Yet another help me with neighborhood search question (San Diego, Carlsbad: rentals, credit)

[sxb317]

We are moving to SD after the new year and would appreciate your help in narrowing down the list of neighborhoods we should search. We will be renting for a year until we get to know the area better. Here's some basic information:
- One parent working in La Jolla (off I-5), one from home. Prefer commutes <30-40min
- 2 small kids (not school age and since we will be renting, school quality irrelevant)
- $2500/month budget, require 3 bedrooms, prefer single family or townhome (no vertical neighbors due to the noise from our kids)
- Would like to be walking distance to a park or other child friendly activities
- We in general like neighborhoods with a character vs planned communities, but then again can be flexible given it will be for just a year. Closer to the beach would be great but not required.

The neighborhoods I've been told to check out: La Jolla, Del Mar, Encinitas, Solana Beach or more inland Carmel Valley. I have ruled out downtown neighborhoods in the south or Carlsbad up north due to commutes but let me know if that's not right. The problem is I'm not seeing a lot of rental that satisfy this criteria. I know La Jolla and Del Mar are expensive neighborhoods and the price range could be a challenge. My questions.:
- Do people use craigslist/zillow/trulia exclusively or can one find more rentals by driving around town? Any other websites more specific to San Diego for rentals?
- Is it realistic to expect being able to find a place on a weekend trip or should we settle in a short term housing for a month or so to look?
- Any other neighborhoods we should consider?

Thank you in advance for the help.

[Lasubri]

Hi There, let me tell you my experience, I moved on September from Chicago and the company paid for all the expenses, but anyways, I still did some searching. I found this website that was helpful it's hotpads.com.
We are living in Rancho Bernardo. In my opinion it's better to find a company that runs your credit and apply for the houses that are on rent. You are going to see a lot of houses for rent, but that doesn't mean that you're going to get it. So you need to apply in order to get one.

I have two children, so it was important for me and my husband to find a neighborhood with good schools, I saw scripps, peñasquitos, poway, rancho Bernardo. We didn't have a lot of options since we had only a weekend for house searching. I like Rancho Bernardo and I think you can find something around 2500. I would say a little more, but hey, you never know! All I can say is that San Diego it's expensive, the weather is beautiful and it's a desirable place to live.
Good luck on your move!!

[oddstray]

Rancho Bernardo is a really nice area, and it would fit all your criteria except probably the commute time.

You might include the newer neighborhoods along Highway 56 (Torrey Highlands, Del Sur, 4S Ranch) as well as the other neighborhoods that Lasubri mentions. None of these additional neighborhoods will be as close as your original list, but they're pretty good neighborhoods and might have something within your budget.

[cruitr]

Carmel Valley is good place to get started in San Diego. Carmel Valley offers:
1. short commute for a La Jolla job
2. nice family neighborhoods
3. newer housing (you don't want an older home with maintenance problems while you're renting)

[bloom]

Originally Posted by cruitr

(you don't want an older home with maintenance problems while you're renting)

no, you may not want an older home with maintenance problems while you're owning unless you want a home with character in the fixer-upper category

for renting, it is management responsibility for problems not tenants