15 Reasons to Live at Cloud Nine Studios

What sets an apartment at Cloud Nine Studios apart? Here are 15 reasons you might want to live in one:

1. It’s brand new.

Everything in the apartment is brand new, so problems should be rare. More significantly, the entire building is new. Cloud Nine was completed in 2025, whereas most homes in the area were built 30–70 years ago. Homes built in the 50s, 60s, and 70s typically have poor utility, outdated infrastructure, and safety problems, while those built in the 80s and 90s are infamous for poor build quality. Building codes, materials, and techniques have all advanced considerably since then, solving countless problems with older homes.

Speaking of building codes...

2. It’s well-built.

Even though it is a small complex, Cloud Nine was built according to the commercial building code—the same code that a skyscraper downtown would need to follow—which means a far higher level of scrutiny and more demanding requirements across all aspects of construction.

What’s more, this was not a cookie-cutter box thrown together as fast as possible by the lowest bidder. Rather, this was a passion project built by a team of compulsively perfectionist craftsmen who derive pride, if not their identity, from the quality of their work. We took years making sure thousands of custom details were done right rather than cutting corners to deliver mediocrity quickly.

Why so many custom details? For starters...

3. It’s built for just one person.

People who want to live by themselves have limited options, each with severe drawbacks. Homes with nice amenities are typically huge and expensive; meanwhile, small homes usually have stripped-down features, while still wasting already limited space and resources on amenities sized for multiple people. The apartments Cloud Nine Studios, on the other hand, are each designed for a single individual but still have most of the features of a large home. These are highly-engineered environments where every cubic inch has been carefully considered to maximize functionality and therapeutic benefit.

Why the focus on therapeutic benefits?

4. It’s built for women with PTSD.

Now at the heart of the matter, the primary purpose of Cloud Nine Studios is to provide an ideal environment to help women recover from serious trauma. These homes were built from the ground up to take care of a person and make her feel better, with the psychological impact of every last decision carefully considered.

Everywhere you look are features that follow the principles of trauma-informed design to make residents feel safe and secure, make sure they’re comfortable, and encourage healthy habits to help the women who live there heal.

To that end...

5. It’s great for sleep.

For those living with PTSD, simply making it through the day is draining, and processing trauma requires even more energy on top of that. Energy and willpower are restored through sleep, so when people get inadequate sleep, they are not able to heal effectively because participating in therapy, regulating their feelings, and maintaining other healthy habits all require resources that were depleted before the day even began. That is why the most important of the healthy habits promoted at Cloud Nine Studios is to help residents get regular, high-quality sleep.

To start, we implemented extensive sound controls inside, outside, and between each apartment, from double-paned windows and extra-thick walls with offset studs and extra insulation to quieter doorbells and industrial hydraulic dampeners to make the convertible desk-beds close softly. All that soundproofing also eliminates the most common cause of conflict between residents of apartment complexes—noise disturbance—helping to create a quiet, harmonious environment free of sleep-disrupting stress.

For light control, all windows have light-screening as well as blackout shades, and every light fixture is not only dimmable, but they also automatically change to a warm golden color as they are dimmed, which feels more comfortable and avoids the bright, cool light that signals the brain to stay awake.

The entire environment is designed to help residents relax. Some of these measures are direct, like providing extremely quiet HVAC systems and high-quality mattresses and bedding. Others are less so, like analyzing the psychological effects of various colors of hardwood or orientations of grout lines on the kitchen backsplash and choosing the options that calm the mind rather than agitate it.

All of these efforts combine to provide an environment where residents can consistently get the quality of sleep they need to heal from trauma, with little worry of it being interrupted because...

6. The neighborhood is serene.

A lot of places near SDSU can get pretty loud and wild, but not here. The neighbors nearby are mostly seniors, with just a few homes with students, so parties are rare and relatively quiet. Most of the neighbors here know each other, look out for each other, and are very friendly.

This location is extremely quiet. In fact, although rare to find in a location this central, there is essentially no street noise here.

This is a very safe, quiet neighborhood of a few cul-de-sacs, so there is no through traffic. Past this location there are only two courts, so sometimes hours can pass without cars driving by, and when they do, they’re usually traveling very slowly. Furthermore, the apartments are well over 100 feet from the street—some are closer to double that—and with two large fences and another home blocking the sound, plus the sound of the waterfall feature, it’s practically impossible to hear anything from the street while outside, let alone inside. If you are living with PTSD and have not yet experienced such an serene environment, you will likely be pleasantly surprised at the amount of stress relieved just by living in a place free of chaotic sensory input.

