moving to san diego Archives

Relocating for Work | Your 6-Step Relocation Checklist

It’s not uncommon to relocate for a new job. In fact, people frequently move across the ocean to pursue a dream career. Regardless of how far you’re going, relocating for work can be stressful, especially if you have children and pets to think about. Thankfully, there are many steps you can take to prepare for your move in advance. We’re here to help you plan a smooth and stress-free transition in or out of San Diego so you can arrive in your new home ready to jump into your new job!

Consider Your Housing Options

Selling your current home and buying a new one is the first step in your moving process. Get in touch with a local San Diego realtor like the McT Real Estate Group for help selling your home. If you’re moving somewhere new for the first time, consider renting a place in the city for a while before committing to a home purchase. You can scout out potential rentals and find pricing information online. For example, 2-bedroom apartments in San Diego rent for an average of $3,700 per month. Some rental websites even provide 3D tours so you can view apartments without visiting in person.

Find a Home in the Right Neighborhood

Once you’ve decided whether you’re going to rent or buy a home, your next step is to determine the perfect location. Research different neighborhoods in your new city and find one that meets the needs of your family. Remember to consider important location criteria like the quality of nearby schools, your proximity to your new job, and neighborhood crime rates.

Hire a Moving Service

Regardless of how far you’re moving, consider hiring professionals to help your move go smoothly. Hiring professional movers means you won’t have to lift heavy furniture or drive an oversized moving truck down the highway. By handing off your move to professionals, you’ll have more time and energy to focus on all of those other little moving details, like updating your address and registering for a new license.

Pack Smart

Packing up all of your possessions doesn’t have to be as time-consuming as it seems. Start by getting rid of anything you don’t need anymore. Once you’ve pared down your possessions, The Spruce suggests creating a coded packing system so you can easily keep track of your things once they disappear into boxes. And remember to pack a box of essentials—you will need this during the first day in your new home!

Make Your Travel Arrangements

Making travel arrangements in advance is crucial for ensuring your move goes smoothly, especially if you have pets and/or kids. If you’re driving to your new home, get your car tuned up for the big drive and map out your route. Remember to schedule stops and book hotels if your move will take more than a day. If you’re flying, now’s the time to get tickets and book your seats so your family can sit together on the flight.

Prepare for Things to Go Wrong

When it comes to moving, all kinds of things can go wrong. Perhaps all your stuff doesn’t fit on the moving truck or maybe the weather is bad on your moving day. The best way to avoid these hiccups is to prepare for them. Make a contingency plan for issues like traffic congestion, packing problems, or moving company mess-ups. When you’re prepared for anything, you’ll be able to sail through obstacles with little stress.

Moving to a new city is always exciting, especially if you’re starting a great new job. Of course, the moving process is bound to be tiring as well. Get all the stressful stuff out of the way as soon as possible so you can start daydreaming about all the fun things you and your family are going to do in your new city!

Are you looking to buy or sell a home in San Diego? The McT Real Estate Group can help! Contact us today so we can discuss your real estate needs. Call 619-736-7003.

4 Things to Do Before Hiring a Real Estate Agent

5 Reasons Why San Diego is Perfect For Remote Workers

The past year has seen thousands of businesses transition from in-person office and retail jobs to remote work formats. Plenty of new work-from-home employees have taken advantage of the lifestyle shift to try out life in a new locale.

working remotely — Photo by Steve Halama on Unsplash

Why stay in a cluttered urban center or a specific neighborhood in a rural part of the country when you now have the freedom to pack up and go, taking your remote office with you? With so many options suddenly available, remote workers are free to consider their preferences.

For lovers of beach, sun, and fun, San Diego is a clear winner. But remote workers drawn to “America’s Finest City” may find that there are still more than a few surprising attractions to discover here. Let’s take a look at 5 reasons why San Diego is the perfect new home base for remote workers.

1. Laptop-Friendly Cafes and Tons of Co-working Spaces

San Diego is particularly well-primed for welcoming remote workers. During the pandemic, almost 50% of businesses in San Diego County were able to offer their employees remote work options. Among the lasting effects of this jump in WFH and telecommuting employees is the vast number of alternative workspace available throughout the city.

Top choices among the official co-working spaces available include Downtown Works, Cross Campus San Diego, WeWork, and Novel Co-Working Gaslamp. Each of these options features thoughtful touches that any remote worker will appreciate, from the essentials, like super fast reliable Wi-fi connectivity, to the creative, like whiteboards, game rooms, and private phone booths for long business calls.

