RENT 3/5
COMMUTE 1/5
FOOD 3/5
ENTERTAINMENT 4/5
A little beaten, a little bruised, Ocean Beach is San Diego with character. Yeah, there’s a little dirt under its nails, but O.B. talks so smooth you’re sure to swoon. Community, waves and vegan-hippie ideals run deep, but it doesn’t matter if you’re down, just that you’re here. Tight-knit but welcoming, O.B. is a throwback to isolated beachfront overrun by tattered surf shacks and half-cocked, motel-style apartments. Buried on the end of Highway 8, it feels light years away from the city, but fitting into O.B. is easy ‘mdash; it’s getting out that’s tough.
The bus system is weak, and getting weaker; the drive to I-5 is roundabout. But, with every need right there ‘mdash; from coffee dives, supermarkets and sandwich shops to pubs, live bands and biker bars, who needs to leave? Pretty soon you’ll be hitting the books on the patio of Pizza Bar at the end of Newport Avenue, or podcasting classes over a gin and tonic glowing in the black lights of Pac Shores. If you’re going to live on the coast, it might as well be in a ratty beach town.