Del Mar/Encinitas vs Scripps/Poway (San Diego, Carlsbad: real estate, apartments, to rent)

[jklmnop]

I have finally decided on San Diego and will be moving there this summer with my wife and 3 young boys ages 1, 5, and 6. Right now I am honing in on Del Mar/Encinitas and Scripps/Poway. I hear that the school districts are pretty good and that both are family friendly. Similar commute times to Hillcrest and National City where I will be working. I work odd hours so likely will miss most of the rush hour traffic. Similar real estate prices though maybe an edge to Scripps/Poway. I'll be renting for the first year but would like to eventually buy a home depending on how the job goes. Del Mar/Encinitas obviously has the edge with respect to proximity to the ocean. Which would you choose and why? I am also open to any other suggestions for neighborhoods. Thanks.

[Cardiff Kook]

Del Mar and Encinitas for me. Then again, I don't have kids and i like a closer proximity to the beach

[oddstray]

Rancho Penasquitos (RP) and Rancho Bernardo (RB) are closer to I-15 than Poway/Scripps, and are in the same school district. You might have a look at those. They're both family-friendly communities. They are much more bedroom communities than Del Mar/Encinitas, in case that matters.

There are newer communities in central North County, including 4S Ranch, Torrey Pines, Del Sur, ... (which ones am I missing?). Those are also in Poway USD, but farther from I-15. You'd need to use either I-5 or I-15 to get into the central areas of San Diego because the canyons interrupt some of the surface streets.

[lrmsd]

I live in carmel valley, just south of del mar, after 3 years each in clairemont and central san diego. carmel valley is perfect for families, which is why we moved here. it's 3 miles from torrey pines state beach, with no freeways to get there....and walking distance to theaters, stores, including health food market, plenty of parks, clean, wide sidewalks, etc. The schools are top in san diego county, though i think technically poway is considered the number one, currently. CV is close behind. We homeschooled for a few years, and charter schools before that, and are very, very happy with carmel valley schools thus far.

Encinitas is fabulous; it's more our style, but the schools are less consistent, b/c it's a bigger city than CV suburb, and we could not afford the better districts there. We get more for our money (renting or buying) in CV, and like that it's centrally located to the 5, 805 and 56-so we can be north or south very quickly. [La Jolla/UTC is 15 minutes, for example; Encinitas is the same]. It's also just before the del mar 805/5 merge, which is nearly always slow. Instead, you take the local road or 56. Extremely easy traffic wise.
However, Encinitas is a really great town, and if you prefer more liberal vibe, alternative culture, then choose this over CV, which is pretty staid and sterile in comparison.

Poway is also great; I prefer CV b/c it has a little more vitality [IMO], easier access to health food,etc and more precisely b/c it's 10 degrees cooler in the summer. Poway does get hot, though of course you can easily drive to the coast in 30 minutes. Scripps Ranch is fine, as well. I lived there for a brief stint in the 90's, and found it quite liveable.

One other area where you budget might stretch: La Costa canyon in carlsbad; their school district is also considered one of the best in the county. I have also heard good things about San Elijo Hills, which is between carlsbad and san marcos.

Your commute will be shortened by about 10-15 minutes, if you live in Carmel Valley, of the places mentioned. [estimated]. The drive to Hillcrest will be a virtual piece of cake, as you go south on the 805 against traffic. I used to drive my son to a charter school there, and you would not hit traffic until after hillcrest [it's a bit round about, but easier than the 163, that time of day, or you'd hop on the 8west for about one exit, literally, and take the road up, at hotel circle, arriving behind the hospital in hillcrest]. Um, a little traffic flow opinion/tip there....(:

Otherwise, you have already done your homework, and your info is correct as far as commute times, etc.

If you want one other option, closer to national city, and a little closer to hillcrest, check Clairemont-specifically the part next to tecolote canyon/bay park. You'll get more for your money (renting or buying), it's easy access to 5 and 805, and 10 minutes from the beach. Mostly 50's style family homes, with garages and larger lots, relative to SD. Many homes on the canyon. We lived there for 3 yrs and my spouse grew up in that area. the schools are more hit or miss than poway, but you can find good options.....Also, family lives there, and they open enrolled their kids for high school at La Jolla high school, so open enrollment in any school in SD city district is also an option, at all grade levels. [This would not be poway, scripps, carmel valley, etc, but la jolla is in SD school district]....

