Moving from Oakville, Ontario to San Diego Area - Need Help! (Carlsbad: real estate, health insurance)

[wndybls]

Hi,
My family is going to be relocating from Oakville, Ontario (suburb near Toronto) to the San Diego area this summer. We are looking at real estate in Carlsbad, Encinitas and San Marcos. We have 3 children, so school systems are very important. I understand that Carlsbad and Encinitas have good schools and that the schools around San Elijo Hills in San Marcos are good as well, but are there any other factors to consider?
Our realtor said we may be able to get more house for the money in San Marcos but I'm trying to understand why...Can anyone offer any incite?
Thanks.

[f_m]

In almost all cases (except a few), the closer you are to the ocean the more expensive. Also, the further in the hotter it gets in the summer. In San Marcos you may need to use the air conditioner in the summer. The housing market has depressed the areas inland such as San Marcos by quite a bit.

[loveautumn]

just curious...are you relocating thru a company here in San Diego?

[wndybls]

Originally Posted by loveautumn

just curious...are you relocating thru a company here in San Diego?

my husband is being promoted through his current employer...is that what you mean?

[lahg]

Make sure your employer will assist you with getting set up ei. banking, mortgage, taxes, and check health care, our co pays are high. We transfered from Ontario to PA and had nothing but problems and no help from husbands employer transferring him, expect to start out with no credit rating or contact Bank that will acknowledge both CDA & US, you may have trouble opening accounts, as we could not even get pay check cashed, we paid cash deposits on hydro, gas, phone etc. and will affect buying a house, mortgage rate, car insurance, Allstate was only one that would recognise Canadian driving recordmake sure you have doc and took awhile getting new licences, they will take Canadian away, you will need letter from employer as well. Our taxes were done incorrectly for two years so check around, call Canadian embassy for referrals. Hope this helps, after living here for 5 years, we are glad to be Canadian and look forward to going back at end of Visa.

[wndybls]

thanks for the info; however, we're actually americans moving back to the states...

[John_Galt]

wndybls - Unfortunately, can't be of much help on neighborhoods in North County, as I currently live downtown, and only recently moved to the area. But your post caught my eye, because I grew up on Oakville, and lived there for about 15 years, before moving to the States for college, and have been here for about 10 years now.

Wasn't exactly expecting to see a post about my old home town in a San Diego message board! Good luck with your upcoming move!

[wndybls]

Originally Posted by John_Galt

wndybls - Unfortunately, can't be of much help on neighborhoods in North County, as I currently live downtown, and only recently moved to the area. But your post caught my eye, because I grew up on Oakville, and lived there for about 15 years, before moving to the States for college, and have been here for about 10 years now.

Wasn't exactly expecting to see a post about my old home town in a San Diego message board! Good luck with your upcoming move!

Thanks for the post...we love Oakville and are a little sad to be leaving so soon (we've only been here for under 2 years), but I imagine the weather is a little nicer in San Diego!
Take care!

[OrangeSunset]

Take a look at Discovery Hills neighborhood in San Marcos. It is lovely and it has a good elementary school too, not sure about your kids' ages. Also, make sure to stay West of 78, the East side of San Marcos needs some improvement. San Elijo is the utmost western part of the San Marcos so it tends to be a bit more expensive just because of location. But it has a lot of track homes with very small lots, which some people tend to dislike. San Marcos doesn't get much hotter than any other coastal communities (we didn't use the air conditioner much at all when we lived there). Also, there's little marine layer in San Marcos so most days are sunny days, even in June

In Encinitas check out Village Park, the house prices are a bit lower there. It is a nice area with some older homes with more character and very family oriented. In Carlsbad, check out North Carlsbad the prices tend to be more on the lower side too. All of those areas are all very nice but the school system is better in Encinitas & Carlsbad (and these two towns are coastal communities so the real estate price is higher).

These are very safe areas to live in and raise a family. It is a matter of finding what suits you and your family best. I think you'll really enjoy it! Welcome to San Diego's North County!!

[cellzone]

Originally Posted by lahg

Make sure your employer will assist you with getting set up ei. banking, mortgage, taxes, and check health care, our co pays are high. We transfered from Ontario to PA and had nothing but problems and no help from husbands employer transferring him, expect to start out with no credit rating or contact Bank that will acknowledge both CDA & US, you may have trouble opening accounts, as we could not even get pay check cashed, we paid cash deposits on hydro, gas, phone etc. and will affect buying a house, mortgage rate, car insurance, Allstate was only one that would recognise Canadian driving recordmake sure you have doc and took awhile getting new licences, they will take Canadian away, you will need letter from employer as well. Our taxes were done incorrectly for two years so check around, call Canadian embassy for referrals. Hope this helps, after living here for 5 years, we are glad to be Canadian and look forward to going back at end of Visa.

As a Canadian that moved here few month ago, I had no problem opening a bank account at Bank of america, I am driving here with my Canadian driver license and had no problem getting insurance from Safeco (which is actually very very cheap compare to what i used to pay in Toronto) and all they needed was a letter of record from ministry of transportation which you can get easily for $20) , I have no problem with cashing check, receiving check or wiring as well as paying any hydro or cable companies and I am grateful to American system and their full accommodation. I signed up for any basic needs such as cable, phone line or cell phone which even needs credit check, but they had no problem with me being Canadian. As well you can easily get a health insurance. for starting your credit rating get a prepaid credit card from Bank of America or any other bank in that matter and build it up. I suggest do more research before, so it would not cause any ordeal. in terms of taxes you are right, you have to consult with Canadian embassy for any confusion. I hope i helped too.