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Old 03-17-2017, 11:42 AM
 
3 posts, read 2,537 times
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Hello All,

Soo me and my wife have decided to pack up and move to SD we love the local events and weather down there. But are a bit worried about moving from a smaller urban area to a large city like SD....Combined we make around $160K a year. And we are looking for recommendation on safe locations to live and buy a single family house please ....I have heard that alpine, CA is pretty nice and family oriented any other location that are nice and safe(biggest factor) and family oriented ? Also would like to know what areas to stay away from?

Thank you
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Old 03-17-2017, 12:59 PM
4SR
 
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A few questions...

1. Housing Budget?
2. Willing to drive to the beach/city core and Attractions? How far?
3. Where will you be working?
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Old 03-17-2017, 02:40 PM
 
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SD County is huge and very spread out, there are many many nice and safe areas to live. You'll need to base that on where you both will be working due to traffic. Alpine is considered really kind of way out there...where did you live in NoVa?
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Old 03-17-2017, 10:48 PM
 
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Hello,

Well for housing budget we don't want to spend more then 600k on a house and I am willing to drive up to an hr to get to work which will be near the river walk golf club.

In NoVa I live in bristow, va pretty close to Gainesville, va which I feel are extremely nice and safe areas and what I am hopping to find in SD as well...also I am use to DC traffic commute living out there so SD traffic should be a step up lol.

Thank you all for the advice!
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Old 03-17-2017, 11:16 PM
 
Location: Laguna Niguel, Orange County CA
9,807 posts, read 11,189,355 times
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Whoa from Haymarket...best to look in Ramona if you're looking for that kind of place.
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Old 03-18-2017, 10:33 AM
 
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SD is really made up of hundreds of small urban communities, each with its own "identity" so to speak. You'll be working in Mission Valley and all major freeways feed into it. You might want to check out La Mesa.
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Old 03-19-2017, 10:54 AM
 
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Alpine would be a good starting point -- it's a nice area, with a mix of suburbia and semi-rural areas. You should be able to find a nice house on some property in Alpine close to your budget. It won't feel urban at all. Alpine is a spread out area; for the easiest commute, aim for the western edge of Alpine, rather than further east along the I-8. Alpine is a complete town, with pretty much everything you need for day to day shopping right in town, but there are no malls or department stores there, so it does mean driving 15-20 minutes for that type of shopping and it is a good hour to downtown San Diego so if you want to go out for entertainment factor that in.

The commute to Mission Valley will be a bit of a schlep -- probably about 45 minutes in good traffic if you are on the western edge and close to the freeway -- so you may want to look at these areas with similar characteristics but a little closer in -- I'm listing them in order from the areas with a more "country" feel to the more suburban areas.

Crest
Blossom Valley
Jamul
Granite Hills area of El Cajon
Lakeside (especially Eucalyptus Hills area)
Rancho San Diego
La Mesa (great suggestion! - especially look around the Lake Murray area and the Mount Helix area)
Del Cerro (right next to Mission Valley)
Allied Gardens (ditto)
Santee
East Chula Vista (east of 805, look for Eastlake, Otay Ranch)
Tierrasanta
Scripps Ranch
Rancho Penasquitos
Poway

You should be able to find homes within your budget in most of these areas (The last three are more exensive) . All will put you to Mission Valley in no more than half an hour, even during rush hour traffic (as you know from D.C. all bets are off when there is an accident).

None of these will feel very urban to you, although the traffic might.

All of these areas are inland --- it will be warmer in the summer than the coast, but don't believe people who compare it to Phoenix. I live inland (in Jamul) and don't find the weather a problem at all. I like that when it's foggy by the coast, it's always sunny and clear inland.

Ramona, mentioned by another poster, is nice, but the commute to Mission Valley would be awful so I wouldn't bother with it, when there are similar areas with an easier, more direct commute to Mission Valley.

Come visit, drive around, see what appeals to you. There's something for everyone in San Diego County. Good luck with your move!

Last edited by RosieSD; 03-19-2017 at 11:15 AM..
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Old 03-19-2017, 11:40 AM
 
Location: Chandler, AZ
3,287 posts, read 2,679,535 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robmaz View Post
Hello,

Well for housing budget we don't want to spend more then 600k on a house and I am willing to drive up to an hr to get to work which will be near the river walk golf club.
Another option is to use the Coaster and trolley to come down the coast. I live in Oceanside and commute to Old Town (just a hop, skip, and a jump from Fashion Valley) every day. I'm on the train for an hour, but that's still faster than trying to drive up the 5!
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Old 03-20-2017, 07:36 AM
 
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@RosieSD Thank you sooooo much for the detailed answer!! I am planing on heading over to SD early next month to look at some areas and your list makes it 100 times easier now.
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Old 03-20-2017, 04:51 PM
 
Location: Downtown Los Angeles
992 posts, read 880,956 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jnojr View Post
Another option is to use the Coaster and trolley to come down the coast. I live in Oceanside and commute to Old Town (just a hop, skip, and a jump from Fashion Valley) every day. I'm on the train for an hour, but that's still faster than trying to drive up the 5!
Agreed. You might want to look at other places where you can take the trolley into Mission Valley itself.
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