PA to San Clemente (San Diego, Oceanside: custom home, neighborhoods, elementary school)

[ECguy7]

My middle class family and I have considered moving to California. We currently live in Pennsylvania. There are three children in my family: ages 12, 14, and 16. What would San Clemente offer them as far as education, lifestyle, and outdoor activities/parks? We have never been to San Clemente, so we know very little about the area. Also, are people friendly here? Are they as materialistic and fake as the media portrays them?

[piggyy]

San Clemente is more laid back than the rest of south Orange County, except in the Talega/Forester Ranch areas where all you see is minivans and little boxes on the hillside..

[Coldjensens]

San Clemente offers a beach with an ocean. Your kids can also hop on the train right in town and go as far as La or San Diego.

Whether people a fake and pretentious depends on who you meet. Certinaly there are fake and pretentious people there. Most of Orange County has a substantially higher quantity of fake a pretentious people than much of the rest of hte US. It is the prevailing culture. However there are all kinds of people. You will find people just like you. You may even find people from your home town.

Strongly suggest that you visit San Clemente for at least a week before you decide to move there.

San Clemente is in the extreme south of Orange County. It is a PIA to get to central Orange County and really difficult to get to LA. It is closer to San Diego County than to Irvine I think. It is a sleepy beach town that has a little bit of a small town atmosphere. I would avoid the areas discussed above unless you like the conforming, matching house, matching car, matching family thing. It is a nice quiet beach with a few shops and a cluster of homes.

[ECguy7]

Thanks for replying! Yes, we know we would have to visit San Clemente before moving there. We are a family who enjoys to be outdoors. Other than the ocean, are there many natural areas nearby? Overall, how does San Clemente compare to Encinitas?

[CAVA1990]

It used to have a sort of seedy aspect to it due to its proximity to Camp Pendleton. That may have improved with the upgrading of the military since the Vietnam war. That's one reason things seemed a bit nicer up the road in Capo Beach and Dana Point. You might want to check out those communities too.

[piggyy]

Originally Posted by CAVA1990

It used to have a sort of seedy aspect to it due to its proximity to Camp Pendleton. That may have improved with the upgrading of the military since the Vietnam war. That's one reason things seemed a bit nicer up the road in Capo Beach and Dana Point. You might want to check out those communities too.

It's not seedy at all anymore ...

[Fontucky]

The seedy military town crown is no longer shared with Oceanside. Hill St. in O'town now owns it, and has for years. Or what used to be called Hill St.

[gigi insc]

I moved here in 1990, but my husband has been in the area since the mid 70s. The town has changed a lot, especially in the past 20 years (more money has come into the town and overall upward trends). The downtown area has lots of boutiques and interesting little restaurants. I like southwest San Clemente better than other areas. That's where you find custom homes and family-oriented neighborhoods. You'll find the more established families and the character of the neighborhood is not cookie cutter the way most of south Orange County seems to be. Concordia Elementary would be the public elementary school for southwest San Clemente and it is a good school. There are some hiking trails in town, but it's mostly about the beach and pier here. Your kids might also enjoy stand-up paddleboards or kayaks at the harbor in Dana Point. Of course, there is also the skateboard park and during ski season, you can head up to the mountains for the day (about 2 hrs away) Dana Point is nice too, but it's windier than San Clemente and is not a beach town (Dana Point is a harbor town, not a beach town)