I've lived here for over 25 years, and this is the best area of a great neighborhood in an incredible city, and I’m constantly grateful for living here.

In fact, speaking of that incredible city...

7. San Diego is amazingly therapeutic.

San Diego earns its nickname of “America’s Finest City” by consistently ranking at or near the top of cities nationally and worldwide in nearly all measurable ways, including individual well-being, community well-being, and quality of life. This means that people coming from other areas are extremely likely to experience significant improvements in several aspects of life merely by being in San Diego, and many of these improvements directly contribute to trauma recovery.

Often considered the city with the most consistently pleasant weather in the continental U.S. It boasts a mild, Mediterranean climate with comfortable temperatures year-round, low humidity, and, by many measurements, the largest number of perfect-weather days per year. San Diego has a more pleasant climate than >99% of the rest of the world, which means that almost everyone coming from other areas will be more comfortable in San Diego, often significantly so. Furthermore, while cities already typically have less pollen than rural areas, San Diego has the one of the lowest pollen counts of the largest cities in the US, making it easier to breathe, sleep, relax, and exercise.

Unpleasant weather or difficulty breathing isn’t just inconvenient; for those recovering from trauma, personal discomfort that cannot be alleviated is a constant drain on mental resources and can lead to feelings of powerlessness and hopelessness. Conversely, the effortless personal comfort that many will feel simply by living in this area will boost the efficacy of therapy through decreased distractions, increased energy levels, elevated moods, and an increased sense of self-efficacy.

The ideal climate also makes it easier to grow food, and San Diego County has more small farms and more organic producers than any other county in America. More delicious fruit and vegetables makes eating healthy easier and more enjoyable. Plus, in most other places, inclement weather regularly depresses mood and prevents outdoor activities, causing lower levels of serotonin, dopamine, and endorphins. On the other hand, San Diego is famous for its consistently mild, sunny, and temperate climate, often cited as one of the best in the world. This allows for an unparalleled year-round outdoor lifestyle, with residents enjoying beaches, hiking, biking, and surfing virtually every day. The habits doctors recommend to fight depression essentially describe a stereotypical San Diego lifestyle.

San Diego’s natural beauty is a defining characteristic of the city, which is best known for its coastline of over 70 miles of dramatic bluffs, hidden coves, and world-class beaches. Close to home, you can kayak alongside sea lions at La Jolla Cove, spot migrating gray whales from the cliffs of Point Loma, or explore the kelp forests and tide pools at Cabrillo National Monument. With just an hour’s drive, though, you could also visit the misty, pine-covered peaks of the Cuyamaca Mountains and Cleveland National Forest or the vast, arid expanse of the Anza-Borrego Desert. This is a rare combination of options for any single metro area—and part of the reason San Diego County is the most biologically diverse county in America, giving you an abundance of choices of ways to connect with nature.

Furthermore, although hard to quantify by any single study, San Diego is consistently rated as one of happiest and friendliest cities. As someone who has lived here most of his life, this is unsurprising because:

• When bad things are happening in the world, it’s usually not so bad in the US.
• When bad things are happening in the US, it’s usually not so bad in California.
• When bad things are happening in California, it’s almost never very bad in San Diego.

Even those who rage regularly against California—they’re complaining about Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Sacramento—never San Diego. The largest problems in San Diego are related to high housing costs, but those are a direct result of having so few other problems that everyone wants to live here.

And if you’re lucky enough to be in San Diego, it helps even more to be in a good spot. Fortunately...

8. The location is excellent.

Cloud Nine is about as close as you can get to freeways without having any freeway noise—largely due to being nestled in a quiet canyon, which blocks both wind and sound from surrounding areas. It is near the nexus where most major San Diego freeways converge:

• I-8 and I-15 are just two miles away.
• I-805 is the very next exit from there.
• I-163 is only two miles past that.

Everything you need daily is only a few minutes away, and most major San Diego attractions are 20 minutes away or less. Plus, during typical travel from this location, traffic is normally going in the other direction. Plus, the microclimate in the immediate area is just almost perfectly ideal, with consistently low humidity and comfortable temperatures.

These are some of the reasons why I, the property manager, have lived here for over 25 years. Speaking of which...

9. Management is close by.

A large and ever-increasing number of homes in San Diego are owned by hedge funds and investment groups, many of which provide infamously bad service and are difficult to contact.

But at Cloud Nine Studios, the landlord lives 30 seconds away. If you need anything, I’m almost always right there because I work long hours from home and rarely travel, so it’s quick and easy for me to come fix things or help with anything you need.