With nearly 190 laptop-friendly cafes and co-working spaces available in San Diego county, remote workers ready to take the remote office outside of the house have their fair share to choose from.

2. Sunshine By The Sea

It would be nearly impossible to talk about why someone might like to move to San Diego without mentioning the sun and the sea… or rather, the Pacific Ocean. Famous throughout the world for its miles of sandy white beaches and killer surf, San Diego is a beach lover’s paradise.

Things to do in San Diego — Photo by Patrick Fore on Unsplash

Whether you are interested in trying kite surfing, sailing, boogie boarding, or catching the waves on your surfboard, San Diego’s beaches offer a plenitude of options. Moving to a new location as a remote worker is all about taking advantage of the after-work benefits as well. And what could be better than shutting down the computer for the day and hitting the beach for a stunning sunset swim?

Plus, there is no better background for your Zoom meetings, and video chats than the serene beach vistas San Diego residents witness every day.

3. Culinary Scene

Most people may first think of Los Angeles or San Francisco as California’s culinary capital. But San Diego is a major player on the foodie scene. In fact, San Diego has got a competitive edge, thanks in part to its flourishing local craft beer scene.

Remote workers will love finishing off the day at the relaxing beer gardens of Stone Brewing Company or mingle with other locals at the breweries for those in the know, like Stumblefoot Brewing Company and Lost Abbey. Get a taster of San Diego’s famously hoppy locally brewed IPA’s and come back for more.

San Diego’s culinary offerings, meanwhile, skew more towards relaxed dining establishments with an emphasis on high quality over pretension. The combination of freshly caught fish and seafood with San Diego’s proximity to Mexico means that here you can find some of the best fish tacos in the world. Expand your palate by sampling the cuisine at a new restaurant each week, and be sure to stop by local favorites like Alexander’s on 30^th, The Patio, and the world-famous Italian eatery, The Red Door. From street food to fine dining, you will never get tired of the mouthwatering options.

4. Museums and Attractions

There is never a shortage of things to do in San Diego. The city’s millions of museums, amusement parks, outdoor activities, events, and attractions make it a perfect destination for remote workers moving with their families. Spend the day at Legoland, Sea World, or the famous San Diego Zoo, or visit one of the many museums for an educational outing.

For your pirate-obsessed child (or to satisfy your own inner pirate), visit the Maritime Museum of San Diego or the USS Midway Museum. Burgeoning astronauts will enjoy the San Diego Air and Space Museum, while the Fleet Science Center has something new to teach any visitor. One of the 17 museums in Balboa Park is the Museum of Us. Formerly known as the San Diego Museum of Man, this anthropological institution has been sharing new aspects of the story of humankind with visitors for over one hundred years.

5. Laidback Lifestyle

Perhaps you worked in an office for years, braving the lengthy commute each day in your starchy collar and dry cleaned suit. If you were one of those office workers who longed for “casual Fridays,” then San Diego is the perfect place for you to live and work.

Flip flops, boat shoes, and T-shirts can be considered the uniform around town, and no one will be the least bit surprised to see you wearing your casual Friday apparel every day of the week. Aside from a few of the most high-end clubs and restaurants, you can dress casual and show up relaxed at any joint in town. The laidback lifestyle is the name of the game in San Diego; it is the ideal town for you to slow down, focus on work, and enjoy your off-hours when you are no longer “on the clock.”

Living It Up in San Diego

Perhaps it is the year-round sunshine and breezy ocean climate that keeps people in San Diego so happy all the time. Or perhaps it is the friendly, relaxed nature of this city’s residents.

Whatever the reason, San Diego offers remote workers the perfect blend of tranquil landscapes, cozy familiarity, and quintessential California good vibes. Combined with access to plenty of co-working spaces, job opportunities, and weekend recreational activities, there is nothing not to like about life in America’s Finest City. And everything to love!

