mallory Knee | September 12, 2021

San Diego is one of the most beautiful (and maybe under-appreciated) cities to live in the country. It has a beautiful culture and it’s a short drive across the border to Mexico, which means you can get authentic Mexican food any time your heart desires.

The housing boom right now makes it clear that a lot of people have decided to move here and will soon call San Diego home. With that in mind, there are a couple of other things you should be aware of before you move here.

Public Transit

Because owning a car is the norm in San Diego, residents have to deal with lots of traffic congestion. In order to keep the stress levels manageable, stay in the slower lane and prepare ahead for your commute during rush hour. Metropolitan Transit Service (MTS) provides light rail and bus service to help you get about if you’d prefer to avoid stand-still traffic. In order to ride, you will need to have a Compass Card in hand—or you can take advantage of mobile ticketing. Rapid Transit is a service that helps make trips even faster if you’re going longer distances.

Weather

Depending on where you’re coming from, you might have a bunch of clothes that are meant to be worn in cold or freezing conditions—this is not something to worry about when you move to San Diego. Pack light and don’t bring your heavy winter coats, boots, or sweaters. You won’t need much more than comfortable summer clothing because of the year-round weather and low humidity that keeps people on the beaches nearly all year round. Of course this depends where you live. Beach weather is more temperate but if you move East, the weather does get cold (even freezing some nights).

Earthquakes

San Diego is located near several faults, so earthquakes are inevitable, although infrequent. It is important to know what to do in that situation. It is crucial to be aware when an earthquake is happening, but also to remain calm. In case of an earthquake, adopt the Drop/Cover/Hold strategy: drop to the ground, cover yourself with a desk or table, and hold onto the legs of the table or desk.

Eco-Conscious

Getting acclimated to visiting the dry and drought-prone state of California can be a challenge for visitors from verdant regions of the country. Simple modifications like not leaving the water running while you brush your teeth or not leaving the faucet on while you wash dishes can help reduce your water usage. San Diego is also known for being one of the most active cities in the country in its efforts for fighting climate change, and there are quite a few ways to reduce pollution and waste in the city.