Good for you. I just moved from Youngstown, Ohio, an area between Cleveland and Pittsburgh. I went to San Diego, and rented a decent but very small place (compared to my ohio home) in Cardiff-by-the-sea. 1 mile to the beach.
Of course it could take months to sell back in Ohio, so I am not even thinking of buying out here.
Being single you have a lot more options. I'd tell you I was a studly hunk waiting to sweep you off your feet, but at 36 that is no longer true, and my wife wouldn't like me saying that. I had to move to a family and school friendly community, whereas you can go to Pacific Beach, or the gaslamp particularly if you don't mind being a roommate. If you want to be by yourself, those areas are a little tougher to get for 1300.
Of course like it has been said many times it depends where your office is. If it is in La Jolla, you might want to go north a little ways. If it is Mission Valley there are great apt. communities down there. Downtown, you have gaslamp, little italy and balboa park.
Man, did you have a Wizard of Oz moment, or what? ("Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore.") If you've got kids, forget about even trying to move them back east.
Trivia tidbit: Pat O'Connell, the younger blond kid in "Endless Summer II" was from Indiana when his parents moved to OC when he was around 12. He tried surfing and was a natural. He ended up becoming one of the best surfers from Calif. He still refers to how his life could have turned out if he was still in the midwest.