Carmel Valley vs. Scripps? (San Diego, Poway: real estate, rent, house)

[runninmom23]

Hi there,
My family is moving to San Diego this summer. We lived there several years ago, before kids. Now that we're moving back with school-aged kids, our priorities are different and we do not want to move back to our old neighborhood.

We have three children and we're looking for excellent public schools. Friends have recommended both CV and SR. My husband will be commuting to the Navy Hospital, so we don't want to live much further north.

I like the idea of CV's proximity to the beach, but lately I've been hearing a lot about "Juicy Couture Moms" and "blinged-out moms" there. That's not really my scene, so I'm trying to figure out if that's just a stereotype or if I might find a more low-key lifestyle in SR. Or somewhere else entirely.

Some people have also suggested that CV's schools will be better protected from budget cuts because the constituents are wealthier (and more likely to raise/donate funds) and that CV homes retain their value better than SR homes (important to us as we are about to take a BIG hit on our current home and don't want to do that again. Ever.)

I don't mean to start neighborhood wars -- just trying to get a feel before we plunk down our (remaining) life savings on a house.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by runninmom23

Hi there,
My family is moving to San Diego this summer. We lived there several years ago, before kids. Now that we're moving back with school-aged kids, our priorities are different and we do not want to move back to our old neighborhood.

We have three children and we're looking for excellent public schools. Friends have recommended both CV and SR. My husband will be commuting to the Navy Hospital, so we don't want to live much further north.

I like the idea of CV's proximity to the beach, but lately I've been hearing a lot about "Juicy Couture Moms" and "blinged-out moms" there. That's not really my scene, so I'm trying to figure out if that's just a stereotype or if I might find a more low-key lifestyle in SR. Or somewhere else entirely.

Some people have also suggested that CV's schools will be better protected from budget cuts because the constituents are wealthier (and more likely to raise/donate funds) and that CV homes retain their value better than SR homes (important to us as we are about to take a BIG hit on our current home and don't want to do that again. Ever.)

I don't mean to start neighborhood wars -- just trying to get a feel before we plunk down our (remaining) life savings on a house.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

runninmom,

I am a little bit confused. It seems you want to be near the ocean which is why you like CV, but then ask about Scripps Ranch which is further inland?

For one, when it comes to housing, the stock in CV is considerably newer than SR. SR had its boom ~late 70s-80s or so. As far as property values budging, lets face it, comparing any drop in value to what we are slowly working our way out of, may not be a fair comparison. I cant think of one area that didnt take a hit in SD. From a pure Real Estate perspective CV is a better choice in the long run. While you may get a slightly better deal for a similar house in Scripps, you are having to work with older housing stock which in the suburbs have a tendency to lose their value from that era.

Budget is a very big factor here when it comes to housing valuations in the burbs here for Real Estate. So assuming you are looking at CV and Scripps, have you considered any areas within the Poway Unified area?

I have also heard that La Costa Oaks might be a decent area too which in some parts, kids go to San Dieguito School District which is supposedly decent.

[cruitr]

runninmom,
Don't buy a house when you first get here. You need time to look around. San Diego is not a typical "buy in a good school district" city. Rent a place for a year. You'll be glad you did.