Good luck and enjoy the area!

[futbol]

Smart of you to rent for a year. You'll get a feel for the area.

Both areas have very good schools.

My choice has been inland (Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Scripps, Rancho Penasquitos, etc.). We drive 15 minutes more on weekends if we want to go to the beach.

Inland is less crowded and you get a little more for your $$$.

As mentioned, I15/163 are more commute-friendly than I5/I805.

[earlyretirement]

I think all these previous posts are spot on target. I guess the important thing to ask is what is your maximum budget to purchase? Because Del Mar is a much more expensive area vs. Poway or Scripps Ranch. So I guess that would be the first factor to see. If money were not a factor than I'd definitely go with Del Mar.

But all of these areas are GREAT for raising kids. We have 2 young kids and we LOVE the area. We ended up buying in Santaluz which is adjacent to Fairbanks Ranch and Del Sur and we absolutely love the area.

We rented in Carmel Valley for a few months while we were waiting to move into our house and that's also a great area for kids and very convenient. However, it was a bit too high density for my taste as there are many more apartments and townhomes there. But the area was fabulous and kid friendly as well.

The school district in both Carmel Valley and the Poway School District are really great! So you can't go wrong there. We have friends that live in Poway proper and they really enjoy it and lots of family there. However, for me I prefer closer to the coast. It's amazing the difference in temperature once you pass I-15. It's only a few miles but many times I can leave my house and the car then drive over to Poway and it will be a full 8 to 10 degree difference!

Encinitas and Carlsbad are nice but I just find them too far out for my taste. Even if you can travel in non-rush hour traffic, I still find it's too far out for my preference.

I think Del Mar would be PERFECT if you have a higher budget. We looked in Del Mar but couldn't find a house big enough and modern enough for our taste. But I'd absolutely LOVE to live there. But you aren't far from the beaches if you're in the Carmel Valley or RB, RPQ area.

Personally I found it a better value for the money going a few miles past Carmel Valley. I couldn't understand people spending $1 million on homes piled on top of one another with no privacy at communities like Pacific Highland Ranch in Carmel Valley.

Good luck.

[jklmnop]

Originally Posted by oddstray

Rancho Penasquitos (RP) and Rancho Bernardo (RB) are closer to I-15 than Poway/Scripps, and are in the same school district. You might have a look at those. They're both family-friendly communities. They are much more bedroom communities than Del Mar/Encinitas, in case that matters.

There are newer communities in central North County, including 4S Ranch, Torrey Pines, Del Sur, ... (which ones am I missing?). Those are also in Poway USD, but farther from I-15. You'd need to use either I-5 or I-15 to get into the central areas of San Diego because the canyons interrupt some of the surface streets.

Thanks. I hadn't really considered some of those areas. I'll take a closer look at Rancho Bernardo and Penasquitos. Where exactly is Del Sur? Also I thought Torrey Pines was mostly commercial/industrial?

[oddstray]

Ick. I went to the community map on the City of San Diego website and they've changed it to go along with the planning districts. So it no longer includes the "sub" area names - just bigger, lumped-together planning-district names.

Wikipedia has a list of communities, but it's pretty far out-of-date.

Anyone got a link to a better San Diego area neighborhoods map? Maybe this is now the best one: http://www.city-data.com/nbmaps/neig...alifornia.html

[AADAD]

Its about 15 minutes to National City from Scripps Ranch. I like Encinitas but I like Scripps Ranch better more trees less snobs IMO. Check out Poway as well.

[jklmnop]

Originally Posted by lrmsd

Your commute will be shortened by about 10-15 minutes, if you live in Carmel Valley, of the places mentioned. [estimated]. The drive to Hillcrest will be a virtual piece of cake, as you go south on the 805 against traffic. I used to drive my son to a charter school there, and you would not hit traffic until after hillcrest [it's a bit round about, but easier than the 163, that time of day, or you'd hop on the 8west for about one exit, literally, and take the road up, at hotel circle, arriving behind the hospital in hillcrest]. Um, a little traffic flow opinion/tip

Thanks lrmsd, very helpful and insightful. Much appreciated. I met another Local who mentioned the same thing. He said the bottleneck starts north of del mar heights and to stay south of there. If it is a huge factor it does limit me from the encinitas and other northern county areas.