Opinions on Fallbrook (San Diego, Riverside, Oceanside: houses, school district, upkeep)

[BennyPhoenix]

Good or bad place to live?
Schools. Good, bad?
Is the community standoffish to outsiders moving in?
Anything else of consequence?

[dweej]

There has recently been some discussion about Fallbrook- if you use the search feature, I think you'll find all the different threads. When I lived in Fallbrook, I loved the foliage, topography, weather, and piles of avocados. What I didn't love was the schools, the lack of decent shopping/restaurant/entertainment options, and the inaccessibility of the place. Once 76 is widened and straightened, maybe it'll be better, but as one long-time Fallbrook resident once said: Fallbrook just isn't sure what it wants to be when it grows up.

[Snort]

How about....meh? Make that a lukewarm "meh".
Small, safe, not really here nor there- between Carlsbad and Oceanside and Temecula and beyond. 76 is not a fun road to be driving on every day. Someone told me it's the most dangerous "highway" in CA. I don't know about that, but 15 isn't exactly fun either. There are some nice places to walk your dog though- Los Jilgueros Preserve comes to mind. How about calling it "Julian, without the fuss"? It's a compact downtown, but no one comes to visit.

[BennyPhoenix]

dweej,
What didn't you like about the schools?

[dweej]

Snort- Los Juligeuros is nice, but it isn't in Fallbrook. That sits squarely in the northeastern portion of Oceanside. Live Oak park is in Fallbrook and is quite nice. Maybe that's what you're thinking of?

Benny- the school system is very small there, so you don't have a lot of choice in terms of where to live in order to have your kids zoned for a certain school. Fallbrook has a lot of retirees, wealthy folk that opt to pay for private education, and immigrants, many of whom work on the farms/orchards. Many children in the schools speak english as a second language, or no english at all, so a lot of the teacher's energy has to be focused on getting those kids up to speed. Children who are at or above grade level just do not have the opportunities to be challenged (at least at the elementary level, when they're laying the foundation for the rest of their academic career). In terms of the physical aspects, the elementary schools are old without much technology or money for upkeep. It was a huge deal when they raised the funds to put *swings* in at my daughter's school. The campus was totally open, which caused me a lot of stress because the school was located right on Mission Rd. Ugh. As far as neat programs, extra curricular activities, school spirit days....they had none. Add to all of this the total hassle of getting in and out of town, the long commute you're going to have just to get to Target, and the overall run-downedness of it all, and I'd say there are better choices for a family.

We are in Temecula right now and couldn't be happier with our move. My husband's commute is actually shorter than it used to be (76 and Mission Rd. are both terrible), the schools are fantastic, we have everything we need in terms of recreation and entertainment, plus the wineries are literally jogging distance from my front door. Good luck in making your decision!

[BennyPhoenix]

Commuting is not an issue.
I managed some property in temecula until last october. I found temecula to be too hot and smoggy in the summer. Otherwise it is a nice looking town.
I thought that parts of fallbrook are in the bonsall school district?

Thanks for you input!

[AFTERSHOCK]

fallbrook, pretty much the same as its always been...slightly run down and rough around the edges, but mostly decent people in modest houses. Trouble spots tend to be on the western side near the oceanside border.

[zzeezzee]

If you rely at all on public transit, forget it.

[Fallbrook]

Parts of Fallbrook are in the very good Bonsall School District. The map is at Bonsall Union School District | District Boundary Map

The Eastern side of Fallbrook, Gird Valley, around the Fallbrook Golf Club is very, very nice. Great climate in that little valley.

[KD70]

Check out greatschools.net for your school answers. Fallbrook is the "non-San Diego" San Diego city. Way on the outside, nearly in Riverside County like Temecula. Cool little place, small town, not much to it. Better chance of seeing Bigfoot than a rich person there.