Oceanside Reloaction - Is it safe? (Downey, Vista: real estate, apartments, transfer to)

[missikie]

Thank you everyone. Your feedback has been very helpful.

[janineg]

I live in Oceanside, in the "Tri-City" area, where Oceanside meets Carlsbad and Vista. It's nice, and not sketchy at all. I've never seen any sign of gang problems, but Oceanside is big, and I mostly seem to do things in Carlsbad and Vista. In terms of middle schools, the good ones are Madison and Vista Magnet Middle, rating a 9 and an 8. These schools are in the Vista school district even though Madison is in Oceanside and the Magnet is in Vista, but takes from all areas of the district. Lake elementary in Oceanside is right next to Madison and scores a 9 out of 10. It's a sought after school, and you'd have to check district boundaries to be sure the house was within them. Here's an example of such a house: 3587 Newland Rd, Oceanside, CA 92056 | MLS# 110016243. The high school for this area is Rancho Buena Vista, decent, I believe.

[scratchNsniff]

Wow Oceanside to Long Beach is one heck of a commute, I hope your partner is going at off hours or on the train, I got a headache just thinking about it!! I really like Long Beach, it has some cool neighborhoods, maybe you should check out places in OC first? Good luck on the relocation!!

[missikie]

I have checked the crime statistics in Oceanside against those here in Santa Rosa, CA and they are equal...and Santa Rosa isn't a bad place to live. I think any city of siginificant size will have some problems with gangs and prostitution, you just have to know to stay away from those areas.

As far as the commute goes. His boss/friend is considering Oceanside. They will only be commuting 3 days per week, so he thinks it is worth the commute to be able to buy a nice home. I have been trying to convince him to look closer to work. Currently the office is in Carson but may be moving to Vernon (near Commerce). I have areas in OC, Anaheim Hills and SGV that I have lined up to see, but they are more expensive. Chino Hills is comparable to Oceanside in home prices.

As far as schools go...Southern California schools in the areas I have been researching have much higher API scores than the schools up here. And the schools up here are considered good. For instance: Windsor school API 790 Middle and 732 High school. Oceanside: King Middle is 846, Oceanside High is 750 and El Camino High is 771. I would, of course, prefer a school in the 800's.

Does anyone have any suggestions of nice, family friendly neighborhoods we can drive through when we are down there next week? I hear North Valley near the back gate is not an area I would be interested in.

Thanks again.

[janineg]

Well, you could try Rancho del Oro. From the 5, go 78 east, exit College and turn left on College. Drive a ways, and when you cross Oceanside Blvd., the neighborhood officially starts. The area to the west of College is Oceanside school district, and to the east is Vista Unified. If you end up with Vista Unified, you also have the option of the magnet High School, called Mission Vista High. It has an API of 830 and it's in Oceanside. Here's a house in Rancho del Oro: 1712 Corte Viejo, Oceanside, CA 92056 | MLS# 110017701

Now, if you want to strike gold, try for northern Carlsbad. Here's one in your price range: 3700 Azimuth Pl, Carlsbad, CA 92010 | MLS# 110011186

And the neighborhood I mentioned in my first post, which feeds into Madison and Rancho Buena Vista, is a blending of the neighborhoods "Vista Calavera" and "Shadowridge". To drive through it, go on 5, then 78 east, then exit Emerald and turn right on Emerald, turn right on Skyhaven, then turn left on Lake Blvd. and drive along it and it's side streets. Before you dead end into Cannon, you'll see Madison Middle on your left. Here's a house nearby with a backyard on a preserve with a lake: 4391 Serena Ave, Oceanside, CA 92056 | MLS# 110021398 It's a great preserve to take walks in.

[Oerdin]

Like any where else there are good parts of town and bad parts of town though honestly the "bad" parts aren't that bad. Essentially the gangs are confined to the hispanic parts of Oceanside so don't have your kids go to a school in those areas and you likely won't have problems.

[tickyul]

You can live in a city and get an inpression that is accurate for the little universe you exist in. I am not saying the opinon of people who post in this manner does not have some validity.....but....remember, lots of times it is not a broad picture.

THERE ARE nice parts of Oceanside and some really scary parts that have been taken over by gangbangers and creeps......YMMV, best to do your research and accept the fact that there is going to be a need to be cautious in most parts of California.

From what I have read there is quite a good sized Somoan Gang problem in Oceanside.....among all of the other dreck.

[missikie]

We came down last month and looked at Rancho Del Oro and Ivey Ranch areas. After doing more research, I think I would be more interested in the Sandalwood area of Vista, or anywhere South of the 78 near the Carlsbad/Oceanside/Vista area. Does anyone have any info on these areas?

