O'Side, Carlsbad, or San Clemente? (Huntington Beach, Oceanside: real estate, rental, crime)

[rongermy007]

I am taking a job in November in Costa Mesa but I know for a fact that I don't want to live deep in the OC. I've been there and I didn't like it. I will be making about 15K a month after taxes and have a wife and 2 kids. I am not too worried about crime as long as its not too bad, I can handle it. But I don't want to live in the ghetto either. I was wondering if anyone can reccomend a decent place and give me an idea of how far my money will go there. I like Carlsbad, and O'side seemed nice in a blue collar sort of way, but the parts of San Clemente that I saw (west of the 5) seemed nice, but very pretentious/money oriented. I come from a blue collar background and while I may make more money now, I am still an average joe at heart. What would the commute to Costa Mesa be like from any of these towns. I'm kinda leaning towards O'side, but would like some feedback. Thanks.

[mainelander]

don;' live in oside its kinda scummy. if you can afford it san clemente is probably the best of those 3 options

[scratchNsniff]

Gee you must like driving!! The commute is hellish, I don't think there are any other freeways oter than the 5 and if that shuts down for some reason, you are screwed. Does amtrak stop in/near costa mesa? What about Lake Forest??

[thepinksquid]

Have you looked at Dana Point or Huntington Beach at all? Although they are in OC (as is San Clemente, BTW) would be a much closer commute, and still have some character. What type of house are you looking for (old new, how many bedrooms, etc) and what is your housing price range?

[rongermy007]

Not looking to buy right now, just wanna rent. (the property taxes are hellish and real estate is over priced) I like HB but Dana Point seemed a little snobby for me. Too obseessed with money and such. Like I said, I grew up blue collar. (read: lower middle class.) Those are the kinds of people I relate to.
Driving doesn't bother me. Austin TX, where I'm coming from, has HORRIBLE rush hour traffic. (Hour and a half for what should be a 20 minute drive.) I'm looking for a decent rental house preferably 3 to 4 bedrooms close to the beach, and willing to spend up to 2500 a month on rent. Also about the commute thing. alot of the work the company I will be working for will be on Camp Pendelton and a Mirimar. (I'm a Hydrographic Engineer.) So I won't be driving into Costa Mesa on a regular basis. So how much will 15K a month get me there. I hear its really expensive. Like what are gas and grocery prices, avg utility prices,etc. Is 15K a month a good salary for SoCal? How bad is O'side. I'm kinda seedy myself. I'm an old punk. 38 yrs young. But I'm raising my kids right.

[Sassberto]

San Clemente is the nicest of the three. It is similar to Carlsbad but has a smaller, less congested atmosphere with a more charming downtown area.

[Yvonne1207]

Originally Posted by rongermy007

Is 15K a month a good salary for SoCal? How bad is O'side. I'm kinda seedy myself. I'm an old punk. 38 yrs young. But I'm raising my kids right.

You can live quite comfortably on 15K a month especially since it sounds like you are a regular joe!

I am continually defending my town of Oceanside. Yes, there are seedy areas, but there are nice areas too. I rent in a bedroom community 5 minutes from the beach that is next to Pendleton (not the back gate area). 4 bedroom house, about 1900 sq. ft. about 10 years old, big back yard that overlooks the valley, in a quiet court, and we pay $2100 a month rent (neighbors pay $2300 but they have A/C, we don't and don't need it). It is not a seedy area. The neighborhood is well maintained and the people are normal folk. It takes me 30 minutes to drive to San Clemente area if I need to (tho' I work in Oceanside).

Carlsbad is lovely, but much more expensive than O'side.

That said, I HATE commuting, and I'd go for a closer place to live to my work - but that is just me. There is a commuter train from O'side to Orange county. If you can take that, the commute is pretty easy.

[Moose Whisperer]

Originally Posted by rongermy007

Not looking to buy right now, just wanna rent. (the property taxes are hellish and real estate is over priced) I like HB but Dana Point seemed a little snobby for me. Too obseessed with money and such. Like I said, I grew up blue collar. (read: lower middle class.) Those are the kinds of people I relate to.
Driving doesn't bother me. Austin TX, where I'm coming from, has HORRIBLE rush hour traffic. (Hour and a half for what should be a 20 minute drive.) I'm looking for a decent rental house preferably 3 to 4 bedrooms close to the beach, and willing to spend up to 2500 a month on rent. Also about the commute thing. alot of the work the company I will be working for will be on Camp Pendelton and a Mirimar. (I'm a Hydrographic Engineer.) So I won't be driving into Costa Mesa on a regular basis. So how much will 15K a month get me there. I hear its really expensive. Like what are gas and grocery prices, avg utility prices,etc. Is 15K a month a good salary for SoCal? How bad is O'side. I'm kinda seedy myself. I'm an old punk. 38 yrs young. But I'm raising my kids right.

I've lived in all three of those cities at one time or another when I was working at San Onofre. If you were going to be regularly commuting to Costa Mesa, then I would have said San Clem was your only choice, the other two would easily add another 45 minutes on top of an already hellish commute - even more when the stupid Border Patrol checkpoint gets really congested in the morning. However, if you are going to be down south much of the time, then I would definitely recommend checking out C'bad. While O'side does have many seedy areas, it also has nice parts too. However C'bad is usually considered much nicer, quieter, and safer, and the housing prices have held up much better there than in O'side. OTOH, if you buy a place in O'side there will probably more potential upside for future appreciation.

[Encinitan]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

San Clemente is the nicest of the three. It is similar to Carlsbad but has a smaller, less congested atmosphere with a more charming downtown area.

Not to pick a fight over something so trivial, but the downtown Village of Carlsbad is pretty cool. Certainly on par with downtown San Clemente. I'd rank them Carlsbad, San Clemente a close second, then Oceanside a distant third.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by Encinitan

the downtown Village of Carlsbad

Where is this, about what intersections?