So sad in San Diego

Sorry I haven't posted in a couple of days, the Mister and I are on our (company paid!) househunting trip in San Diego. I've never been to California before so it has been a *complete* culture shock. So far:

Day 1 - We landed around noon on Friday. After two broken cars at the rental place, we were upgraded to a full size. I now wish we had kept the intermediate - our impala is like driving a battle cruiser! We spent the rest of the day driving around La Jolla and going to the beach. Word on Californians and their cars: we saw three (3!) Rolls Royces parked ON THE STREET in La Jolla. Makes you wonder what they kept in their garages! Being that it's 73 degrees out, Mister and I can't believe it's February. We stopped at La Jolla Cove and walked around, absolutely in disbelief that we're in Cali.

Day 2 - More cruising around, trying to find neighborhoods we like. We drive up to North County coastal, and while we like it (and enjoy the free surf competition), the Del Mar/Carlsbad areas are just too sleepy for us. We also decide that La Jolla is too family-friendly. We wouldn't be able to afford any of the multi-million dollar homes on the coast, anyway. We head to the Gaslamp Quarter at night. It's definitely fun since the Rugby 7s is over the weekend in San Diego. (Word to the wise: Rugby 7s is a really fast version of rugby with only 7 players on the field. The best in the world play during this tournament.) We eat dinner at an obscenely cute Mexican place. I am thoroughly regretting giving up meat for Lent because everything looks sooo good.

Day 3 - We decide we like the laid back vibe of Pacific Beach. We stumble upon (no exaggeration), THE MOST PERFECT APARTMENT IN THE WORLD. It's huge, has tons of closet space, is ONE BLOCK from the surfers beach, and overlooks the water through huge floor to ceiling windows in the living room and bedroom. I mean, I literally gasped when I saw the view, it was so spectacular. Now why Elliott, does this make you sad? It's a great beach front apartment and while expensive, is doable. Why didn't you snatch it up? Well, we checked online at a few apartment rating places and they confirmed a weird vibe for us. Turns out the management company is hellacious. They do random "spot checks" in your apartment every other week to see if you're breaking any of the rules. The lease is 25 pages long and they are extremely anal about every clause. As the soup nazi said: No guests for you!

I am so heart broken but we have to pass on the perfect apartment. It isn't living if you can't have friends over and make no noise. (No, we're not noisy people but we do throw awesome parties, if I do say so. And if we play Guitar Hero a bit too loud, so what? That's what bitchin' stereo systems are for, bro!)

Day 4 - I met with my new boss and team. They seem lovely but I don't post about work so I'll stop right there. The hubby and I spent the rest of the day going out to Hillcrest which was described to us as the Dupont of San Diego. We found an apartment in a great location (right next to TJs and Ralphs, down the street from tons of boutiques, restaurants, and Whole Foods). We liked it but we weren't in love. We figure we could definitely live there for a year if we didn't find anything downtown that we like.

Day 5 - If I get dressed and out the door, I'll be in good shape. :)

So there you have it, dear readers. Half way through our househunting trip. We've loved, lost, and almost found places to live. Cross your fingers that we find a place in Gaslamp that 1) fits the budget 2) has two parking spots.