East County Vs North County...or any where else <500k? (San Carlos: houses, buyers)

[hkbruin]

PQ and Mira Mesa are just a drive down Mira Mesa Blvd, and both are definitely back on the rise with great school programs. (SD, sent you a pm in case it may be of help)

[NorthCountySDGal]

Hi SD,
Have to agree with what RosieSD said as far as the areas mentioned, i.e. Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Scripps Ranch, Rancho Penasquitos, San Marcos and Carlsbad areas in North County would fit the bill. In that price range you are most likely going to be looking at a townhome type of property but there would be a fair number to choose from. Although your child is young, schools will be in the picture before you know it and all of the aforementioned areas have great schools. Good luck to you with your move!

[NYSD1995]

If you work in Sorrento Valley, Chula Vista is not an option. 500k range you are looking at condo territory for inland North County or you live in Mira Mesa. My choice would be to try and get into Carlsbad or similar and suffer the commute.

[TheSD]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

If you work in Sorrento Valley, Chula Vista is not an option. 500k range you are looking at condo territory for inland North County or you live in Mira Mesa. My choice would be to try and get into Carlsbad or similar and suffer the commute.

I'll actually be working closer to UCSD. Does that change your opinion?

[hkbruin]

The commute going north isn't necessarily better, especially at that distance (30m minimum). Then comes the question of location and what you want? Anything north of 56 and you start having more coastal town vibes. Very little outside of beaches, box stores and small businesses. Restaurants on high end or very casual.

For commute, you may want to look at Serra Mesa and Clairemont, both are slowly trending up and have that pricepoint. My brother is looking at 550k for 1500+ homes range. Shorter drive and bigger homes. Or actually house vs condo, like berto said. Carlsbad is fine, but only if you want that type of lifestyle. If not, you may hate it.

[RosieSD]

Read this thread: Which SD town made the "top 10 cities for families" list?

Scroll down to the last page, where someone who actually lives in the CV/Eastlake area has written about living there, including the traffic issues not being a huge issue as they use 125 toll road. You may find the information helpful and perhaps send the person a private message if that area interests you.

The Eastlake/Otay Ranch area is a newer, master-planned community, and is quite nice. I do see homes, including newer single family homes, listed there in the $450,000-$500,000 range and newer townhomes for less. If you want a planned community feel, and the 125 toll road would work for your commute, it might be worth a look in that case. You'd probably need to take the 125 up to 94 then over to 805 from EastLake. That's a bit of backtracking from just getting on the 805 at EastLake -- it may not help much. Perhaps the poster who lives there could offer more insight.

HKbruin's suggestion of Clairemont Mesa is also good. I'd also look at Mission Valley if you want a new condo/townhome community. Parts of East County might also work (I commuted to UCSD from Jamul, and it took me about 40/45 minutes most mornings, but other areas are closer in to north/south freeways).

Your biggest decisions will involve weighing Single Family with a longer commute vs. smaller condo/townhome with shorter commute.

But, maybe you're at the point where you need to come down for a visit, drive around the different areas and try rush hour from them to where you'll be working, and get in touch with a good Realtor who can help you sort things out.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by TheSD

I'll actually be working closer to UCSD. Does that change your opinion?

not really

[1AngryTaxPayer]

My neighbor just sold their 1400sq home in Clairemont for 640.

[Ilovepahrump]

Originally Posted by TheSD

I'll actually be working closer to UCSD. Does that change your opinion?

If I were commuting to UCSD from Eastlake, I would take the 125 to the 54 to the 5. Traffic on the 125 will be non-existent. The 54 moves pretty well, unless there's an accident (not typical). Depending on where exactly you are in Eastlake/Otay Ranch, it takes around 10 minutes to get to the 5 using the route above.

The other option is to go down one of the East-West streets: H St, Telegraph Canyon, or Olympic Pkwy. These streets all get pretty jammed in the mornings. There are stop lights every few streets. It's painfully slow during rush hour, and unless I'm having to go down one of these streets for another stop, I never use them to get on the 5 or the 805. The mileage will be more going the other way, but it's a lot quicker.

But I can't imagine commuting that far every day though. The 52 is sort of our "line" that we don't cross north of all that often, just for day trips or longer travelling. Anything further north than that seems too far for an every day commute. But I guess it's personal preference

[metoque]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

My neighbor just sold their 1400sq home in Clairemont for 640.

Are you serious? The buyer got f'ing screwed.