Poway neighborhoods (San Diego, Highland, Madera: HOA, homes, school district)

[kcda]

We are considering a move to Poway for the school district. We are looking for a nice neighborhood with new to "newer" homes in the 600K-800K range. Can anyone tell me where to start looking (which streets, neighborhoods, subdivisions) before I bother going to a realtor? It would have to be in the Poway School District (high school). I would appreciate your input.

[socketz]

On a map, find Pomerado Road. Follow Pomerado Road northwest till you see Twin Peaks.

Turn right on Twin Peaks and there is a nieghborhood there called Rancho Arbolitos. Be careful though. North of Twin Peaks is actually more desirable than the part of Arbolitos that is south. Not sure why, but it has always been that way. Mid to high 600s will get you into this area.

Mid 700s will get you something really nice, like this: http://www.redfin.com/CA/Poway/12754...4/home/4750177

Now, go back out onto Pomerado Road and head Northwest again.

Turn Right on Espola.

You will see a sign that says 'Welcome to Poway'.



This is North Poway and nothing in this area is undesirable (many of the San Diego Chargers/Padres call this area home).

Within the area, there is not alot in your price range, but there are some areas. If you turn left on Valle De Verde, you will almost immediately be in an area called Vineland Hills. You will like this area.

Here is an example of a Vineland Hills home: http://www.redfin.com/CA/Poway/17232...4/home/4236884 (note that there are a handful of others on the market in Vineland Hills that are less expensive)

Vineland Hills has some of the smaller yards in North Poway, but they also have a nice series of walking trails that the HOA maintains.

In addition, if you turn right onto St. Andrews, you will enter an area called Stoneridge. You cannot go wrong here either as the entire town of Stoneridge surrounds the Country Club, so imagine a horseshoe with the town being the edges and the middle being the club/golf course.

Example home in Stoneridge: http://www.redfin.com/CA/Poway/17149...4/home/4221791

Stoneridge is surrounded by some of the nicest areas in all of north San Diego: Maderas, Lomas Verdes, Winery Estates.....homes in the millions of dollars, so I tend to think that it has alot of upside from an investment perspective.

Here's an example of an entry level home in those areas: http://www.redfin.com/CA/Poway/13348...4/home/4239900

You may also want to look in Bridlewood or Green Valley (Green Valley is older, but ultra nice with huge 1+ acre lots), but I think in your price range there wont be much of a selection, but housing is slow now so you never know.

This one in Bridlewood is nice: http://www.redfin.com/CA/Poway/13960...4/home/4266861

Note that if you have kids, the two elementary schools in this part of North Poway are excellent, tops in the Poway Unified School District (PUSD). Chapparal is the larger of the two, and is shared with Rancho Bernardo (school is inside the RB Community of Gatewood Hills is another spot you will like, also on Espola), then there is Painted Rock which is smaller and embedded inside the community of Green Valley. Feels very small town, yet has excellent academics.

This Realtor has some nice commentary/photos on his site that you may enjoy and will provide some context for the information I've provided.

http://www.georgecooke.com/rbpoway.shtml


Hope this helps.

[kcda]

Thank you! That's some great information to get me started. I just want to drive some of those neighborhoods first to see what we think.

[socketz]

Here's some more links to resources within the area I described:
Chaparral Elementary School Home (Chapparal Elementary)
Painted Rock Elementary (Painted Rock Elementary)
Home (Twin Peaks Middle)
Poway High School (Poway High)
Poway Center for the Performing Arts (Poway Center for Performing Arts - located next to the High School)
http://poway.org/Index.aspx?page=540 (Poway Farmers Market)
http://www.bernardowinery.com/ (Bernardo Winery - Straddles the border of Poway and RB)
http://www.poway.org/Index.aspx?page=671 (Lake Poway)
http://www.blueskyreserve.com/ (Blue Sky Ecological Reserve)
http://www.stoneridgeclub.com/Club/S.../Home/home.asp (Stoneridge Country Club - Social memberships with pool access as low as $100 per month)
http://www.maderasgolf.com/ (Madaras Golf Course - Voted best course in San Diego)
http://ncspsoccer.com/ (North County Lil Kickers program/Indoor Soccer)
http://poway.org/Index.aspx?page=599 (Train park)

And how could any review be complete without the following:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/el-ranchito-taco-shop-poway (El Ranchito Taco Shop - one, if not the best Mexican fast food chains in San Diego)

[soymabelen]

The Poway school district covers a whole lot more ground than the city of Poway itself. Other than Poway itself, you will be in the Poway school district in any of the following areas: Sabre Springs, Carmel Mountain Ranch, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Penasquitos and 4S Ranch.

[socketz]

Correct. The zip codes you want to look at include:

92064 - Poway (inc North and South Poway)
92129 - Rancho PQ
92127/92128 - Rancho Bernardo East and West (inc Sabre Springs and Carmel Mtn)

If I were to pick my favorites, I would select the areas in the following order:

North Poway
West Rancho Bernardo (4S Ranch, Camino Bernardo, High Country West and Westwood)
East Rancho Bernardo (Bernardo Heights and Eastview are my favorites)
South Rancho Bernardo (Sabre Springs/Carmel Mtn)
Rancho PQ (Park Village is a nice spot in PQ)
South Poway (Below Twin Peaks)

I have lived or lived in all of these areas with the exception of the last two.

Again, this is a personal preference and I'm sure this list would change based on your own preferences.

The best value is South Poway for sure.

[skeke]

I live North of Twin Peaks and East of Espola for a few years. It was a gorgeous neighborhood and yes, we did have some Padres living there.

[socketz]

Was the area called 'High Ranch', or maybe Highland Ranch ? There are some gorgeous properties back there....many on several acres. Nice area as well.

[kcda]

Thanks for all the info everyone, that widens my search. How can I find these neighborhood on a map? Can someone list the nearby streets so I can find them?

I was considering 4S Ranch. Is it nice?

[NE_p]

Why not south of Poway? Is it less desirable?