Poway (San Diego, Sacramento, Chula Vista: apartments, rent, low crime)

[Mark117nj]

I'm moving from N.J. to California.I'm looking in the San Diego area.Does anyone have any information to ofer about Poway?My brother lives in Chula Vista and says not to move to Poway but he isn't all that bright.Only kidding.

Thanks Mark

[Roman11]

Poway area is great, and has everything you need. Poway is not only Poway proper but Carmel Mountain, Rancho Penasquitos and Rancho Bernardo. Not sure if you want family oriented living but that's what this area predominately is. It has the best school district in San Diego and the parents are pretty active in the districts. Tons of Restaurants, Movie theaters and shopping centers. Also a lot of trials and parks for outdoor activities from biking, hiking to fishing. There's some good hi-tech jobs in Rancho Bernardo.

Now for some bad parts. If you need to head south towards San Diego in the morning, traffic sucks, it's not cheap either. Homes in this area medium prices are around $650k, that's medium, seems most are higher. Rent for a two bedroom is around $1200-1700/month for some of the newer apartments.

Poway is pretty centrally located so if you need to go north, south or west, it's not a bad drive...but remember, traffic sucks in San Diego.

Chula Vista has some really nice area's too but is pretty darn south....

Good Luck,

[Amore California]

Originally Posted by Roman11

Poway area is great, and has everything you need. Poway is not only Poway proper but Carmel Mountain, Rancho Penasquitos and Rancho Bernardo.

Not true ... Carmel Mountain, Rancho Penasquitos and Rancho Bernardo are communities WITHIN San Diego.

What makes Poway so attractive, besides just being a nice city to live in, is that it is NOT San Diego. San Diego is still in a financial and political mess. Stay away! You DON'T want to move to an area that has San Diego services ... you have been warned. San Diego is NOT America's Finest City (narcissistically self-proclamed by San Diego) ... nowadays, it is know as "Enron-By-The-Sea".

Go to http://www.ci.poway.ca.us/ for more information.

Best of luck.

[Roman11]

Wow Amore California, sorry, someone sure hates San Diego...

Sure San Diego has it's problems as do other cities in this State or in this country. Poway, I do admit is nice city but it has problems too. The point I was making about Carmel Mountain, Rancho Penasquitos and Rancho Bernardo is that it's the people that live here do take pride in there communities including Poway. Also all 4 of these cities are also in the same school district, "The Poway Unified School District," and that's why I tied these cities together. You are correct, these are not part of Poway but part of San Diego's North County. Now I didn't see anywhere where Mark was asking about the political aspects of Chula Vista or Poway...just what is it like here. I'm also not clear on the San Diego services? San Diego has only one power company, the City picks up the trash and sends water to our homes. As for Enron, it was in 2000-2001 and is gone, sure we who lived through it are moving on at this point and it did pretty much suck but no one in this area is calling San Diego "Enron-By-The-Sea" nor is it a topic of discussion anymore unless it brought up in the news because of the trials.

Oh, and yes, I do live in this area for the last 30 years.

[StarLite]

My husband and I lived in Poway in the early 90's. We wish that we never left. But unfortunately we can't afford to live there.

[Amore California]

Originally Posted by Roman11

Wow Amore California, sorry, someone sure hates San Diego...

Sure San Diego has it's problems as do other cities in this State or in this country. Poway, I do admit is nice city but it has problems too. The point I was making about Carmel Mountain, Rancho Penasquitos and Rancho Bernardo is that it's the people that live here do take pride in there communities including Poway. Also all 4 of these cities are also in the same school district, "The Poway Unified School District," and that's why I tied these cities together. You are correct, these are not part of Poway but part of San Diego's North County. Now I didn't see anywhere where Mark was asking about the political aspects of Chula Vista or Poway...just what is it like here. I'm also not clear on the San Diego services? San Diego has only one power company, the City picks up the trash and sends water to our homes. As for Enron, it was in 2000-2001 and is gone, sure we who lived through it are moving on at this point and it did pretty much suck but no one in this area is calling San Diego "Enron-By-The-Sea" nor is it a topic of discussion anymore unless it brought up in the news because of the trials.

Oh, and yes, I do live in this area for the last 30 years.

First off, as my user name states, I LOVE California - no bones about it. I've lived in every major metropolitan area of the state, except for Sacramento (some would argue that it is becoming an extended part of the Bay Area). I feel that I am very qualified to speak about parts of our wonderful state.

Now, after saying that, you suffer from living in the area too long ... you have myopia - you can't see beyond the borders of San Diego County.

I don't "hate" SD, I just choose where I live. I choose NOT to live in SD.

Poway is a CITY. RB, RP and CM are not cities, but neighborhoods / communities of the CITY of San Diego. I'm sure you don't trust me, so you check it out for yourself.

http://www.sandiego.gov/neighborhoods-map/northeast.shtml (broken link)

Shocking, is it not?

