Help Please! Commute to Solana Beach from Vista or San Marcos better? (Escondido: renting, buying a home)

[wanttoteach]

Hello guys,
I am thrilled to say that I just accepted a job in Solana Beach. Now we need to buy a home. We are renting in Fallbrook right now and it takes 1 hour to get there with some traffic-way too long. Now...we wanted to buy in the Orleavo Heights area in Vista which is right off of the 78. Yahoo maps says it is about 28 miles away. Thinking that San Marcos might be closer, but it came out about the same. But, I know that adding traffic to the mix will totally make things different. I plan on leaving my home around 6 am and leaving Solana Beach at around 3:45 every day. With traffic at these times, is Vista or San Marcos closer? Is San Marcos landlocked?

Do you have any recommendations as to where to buy a home? We are looking at about 400-450k (not much I know). We didn't want to buy a tract home but we are definitely willing now. I would really, really appreciate your input.

[jksouthbay88]

I-5 traffic southbound is slow at least12 hours a day(6-6) 6 days a week
(not on Sundays)
78 traffic through San Marcos can get real slow but that is only 15 mins of slowing compared to 45+ mins on the 5

[wanttoteach]

Originally Posted by jksouthbay88

I-5 traffic southbound is slow at least12 hours a day(6-6) 6 days a week
(not on Sundays)
78 traffic through San Marcos can get real slow but that is only 15 mins of slowing compared to 45+ mins on the 5

So do you think Vista, San Marcos, or Escondido would be closer to Solana Beach including traffic time?

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by wanttoteach

So do you think Vista, San Marcos, or Escondido would be closer to Solana Beach including traffic time?

Vista is closest, Escondido is worst. Traffic is heaviest from the 78 / 5 interchange to Del Mar. I would budget anywhere from 60 mins to 90 mins on a bad day.

The only way to avoid the traffic is to live on the 56 corridor or south of Del Mar.

I work in Carmel Valley now and commute from SDSU area, it is 30 mins if I leave at 6AM and 45 in the afternoon. If I leave at 5 PM and hit traffic the whole way home it is 60 minutes. The total trip is about 19 miles. If you hit solid traffic from Solana Beach to Vista it might take you 2 hours to get home.

If you are going to live in the 78 corridor traffic is the tradeoff that is keeping your house cheap. If you want to avoid traffic, don't live on the 78 corridor.

[wanttoteach]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Vista is closest, Escondido is worst. Traffic is heaviest from the 78 / 5 interchange to Del Mar. I would budget anywhere from 60 mins to 90 mins on a bad day.

The only way to avoid the traffic is to live on the 56 corridor or south of Del Mar.

I work in Carmel Valley now and commute from SDSU area, it is 30 mins if I leave at 6AM and 45 in the afternoon. If I leave at 5 PM and hit traffic the whole way home it is 60 minutes. The total trip is about 19 miles. If you hit solid traffic from Solana Beach to Vista it might take you 2 hours to get home.

If you are going to live in the 78 corridor traffic is the tradeoff that is keeping your house cheap. If you want to avoid traffic, don't live on the 78 corridor.

We are looking at a home in San Marcos just before Elijo Hills. What time does the traffic get bad in the evening? What if I was to leave Del Mar at about 4pm?

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by wanttoteach

We are looking at a home in San Marcos just before Elijo Hills. What time does the traffic get bad in the evening? What if I was to leave Del Mar at about 4pm?

traffic starts at 3 and is bumper-to-bumper by 4, every single day, Friday afternoons are the worst.

[Kaligirl]

If you are looking at buying a home on either the South End of Vista (Shadowridge) or the South End of San Marcos, then you could avoid taking the 78 freeway. You could take Palomar Airport Road to the I-5 instead. Both of these areas are beautiful and have alot to offer and come together at the east side of Carlsbad, also another lovely area. Good luck to you!
Kali

[wanttoteach]

Originally Posted by Kaligirl

If you are looking at buying a home on either the South End of Vista (Shadowridge) or the South End of San Marcos, then you could avoid taking the 78 freeway. You could take Palomar Airport Road to the I-5 instead. Both of these areas are beautiful and have alot to offer and come together at the east side of Carlsbad, also another lovely area. Good luck to you!
Kali

This is EXACTLY what I am planning on doing. We found only a few homes in our range, but did not love them. We put an offer on one today, and we will see what happens.

[Kaligirl]

Wanttoteach, well good luck to you. Hope your offer goes through for you and your family....and if so welcome to North County. You'll love it here and by the way this weather right now is very unusual, it's normally a clear blue sky virtually all day long. Let us know if you get the place!
Kali

[AMused]

Doesn't anyone commute from Escondido through RSF via the Del Dios Hwy to get to Solana Beach anymore? I made that commute for 8 or 9 years, but that was 20 years ago!