Help! Moving from Madison, WI to San Diego! (renting, condo)

[heatherskyler]

My family (myself, huz and two kids ages 7 and 5) are planning to move to the San Diego area by next September. I'm used to the artsy, progressive, hanging out and socializing vibe of Madison and wonder what neighborhoods might provide that in San Diego as well as a good school for my two kids. We can spend about 325,000 tops on a home, so that does limit us of course. Any advice is appreciated!

[ranzchic]

It's been mentioned many times but you have to get your priorities straight first. In San Diego, artsy, hip areas usually mean bad schools with some exceptions. Likewise, good schools usually mean boring and strip malls with almost no exceptions, unless you pay more.

[kelfox]

Hi, I'm very interested in this post.
I am considering whether to take a job opportunity in the Torrey Pines area in San Diego but seems to me it is a high cost of living area. In Maryland with a 100K household income I can afford a very decent live, 2000 sqft single family home, good school (two kids 4 and 6), typical suburban life. Not looking for hype and entertainment, just quiet middle class family life. What would be the areas to look for?
thanks

[ranzchic]

100k is more than enough to love comfortably in San Diego county.

[Northern Drifter]

$325k isnt going to get you much at all around here unfortunately. I'd stay in Madison

[mini_cute]

To be honest, there aren't many artsy, hip neighborhoods that also have good schools. It's a trade-off. And $325K wouldn't get you a multiple-bedroom family home. I would raise that to at the very least $500K.

[Radical347]

Of these three things:

*artsy, progressive, hanging out and socializing vibe
*good school for my two kids
*We can spend about 325,000 tops on a home

Sadly, you can't find all three of them in one place in San Diego. You can't even find two out of three of them in one place in San Diego.

[NYSD1995]

You can have good schools and a condo for that price, but not all three.

[SomeThings]

Is BUYING your home is important to you?

If so, I've found this website to be helpful: http://www.sdlookup.com/ It lets you look at listings by neighborhood (sometimes on a map), and you can easily breakout condo vs. houses (you can also see recent closings in the neighborhood). Should give you a feel for what things are going for in the different areas. I've also used it by working backwards--finding recent closings that are near my price-range, and then use the google map feature to see if it's an area that works for me (and any nearby similar listings). If not, I cross it off my list. (Note that I am still renting...)

You can usually find a decent-ish elementary school in many neighborhoods, but it gets harder at the middle/high school level. Charter and private schools are an option for some... Not to confuse the matter, but here's a link that takes you to some of the options within San Diego Unified (the largest school district in central San Diego) Enrollment Options

If you go here School Finder :: San Diego Unified School District you can type in an address and get the names of the neighborhood schools serving that area, but it is just for SD Unified.

I believe--but I haven't done it--that a student can also enroll in a school or district based on a parent's work address (say you live in a trendy/hip area but work in one with good schools). (Here's the verbiage related to interdistrict transfers: Employment-Related – Districts may approve or deny requests for enrollment of elementary school pupils based upon the location of the parent’s/guardian’s place of employment, namely, within the school boundaries of the district of desired attendance. ) Not sure if this would hold true for students as they matriculate from elementary to middle school, but I have friends considering this option as their boys near school age.

[ranzchic]

325k in a pretty artsy neighborhood will also net you a condo or a small cottage. I'd say it's doable if you can live below 1000sqft if you want a house.