San Diego, CA housing, relocating info

[crayonblue]

Well, it looks like we are moving to San Diego! We are looking at the Carlsbad, CA area. DH's job is in La Jolla.

He is going out next week for work and will be looking around at housing. We will also be going out Spring Break and DH will probably go out once more before we move this summer.

We will be moving from the east coast so this is a huge move. We've been looking to move for years now (looked at NC, PA, NY, etc.) but I never, ever thought we would be seriously looking at CA! But, it looks like we will go unless something drastic changes in the next couple of months.

Any suggestions on public schools to look for (or avoid), commutes, neighborhoods, churches, etc?

[JBaxter]

DH's uncle & cousins live in Carlsbad Their girls are in highschool but I can send her an email to see what she suggests

[crayonblue]

DH's uncle & cousins live in Carlsbad Their girls are in highschool but I can send her an email to see what she suggests

Yes, please! That would be great!

[Ceepa]

In addition to Carlsbad, Encinitas can be pricey but lovely. There's also Poway.

[Twoboos]

DH is from that area so I've been out there quite a few times. But I wouldn't say I "know" the area, lol.

Somehow I think Carlsbad -> La Jolla will be a hike for a daily commute?

I think Scripps Ranch is supposed to be nice.

The weather will be such a nice change from the east coast!!! MIL calls me aaallll winter long to tell me about the nice weather there. :rolleyes:

[AnnieW625]

San Diego is awesome! One thing to consider though is the location of where his office is in La Jolla. Your options are going to be different if his office is in Downtown La Jolla vs. the part of La Jolla that is closer to the major interstates (805, and I-5), which is actually called University City or the Golden Triangle. So before you make your decision look up the actual address on a map.

Take this advice with a grain of salt though because it's been 10 yrs. since I have lived in the area, and I lived further south in Mission Valley on campus at SDSU, but like Two Boos said traffic can be really bad from North County southward.

Carlsbad is a nice location and schools are awesome, but traffic kind of stinks going south to La Jolla so if you can afford something closer like Mira Mesa, Sorrento Valley, University City, or Del Mar Heights where your DH can take the streets vs. the freeways he might have a better commute. Carmel Mountain while there is a freeway involved, but might actually work too. I have friends who grew up in Carlsbad, Encinitas, and Leucadia areas of North County and they loved it. If you have your heart set on North County though and your DH doesn't mind the commute then I think North County is a great bet for families.

I would also consider looking further south into the actual city of San Diego because commuting north (at least when I was there) was better than commuting south. Some areas that might work for you would be Fashion Valley, Mission Valley (these are inland from the beach, but am guessing probably 20 to 30 mins. max to La Jolla), or maybe even La Mesa. If you want to stay closer to the ocean then look at the Point Loma area. I am forgetting the name of the actual neighborhood, but the northern side of Mission Valley north of SDSU was very nice and part of the smaller La Mesa school district. Scripps Ranch is suppose to be nice, but I-15 is not a nice freeway at all, same with the 805.

Good luck with your move and definitely keep us posted and ask any questions.

[crayonblue]

DH is from that area so I've been out there quite a few times. But I wouldn't say I "know" the area, lol.

Somehow I think Carlsbad -> La Jolla will be a hike for a daily commute?

I think Scripps Ranch is supposed to be nice.

The weather will be such a nice change from the east coast!!! MIL calls me aaallll winter long to tell me about the nice weather there. :rolleyes:

DH is going to stay in Carlsbad next week to see if the commute is doable. To his office it is 15 minutes without traffic. We shall see what it is with traffic! We are in the D.C. area so we are used to traffic but we don't want to put him a really bad commute situation.

[joules]

Carlsbad to La Jolla does seem like a long drive. Doable, but it's kind of far. And when it's horse racing season or there's the Del Mar fair, that 5 freeway traffic is awful.

Scripps Ranch and some parts of Poway are nice. We are in that area and DH commutes to Torrey Pines area (close to La Jolla). It's not a bad commute - takes about 20-30 minutes. If you can afford it, Carmel Valley is very nice - that would be a shorter commute for sure. Schools are good there too.

[crayonblue]

San Diego is awesome!

Take this advice with a grain of salt though because it's been 10 yrs. since I have lived in the area, and I lived further south in Mission Valley, but like Two Boos said traffic can be really bad from North County southward.

Carlsbad is a nice location and schools are awesome, but traffic kind of stinks going south to La Jolla so if you can afford something closer like Mira Mesa, Sorrento Valley, University City, or Del Mar Heights where your DH can take the streets vs. the freeways he might have a better commute. Carmel Mountain while there is a freeway involved, but might actually work too. I have friends who grew up in Carlsbad, Encinitas, and Leucadia areas of North County and they loved it. If you have your heart set on North County though and your DH doesn't mind the commute then I think North County is a great bet for families.

I would also consider looking further south into the actual city of San Diego because commuting north (at least when I was there) was better than commuting south. Some areas that might work for you would be Fashion Valley, Mission Valley (these are inland from the beach, but am guessing probably 20 to 30 mins. max to La Jolla), or maybe even La Mesa. If you want to stay closer to the ocean then look at the Point Loma area. I am forgetting the name of the actual neighborhood, but the northern side of Mission Valley north of SDSU was very nice and part of the smaller La Mesa school district. Scripps Ranch is suppose to be nice, but I-15 is not a nice freeway at all, same with the 805.

