Looking for newer upscale community with lots of kids (San Diego: fit in, renting)

[janineg]

Also, if you're liberal, Encinitas would be a good fit. I used to live in a condo adjacent to Santaluz, and it's pretty conservative. Santaluz has 2 tiers; there are the estate-like houses on the hills, and the smaller (maybe 2500sf?) homes that are closer together. I used to use one of their tot lots often. The women are all slim with long blonde ponytails and the men are mostly fit, too. It can make you feel pretty inadequate! There's a great new school called Willow Grove elementary in the poway district. The new high school being built is called Del Norte and it will be great, too. I like the development much more than Carmel Valley because of the natural beauty and wide open vistas. There are lots of trails in the community.
Nestled alongside Santaluz is a small development called Verrazzano. Prices are lower and the style is Tuscan (Santaluz is more Old California). There are lots of kids here, too, and Willow Grove is easy walking distance. There is also a small commercial area with maybe 8 stores in the community. Cafe Verrazzano is a good place to meet. There's a fancy French restaurant, too.
Janine

[Axxlrod]

Santaluz sounds like a perfect fit! I'm conservative, and my wife has long blonde hair and is quite fit; I need to work on my fitness a little, though.

[Daf898]

You should be able to snag something nice between 1 million and 1.5 million with lots of kids. Stick to the housing tracks vs Olivenhain areas as you will be driving kids to play with friends vs walking. Plus when you get into land you get fewer kids. Focus on Carmel Valley on up the Coast to South Carlsbad La Costa area. This is the San Dieguito School district which is a premium over Poway.

Here are some sample neighborhoods north to south in San Dieguito school districts in Coastal Areas along 5 freeway.

La Costa Oaks - 800k to 1.3 million. Some ocean views
La Costa Valley 700k to 1.1 million
The Ranch in Carlsbad. 1.2 million to 1.8 million. 1/2 acre lots
Encinitas Ranch -850k to 1.5 million 2 miles to beach
Cardiff by the Sea and Solana Beach not as kid friendly. Typically Older neighborhoods but pricey.
Rancho Santa Fe - Most expensive area. You may be able to steal something in areas like Cielo or Crosby Estates. Probably more than what you are looking for.
Carmel Valley - You are paying a premium for central location. You may not care if you are not commuting. Many smaller developments that make up Carmel Valley. You should look at all. Priced between 800k to 2 million

Poway Schools- Inland along 15 corridor

4S Ranch - Nice master planned Develpment. 700k to 1.5 million.
Del Sur - Should be plenty of deals. Developer timed market wrong. not a big fan
Santa Luz - 900k to 2 million should be your top choice in Poway area

One thing to keep in mind the Poway area and schools will usually have a tax base of around 1.5% whereas the coastal areas will be closer to the 1%.

You should probably set yourself up on an auto home search engine for these areas. You can get free email updates as new homes come on the market etc. Good way to see what you get for your money. Google it or check out one called sandiego-home-search.com

[JSD45]

Check out Encinitas.

I'm 20 now, grew up in Leucadia. My parents are doctors, so we could have lived wherever, but we chose Encinitas. My parents are really laid back and causal, so Leucadia fit them perfectly, but I would recommend to you places like Olivenhain, Encinitas Ranch or Cardiff.

For me, Santaluz and the like are somewhat dry and boring. I love to look at houses and while I find the 7,500 sqft homes in Santaluz nice to walk around in, I would much rather live in our custom, 3,500 sqft home in Encinitas. The weather is much better. It's not as hot and not as cold during the winter. The schools in Encinitas/Olivenhain cannot be beat.

There are plenty of kids in Encinitas. The statement that only people who live in sub 700K homes have kids, or are kid focused, is quite possibly the most absurd and preposterous statement I've read in a while. I actually spit my drink out. I grew up in a house north of $1.5million with similar prices of my friends' houses. I found that Encinitas is extremely kid focused with a great "tot lot" at Moonlight beach, a lot of parks and outdoor things to do as well as a "neighborly" feel.

If you get a house in Olivenhain, you can get a lot more land than you would in Santaluz. Olivenhain is great, in my opinion. Large lots, large to moderate homes, room for horses, quite and semi-rural...yet it close to the beach. The weather in Olivenhain is also very nice. We live within earshot of the beach and while it's nice walking 5 minutes to the beach, it can be very cloudy/foggy/misty for days on end, while Olivenhain might have a little fog until 9AM, but then it's gone and it's warm, but not hot.

