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Old 01-19-2016, 04:43 PM
 
140 posts, read 237,612 times
Reputation: 55

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I need some advice on neighborhoods. We moved to San Diego from San Jose last June and are starting the search to buy a home or detached townhouse. I'm renting in Carmel Mountain, about 10 minutes from job at in RB. It's me, my wife, and an 11 month old daughter.

We've done about 20 hours of dedicated neighborhood driving and much more online house hunting.

Ideal for me is Carmel Valley/Del Mar, because it's high-end, safe, quiet, excellent schools, and a little more of an East Coast vibe. (I grew up in Boston.) And close to UTC Mall (love) and smooth commute to work. But over our price range (<625k) unless we go attached condo, which petrifies me being super sensitive to noise.

Carlsbad is really nice for reasons above + closer to Irvine, which we visit a few weekends a month for Taiwanese food for my wife. I think the commute is 45 minutes+, even if I shooted for the eastern end of town???

Best bets to me seem San Elijo Hills (San Marcos) or Poway/CM or RB. San Marcos the disadvantage seems to be the rest of town (or the parts I saw) were blighted...and we'd have to drive to Carlsbad for Trader Joe's and nicer shopping centers. Poway/CM/RB seems like we need something super small (1200-1400 sq ft) to stay affordable.

I scouted a few parts of Mira Mesa but while some neighborhoods are well-kept, you go 2 blocks over and a little yucky. A coworker recommended UTC/Sorrento Valley which seems great on paper but nothing detached under 700k.

I'd love any thoughts on this. I wanted to do my homework before bugging this group!
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Old 01-19-2016, 08:08 PM
 
414 posts, read 505,125 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by thorvitz View Post
Best bets to me seem San Elijo Hills (San Marcos) or Poway/CM or RB. San Marcos the disadvantage seems to be the rest of town (or the parts I saw) were blighted...
Bahaha. The use of the word "blighted" is is hilarious. Undeveloped properties next to industrial zones is not blight, nor are strip malls. Just because everyone building isn't the same 3 shades of stucco facade, doesn't mean the area is blighted either.

It has one of the lowest crime rates in the county and one of the best school systems. The City of San Marcos is also pretty well run- not a single lay-off or cut in services during the recession. They also are a leader in affordable housing, community investment, education, and open space/recreation.

San Marcos is not blighted, it's just not built out. They are building an entirely new downtown and university district from scratch, so it may be a better investment in the long term.

A growing university (half built out) means that the demand for housing (and price) will only continue to increase.
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Old 01-19-2016, 09:23 PM
 
140 posts, read 237,612 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Julianpieohmy View Post
Bahaha. The use of the word "blighted" is is hilarious. Undeveloped properties next to industrial zones is not blight, nor are strip malls. Just because everyone building isn't the same 3 shades of stucco facade, doesn't mean the area is blighted either.

It has one of the lowest crime rates in the county and one of the best school systems. The City of San Marcos is also pretty well run- not a single lay-off or cut in services during the recession. They also are a leader in affordable housing, community investment, education, and open space/recreation.

San Marcos is not blighted, it's just not built out. They are building an entirely new downtown and university district from scratch, so it may be a better investment in the long term.

A growing university (half built out) means that the demand for housing (and price) will only continue to increase.
I knew something I wrote would get a reaction. This is a serious decision so am being critical. Point taken, though. I have only driven around for 2 days and am further biased from several drive-by's on the 78!

I don't mind industrial parks or the train tracks... I do mind if it's dirty, loud, or the shopping complex is worn. We just saw a few houses on the southeast side of town--plus SE Hills, which reminds me of a neighborhood in San Jose--new, cute, & clean. I'm 44 and boring and most of my free time is spent in Costco with the kid or Starbucks with my newspapers :-)

Can you recommend parts of town where the residential neighborhoods and shopping plazas will look comparable to Carmel Mountain Road (Trader Joes, Costco, Ralphs etc.)?
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Old 01-20-2016, 05:22 AM
 
Location: San Diego
31 posts, read 37,414 times
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Hi Thorvitz

You definitely have some nice areas picked out with a lot of possibilities. I know your daughter is no where new school age yet, but if the school district matters to you, in other words, if you are going to be staying in the property until she's going to school I'd recommend checking out greatschools.org/. Carmel Valley/Del Mar has great schools and so does Poway Unified School District (Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Penasquitos). Mira Mesa is much more affordable but honestly the schools do not have great ratings in comparison.

Have you thought about Torrey Highlands? There are some really nice homes (relatively newer builds for San Diego like 2003-2004), under 700k.
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Old 01-20-2016, 11:46 AM
 
140 posts, read 237,612 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by SanDiegoSarah View Post
Hi Thorvitz

You definitely have some nice areas picked out with a lot of possibilities. I know your daughter is no where new school age yet, but if the school district matters to you, in other words, if you are going to be staying in the property until she's going to school I'd recommend checking out greatschools.org/. Carmel Valley/Del Mar has great schools and so does Poway Unified School District (Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Penasquitos). Mira Mesa is much more affordable but honestly the schools do not have great ratings in comparison.

