Southern California input needed (San Diego, Upland: real estate, condo, how much)

[Elena717]

Hello,

Husband and I are in our late fifties and are seriously considering relocating from northern California to southern California for family reasons. We are leaning towards the San Diego area but are open to suggestions. The only part of San Diego we know to any extent is Rancho Bernardo and that was from 20 years ago. La Jolla is out of the question because of propery costs. Kids are grown so schools are not a consideration (though we would prefer to live in a good district). Animal friendly is a plus!

We work from home and so commuting won't be an issue. We need to be within thirty minutes or so from an airport. We want to be near health facilities, libraries and the like. We want to live somewhere with people who are openminded insofar as politics and society are concerned. A way to get around without using freeways would be great. We will be buying a home, not a condo. Would love a downtown area.

Anyway, from looking at the boards and real estate sites the following cities have come up as possibilites to further investigate: Rancho Bernardo and Poway (but maybe too family oriented?), Fallbrook (too right wing?), San Marcos (problems with gangs?), Uplands, Redlands. It is important to us to be in an area with a religious mix.

Any thoughts you might have would be most appreciated. Thank you.

[Humanoid]

I don't know much about the San Diego area, but I read this blog here and there and thought you may be interested:

bubbleinfo.com - Journal

Its a blog written by a realtor from the area. Its about the San Diego housing bubble, but he also highlights communities in the area with a lot of photos and information.

[kettlepot]

This really doesn't give us a lot to go on. All we really know is that you want a house not a condo.

-- What's your budget?
-- What age of construction are you interested?
-- How big of a lot do you want?
-- How important is walkability?
-- How near is near to health facilities?
-- How big of a library do you need to be near?
-- How much general urbanness do you want or don't want?
-- What makes an area animal friendly? You'll own your place so what more do you need?
-- How much sun and heat do you want or don't want?
-- How much quiet or activity do you want?

There are a lot of places to choose from in a southern California area of 20 million people.

[Elena717]

Thank you both for your responses. As far as the home itself, cost, age, etc., we have looked online and have found these areas to have a great number of properties in our range. We would prefer a smaller lot rather than larger, less than 1/3 of an acre, which is too large to us. Age is not a consideration at this point.

Walkability would be a plus. We would like to be within two miles of good medical facilities. We won't be using a library for research much, mostly pleasure. We are not looking for an urban property, but rather one perhaps within a three to five mile radius of a small to medium size city. We are now living in an "outlying suburb" and find it with entirely a too out-of-town feeling for our taste.

What makes a place animal friendly? Well, I'd like to be able to take our well-behaved retriever to Starbucks and sit outside with her over a morning coffee. That sort of thing.

Weatherwise, we now live in an area that gets horrendously hot at times during the summer. I'm talking 110. We would be happier with temps climbing no further than the 90s.

Socially, we enjoy getting together with friends to dine out, go to shows (local theater is fine), etc. Local culture such as museums, art galleries, etc. would be great.

We're really just looking for areas at this point. We will be touring within the next few months but would like some ideas on where to go.

Thanks!