Santaluz & Poway can get HOT. I remember going to a soccer game in Poway in mid October and my friend had a heat seizure because it was 90+....while in Encinitas it was 75.

You may like Encinitas, you may not. At least give it a shot and take a look. It is a great, upscale FAMILY FOCUSED community with unbeatable schools, weather, beaches and since I was a kid and spent the first 18 years of my life there, I know what I'm talking about.

I wouldn't think for a second about living in Santaluz over Encinitas.

[JSD45]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

If you're spending 1.5-2MM you won't be in a middle class area. The areas you mentioned are where the elite of San Diego typically live. And it's true that a million dollar home does not mean necessarily mean rich, but that's how everyone else will see you, so get used to it

If you want upscale / luxury and you want young families stick to new construction i.e. Santaluz or Del Sur, Carmel Valley. Places like Stonebridge or Scripps Ranch will fit the bill but are more like islands of wealth in more upper-middle-class areas, that will be the case for much of inland north county east of 5. Closer into the city you have more mixed areas where million-dollar homes and modest middle-class housing are usually fairly close together. The older parts of the city, i.e. La Jolla, have less young children and an older population.

Suburban San Diego is very segregated by income so if you want to live in a rich area you will be living with rich people and sending your kids to school with them, mostly. Living in an upscale development like those you've mentioned... you might never see your neighbors let alone your kids. They are geared towards privacy and not community. Personally if I had that kind of money to spend I am not sure I would want to live on top of my neighbors in an upscale tract development. I agree with esmith, 700k is where the people with young kids are in San Diego. Those areas tend to be very focused on family amenities like parks and walking trails where you can meet other families.

Have you ever been to Encinitas, Del Mar, Solana Beach or Carlsbad or even Rancho for crying out loud? These communities have homes that mostly start above a million...yet they have kids!

To claim that "700K is where the people with young kids are in San Diego" is preposterous and just not factually accurate.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoTeen

[/b]

Have you ever been to Encinitas, Del Mar, Solana Beach or Carlsbad or even Rancho for crying out loud? These communities have homes that mostly start above a million...yet they have kids!

To claim that "700K is where the people with young kids are in San Diego" is preposterous and just not factually accurate.

People who are at the young-child stage of life (30's) don't *buy* million+ dollar homes. They might have bought them for 500k and now they are worth a million, but they are generally not dropping 10k/mo on a mortgage. Why do you think 4s ranch is so popular? Who do you think lives in all those tract homes east of 5 in North County? Ask mommy and daddy if they could have bought their home at todays prices when they had you. What happened to the Benz?

[treedonkey]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoTeen

[/b]
To claim that "700K is where the people with young kids are in San Diego" is preposterous and just not factually accurate.

Shuh, yeah, duh... If you want to get your facts straight, just ask a teenager... they know it all.

Personally, I'll defer to what Sassberto just said...

[aztoga]

Thanks SDTeen for your very helpful note. As a parent who will likely be moving into the area and is still unsure where to settle down, I appreciate your point of view.

[JSD45]

People make these broad statements like people with kids "can't afford a 700K+ home" and I just have to laugh. Why? Because I KNOW people with little kids who live in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...even 10 million dollar homes! Why does Rancho Santa Fe have a elementary school? Because there are people with kids, who have money!

It's not that difficult of a concept. Wealthy people like to have kids too...just like you.

Granted, most people can't afford it. But when you are telling the original poster that she shouldn't even bother dropping a million and a half on a home because she won't find any families with children....it's just absurd.

If nobody with kids can afford a 700K+ home, why would north county have the BEST schools...elementary through high school?

Answer: Because wealthy people have kids. End of story.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by SanDiegoTeen

People make these broad statements like people with kids "can't afford a 700K+ home" and I just have to laugh. Why? Because I KNOW people with little kids who live in 1, 2, 3, 4, 5...even 10 million dollar homes! Why does Rancho Santa Fe have a elementary school? Because there are people with kids, who have money!

I'm clearly making a generalization. I assumed most people understand that rich people have the same biological ability as other people. Next time I will be more explicit. The OP, who considers himself middle class, asked about newer areas specifically. I work with about a dozen 30-somethings who live in 4S. They are more probably a more typical example of the young North County parent than your friends in Rancho Santa Fe. I offered specific advice based on what the OP was looking for, not my personal opinion of what I would or would not like.