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Old 12-29-2007, 06:26 PM
 
4 posts, read 65,829 times
Reputation: 17

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I am new to the forum and would love all of your advice...

My fiance and I are relocating to California. We are looking to purchase a condo or house in the Northern SD or Southern OC area. He has a job at the Scripps and I have a job at Irvine. Unfortunately, that means either one or both of us will have to make the long commute.

We looked into the coaster train/metrolink/amtrak as an option. Here's our plan so far: We would live around Solana Beach where there is an Amtrak station. I would take the Amtrak to work in Irvine and he would drive down to the Scripps.

The alternative would be for us to live in Orange County (San Juan Capistrano) then I drive and my fiance take the Amtrak. Unfortuanate, there are no stops near the Scripps-- which means he would have to stop at Solana Beach and drive/bus the rest of the way.

Our concerns:
-- What's the commute like from Solana Beach to the Scripps (Torrey Pines/La Jolla area)
-- What's the Amtrak like? Safety concerns?
-- We would love to live near the train station in Solana Beach-- is it noisy?

Any suggestions/thoughts would be much appreciated!!
I would love recommendations about condo complexes in Solana Beach

Thanks!
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Old 12-29-2007, 06:32 PM
 
Location: Austin, TX
317 posts, read 1,758,716 times
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I don't know the answers to your questions but did want to comment that San Juan Capistrano is a very nice area, and so is its neighbor- San Clemente...
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Old 12-29-2007, 07:22 PM
 
Location: San Diego CA
1,029 posts, read 2,482,786 times
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Amtrak is safe.
Have you checked to be certain the Amtrak stops in Solana Beach? I thought it only stopped at Santa Fe Depot downtown San Diego and in Oceanside. I know on certain trips during the weekend it stops in Old Town.
Maybe you are confusing the Amtrack with the Coaster, which does stop in Solana Beach.
Personally, if I had to take Amtrak or Metrolink to Irvine, I would not depend on the Coaster. It does not really run very regularly and it only services downtown SD to Oceanside, where the Metrolink and Amtrak station is.
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Old 12-29-2007, 08:51 PM
 
Location: San Diego
2,979 posts, read 1,565,458 times
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Amtrak has the Surfliner which does stop in Solana Beach and Irvine, not to be confused with the Coaster which doesn't go further north than Oceanside.

Check out the schedule.

http://www.amtrak.com/timetable/oct07/W31.pdf
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Old 12-29-2007, 09:00 PM
 
4 posts, read 65,829 times
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Yes, if I do decide to take the train from Solana Beach to Irvine, I would take the Amtrak-- it's the only of the three trains that stops at both locations.
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Old 12-30-2007, 02:21 AM
 
134 posts, read 309,998 times
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We moved here recently into a similar situation. I work in the La Jolla/UTC area and my wife works in Irvine. We moved to San Clemente. My wife has a 30-40 min. commute by car, I have a 45-60 min. commute by car. We are planning to move to the La Jolla/UTC area soon.

A few thoughts:

With the train, be sure you keep in mind a few things. You will most likely have to drive from the train station in Irvine to your workplace in Irvine. Don't forget to add that to your total commuting time. Also, the trains come relatively infrequently. Do you have the kind of job where you can always leave right on time? Also, while the trains are good between Irvine and San Diego, they often run 5 to 15 minutes late.

As far as buying goes, now is a really bad time to buy in San Diego county. 2008 will probably be the highest percentage home price decline in history in San Diego county. Check out www.piggington.com - read through the forums and learn why you should wait. This is especially true for you - you may find that spending 75 to 90 minutes each way commuting is too much. You will have much less flexibility to adjust your situation if you buy now than if you rent.

If you time your commute around rush hour a bit and use the 73 toll road, you may find that you can get back and forth faster driving than taking the train. Certainly with more flexibility.

The plan for my wife and I: an apartment in UTC/La Jolla, and a small studio apt. in San Clemente. She will work from home 1-2 days a week, only commute to San Clemente when she works in Irvine. I'll commute up to San Clemente most nights when she stays there, walk to work the rest of the time.

It's a challenging situation - I wish we both had jobs in San Diego. Your Solana Beach/train plan might work... but if I were you, I'd keep as much flexibility as you can in case it doesn't.
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Old 12-30-2007, 09:16 AM
 
233 posts, read 885,800 times
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Default Moving to La Jolla/UTC

Since you work in that area are there any tips you can give me? I am moving to the apartment complex right next door to the Mormon Temple. I have been there four times now and absolutely love the area. Is there anything I should know about safety, crime, etc?
Thanks.
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Old 12-30-2007, 08:45 PM
 
181 posts, read 892,151 times
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I live about 10 minutes north of Solana beach, the commute from Solana Beach to scripps (in la jolla) distance wise is very short. Unfortunatly it is also one of the worst spots in the area on the five for traffic. That being said, the distance is so short, and solana beach is such a great area I think I could overlook that. I also live near the amtrack station, and I do hear the trains from my house, but Its never bothered me. I actually prefer it to freeway noise but thats just me. Well good luck with your situation.
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Old 12-31-2007, 02:12 PM
 
134 posts, read 309,998 times
Reputation: 116
Quote:
Originally Posted by GratefulDeb View Post
Since you work in that area are there any tips you can give me? I am moving to the apartment complex right next door to the Mormon Temple. I have been there four times now and absolutely love the area. Is there anything I should know about safety, crime, etc?
Thanks.
My understanding is that the area overall is pretty safe. I hear that there are car break-ins in apartment complexes - so I'd advise you to make sure it doesn't look like there is anything inside worth stealing when you park your car overnight.
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Old 12-31-2007, 07:43 PM
 
80 posts, read 429,885 times
Reputation: 28
Check out Carlsbad. Its about 1 hr. from Irivine. Maybe less or more depending on traffic. Also, its about 45 mins. down to Scripps. San Onofre or San Clemente may be an option too. Both are in South OC. and will be about equal distance from both Irvine and Scripps.
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