Escondido, Poway, or Rancho Bernardo (San Diego, Encinitas: real estate, apartments, rental)

[bustoff1]

We are looking for a monthly rental in North San Diego County.

The purpose of our trip is to shop for a home. Based upon a friends recomendation we are considering the Escondido, Poway, or Rancho Bernardo areas. Anything special about Carmel Mountain Ranch ? We prefer peace and quiet.

We would appreciate your thoughts and any suggestions regarding temporary housing while we are house-hunting and also what you think of these neighborhoods.

Thank you,
Stephano

[whiteboyslo]

If you have (or are planning to have) school-age children, then I would recommend Poway, RB, or CMR because it puts you in the Poway Unified School District (PUSD). However, if schools are not a concern, you can definitely get more for your money by looking at places that do not fall in the PUSD area like Escondido.

Here's the basic gist of these areas from my perspective (having grown up in RB):

RB: Middle to upper class. Lots of senior citizens. No real 'bad' areas. Boring, but mostly quiet.

CMR: Middle to upper-middle class. Very family-oriented. Really based around the CMR shopping plaza and not much else, but close enough to Poway, RB, and Rancho Penasquitos to make a nice location. Certain parts are income-controlled (west of I-15) which does tend to put off some, but it's not a slum by any stretch of the imagination.

Poway: Probably the biggest income range in the PUSD area. Lots of very not-so-great neighborhoods, but go to the other side of town and you'll be in multi-million dollar homes where the likes of Tony Gwynn lives. Busy, and only getting busier. Poway Rd is a nightmare at the wrong times.

In general, though, anything PUSD is pretty much vanilla suburbia. Just choose which flavor of vanilla you like. It's not the super-hip beach area or the cool downtown scene or the rural outdoors-y area (well, maybe parts of Poway, but it's a stretch). It's all just nice family-friendly suburban areas with VERY good schools and a Costco within 15 minutes one way or the other. But, it's not that far of a drive to any of that other fun stuff, so it's not that big of a deal.

Escondido: Didn't live there, but venture in from time to time. Bang for your buck, I like it. VERY broad range of income levels, a downtown area that seems to want to re-invent itself, a little more personality overall, and everything you need shopping-wise right there. There's some pretty good real estate deals as well, but keep an eye on where in Escondido they are because some parts aren't that great.

As far as temporary housing, you should be able to find lots of hotels of different flavors in the CMR or RB area given all the business parks in the area. I'd find one relatively close to I-15 for convenience and go with that.

Mike

[MovingAloha]

Originally Posted by whiteboyslo

If you have (or are planning to have) school-age children, then I would recommend Poway, RB, or CMR because it puts you in the Poway Unified School District (PUSD). However, if schools are not a concern, you can definitely get more for your money by looking at places that do not fall in the PUSD area like Escondido.

Here's the basic gist of these areas from my perspective (having grown up in RB):

RB: Middle to upper class. Lots of senior citizens. No real 'bad' areas. Boring, but mostly quiet.

CMR: Middle to upper-middle class. Very family-oriented. Really based around the CMR shopping plaza and not much else, but close enough to Poway, RB, and Rancho Penasquitos to make a nice location. Certain parts are income-controlled (west of I-15) which does tend to put off some, but it's not a slum by any stretch of the imagination.

Poway: Probably the biggest income range in the PUSD area. Lots of very not-so-great neighborhoods, but go to the other side of town and you'll be in multi-million dollar homes where the likes of Tony Gwynn lives. Busy, and only getting busier. Poway Rd is a nightmare at the wrong times.

In general, though, anything PUSD is pretty much vanilla suburbia. Just choose which flavor of vanilla you like. It's not the super-hip beach area or the cool downtown scene or the rural outdoors-y area (well, maybe parts of Poway, but it's a stretch). It's all just nice family-friendly suburban areas with VERY good schools and a Costco within 15 minutes one way or the other. But, it's not that far of a drive to any of that other fun stuff, so it's not that big of a deal.

Escondido: Didn't live there, but venture in from time to time. Bang for your buck, I like it. VERY broad range of income levels, a downtown area that seems to want to re-invent itself, a little more personality overall, and everything you need shopping-wise right there. There's some pretty good real estate deals as well, but keep an eye on where in Escondido they are because some parts aren't that great.

As far as temporary housing, you should be able to find lots of hotels of different flavors in the CMR or RB area given all the business parks in the area. I'd find one relatively close to I-15 for convenience and go with that.

Mike

Very nice!

[bustoff1]

whiteboyslo,
Awesome answer ! Thank you so much for the 411.
We are grateful for folks like you who are so kind and willing to offer up your time and knowledge.
Just a couple more questions . . .
Archstone Encinitas advertises apartments starting from $1821 per month. Would you share your opinion on that area ?
Also could you explain the parts/areas of Escondido that arent so great ?
Thanks again,
Stephano

[whiteboyslo]

Never heard of 'Archstone Encinitas'. I'm assuming that's the name of the complex?

And I couldn't really definitively tell you what parts of Escondido are 'good' or 'bad' all that well. Not really my stomping grounds if you know what I mean. But, if you're looking for areas like those others you mentioned, I would look for stuff in the southern part of Escondido near the mall (Westfield North County) or east from there heading out to San Pasqual.

Mike

[Encinitan]

Archstone is the big condo complex off Encinitas Boulevard and Via Cantebria. Not a bad part of town, just very heavy on residential. Target and lots of other big box stores are within walking distance. It's about 2 miles from the beach. I'd pick Encinitas over any of the other areas you've listed here, but then I'm biased.

[futbol]

I would avoid Escondido if you can. There are some decent areas there, but not-so-good ones, too.