Moving to North County area (San Diego, Sacramento: real estate, apartments, leasing)

[notinkeys]

I've lived in L.A. and Sacramento, but I'm going to be heading to North County soon (within a couple of weeks) and am wondering about areas/places to live.

The background: Mid 50s, single. Will be working from home and the only time I'll have to drive anyplace is when I choose to for personal reasons, so commute time is not an issue.

Would prefer a single home or a duplex, 1200-1300 max. Need 2 bedrooms, though it need not be big. And yes, I will also look at apartments, I'd simply prefer a house. I've been using PadMapper.com to search, but if there are any good RE's that handle leasing I'd appreciate the references. I've found a few that seem to look okay (and many that were freaky ugly) in Oceanside, some fairly close to the base. I suspect that isn't likely the best area. Since I don't have a commute, I'm more interested in what I'll see out the windows at home than some of the usual things like schools, commutes, etc. My daughter is an adult, so kiddy friendly is no longer an issue.

I'm a pretty quiet, low key guy. Oceanside/Carlsbad/Vista/Poway/Escondido/whatever else is where I'm aiming for. I'd *like* to be relatively close to the beach or the Safari Park (Wild Animal Park) if possible.


Thanks, gang. Always love the forums here, though I haven't posted much.

[Snort]

Well, for folks in their 50's there is a development near Temple Heights Dr and Oceanside Blvd. that looked like a nice and quiet place to live that was much more affordable than most other areas. I don't know the name of the 'community', but a realtor could tell you more about it. That said, I'd avoid Oceanside and Vista; at least most of it. If you can afford a place in Carlsbad, that would be my recommendation. Most of the towns in North County are pretty nice. It's just the affordability question.

[Snort]

Real estate at 1671 Peacock Boulevard Oceanside CA - Property Details - MLS #100060738 - Realtor.com®

It's called Peacock Hills. The houses don't look the most robust, and maybe that's why the prices of these are so low, comparatively speaking. Maybe the HOA is comprised of Nazis. I don't know the story here.

That's a mighty forced smile on Shawn-Marie, or maybe she sat on something sharp when the photo was taken.

[htnspz]

Originally Posted by Snort

Well, for folks in their 50's there is a development near Temple Heights Dr and Oceanside Blvd. that looked like a nice and quiet place to live that was much more affordable than most other areas. I don't know the name of the 'community', but a realtor could tell you more about it. That said, I'd avoid Oceanside and Vista; at least most of it. If you can afford a place in Carlsbad, that would be my recommendation. Most of the towns in North County are pretty nice. It's just the affordability question.

Why would a budget minded person avoid Vista and Oceanside. There are beautiful, quiet areas within them that are more than worthy of a look. In fact, in his budget, his dollar would go farther and he could get something really nice (more land/dollar) in these locations in comparison to Carlsbad. That being said, there are also more "griity" areas within these cities, but not all people are that sensitive to grittiness.

Notinkeys,
Check out the Rancho del Oro area of Oceanside and the Shadowridge area of Vista. I don't know about the exact location of Rancho del Oro but Shadowridge is about 7 miles from the beach. I think Rancho del Oro is even closer.

[Snort]

There are parts of Vista and Oceanside that are ok, there are other parts that are potentially dangerous gangland ghetto. "Generally speaking", Carlsbad is a better bet than either Vista or Oceanside, and home values will likely be more stable. The OP didn't mention a price range. The area I mentioned happens to be in a better part of Oceanside.

[notinkeys]

I see I was not clear in my first post; I am only looking at rent/lease at the moment. Sorry I was not as clear as I should have been. <blush>

[notinkeys]

Here's an example of a place that looks okay to me, but I am not sure if it is an okay neighborhood, or if I would find my car broken into on a weekly basis.

loc: Wisconsin Ave. at Myers St. Oceanside CA US - Google Maps

I suspect that's too close to the base, but any insight is welcome.

[htnspz]

Originally Posted by Snort

There are parts of Vista and Oceanside that are ok, there are other parts that are potentially dangerous gangland ghetto. "Generally speaking", Carlsbad is a better bet than either Vista or Oceanside, and home values will likely be more stable. The OP didn't mention a price range. The area I mentioned happens to be in a better part of Oceanside.

You must have a crystal ball then because I don't see how you can make such a big assumption about the housing values, especially considering how vastly different parts of Vista and Oceanside are.
Conversely, it can be seen that parts of Vista and Oceanside may become more stable in their housing values because these are homes people can actually afford. Single Family Homes in Carlsbad START around $500k and those type of prices cannot be supported by large amounts of people and their wages. I would imagine that you would have an household income of at least $150k to support that mortgage payment. San Diego does not have as many high earning positions for these types of mortgage payments.
The bottom line is that home prices of $500k cannot be supported by San Diego wages which means that they will most likely need to come down in price.

[oddstray]

How about living in a long-term motel for a month or so, while you scope out the neighborhoods for yourself?

[notinkeys]

While, I could do that, Oddstray (I've been in one for 2 months at the corporate HQ of these folks) the cost will drain reserves- that can run into a good bit of $$$. Even here in small town Virginia with a special rate, it's running almost 2500 bucks a month.