Family friendly areas/neighborhoods near Petco Pk? (San Diego, Corona: real estate, house)

[clarabella]

I'm in early stages of possible move to SD and beginning to look at real estate. Would like to be within commuting distance of Petco Park, nice family community, good schools etc. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks...

[Jenkay]

Originally Posted by clarabella

I'm in early stages of possible move to SD and beginning to look at real estate. Would like to be within commuting distance of Petco Park, nice family community, good schools etc. Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks...

What does "within commuting distance" mean to you? 10 minutes' drive? 30 minutes? Want to be able to get there via bus/trolley? Gonna make a big difference in the answers you get.

[clarabella]

Sorry, I guess that was a little vague. Maybe 30 mins to an hour by car. I've been looking at other posts and have a list consisiting of:-
Poway, Scripps Ranch, Rancho Penasquitos, Encinitas, Carlsbad, DelMar, Solana Beach and Sabre Spring.
Not really sure about budget yet but assuming to buy between 400-500k..
Most important to me would be good schools (elem at this point) and friendly neighborhood.
Thanks again
C.

[moved]

Where will you be working? The best schools are in Poway, stay away from most schools in the San Diego City Schools district.

[Jenkay]

Originally Posted by clarabella

Sorry, I guess that was a little vague. Maybe 30 mins to an hour by car. I've been looking at other posts and have a list consisiting of:-
Poway, Scripps Ranch, Rancho Penasquitos, Encinitas, Carlsbad, DelMar, Solana Beach and Sabre Spring.
Not really sure about budget yet but assuming to buy between 400-500k..
Most important to me would be good schools (elem at this point) and friendly neighborhood.
Thanks again
C.

If you're working near Petco, La Mesa might be a good spot. Housing is less expensive there than any of the places you mention (I can't imagine a house in your price range in *any* of those areas, except maybe Poway) and you could take the trolley to work or have a 30-minute commute out the 94.

Basically, if you're working downtown but living anywhere else, you'll be commuting with everyone else = traffic. I can't speak to the 5, but the 15 can be pretty pesky at rush hour (I pass the traffic on my reverse commute every day!)

Also, with your price range, you might want to look into the South Bay areas. There are other folks on this board who can speak to the schools etc down there.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by clarabella

Sorry, I guess that was a little vague. Maybe 30 mins to an hour by car. I've been looking at other posts and have a list consisiting of:-
Poway, Scripps Ranch, Rancho Penasquitos, Encinitas, Carlsbad, DelMar, Solana Beach and Sabre Spring.
Not really sure about budget yet but assuming to buy between 400-500k..
Most important to me would be good schools (elem at this point) and friendly neighborhood.
Thanks again
C.

Hi, I actually used to do a reverse commute to what you are looking for. I lived downtown (about 2 blocks west of Petco, until recently) and drove to Scripps Poway.

As far as actual miles to and from, its approx 17-20 miles using 2 freeways. The 15 and 163. There are alternative ways to get downtown as well, but this is the most direct to and from for these 2 areas. My commute time averages approx 22 minutes (almost half of that time was getting out of the downtown area.)

Going down to Petco has more traffic in the mornings. It moves for the most part, but you start hitting it right before Hillcrest on average days. I would expect this to get worse over time though as more businesses in an around the downtown area grow.

As far as schools. I have no clue as I dont have kids. What I do know is from what I hear and see is what everyone else has said so far: that the Scripps Poway District is the "best". I never heard any compelling reason why its the best except for state test scores and the area being upper middle class.
I heard that SDUSD is a mixed bag but overall dismal. Some of La Mesa I also heard is "ok". Which brings up another area, La Mesa. You might want to look into this area as well for the prices of real estate you are considering. Its a little bit older and more established than some of the newer areas in San Diego. Scripps Ranch is just about starting to show its age but is well kept.

[sdurbanite]

Have you considered Coronado, which is across the bay from Petco? It seems to be family-oriented with good schools.