Possibly Moving to Carlsbad, CA from Metro Atlanta, GA ~ Seeking Advice! (2015, credit)

[BUCD]

Any thoughts on San Marcos area? Good place for single family homes, costs? Good diversity of people? Google Maps shows 20mins to Carlsbad on 78, likely not during rush hour I presume. I don't need a home by the sea. Going a little inland as long as the commute to Carlsbad is under 45mins one-way, I can manage.

[BUCD]

Read through a bunch of threads after searching "Carlsbad" in this forum. The concensus seems to be...

• Encinitas, Leucadia (latter more 'affordable'). Encinitas has good community feel, is diverse, family friendly, but pricier.
• Poway (more inland, also more 'affordable'). Would like to know more please.
• Solana Beach? San Clemente? Would like to know more please.
• San Elijo Hills/San Marcos? More inland, so hotter, which doesn't bother me (unless it gets over low 90's. But, diverse, family friendly?)
• La Costa, south Carlsbad? Good area to live, but pricey? Compared to Encinitas?

[oddstray]

Commute from Poway to Carlsbad would be pushing that 45 minutes criterion, and may take even longer than that. I don't know for sure, but I'm guessing you'll find more diversity in Carlsbad than in Poway. It's good for single-family homes, and has a highly-regarded school district. Poway is large, and has areas that might be more affordable than Carlsbad, and also has areas that are quite expensive (million-dollar properties).

[Marinadistrict]

Grew up in Encinitas, just bought a house there. Here's my take:

Encinitas/Leucadia: Leucadia is cheap to rent a dumpy apartment along the train tracks. It is incredibly expensive to buy any type of house west of I-5. Encinitas is wonderful in that it has it's own downtown, another separate, strip center style shopping zone, and plenty of housing types, beaches and top schools. I believe the 92024 zip carries a premium over 92009 and 92008 as far as home prices.

Poway: hotter, good schools, parts of it are more affordable. I found that house prices for similar tract homes near the coast are very similar, with the possibility of finding a 2000 sq ft house a bit higher in Poway in the $600s range. Commute to Carlsbad will not be very fun.

Solana Beach: incredibly expensive but beautiful. Like starting at 800K for 2000 sq ft tract homes overlooking I-5.

San Elijo: fairly new development with some larger homes, townhomes, and a town square type central area with schools and stores. Seems nice, gets warmer than right on the coast, but I'd say more 80's in the summer than anything else. In my head, I think of it as basically La Costa but in the San Marcos city limits.

La Costa: La Costa and 92009 in general I found was much more affordable than Encinitas - I'd say maybe $50K-100K difference for similar houses. La Costa is very nice but has limited shopping/dining within it's area, and you will likely just drive to Encinitas for nightlife and dining - it's not that far. Schools are split between Carlsbad, Encinitas and San Marcos districts depending on where you are.

[Marinadistrict]

One other thing, make sure you educate yourself on Mello Roos. They can run 300-500 dollars a month in many of the new Carlsbad/La Costa developments. If you can deal with an established neighborhood, you can avoid these additional monthly costs.

[BUCD]

Thank you both.

[sdhkshdcny09]

Originally Posted by BUCD

Any thoughts on San Marcos area? Good place for single family homes, costs? Good diversity of people? Google Maps shows 20mins to Carlsbad on 78, likely not during rush hour I presume. I don't need a home by the sea. Going a little inland as long as the commute to Carlsbad is under 45mins one-way, I can manage.

Well if depends on where you are going in Carlsbad. Technically they share a border, so it may only be one road width from San Marcos. Fortunately, if you are doing a San Marcos- Carlsbad commute on the 78, you are avoiding the bottlenecks of the I-5/78 interchange and the Las Posas to I-15/78 interchange. Unless you live in eastern San Marcos, then you will have a bit longer commute.

The best climate (San Diego has microclimates) is in the San Elijo- La Costa, Shadowridge areas, which are far enough inland to have some heat and a less noticeable marine layer, but are close enough to the coast to have moderate summer temps.

Carlsbad is much more expensive than neighboring cities. The cheapest, nice community is probably Shadowridge (South Vista), while San Marcos has nicer (and much newer) neighborhoods for a bit more. Shadowridge is a bit dull and San Marcos has better shopping/parks/trails. I live on the border of Shadowridge and SM, but usually find myself doing most things in San Marcos or Carlsbad.

