Encanto? (San Diego, El Cajon, San Marcos: cul-de-sac, 2014, rent)

[nicfit13]

I noticed that the last relevant thread on the viability/safety of Encanto was in 2008 and wanted to revive the discussion. We currently, unfortunately, live in Baltimore and are hoping to relocate to San Diego. We are in our mid-30s, professionals, no intention of having children, and have three fantastic dogs. We are looking to buy in the under 400k range and noticed that a significant number of homes are in the Encanto area. Is there a main drag there with any interesting going on? How is the crime rate? Is it safe to have your car on the street? Coming from Baltimore where we've had a burglary with our cars stolen, a general sense of home safety is key. We'd love to live in North Park or the general surrounding area but are finding ourselves priced out of the market. Another area of consideration is City Heights or Ridgeview and the same questions would apply to those areas. We have family that lives in North Park and would desire to be a healthy bike ride from that area. Appreciate any and all feedback.

[tickyul]

Houses are cheaper in SCAREncanto for a reason.

I would strongly advise you to live there, get to really know what it is like.......before considering a home purchase.

[moved]

It actually depends on where in Encanto the house is.

[aboveordinary]

Encanto is the most ghetto place in all of San Diego. Wouldn't reccomend living there.

[kettlepot]

As of 2014, Encanto is considered a commercial desert. There is a main drag, but nothing is going on there, and many residents have to travel a fair distance to do their grocery shopping.

Do more research by searching for Encanto on Wikipedia and the on the Voice of San Diego website:

What Encanto Wants | Voice of San Diego

Regarding the crime issue, check this out from the City's website:

http://www.sandiego.gov/police/pdf/2...umneighbor.pdf

Encanto may be all of the negative things said above, but according to the statistics, it is not unusually unsafe. Perhaps as others have indicated, parts are safe and other parts are dangerous.

In the end, Encanto is where people live because other areas are too expensive.

[nicfit13]

A big thank you to all the commenters, this is all very helpful information.

[skeke]

You might try Rolando Park. Housing here is still affordable. I wouldn't live around the perimeters, but inside the neighborhood (post WWII Tract homes built by 4 different developers) is a quiet, safe neighborhood. Although I can't say much for University Avenue, if you just drive on up to El Cajon Blvd you will find restaurants etc, nice grocery store etc. We have an active Community Council and friendly neighbors.

[skeke]

I realize Rolando Park can be hard to find. On Zillow it is lumped in with Redwood Village (I prefer Rolando Park to Redwood Village). Our boundaries are University Ave to the north, College Ave to the west, College Ave (as it curves around and Frwy 94 to the south and 69th Street to the east. We are a predominately white neighborhood with the next largest ethnic group being Hispanic, but we have a lot of diversity. There is also a fair sized gay population, organized as the Rolando Park Rainbow group. It's a mix of blue collar and professionals. I have neighbors who are therapists, in construction, teachers, house cleaners, Navy personnel and college instructors. We run the gamut.

[lrmsd]

City Heights has a few okay areas ['south kensington' as it's sometimes called, basically the area bordering kensington [Kens. is VERY nice.] and the area bordering N. Park and Normal Heights has some hit or miss areas. The rest of CH is probably not where you want to buy a home, but there are sometimes decent blocks. Depends on the 'atmosphere' you want, which can be cultural as much as safety wise, in terms of lifestyle tendencies, noise, etc.

I strongly suggest, from reading your OP, that you rent for a year first. This gives you a chance to find out which areas are okay, and also, the option to possibly find something in north park or normal heights that fits the bill, since a good deal can sometimes be had, especially if you are in the area. Or, you might find a different area like San Marcos, to give you a better option for your money, more space for the dogs, etc. Maybe Eastlake by chula vista has some inventory [typically lower for SFH and the area is desirable with very good schools, not sure what the market is doing right now, but whenever people cannot afford the top school districts, the next option is san marcos or eastlake]. This is good b/c you want to buy in an area that will maintain or increase its value. Safe area with good school options is usually a good bet. Also, buying in December of off times of year sometimes brings good inventory for lower prices, b/c people need to sell and not as many buyers. SD market has recovered mostly from the housing crash, but I would not bet that city heights or encanto homes would necessarily hold their value based on today's prices-Research well to be sure the price is not inflated still in those areas, due to recovery from the last decade of housing booms and busts.

Alternatively, you may decide to get a nice condo in one of the suburban areas that backs to canyons or open space [clairemont, penasquitos, rancho bernardo], as the lifestyle with your dogs may be appreciated. One of the nice things about SD, that it is known for, is its urban canyons and hikes, accessible from many places in the city [not so much from north park, though there is balboa park and mission hills nearby has a few].

My point is that your interests and lifestyle may change when you move. Picturing your baltimore life in SD is not usually how it translates. Though, since you want to be near your family, you may want to research biking in SD. It's not terrible for a major metro, but not the best, either. There are many bike trails established, most of them suburban. the urban area is just okay; it's not portland oregon, that's for sure. You may also decide to buy a decent condo in north park, too, and just be near a good dog park. Lots are VERY small in SD/so cal as a whole, anyway, so unless your budget is in the millions, a large lot doesn't usually happen... [except for bad areas and sometimes parts of poway and escondido will give a larger lot for the money=less than million, maybe 800k].

[lrmsd]

Also, you asked about parking your car in certain areas: Car break ins and thefts are pretty common in SD, even in the north county upscale area where I currently live. My neighbor recently had the car window smashed and a few random things stolen, actually.

But check by zip code to see the current stats-when I lived in normal heights, my spouse and I each had our cars stolen once in the 3 years. We both got them back-though my spouses was impounded for two months by the police b/c it had been 'involved in a crime'. Mine was dropped off at the local DMV and left there after a week of presumable joy riding. Everything of course was stolen that was inside and a little vandalism but could be cleaned up. These were late model toyota and honda. [commonly stolen models also b/c we are on the border with Tijuana]. I later found out, after having my car broken into in broad daylight, in the Target parking lot in nearby Mission Valley, that the MV and Normal Heights areas have the highest auto theft in the county. That may have changed, so just google it by zip code to get an idea of the national average, city wide data vs. specific neighborhoods.

The good news is that SD ranks very low for violent crime and it does feel quite safe, laid back and clean for the most part. But...car theft/break ins is not a strong suit. My spouse is a SD native, grew up in nice middle class areas of the city, and always uses his 'club' to lock the wheel. Car Alarms obviously can take the place of that now. My point is just to share first hand perspective, not to go all 'chicken little' on this topic or anything. If you buy in CH, encanto, etc. you will want to take precautions for your car parked on the street adn sometimes your driveway [unless the street is tight knit and watches out for each other, which will help. But even in Clairemont, we had periods of breakins, on cul-de-sac streets with no through street, in quintessential suburban family areas. It's not like one is constantly thinking about this or feeling threatened by any means, but it is a part of the reality.

No doubt some poster will say they've *never* had anything happen, etc... Awesome! There's always an element of personal luck, IMO...but the statistics show better. I don't know how SD compares to other metro areas, such as yours. I know that SFO has the common 'smash and grab' scenario. And increased meth use nationwide has increased petty crimes and thefts...I'm just speaking for SD in that regard.