9-Things To Do In San Diego

Buying a Home in San Diego from Across the Country

Know What You Want in a House

Knowing what you want in a house will enable your Realtor to help you find a neighborhood that suits your lifestyle. Buying a home in San Diego from across the country can be scary. But, if you are teamed up with a great Realtor and have created a list of what’s important to you, it is possible. Do you like yoga? You might want to live near a park or in a neighborhood with a few yoga studios. If you work remotely from your computer, a place with plenty of coffee shops gives you plenty of options to operate your business. If nightlife is your thing, a place like North Park will be right up your alley with tons of restaurants and bars. Whether or not you have children, the proximity to good schools will affect the resale value of homes in some neighborhoods. So, when buying a home in San Diego, make sure that you have a sharp agent aware of this.

snow in the winter — road covered in white snow and bare trees

The Lifestyle in San Diego is different than in other parts of the country. Have you experienced year-round outdoor living before? If you’re moving from New England, as an example, the house prices will seem high, based on the value and square footage that you are accustomed to. That’s because in Connecticut, for example, you have to be inside your house for the whole winter.

Here in San Diego, you can sit in the sun and relax in your garden on a January morning. “But I Love the Skiing,” you say. Not to worry! Bear Mountain is less than a three-hour drive from San Diego, and there are several more nearby. Wouldn’t you love to be able to have fun in the snow and have a short drive back to the year-round sunshine? You don’t have to worry about digging your car out of the snow before work the next morning.

With a lot of cash buyers present, the San Diego market is quite rapid and competitive. If you are buying a home in San Diego, you’ll have to be comfortable with making an offer on a property the first day you see it. That might seem extreme, but it’s the nature of the current market. You’ll see homes for sale that come and go off the market quickly. If you take too long to think about it, you’ll miss out on many great properties. Knowing what you want will give you the confidence you need to move with the fast-paced market that we are experiencing. This leads us to our next key aspect of buying a home in San Diego from across the Country.

Find the Right Real Estate Agent

If you are buying a home in San Diego, you’ll want a local Realtor who’s an expert in the neighborhoods you’re looking at. If you don’t know what neighborhood you want, a good Real Estate Agent will help you with this based on your interests. With this being said, good communication is key.

Depending on whether you are buying a property to invest in or to move for work or retirement, your search for a house will be very different. You’ll want a Realtor that has experience with the type of property you are searching for. If you’re looking at an investment property, find a Realtor that owns investment properties themselves. They will have better insight than a Real Estate Agent that has never purchased an investment property before, or any house at all. They will be able to point out important things to look for and consider and things to be aware of.

Is Your Realtor Tech Savvy?

Today’s technology makes it easy for a tech-savvy Real Estate Agent to use several tools to convey a property accurately from wherever you are. Video walkthroughs, 3D rotating cameras, and video calls can accurately convey much more than still photos.

Video Tour — cartoon of a person videotaping

Make sure your Realtor is familiar with these tools. Also, make sure that you’ll feel confident buying a house that you’ve never physically been inside of. Even though you will see walking video tours, it is still slightly different from being at the property in person. If you are comfortable with this, then you’ll be swinging in your hammock on your back porch in no time. You will be thinking about all those times you were jumping over puddles of ice water on your way to work.

Get Your Ducks in a Row and Pre-Approved

As previously mentioned, it’s a high-speed Real Estate market that we are experiencing. Have patience; you could lose out on a property you like if you’re not 100% ready to go. Have your ducks in a row before you start your home search. One thing to keep in mind is to make sure no obstacles are holding you back.

You’ll need to be pre-approved for a loan, and not just with any lender. An experienced Realtor will have many great referrals for you if you don’t already have someone you are working with. You may have a local Lender where you currently live. Speak to your Realtor about this. We find that working with a local lender near the home you are trying to buy typically works best. They know the timeframes and things to look out for that are not always the same in other parts of the Country. If you think of buying an investment property and not planning to live in it, you will need to get approved for a loan as a non-occupied-owner-investor. Typically, this type of loan requires that you put down at least twenty-five percent when buying a home. On the other hand, if it is not an investment property that you are looking for, but instead, you are planning on moving into the home, you’ll be able to look into an FHA loan. With this type of government loan, you only have to put as low as 3.5 percent, whether it’s a single-family house or a duplex/multi-unit house.

Buying And Selling A Home

You may currently own a home you would need to sell before buying a home in San Diego. Before a homeowner considers accepting your offer and taking their home off the market, they would want to see that your present home is under contract. This can all be very stressful. You may not feel 100% comfortable buying a home without seeing it in person. If so, another option will be to plan on moving to San Diego first. Renting an apartment or home for a couple of months or even a year might make you feel more at ease. There are a lot of short-term rentals available if you decide that this would work better for you. Yearly rentals are available, but they are also competitive. If you find one that you think you want, you will have to move quickly.

For more information on buying a home in San Diego, contact the McT Real Estate Group We would love to help you with the buying process.