Moving to San Diego - Please help! (Oceanside, Carlsbad: apartment, for rent)

[adamtrip]

Hi,

We just found out we are moving to the San Diego area this summer. My wife will be working from home most of the time (driving to surrounding school districts and flying occasionally) and I am just beginning my job search. We know very little about San Diego other than what we have been researching. Can you suggest some areas/neighborhoods for us to look into? We have two kids in (Kindergarten and 1st grade), so good schools are very important. Looking to stay between San Diego and Carlsbad. Budget for rent is $2500-$3000 for a 2 bedroom. Not looking to buy anytime soon.
Thanks in advance everyone!

[acctgirl]

San Marcos, Encinitas, Leucadia are close to Carlsbad. Poway Unified SD has very good schools and it's a safe area. You can easily find an apartment for $2,500-3000 in Poway or San Marcos. Try looking on Craigslist and search by zipcode.

[adamtrip]

Thanks! I did read that Poway had great schools. How is that area? I know it's not that far from San Diego, but does it feel suburban? Rural? Sorry if that's a dumb question. I'm just getting started researching the SD area. Not sure if this helps any, but we are coming from Chicago, where we have lived downtown as well as Lincoln Park (both high rises). We're open to condos, sfh, townhomes, pretty much anything.

[oddstray]

Compared to dt Chicago and Lincoln Park, Poway will feel suburban-to-rural (depending where in Poway you are). The "city"-like areas of San Diego are mainly the central areas, like Hillcrest, North Park, Bankers Hill, etc.

[LaJollaEast]

It's hard to suggest an area to you until you find out where you will be working. Places like Carlsbad are great, but if you are commuting to downtown from there daily it will be very long. University City is a central location and schools are good.

[acctgirl]

Originally Posted by adamtrip

Thanks! I did read that Poway had great schools. How is that area? I know it's not that far from San Diego, but does it feel suburban? Rural? Sorry if that's a dumb question. I'm just getting started researching the SD area. Not sure if this helps any, but we are coming from Chicago, where we have lived downtown as well as Lincoln Park (both high rises). We're open to condos, sfh, townhomes, pretty much anything.

Oh, yes - Poway is somewhat rural and country like. Some people even have horses. You won't find any high-rises here, except Downtown San Diego, maybe Hillcrest. La Jolla is beautiful but very expensive. It's close to the ocean, has good restaurants, great medical care - there's UCSD, Scripps Hospital. I can't comment on the schools there but I'd imagine they must be good as well.

[metoque]

Check out Rancho Penasquitos, Scripps Ranch and Sabre Springs. These 3 areas have great schools, are close to I-15, and won't break the bank given your budget. Plus, they're all adjacent to each other.

If you can get zoned to Creekside Elementary, you're golden and I know from experience. Awesome awesome school and area.

[adamtrip]

This is a great help. Thanks again everyone! I'll check out these areas and go from there. I totally agree this would be simpler if I knew where I was going to be working. It may turn out that we move there before I get a job. If anyone has any other comments/suggestions, please post!

[adamtrip]

Is Del Mar and Del Mar Mesa the same place?

[Msslinky]

My daughter lives in Oceanside/Carlsbad. She says high schools scary. Homeschools.