By Janel Laban
Name: Archana
Location: San Diego, CA
I’ve lived in this one-bedroom, 600 square foot Hillcrest apartment with my boyfriend and our golden retriever, Teddy, for the last two years. In 2011, my boyfriend and I quit our NYC jobs — he in finance, me in magazine writing — to backpack around the world for 13 months. We kept our final destination open but chose San Diego for its weather, quality of life, and smaller city size. We didn’t have jobs or family or friends in the area, so it was a bold move!