You probably won’t need much, because...

10. It’s beyond fully furnished.

Even at more expensive rentals, “fully furnished” typically includes major furniture only. At Cloud Nine Studios, we provide almost everything you need, so you won’t have to bring much more than what you would bring to a hotel. Furthermore, the furnishings provided are not cheap surplus goods; rather, they were obsessively researched and carefully selected for the space to satisfy numerous design goals.

Plus, if you have a cat, you can get even more.

11. Cat lovers get extra benefits.

If you have a cat, you will get several free benefits: We provide self-cleaning litter boxes, self-filling water fountains, and automatic cat feeders, plus we’ll pay for yearly vet checkups, or even the adoption fee if you want another cat. There is no pet deposit or monthly pet fee. On the contrary, you may be able to earn money by participating in research with your cats. (These are simple activities like taking notes on their behavior or trying out a new scratching toy, and all entirely optional.)

Why all the benefits for cats?

12. It’s also built for cats.

Are the apartments at Cloud Nine Studios built for individuals living alone, built for women with PTSD, or built for cats? All of the above. More accurately, these studios were designed especially for long-term healing from serious trauma for women who wish to live on their own or with up to three cats.

The most unique aspect of Cloud Nine Studios is the collection of special features built into every home that integrate the living needs of cats into the home to make pets happier, healthier, and easier to care for. These include some inventions you may not have seen before, like ventilated enclosures that completely eliminate litter box odor, or an alcove that gives your cat a perpetually full water dish and a safe place to drink, or an elevated living space that can reduce your cat’s stress and anxiety.

Without any of these features for pets, the experience of living in one of these apartments is already intended to be life-changingly positive for women who are recovering from serious trauma. However, if you have a cat whom you love, living in an environment designed around your pet’s needs could change your life in a good way all on its own.

This is because, as opposed to dogs, cats are only semi-domesticated and have fairly rigid instinctual needs. Few people are aware of any of this, so most pet cats live in suboptimal conditions which regularly cause them stress; in fact, several behaviors people interpret as personality quirks are actually the result of varying stressors. However, providing cats an environment where their main stressors are removed and their instinctual needs are taken care of will cause noticeable behavioral improvements in nearly all cats, which leads to a positive feedback loop of better interactions between the pet and their person, and ultimately, a deeper bond.

However, because while these homes were specifically built for cats and the people who love them, there’s no need to panic because...

13. It’s not a crazy cat house.

Don’t worry: These apartments are not full of scratching posts and little kitty tunnels and bridges running everywhere. On the contrary: Nobody would ever guess these homes were designed for animals because all but one of the cat features are either hidden or non-descript, and most are tucked away in inconvenient spaces that weren’t much much use to people anyway.

Furthermore, all those special areas for cats listed above were built with the same materials and techniques used to make operating room floors in hospitals, which means they can easily be completely disinfected. (I have a very serious cat allergy myself, so in the course of managing the property, I’d be the first to know if a place weren’t thoroughly cleaned.)

14. We won’t steal your money.

There are a lot of rental scams and shady practices out there, and we want no part of them. We strive to be as fair, ethical, and transparent as possible.

• We don’t make money on applications. There is no application fee. The only upfront fee is for a background/credit check, which is $31 and all goes to a third party.
• We discourage people from casually applying with this novel-length site, including a whole page of Reasons Not to Live Here.
• If you want to make sure the place is real and right for you before applying, just contact us to set up an appointment for a tour.
• We don’t charge more rent or require a higher deposit for pets.
• We work hard to help you get your entire security deposit back. We don’t charge more than the cost for repairing or replacing anything, and we’d rather spend our time in other ways, so we give you extensive information on how to avoid costly damage.
• If you’re great at cleaning and want to avoid a cleaning fee, we’ll tell you exactly what you need to do and we’ll even give you the cleaning supplies. If you do a professional job, you’ll pay no fee.

And finally, while we’re on the topic of money...

15. All profits go to charity.

These apartments were built as part of larger effort to create a new housing model that better serve individuals and society. We are trying to keep rent as low as possible and are actively seeking funding to subsidize it. However, if there are any profits, they will go to charities dedicated to trauma recovery, women's causes, or animal welfare, so you can feel a little better about where your rent money is going.

If you’re still interested in an apartment at Cloud Nine Studios at this point, please read Reasons Not to Live Here next to make sure.

If you have any questions at all, just contact us. We’re friendly and we usually reply pretty quickly.