I stick by my guns when I say "Enron-By-The-Sea". I subscribe (and read) to the weekly SD Business Journal, and yes, the city is still being referred as such when the finacial health of the city is discussed. The city (SD) is still dealing with the City Employee's Retirement scandle as well as a major short fall in revenues ... just ask the SD Fire Chief and the SD Police Chief. Wall Street's view on SD is still below par - not good when bonds are taken to finance public works projects.

We all make choices in life, and I choose not to live in San Diego.

Poway ... two thumbs up!

[Roman11]

Hello Again....

I'm not here to argue with you because that will get us both absolutely no where. As far as living in one area to long and having "myopia"...hmmm, I have lived in other cities and countries and I don't consider myself as having a lack of imagination or foresight. The nice things about forums like this is that is a healthy discussion without the face to face and hopefully without calling people out. I have a great job in which enables me to travel the entire world putting over a 100,000 miles per year on my frequent flyer card. So, I have seen other cities towns and villages and yes I can see beyond the borders of San Diego County, thank you.

I, for the most part, try to keep my religion and politics out of forums because again...it's a no win situation for anyone since most people have very strong opinions and beliefs. Believe it or not I would never ask you to change yours as I wont change mine, but I do move on like the whole Enron power crisis. The Enron By The Sea is old news for us who live here and like I said before is not talked about with any regularity. Yes the city is still dealing with the City Employee's Retirement scandle as well as a major short fall in revenues but the New Mayor is doing an OK job. I bet where ever you live now your town or city has had it's share of scandals at one time or another. If it doesn't, congratulations on finding a Xanadu here in California. There is life beyond politics.

I do agree with you on making choices in life. I choose to live here in North County and enjoy it very much. Poway, Carmel Mountain, Rancho Penasquitos and Rancho Bernardo are all great places to live in San Diego County!

I hope your not taking this personally as I'm not....well maybe the part about myopia I am...LOL

Take Care, really,

[Amore California]

I too enjoy your response to mine, and I'm not trying to flame anyone, including you.

I too have traveled a gazzillion miles and at the end of the day, I always return back to California.

Currently, I do live in a city that I'm very proud of - Carlsbad ... my little Xanadu. I'm impressed with the city government, the chamber of commerce is first rate, fantastic schools, low crime rate, beautiful coastline and great sense of community ... yes, my little Xanadu.

I'm critical of SD because so many people that I've met living in SD think it's the best thing since slice bread. As you and I (and others now) know, the city has many opportunities to succeed. If I DID live in SD, I would make darn sure to get involved in the local government and do my share to make it better. San Diego is a "nice" city, but it is not "America's Finest City", in my hubble opinion.

My intent is not to highjack this thread, however, since it was about Poway and the area, I gave my two cents.

When selecting a place to live, one SHOULD be concerned about religion and politics. We all have our views, our values, and where we live brings these into harmony. I enjoy great wines and I'm a Roman Catholic, hence I would not choose to live in Salt Lake City. I'm sure it is a nice place, but my lifestyle and values would not be in "harmony".

Again, I do enjoy discussing this with you (Roman11).

Amore California!

[morinmi]

Just ran across your message...maybe it's too late but just my two cents. I've lived in Poway since 1984 and have watched it grow like many other areas of San Diego County. It is a very nice area and is centrally located with easy freeway access to get almost anyway. The cost of renting and buying a home is high. We bought our home in 1984 before the home prices started going crazy. Our home is only 1350 and is presently valued at around $580,000 so that gives you an idea. The price range of homes is I'd say from $385,000 - $4-5 mil. Pretty much anything you need can be had either in Poway or nearby communities. Temperatures can be colder in the winter than other areas of San Diego County. You can go from 60/70 in the day to 25 at night. Normally, the hottest month is August and there will be 3 weeks that temps will be in the high 90's and low 100's but everyone has had unusual temps this year so who knows what future years will be like.

If you have children then you'll want to read the rest: Academic Performance Indicators (API) for all PUSD improved for the 4th consecutive year from 835 in 2004 to 849 in 2005. Twenty-one of 22 elementary schools scored greater than the statewide target of 800. Five middle schools scored greater than 800, exceeding state targets. Each of Poway Unified School District’s comprehensive high schools met its growth target, and all four exceeded the state target of 800. Eleven schools ranked among California’s top 17%. Lifted by significant gains in similar school rankings, eleven Poway Unified schools achieved status as 10/10 schools. Districtwide, 26 schools improved similar school ranking, 20 earning a 10.

Hope some of this helped. I wonder why your brother said not to move to Poway.

P.S. We have Sheriff's and the only complaint I've ever heard is that they do not tolerate speeders. Which is very good but if one is a lead foot they may not be too happy being stopped by one. I've not had the pleasure but have heard it wasn't pleasant. Good luck on your move.

[sonomablue]

Hi,

My sister used to live in Poway, and loved it. I am interested in moving to that general area.

Just curious as to your thoughts on Mira Mesa, Tierrasanta, Lakeside, etc. and other surrounding communities - in case Poway is out of our reach. I am looking for a 3-4 bedroom, 2+ bathroom, 1800+ sqFt, preferably 1 story, with good schools. Our home in Northern California will probably sell for around $700k-$800k. Our rough target price is ~$550k-650K.