We will be coming down again in a few weeks to look for a rental. Looking for a 4 Bdrm up to $2150 per month.

I know about about avoiding North Valley (especially in light of the recent violence). Can anyone be specific about which other areas I should avoid? (And, in light of a smart a** comment made earlier in this thread, please be serious, as I have children to be concerned about and this is a major life change for us). Thank you.

[sammustanggirl92]

I am a young white girl, with a nice car, live off Rancho Del Oro (known as one the the nicest areas in Oceanside), But I am not bragging, just here to say the Oceanside is not ghetto at all!
And as far as gangs go, i've read so much about them but am everywhere in the main parts of Oceanside, all the time, & have never had any problem, confrontation, been robbed, anything at all.

If I HAD to pick the "ghetto" parts, this would be them. But I'll give a description. & no specific order.

1. The area of Mission Ave from I5 to around Canyon Dr- Driving down it, which most everyone in Oceanside has to a lot to get to the 5, looks a little worn out, older buildings.. Hispanics walking around, waiting for bus.. But do I see white people as well, yes. & I haven't walked down this stretch, but I know for a fact that if I did nobody would mess with me. People may not be able to afford as much, but for the most part are still nice people. I Hear that there is a neighborhood near the casino which is also on this stretch, that has a lot of gang related things going on. But this is a NEIGHBORHOOD. Maybe 1 square mile? No big deal, I've never had to deal with it and i'm always driving by there on Mission. The neighborhood is supposedly South of Mission across the st. from Casino Oceans 11.

2. The one near Douglas Drive & Vandegrift/ River Rd. I hear that the neighborhood (this hood I believe is a bit bigger than the above mentioned, however is on the very outskirts of the city, I have never driven there, EXCEPT to investigate.) Supposed Samoan Gangs.. This is the North East corner of the city.. There is a bunch of neighborhoods incorporated into the "North Valley" (a region of Oceanside) Some of them have very nice houses, but I guess a couple of them have things going on. & the was a shooting at Libby Lake Park a couple months ago (in that area). But if you live in 96% of any other part of Oceanside, this area can & usually WILL be avoided by you. There is nothing back there except Camp P, & even to get to Camp P you don't have to get off the main road. What I'm trying to say is, if you live in 95% of Oceanside And have to go to the highway, gym, grocery store, etc etc etc, you will absolutely not have to go anywhere near this.

3. The area around the intersection of Coast Highway & Oceanside Blvd, in every direction going a few blocks out, is a bit shady. But again normal Oceanside residents and tourists drive thru here everyday. It is part of the main drag. I haven't heard much about this area as far as gangs, etc, so don't quote me (or any of this) but this is from my experience and observations. I see African American, Hispanics walking around this area as well as the #1 area, waiting for the bus.. Not too sure about the neighborhoods, because it is right by the beach I'd think there have to be some pretty valuable houses, so this is a tough one. But at night time, I also see cops driving thru this area and shady characters. However, just earlier tonight, I went to the Carwash which is right next door to the bowling alley, on Coast Highway, about a block South of Oceanside Blvd. Im a young, white girl with a mustang, wearing shorts and a tank top in the dark. And the carwash is kind of tucked away, so I honestly think if anyone wanted to rob me, they could have. Image a square with only 1 of the 4 sides you can get out of... and the 1 side would be to Coast Hway. The other 3 sides are gated off. I did get a little nervous as I took forever washing, then vacuuming my car, & walking all the way to the back to get quarters. I was looking over my shoulder a lot. But saw nothing shady except for the kinda creepy older person walking down Coast Hway and glancing at me...

Okay i'm getting extremely tired, because It is impossible for me not to write so much detail!
I'd say there is practically no ghetto inside this HUGE square in Oceanside. From the 5 to the 78 to College Blvd to the 76. That's practically the whole city and is all very very nice! with the exception of the 1st area I described (Mission near the 5). Which is may 2 or 3% of the area. Thanks guys.. Again there are of course a couple small little places but nothing bit at all I promise you this!

And I'm not positive of the EXACT Oceanside/Vista border so if there is any ghetto that may barely have made it in Oceanside right near the border, it is not listed here, because I think that's all Vista.

[missikie]

Thanks for the detailed info. After visiting several times, we narrowed our search to Rancho Del Oro, Ivey Ranch and the Shadowridge area of Vista.

We found a great home in Ivey Ranch. We have discovered Oceanside is very much like Santa Rosa (where we are from). Like every city, it has it's shady areas, but for the most part seems to be a very nice place to live.

We started moving last week. We will be official residents of Oceanside on July 26th! :-)