Santa Luz, Encinitas, Carlsbad?

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by D2015

Thanks everyone!
A few thoughts:

*Is walkable La Costa close to the beach? How about safety?

*Are there any walkable areas in Carlsbad? How about a trail take can take you to the beach?

*I read that CV has a high wildfire risk on Live Classy:

The Top Ten Neighborhoods in San Diego, CA

Is it not legit?

Thanks again!

It's not legit. It's bad use of statistics. When they discuss fire risk, they ignore the fact that it's closer to the coast and surrounded by homes. Wildfires do get as far west as that (I remember when La Costa burned), but it's quite rare. And even then, the homes that burn tend to be just the ones adjacent to open space.

[futbol]

Originally Posted by oddstray

It's not legit. It's bad use of statistics. When they discuss fire risk, they ignore the fact that it's closer to the coast and surrounded by homes. Wildfires do get as far west as that (I remember when La Costa burned), but it's quite rare. And even then, the homes that burn tend to be just the ones adjacent to open space.

I agree.

Those lists come from at best bad use of statistics or at worse a monkey throwing darts at a map. It is off on almost everything. Whomever came up with those is probably not from San Diego.

BTW OP, city-data.com has a stats section of the forum. Look at that to check neighborhoods.

Unless you are considering living out in the country or next to open space, or don't take the basic precautions against wildfires, that risk should not be a significant concern.

[D2015]

Awesome. Thanks guys....
I will check out some of the places mentioned next time I go.
Trail map is great. Thanks for that!

[mandasand]

I agree with Early about waiting to buy until you are in the area for a little while. My boss bought his house in Ramona before we relocated and I think he regrets his choice now. He took 3 scouting trips. Now he's been here for 6 months, he may have still bought in Ramona (they have horses), but he would have selected a different house given more time to decide. It's much more difficult to buy a house if you aren't already living in the area.

[procapital]

Originally Posted by mandasand

I agree with Early about waiting to buy until you are in the area for a little while. My boss bought his house in Ramona before we relocated and I think he regrets his choice now. He took 3 scouting trips. Now he's been here for 6 months, he may have still bought in Ramona (they have horses), but he would have selected a different house given more time to decide. It's much more difficult to buy a house if you aren't already living in the area.

If you don't live in the area, I agree, it is better to rent, We are doing that when we move next year to Santaluz or surrounding areas. Our plan is to rent a home similar to what we would buy, just to get the feeling of the lifestyle in and out of the house. we may rent for 12 months, maybe up to 18 months, depending on the market and what we see.

G

[rgb123]

it was hard for me to choose where to rent even! I live in California and made several trips and of course had been there before!

[earlyretirement]

Oh yeah, I think unless you know the area VERY well, renting is the way to go. I've been coming to San Diego since I was a kid on vacations. I'm talking many decades. While I knew some of the other areas well like La Jolla, Del Mar and a few other spots... NEVER on vacation did we ever spend time in the suburbs! Heck, I never even went to Carmel Valley until we started looking at houses.

My perception and great memories of La Jolla as a kid made me think we were going to buy there. But we spent many trips here visiting the area on house hunting trips over the course of a few years. We'd spend several weeks here during the summer and check out different areas.

You start to get a real flavor and feel the difference of spending a few days/weeks on vacation in an area and real time and what it would be like every day. From the weather, to the traffic, to what is around you, to researching the schools and getting to know the teachers/principal, etc.

The things that you THOUGHT were important before can totally change. And things like marine layering which aren't too big of a deal when you're on vacation is totally different vs. living with it day in and day out.

I don't think it takes too long to get a sense of the different areas/neighborhoods/communities but it does take time. And before making one of the biggest purchases of your life, I'd make sure that you get it right. In my opinion, you can't rush too much a decision like that.

And I think there are no stupid or silly questions so feel free to ask away. You can never stop learning about the area. I don't care how long you have lived in San Diego.... you can probably learn a thing or two new each and every day.

[D2015]

yeah I'm totally renting before buying. But rgb is right....it's even hard to choose where to rent! haha