[WhatUpFLA]

Originally Posted by IvanMurat

My wife and I are considering a move to SD from Rhode Island. To be honest, it's more of a dream than a plan right now. We've been there are couple of times and fell in love with the place. Reading a lot of negativity in this forum about the cost of living, but checking on the cost of renting home or condo (town home as you guys call them), it's really not much different than NYC or Boston or Providence. You get what you pay for. We own a rental property built in 1860 and we get $1600 a month for the lower levels and $800 for the tiny 3rd floor apt. This is in a distressed neighborhood where unfortunately, a lot of sex offenders live and crime is high. I think the ones who claim that it's so expensive are the ones who have never lived outside of SD. In Rhode Island, we are taxed to death. I was leasing a car from honda a couple of years ago and every quarter I'd get a property tax bill where they actually add sales tax on top of the property tax being paid! Between the two modest homes we own, we pay about $15000 annually for property tax and sewer tax. Water bill is about $600 a year per home. We've been to the supermarkets in SD and found the food prices to be lower. Gas prices may be higher, but we are not the type who drive to the convenience store for a pack of cigarettes. We are cyclist and love the outdoors. In RI as in most of the northeast, winter begins in October and ends in April. How can anyone put a price on having a warm climate 12 months out of the year (instead of 6)? If quality of life is crap for 1/2 the time and the cost of renting a decent condo in SD is pretty much the same as here, it's a no-brainer to move. We love the geography there, the climate, the ocean, the desert, the hills. It all reminds us of the middle east- say the south coast of Turkey. It's just unbelievably beautiful- and if you live in SD all your life I can see how it can be taken for granted- that's natural. If you are really tired of San Diego's lifestyle, it's people or it's traffic, come and see Boston or Providence. You will go running back after 30 days! Traffic in Boston is a horror show. Homes are also $600k+ in the nice neighborhoods. Gas may be cheaper but who cares? The weather is crap for 6 months out of the year. We are very sensitive to wintertime. It's an emotional downer and it can't be good for your health to hate the cold and be relatively depressed 1/2 the year. At any rate, we're self employed with an online business selling children's bikes. We import them from Taiwan and would get the benefit of much cheaper ocean freight. So basically we can live anywhere in terms of running our business. I am also in construction but very close to being able to quit that career and focus 100% on our business. I have to believe that selling outdoor products like bikes in SD is as challenging as it is here in the Northeast.
At any rate, sorry for the rambling post- it's my first here actually but these thoughts have been pent up after reading so many people complain about how expensive it is. It's not that big a deal if you are a renter. Seems like buying a home is a poor choice when so many beautiful townhomes are offered for about $2000 a month. What's the difference anyway? between owning and renting? A $4000 monthly mortgage is not necessary. Iam astonished at how many rental properties are offered on Craigslist in SD. The supply obviously exceeds demand. Again, a no-brainer. Thanks for reading.

My advice for you and your wife is to turn your dreams of relocating to San Diego into reality. I think the two of you should go for it. You have nothing to lose.

Like you guys, I am also from Rhode Island. I moved to South Florida in 2010 and I am strongly contemplating a move to San Diego in the near future. However, I have no intentions of ever moving back to Rhode Island. Most Rhode Islanders will relocate to a different state and then eventually move back to Rhode Island at some point in their lives, but not me. While most of my friends from high school who moved away are looking to return, I'm looking to move someplace new and different. I'm not really a Rhode Islander, even though I was born and raised there, because I'm so different from all of the ones I know.

Recently, I have had my sights set on both San Diego and Austin. I have yet to visit Austin, so I obviously can't make a decision without visiting there first. But like you guys, I do love San Diego as well.

You will be much happier once you move out of Rhode Island. San Diego, at least in my opinion, beats Rhode Island in nearly every category. You only live once: Don't waste your lives in Rhode Island. That's always been my motto.

[BUCD]

Very helpful rhanifin, thanks. Got the job offer, and after a little negotiating, I'm hopeful I can accept it.

[sherylmb]

I help people out with this all time - people moving from out-of-state to relocate in Carlsbad. I think the advice you have already rec'd - rent first - isn't a bad idea. Otherwise, I would suggest some time out in Carlsbad before you make a decision. I usually give my clients a driving tour for them to do on their own. It takes them through neighborhoods that fit their price range. Then after driving it themselves, we discuss the areas they like. Ideally, at that point it is good to rent in that area, so you can see if you really do like it.

As mentioned in an earlier thread, prices are going up - and so are interest rates. Just something to keep in mind, but I don't know that a year is going to make a huge difference.

With your budget concerns, I might suggest you look at San Marcos - San Elijo Hills, Discovery Hills, and Twin Oaks Valley are a few areas that might interest you. The Shadowridge area of Vista, which borders Carlsbad, is another option.

Hope that helps.