The mild, dry climate of San Diego can be quite a different world from the tall hills, high winds and brisk winters of San Francisco. Despite both being quintessentially California, both are stark contrasts to one-another, and you can expect to encounter entirely different worlds when moving from the Bay to Southern California.

One of the biggest challenges to expect is moving from San Francisco: streets are often not wide and parking is limited, impeding the mobility of a moving truck. You may need block off a stretch of the street for the truck, which requires paying the city for a permit for a certain number of hours on a certain day, as well as placing safety cones in the area and letting neighbors know what to expect. Additionally, a large truck may not even be able to fit in some streets at all, meaning movers may be required to carry your goods down a street or two just to load them: check these impediments in advance to avoid surprise issues on moving day!

A standard drive from San Francisco to San Diego is about nine hours, but this can increase significantly when hitting the infamous Los Angeles traffic scene, especially for a moving truck. If you’re moving yourself, it may be prudent to plan your trek overnight; otherwise, be prepared to crawl through potentially hours of congestion from the north side of town to the south. Of course, having a team of professionals like Smart People Moving handle this leg of the journey makes this a non-issue.

Fortunately, San Diego itself is generally easy to move in once you arrive: neighborhood streets are typically a comfortable width, and there are very few areas where a steep hill would be a problem. Welcome home!