San Elijo Hills vs nearby Carlsbad communities ? (San Diego, Orange: real estate, crime rates)

[SoundsGood2]

Hi guys,

We'll be moving from across the country to So Cal and we're torn between South Orange County and North San Diego County.

What's important to us are good schools (we have an 8 yr old son) and a family friendly community that has neighborhood activities, fun stuff to do, nice amenities, etc.

For the SD part of the decision, I'm trying to compare San Elijo Hills to nearby Carlsbad communities like Rancho Carrillo (or Bressi Ranch or La Costa Greens).

Any thoughts or comments on this would be appreciated.

Also, are there any advantages or disadvantages to living in "San Marcos" vs. living in "Carlsbad" that we might not be aware of?


P.S. -- not that it matters in this SD forum, but the OC communities we're considering are Talega in San Clemente and maybe Ladera Ranch (just to give you some perspective).

Thanks!

[sdhkshdcny09]

Honestly, all those communities are nice...

I was looking for some past posts regarding SEH, Bressi, La Costa Valley, and Carrillo and it looks like I was responding to you in a previous one lol

http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-d...o-hills-2.html

I'm sure you are getting tired of hearing my opinion, but I just wanted to give you a heads up about schools in this immediate area. All of these neighborhood schools are or are becoming very overcrowded. San Elijo and Bressi are not built out and Old Creek Ranch (goes to Carrillo) is currently being completed with 3 different developments. The # of students at La Costa Meadows is going to swell in the next few years as the young children of new homeowners from La Costa Ridge and La Costa Greens become enrolled. For some parents that is a major concern, so I thought you should know. Also, SM Unified is renovating much of La Costa Meadows (serves La Costa Greens), so it won't be as bad there in about 2 years. Carlsbad High is pretty crowded right now, but fortunately they are building a brand new high school right down the street from the area!

As for disadvantages/advantages of the 2 cities: Well the fact that Carlsbad is a beach town makes it awesome. It's more temperate and is one of the most well-maintained/manicured cities in the county. In terms of real estate, it is a more solid investment. It's easy to go south to downtown or up to orange county and the traffic is generally not too bad. (There are a lot of cars, but there are a lot of large arterial streets to minimize backups). San Marcos is much cheaper for housing and there is more "practical" shopping. Carlsbad has 2 malls and an auto area, but it's not like people shop there weekly (no offense if you plan to lol). San Marcos has a lot more families, with the exception of Lake San Marcos, which isn't in the city boundaries anyways. There was a recent article in the local paper discussing how the 80+ portion of the senior population grew 130%+ in carlsbad... San Marcos is also more hispanic and poor. There is a large amount of affordable housing in the central parts of the city. Oh, and San Marcos also has a very nice parks!

Although some people may not agree with me, the two cities actually have a lot in common. I know that doesn't help you out much, but they really do. Spatially they look similar- lots of large tract home communities, with occasional office park areas. Schools perform at nearly identical levels, they both have a lot of shopping and restaurants, the local governments are fiscally responsible, crime rates are comparable, good parks and decent open space acreage, they are politically conservative, etc. To put it simply, if you were dropped in the middle of a suburban neighborhood in the area, more than likely you couldn't distinguish between carlsbad and san marcos. The lifestyles are very similar.

and sorry about what happened on that other thread...

[SoundsGood2]

Thanks, rhanifin. Always happy to hear your opinion. Although other's opinions would be nice too!

[JakeDog]

They are all in the same high school district and all have good but overcrowded elementary schools. Carillo is prettier than SEH, but SEH probably has the highest amount of young families/kids. Bressi Ranch seems odd to me (huge homes on small lots). La Costa Greens is probably the nicest looking, but has far fewer young families. All are pretty comprable, SEH is more "stark" looking, Carillo is very attractive, Greens is slightly closer to the ocean. If $$$ is your top priority, SEH is the best deal b/c it isn't that different than the other two and costs less. I'd pick Carillo over La Costa Greens if you want families (this is based on friends who live in La Costa Greens that say it is pretty stand-offish). I'd probably eliminate Bressi Ranch from my consideration unless you got a great deal.

Edit to add: look into La Costa Valley and La Costa Oaks too.

[SoundsGood2]

JakeDog, awesome info.

Thanks very much!!

[SoundsGood2]

If we go with SD county (vs OC county) I think we're down to either San Elijo Hills or Rancho Carrillo. Any other thoughts on these two communities would be appreciated.

Thank you!