Good luck with your move and definitely keep us posted and ask any questions.

Good info, thanks! Yes, close to the ocean. I do not like the heat. :( OK, I'll look into south too.

[Tondi G]

No info for you other than what I know of Carlsbad from traveling there.... and I am SO jealous that you have the opportunity to live down in SD! We would move there in a heartbeat if DH had a work option.

Love Carlsbad. Met a really nice family who lived there while on our cruise. They loved living in Carlsbad. AND you will have Legoland right there in your backyard.

The commute is only about 20 to 30 minutes into La Jolla ... there can be traffic so it could be longer. There are a lot of nice communities between Carlsbad and La Jolla.

[pinay]

Feel free to PM me if you have more questions, but here's my 2 cents so far as a San Diego resident since 1999 :)

Carlsbad-La Jolla is not a long commute, but your DH will encounter a LOT of traffic on a regular basis. Do you have your heart set on Carlsbad or are you willing to look other places?

Other areas I'd consider with a better commute and great schools: Carmel Valley, Encinitas, pretty much anything along the 56 corridor (Del Sur is VERY highly regarded in terms of community, but can be pricey). I would LOVE to live in Del Mar, but it's typically VERY expensive.

I know a few people who live in Carlsbad and love it, it's very family friendly BUT I don't know much about the schools. They've gotten a bit of bad press recently b/c there was some concern that one of the elementary schools was built on a former landfill/waste site of some sort and parents were concerned it was increasing illnesses/disease (not sure if it's a potential cancer cluster, I'd have to do a little researching to confirm that). Overall though, I generally hear good things about Carlsbad. San Elijo Hills is another sub-community that you might want to look into.

In terms of school districts, San Dieguito and Poway districts are two of the top in the county. I'd stay away from San Diego City Schools if you can- too big of a district, quality of schools varies greatly depending on area.

I live in Poway and LOVE it, it's probably a 30 minute commute to La Jolla and the schools here are stellar. The school district is experiencing budget cuts just like everyone else, but I think it's pretty well managed. Lots of community events, you can get a little bit more house/land out here and it's one of (if not the) safest cities in the county. My biggest issue is probably the surface street traffic to get to the freeway, but other than that we're very happy here.

[crayonblue]

Feel free to PM me if you have more questions, but here's my 2 cents so far as a San Diego resident since 1999 :)

Carlsbad-La Jolla is not a long commute, but your DH will encounter a LOT of traffic on a regular basis. Do you have your heart set on Carlsbad or are you willing to look other places?

Other areas I'd consider with a better commute and great schools: Carmel Valley, Encinitas, pretty much anything along the 56 corridor (Del Sur is VERY highly regarded in terms of community, but can be pricey). I would LOVE to live in Del Mar, but it's typically VERY expensive.

I know a few people who live in Carlsbad and love it, it's very family friendly BUT I don't know much about the schools. They've gotten a bit of bad press recently b/c there was some concern that one of the elementary schools was built on a former landfill/waste site of some sort and parents were concerned it was increasing illnesses/disease (not sure if it's a potential cancer cluster, I'd have to do a little researching to confirm that). Overall though, I generally hear good things about Carlsbad. San Elijo Hills is another sub-community that you might want to look into.

In terms of school districts, San Dieguito and Poway districts are two of the top in the county. I'd stay away from San Diego City Schools if you can- too big of a district, quality of schools varies greatly depending on area.

I live in Poway and LOVE it, it's probably a 30 minute commute to La Jolla and the schools here are stellar. The school district is experiencing budget cuts just like everyone else, but I think it's pretty well managed. Lots of community events, you can get a little bit more house/land out here and it's one of (if not the) safest cities in the county. My biggest issue is probably the surface street traffic to get to the freeway, but other than that we're very happy here.

Thanks! No, we don't have our hearts set on Carlsbad (I've never been there!) but it seemed like a more affordable coastal option than closer to La Jolla. Thanks for your advice!

[pinay]

Here's some info on the Carlsbad schools I mentioned earlier:

http://www.nctimes.com/news/local/carlsbad/article_da53c471-1e57-5356-b234-9331cf2d2f92.html

[ha98ed14]

No advice, but I'm in OC and we L.O.V.E. San Diego. So much better than OC. I'm jealous! Enjoy!

[AnnieW625]

Thanks! No, we don't have our hearts set on Carlsbad (I've never been there!) but it seemed like a more affordable coastal option than closer to La Jolla. Thanks for your advice!

You might have some luck with affordability if you are willing to do a foreclosure or a planned unit development, but I believe housing prices are still kind of high like over $500,000 for a 2000 sq. ft. house.

Tierrasanta was the other neighborhood I was trying to remember, but that's closer to the 15 and south of Poway, but if Poway is a not so bad commute to La Jolla (and it's off the 15) I'd look there too, it's hotter than the coast, but very nice quality of life from what I understand.

