residential area near UC San diego (Vista, Carlsbad: 2013, rental homes, condos)

[ottsky]

Hello
Have the possibility of moving to San Diego for 2 to 3 yrs. Trying to find a residential area, rental homes 3-4 bedrooms for under 3k, that is near UC San Diego /Vista Sorrento parkway. Trying to figure out actual rush hour commute times. Would like an area with less than 30 minutes commute.

Have a child entering grade 9 and another grade 7 fall 2016. English speaking but not US citizens. Second language is french.
Would prefer closer to beach...of course!
Also favorite house rental sites, please.
Discount furniture stores? Since only 2 to 3 years not looking to spend much.
Thoughts?

[RosieSD]

I like to use Zillow.com to get a quick overview. I've run a map for you that will give you an idea of what will be in your price range within easy driving distance of UCSD:

Rental Listings - 19 Rentals | Zillow

Find UCSD on the map, click on the dots to see what's available in your price range. You can then use Google Maps to map the driving distance, but be aware that Google won't account for rush hour traffic.

Craigslist will also give you some ideas. Here are the names of some communities to search for on Craigslist rentals -- these will likely have at least some single family homes in your price range, and not be too bad a commute to UCSD (by "not too bad" I mean within 30 minutes or so, maybe a little more during peak traffic).

University City
Carmel Valley
Carlsbad
Mira Mesa
Tierrasanta*
Scripps Ranch*
Rancho Penasquitos*
Poway/Rancho Bernardo*


La Jolla itself (where UCSD is located) will probably be out of your specified price range, unless you're open to condos/townhomes.

I'm sure others will have other suggestions as well.

When you are ready to dig into school information, this site will give you official data on test scores, as well as other information about individual schoolsL API County List of Schools

And, since you mentioned your kids are bi-lingual English/French, you may also be interested in the private French American School in La Jolla. Here is the link:

SDFAS

Good luck with your decision!

[sdurbanite]

As Rosie already pointed out, check out Carmel Valley, Del Mar Heights and University City. Maybe looking into North Pacific Beach

[sprez33]

A couple additional points.

Google Maps will let you get a feel for traffic. In the menu, choose the traffic overlay which will give you "Live" traffic. Switch from Live traffic to "Typical" traffic and input your commute time.

Also, Carmel Valley is a wonderful location with great schools and relatively close to the beach, but $3K will limit you to a 3-bdrm condo or townhouse community. If that's OK with you, I'd definitely encourage you to explore. Check out the San Dieguito School District for the local middle and high schools.

Good luck!