Have you thought about Torrey Highlands? There are some really nice homes (relatively newer builds for San Diego like 2003-2004), under 700k.
Thanks! I use Greatschools to rule out area (e.g., aggrevatingly there's some great houses in Escondido but many schools are terrible.)

I checked into Torrey Highlands, but looks like most are over 625k.
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Old 01-20-2016, 12:08 PM
 
Location: TOVCCA
8,452 posts, read 14,955,669 times
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I don't think choosing a neighborhood based partly on the businesses there at the moment is wise. A few years ago having a neighborhood Blockbuster Video or a Borders Bookstore might have seemed important, and they both went bankrupt. And Aldi's which owns Trader Joe's is making a bigger move to the SoCal area, and may well move their locations around (Aldi stores need a lot more room).
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Old 01-20-2016, 08:07 PM
 
Location: San Diego
31 posts, read 37,414 times
Reputation: 25
Quote:
Originally Posted by thorvitz View Post
Thanks! I use Greatschools to rule out area (e.g., aggrevatingly there's some great houses in Escondido but many schools are terrible.)

I checked into Torrey Highlands, but looks like most are over 625k.
My bad! I misread your original post. I thought you had said anything under $700k. Yes, you are correct. There may be an occasional fixer under $625k but for the most part going to be tough to find a detached home in the area. The older part of Rancho Penasquitos may be something to consider. And I say "older part" with love. I grew up in the area and I love PQ. It has great safety stats and schools. It's just that it's not new compared to Torrey Highlands or Carmel Valley for example but then you also don't have an HOA.

There isn't a ton in PQ under $625k but there are some single family homes under that that pop up on the market from time to time. They do tend to go fast.
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Old 01-20-2016, 08:57 PM
 
414 posts, read 505,125 times
Reputation: 367
Quote:
Originally Posted by thorvitz View Post
I knew something I wrote would get a reaction. This is a serious decision so am being critical. Point taken, though. I have only driven around for 2 days and am further biased from several drive-by's on the 78!

I don't mind industrial parks or the train tracks... I do mind if it's dirty, loud, or the shopping complex is worn. We just saw a few houses on the southeast side of town--plus SE Hills, which reminds me of a neighborhood in San Jose--new, cute, & clean. I'm 44 and boring and most of my free time is spent in Costco with the kid or Starbucks with my newspapers :-)

Can you recommend parts of town where the residential neighborhoods and shopping plazas will look comparable to Carmel Mountain Road (Trader Joes, Costco, Ralphs etc.)?
Haha, it wasn't taken personally. Just wanted to let you know that this is one of those cases of "don't judge a book by its cover" SM is a decent city despite some of its aesthetic letdowns in the center of town. A lot of development is occurring though, so definitely a good investment opportunity w/ the continued growth of the university.

The same type (look) of neighborhoods in adjacent Vista or Escondido will be much rougher.
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Old 01-20-2016, 10:34 PM
 
140 posts, read 237,612 times
Reputation: 55
Quote:
Originally Posted by Julianpieohmy View Post
Haha, it wasn't taken personally. Just wanted to let you know that this is one of those cases of "don't judge a book by its cover" SM is a decent city despite some of its aesthetic letdowns in the center of town. A lot of development is occurring though, so definitely a good investment opportunity w/ the continued growth of the university.

The same type (look) of neighborhoods in adjacent Vista or Escondido will be much rougher.
Gotcha! This is exactly what I need to know. I have a good feel for San Jose where I spent over a decade but not San Diego.

Santa Fe Hills (Notth SM) seems nice too. We need to go look at that neighborhood this weekend.
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Old 01-22-2016, 06:42 PM
 
1,807 posts, read 3,970,167 times
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Have you looked in the Rancho Penasquitos area? It's still in the Poway School District, yet prices seem to be a little more affordable than Carmel Mountain Ranch. The Poway School District is one of the best, and the access to amenities in that area is outstanding, plus you're only 5 minutes away from Mira Mesa/Miramar which has every amenity you could ever want.

San Elijo hills, while nice, is not an area I'd ever want to live. It's way too "secluded" being tucked back into the Harmony Grove/Elfin Forest area. If you lived there, you only have the Albertson's that's in the small center of the city. You'd have to make a 15 minute trip out of the area to get to any real amenities. HOA's are pretty high in that area too. Plus the new housing in Harmony Grove is being sold, and they have 1-2 more stages they're going to build out. The traffic in that areas going to be a nightmare, they are building way too much housing with no ingress/egress roads to support it.
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