ETA: found this map for you, http://www.sandiego.gov/neighborhoodmaps/ . Del Cerro is the exact neighborhood across the north side of the 8freeway from San Diego State that I believe is in the Grossmont (La Mesa City) school district. San Carlos is also nice and in the same area. The schools in the Grossmont district have amazing sports programs too from what I recall.

I am Catholic and went to church at a church in San Carlos, and also the San Diego Mission. I also went to college group at College Avenue Baptist Church (not sure what affiliation but I know they aren't Southern Baptist), and went to church there are few times and I enjoyed it, but I couldn't quite leave my Catholic mass to go there full time. Had I continued to live there though I would've had some sort of involvement in their church because their youth, college, and young married or non married programs were awesome.

[missliss55]

I am currently living in northern CA, but grew up in Encinitas. My family still lives there. I am partial to the north county, specifically Encinitas and Carlsbad. Great cities and great for families. I went through the San Dieguito school district. We go down every couple of months. I so hope we can move back one day. I'm jealous. :-). I have lots of friends who live in Encinitas and Carlsbad and love it. Both cities can be pricey but I would live their in a heartbeat. Good luck!

[crayonblue]

Annie, I think DH's office is at the intersection of 5 and 805. I think. Hopefully that is better for a commute...

We will be renting initially and perhaps longer term.

[joules]

I live in Poway and LOVE it, it's probably a 30 minute commute to La Jolla and the schools here are stellar.

Hi neighbor!! We are in Sabre Springs!!

[Melanie]

Oh Lana! ENJOY! I love San Diego. I love Carlsbad.

Just try to stay as close to the coast as possible, that's my opinion. I don't enjoy inland that much...in general. And if you're going to pay California prices you may as well enjoy Coastal weather.

Check out
http://www.crimereports.com/

and

http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-diego/

I've found them helpful when we relocated out of the area.

[AnnieW625]

Annie, I think DH's office is at the intersection of 5 and 805. I think. Hopefully that is better for a commute...

We will be renting initially and perhaps longer term.

Yeah that's the Golden Triangle are and where there are a lot of businesses. I would definitely try and look for houses in that area though. If you are willing to spend money I'd look for rentals in Del Mar Heights too. I honestly have no idea what the rents are though, but Mira Mesa, Sorrento Valley, and Carmel Valley isn't too far from there IIRC.

[mackmama]

San Diego is a beautiful area. There is a lot of traffic in/out of La Jolla. There aren't many access points, so the area gets very clogged. The drive from Carlsbad to La Jolla is pretty far. I would suggest looking at Del Mar, Solana Beach, and Mission Bay.

[kijip]

Lana,

Congrats. I am so sick of the rain and people who never dance even in dancing situations in Seattle that frankly, San Diego is sounding pretty darn good.

Hope your kids are Lego lovers. We know nothing about the area other than our vacation awhile back, so well wishes with the move are all I have add here.

[pinay]

Hi neighbor!! We are in Sabre Springs!!

Hmm, I think we might know each other IRL :) I'll have to PM you!

[pinay]

You might have some luck with affordability if you are willing to do a foreclosure or a planned unit development, but I believe housing prices are still kind of high like over $500,000 for a 2000 sq. ft. house.

Tierrasanta was the other neighborhood I was trying to remember, but that's closer to the 15 and south of Poway, but if Poway is a not so bad commute to La Jolla (and it's off the 15) I'd look there too, it's hotter than the coast, but very nice quality of life from what I understand.

ETA: found this map for you, http://www.sandiego.gov/neighborhoodmaps/ . Del Cerro is the exact neighborhood across the north side of the 8freeway from San Diego State that I believe is in the Grossmont (La Mesa City) school district. San Carlos is also nice and in the same area. The schools in the Grossmont district have amazing sports programs too from what I recall.

I am Catholic and went to church at a church in San Carlos, and also the San Diego Mission. I also went to college group at College Avenue Baptist Church (not sure what affiliation but I know they aren't Southern Baptist), and went to church there are few times and I enjoyed it, but I couldn't quite leave my Catholic mass to go there full time. Had I continued to live there though I would've had some sort of involvement in their church because their youth, college, and young married or non married programs were awesome.

Tierrasanta is home to lots of military housing and is therefore very family friendly. There are some great neighborhoods in the hills there, and the schools there tend to be decent but are part of SD City Schools. It's right off the 52 freeway which hits the 5 fwy so it's not a terrible commute to where your DH's office would be.

[crayonblue]

Lana,

Congrats. I am so sick of the rain and people who never dance even in dancing situations in Seattle that frankly, San Diego is sounding pretty darn good.

Hope your kids are Lego lovers. We know nothing about the area other than our vacation awhile back, so well wishes with the move are all I have add here.

People around here (D.C.) not only don't dance in dancing situations, they glare and grump and flip you off for no apparent reason! (Not all D.C. folks...there are some nice ones...but the general tone is grumpiness!)

Thanks for your well wishes. :)

[crayonblue]

Thanks for all the info. DH is on his way to San Diego so hopefully he will have a feel for commute times and can take a look at housing this week. If anyone knows a Realtor, PM me!