moving from london to san diego (Carlsbad, Encinitas: 2014, apartments, rentals)

[sum4jr]

moving to san diego in jan 2013 from london with my husband and kids, can anyone please tell me what would be needed to rent a property (apt/house)? and recommend a good location to set up home taking into consideration good school between carlsbad and san diego naval base?

[oddstray]

Where, exactly, will your husband (and you?) be working? That will affect the areas we'd suggest.

[sum4jr]

I would be working at the san diego naval base and my eldest son would be attending the army and navy academy in Carlsbad. However don't want to live to close nor to far away from either as have 2 younger boys (6 and 4) plus a 3mth old daughter.

[earlyretirement]

If you want to be somewhere in the middle and keeping in mind good schools for your kids, I'd say around the Carmel Valley area would probably work. The schools are excellent in that neck of the woods (92130) and it seems to be close to the middle of a commute to both locations. If you have a bigger budget, I'd say you'd love Del Mar (92014).

It's a very family friendly area, you're close to the beach and clean and safe.

You could also go a bit further inland and you have the Poway Unified Schools which are also excellent. (92127 or 92129). Also, it makes a HUGE difference with sunny weather just going in a few miles. I live about 7 miles from the Coast and it's unbelievable the difference with avoiding the marine layer. Many times I leave my house where it's blue skies and not a cloud in the sky and I head over to Del Mar and it's completely cloudy with no sun at all. But of course if you're from London you may be used to that.

You can check out the zip code locations here at this link: http://maps.huge.info/zip.htm

[tonyinsd]

Yeah, I was going to suggest Del Mar, too. Part of the fun of living here is being close to the coast. Of course, that costs money, but I think if you can swing it by getting a smaller place, it's worth it.

[sum4jr]

Many thanks for replies and most appreciated. My husband has been looking at Poway and Scripps i think it is. He mentioned Carmel Valley and Del Mar as well. Any idea how much it would cost to rent a 2 bedroom house/apt and any of those area? Was thinking of coming with my eldest son, daughter and husband to start with for about the 1st 6mths until we have settled, find a good school and perhaps a bigger place. Please excuse my ignorance but we have never step a foot in San Diego, the internet as been our main and only friend since we found out about the move a few weeks ago. Have been looking nonstop for properties. Not even sure what would be required of us to rent. In terms of renting what are we most likely to get for $1500 per month and would that be furnished or unfurnished? ideally would like furnish and willing to pay that extra bit if need be.

[Clark Fork Fantast]

Just to give you an idea:
san diego apts/housing for rent classifieds - craigslist

Be prepared to pay at least $2000 per month for a 3 bdr place in a decent area, and you will be asked to pay "first and last month's rent." Some rentals include utilities--mostly apartments, rarely homes. You should ask the base to help get you settled, since most reputable rental places (at least that's the way it used to be, back in the day when we were renting) will require references from previous landlords. Do you have your work visa situation taken care of? Because that can take a while.

I'd look for a house with a backyard further inland rather than an apartment on the coast, or anywhere. You'll be spending so much time outdoors, all year round, that having a house with a yard will make a huge difference.

[sum4jr]

Many thanks again to those who took time out to respond to our cry for help. However, the information we have sourced along with that which you have kindly donated has led us to ask a few more questions in order to get a more defined picture as to where will will finally set up home. Considering that we have no history in the States, does that mean that we will require a higher deposit or a guarantor for rental purposes? We would prefer to build our own credit history from the outset as oppose to relying on the credit of others. For those of you who are more experienced or knowledgeable with the rental market in San Diego, we would like to know who has ever used Sublet.com and if so, how useful were they as we interested in several of there adverts. So if you can shed more light on that and any more recommendations you may have considering our requirements and budget would be much appreciated!

Thank you kindly in advance for your time.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

What is your budget? Del Mar and Carmel Valley can be pricey, but are probably in the top tier of where you would want to live for the kids schooling and location to the base.

Being in Pendleton and Carlsbad, I would suggest Carlsbad or Encinitas.

How long is your stint n the states for?

[earlyretirement]

Based on what you wrote, I don't think you can afford Del Mar or even Carmel Valley. They are expensive areas. $1,500 per month isn't much for that area. Also, I was a bit confused by your post. You mentioned it was you and your spouse, your 3 kids (6 and 4 years old plus a 3 month old daughter). Then you also say you want to be near the SD Naval base so your older son will be close. Is your older son going to be living with you as well? I assume so by your post but it's difficult to tell.

If so, you're going to need a bigger house with both of you and 4 kids. So what is your absolute maximum budget?? Because most likely that is going to dictate the areas you're able to live in. San Diego is an expensive place and living in nice areas can be expensive (both buying and renting).

Also, you didn't mention how long you are renting for. Or if you are looking for furnished vs. unfurnished places as all of this is going to have a major impact on the price of the rental. Case in point, while I was waiting to close on my house, I rented a 3 bedroom townhouse in Carmel Valley. It was furnished and I paid $2,750 a month.

I don't think it will be too difficult for you as long as you have documentation that you will be stationed/employed here in San Diego for X years (or however long you are staying). The landlord will probably want to see documentation of that. I do know that they have credit bureaus in the UK as well (at least Experian).

I do lots of banking in the UK and I remember when I requested a credit card from my bank there, they did run a UK credit check on me as well as one from the USA. So I assume they have the ability to check your credit score from Experian or one of the other major firms.


The main thing any potential landlord is going to be concerned about is that you take good care of the place, employed or at least won't have any problems making the rent on time, etc. You might want to offer to pay more months up front or on the back end to make it more appealing, have a letter from the last landlord you rented from stating that you took excellent care of the property, show bank statements and letter from work, etc. and you shouldn't have any problems.

I think your toughest point is going to be finding a big enough place if you're budget is really only $1,500 a month.