Is Del Mar the right fit for our family? (San Diego: to rent, new home)

[MsBrightSide]

We are moving to San Diego in July, and have children that will be attending high school, and elementary. This is our first time to live by the ocean, and we decided to rent our first year. We chose Del Mar/Carmel Valley/Encinitas area based on the better public schools, and it was one of the few places where the neighborhoods felt like home to us coming from Northern Cali. We have decided to squeeze into a tiny home if it means a better education and safer neighborhood. We also loved the Carmel Mountain area and considered a larger home there, but it did feel far from the ocean. Personally I love the heat, but my husband prefers the coastal weather. Having never experienced coastal living it will be a fun change for us. His downtown commute will be late afternoon to early evening, but otherwise he will be working North County.

What are the people like in the Del Mar area? My concern is we will be one of the few conservative families in the area, and what that will mean for our children attending public schools. In Northern California, the wealthier coastal towns are strongly leftist. The intolerance and hatred toward conservatives in those areas have been a problem in the public schools (kids even getting bullied), and obviously the Universities are the most intolerant of opposing views. The inland suburban and rural areas are more middle and lower middle class with conservative/libertarian values, and even there we have trouble with the public schools preaching left wing politics. We had to put our children in a charter school as a result.

Are we going to find the same thing in Del Mar/Encinitas/Carmel Valley? If I have to worry about our children being indoctrinated with leftism in these better public schools, then making the sacrifices to live in these areas becomes questionable.

[bloom]

^ Give me a break.
The north part of SD is more conservative then the southern part, in general.
I would be more concerned about the dumb-down anti-science/climate change/evolution conservative pro-gun treasonous rightist, intolerant, and rascist indoctrination in many regions of the country.
This part of SoCal is relatively balanced on average.

[rcjhku]

Yes

[moved]

"coming from Northern Cali"

We don't live in "Cali," we live in California. This is Cali: Santiago de Cali, usually known by its short name "Cali", is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in western Colombia.

[Fran66]

You don't say how old your children are -- but what is wrong with them being exposed to liberalism? I would never object to my children being exposed to conservatism. Children are their own persons. They'll grow up to be adults. They'll make up their own minds (whether we like it or not). And life goes on. And while politics is certainly important -- at any age after 6th grade -- what is much more important is if people are kind, caring, loving, generous. Towards others and towards themselves. I know both liberals and conservatives who are just great human beings. That's more important to me than anything else.

As for being bullied in school -- that seems to be the name of the game these days, no matter where you go. Kids get bullied for anything and everything. You have a much better chance of that not happening if you put them in a private school.

Don't arrive in Del Mar -- or anywhere -- expecting discrimination and/or a fight. You may just get what you expect.

No doubt, if you get involved in politics in some way in San Diego County, you will make friends who are conservatives too. You may be in the minority -- but, really, who really cares? San Diego County is a great place to live.

[Fran66]

Oh -- I forgot my favorite story.

There was this guy who was on the road, moving to his new home town. He stopped at a gas station just outside the new city, and asked the owner how the people were in town. The gas station owner asked, "How were the people in your old home town?" The traveler said, "Oh, they were just great. Really good people." The gas station owner smiled, "I think you'll find the people in your new home town are the same way."

[malcorub16]

Originally Posted by Fran66

As for being bullied in school -- that seems to be the name of the game these days, no matter where you go. Kids get bullied for anything and everything. You have a much better chance of that not happening if you put them in a private school.

Can you imagine being in middle school and getting picked on because your mom didn't vote for Obama or because your parents voted for prop 8?

Now if your kid is older and an open activist on campus for certain causes regardless of what side they are on, that comes with the territory.

[LuvSouthOC]

What does indoctrinated with leftism really mean? What is left and right at this point when we have a democratic president defending things we never imagined (NSA, unending drone strikes et. al) or when we had a republican president before our current one who embroiled us in two ridiculous wars, bloated the deficit and in the process destroyed our then fragile economy?

But I see this another Post 1, Reputation 10, post designed to stir the pot. Don't eed the froll.

[Pedro2000]

This post makes little sense.

Del Mar is different than Carmel Valley and both are different than Encinitas. Northern California is far different than San Diego. San Diego might have a certain reputation amongst those that don't live here, but the reality is, it's nothing like living in San Fran or Silicon Valley or Petaluma. Far different people and mindsets.

I honestly don't think San Diego is that political in general, regardless of what side of the fence you are on. There might be pockets here and there, but for the most part, people seem to keep to themselves here. It's a more laid back lifestyle and people seem to enjoy not needing to be up in anybody elses face. There are no Protests against Google or Technology here, there are no Berkeley protests here. There are few stuck up beyond stuck up like parts of Orange County here. There are few "i'm smarter than the world" attitudes that blanket the area like SV.

Nobody will really care who you voted for or what side of the spectrum you fall on here for the most part. Nobody will care at your kids high school or schools. The only thing you should worry about is being able to afford a $2 Million ranch style home in Del Mar that has no yard or view and is super small. But it's in Del Mar.

[oddstray]

Originally Posted by malcorub16

Can you imagine being in middle school and getting picked on because your mom didn't vote for Obama or because your parents voted for prop 8?

Now if your kid is older and an open activist on campus for certain causes regardless of what side they are on, that comes with the territory.

No, because the other kids have no idea who your parents voted for. (If they did, then your kid would have been talking out-of-turn.)

I think I get your point, but this wasn't a good example of it.