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Hi,
This forum has been a great source for information gathering! We could really use some input from locals with young children on a few things:
Quick summary: We have two young children who are 2 and 4. We are both in good jobs and senior positions in the technology industry that allow us to live and work almost anywhere. We have the option to relocate to the San Diego area – all we need to do is pull the trigger and make it happen. We are currently in North Carolina but have lived in San Francisco, San Jose, Denver, and other areas in the West. We have considered moving back to the Bay area but in our mind the San Diego area is a much better area for families and for kid’s activities.
We’ve been to San Diego numerous times and have been house shopping for several months now. We’ve been working with our realtor and focusing on several area including:
La Costa Valley
Scripps Ranch
San Marcos
San Elijo Hills
Poway
We have budgeted up to 850k for a home but obviously if we can spend less we are all for that! I don’t want to spend $500 month on Mello Roos and that is one thing we are carefully looking at when researching neighborhoods and homes. We also want single family with a yard. No townhomes, condos, etc.
Our criteria include GOOD schools for the kids, close enough to activities so you can do some after work say on a weekday. Hiking, biking, beach, zoo/park, and some general kid-type activities. Really like Leo Carrillo Ranch and that area as well.
We will not have to do a regular commute since we mostly work from home when not traveling.
We know Carmel Valley has good schools but we are struggling with the home sizes, lot sizes and prices.
Some of my questions for folks are:
• Any opinions on the areas I mentioned above? I am leaning toward La Costa Valley due to the schools, abundance of kids etc.
• Need to visit Poway and look in more detail. Any opinions or recommendations?
• Is overcrowding in the schools a big issue in these areas? It seems to me the student to teacher ratios are high. 27:1 for Kindgarten?
• Any areas to maybe also take a look at that we did not include?
• Any recommendations on preschools in these areas?
• Any recommendations on Mom’s groups, kids clubs, etc to explore?
I realize that’s a lot of questions but I have seen a lot of good information come from the forum and would really appreciate thoughts from someone local who has been through some of this…
If you don't have family here and travel often enough for work, I'd also consider living in an area close to the good schools, good families, and good nannies/sitters, etc. Budgets have been cut. Del Mar schools were something like 15:1 teacher to student ratio and now with budget reallocation for education in California, they are looking at cutting a few teachers and other services. And Del mar is extremely wealthy.
Poway, Rancho Penasquitos, Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Solano Beach, etc are areas where there are good schools. But houses are more expensive. Beach will depend. Live in Poway and you aren't going to the beach on a weds after work and school. And a lot of these areas are more suburban in nature, so biking, if they have bike paths, nice, if not, you won't go biking. You can find hiking trails, but for whatever reason San diego isn't as good as certain parts of Orange County. When I lived up there, I could leave my townhouse and walk for miles and miles up hills and so on. San diego seems to have more places to hike and more canyons that are easily accessible, but it seems you have to drive to them compared to just take a walk from your home.
I know places like Del Sur are trying to have that walk and hike and trails and park feeling, but I honestly don't like del sur at all. Seems too fake. And if you ever watched the show weeds and heard the song "little boxes" del sur seems to fit into that mentality.
Poway is almost always listed as the best school district in San Diego, but they've had a big controversy in terms of funding just recently. I'd look more into this before you chose a place:
You might want to look into the charter school systems of these neighborhoods as well. Class sizes often are improved with the charter schools. And, of course, this is always a great tool to use to start your searching:
If you're looking for good schools, you'll want to focus on Encinitas, Poway, Carlsbad, and possibly San Marcos school districts. La Costa Valley area is going to be in the Encinitas schools - so that would be a good fit for you. Poway is great, but it isn't close to the beach and gets hot in the summer, so you'll just have to decide what you're looking for there.
Carlsbad has a great nature trail system, although, Poway has a lot of open space too. As far as Mello Roos, you'll want to stay away from the newer communities, but older homes in these areas won't have Mello Roos and will have small HOA (if any at all.)
Preschools - I've heard great things about Carlsbad Country Day, but don't have experience with the school personally. (My kids went to Frist Presbyterian Preschool in Oceanside - Fire Mountain and it was fantastic.) I think it depends on what sort of preschool you are looking for - 1/2-day, full-day, academic vs. play based.
There is a great group here in San Diego called the San Diego Parent Connection. It'll get you set up with a local playgroup with kids the same age as yours & has many activities throughout the year.
We know Carmel Valley has good schools but we are struggling with the home sizes, lot sizes and prices.
Some of my questions for folks are:
• Any opinions on the areas I mentioned above? I am leaning toward La Costa Valley due to the schools, abundance of kids etc.
• Need to visit Poway and look in more detail. Any opinions or recommendations?
• Is overcrowding in the schools a big issue in these areas? It seems to me the student to teacher ratios are high. 27:1 for Kindgarten?
• Any areas to maybe also take a look at that we did not include?
• Any recommendations on preschools in these areas?
• Any recommendations on Mom’s groups, kids clubs, etc to explore?
I realize that’s a lot of questions but I have seen a lot of good information come from the forum and would really appreciate thoughts from someone local who has been through some of this…
Thanks.
I won't speak on some of these other areas as I don't know them too well from a standpoint of raising kids. But I TOTALLY agree with your point on Carmel Valley. We leased a place there for 6 months before we moved into our home that we bought.
We looked at MANY houses there when we were buying. We LOVED the general area as the location is really great and you're very close to the beaches of Del Mar and you avoid the marine layering and getting fogged in like Del Mar and La Jolla. We also loved the school district there is so great.
But one thing we could NOT swallow is the lot sizes being so small AND the lack of privacy on many homes that we saw. Really, I don't need a big lot/yard but enough where my kids can play outside without 5 neighbors looking down on them from their houses. Even $1 million + homes in several communities we saw lacked that privacy we wanted. We just couldn't justify spending that kind of money and buying there and glad we didn't.
Poway, a few of our friends live and they enjoy it but it's not my cup of tea. It's too hot for my tastes once you go East of I-15. But people raising families there seem to like it and the school system is GREAT there. Just a bit too "country" feeling for me. Also, the styles of houses for the most part wasn't my thing either.
There are TONS of mom's/dad's groups you can join up in San Diego. Sign up for Parent Connection | San Diego Parents Resources & Events It's only like $20 a year and they have meet up groups. Plus many communities or developments have their own internal play groups. We've met many other parents this way. Plus if you get your kid's involved in extracurricular activities which I'm sure you probably will, you will quickly meet people/parents that way.
Been a busy few days. First, thanks for the replies. I did read about the bond issues for Poway schools - unbelievable.
Also appreciate the feedback on the neighborhoods. San Marcos seems to have hit or miss areas from what I've read although the schools seem to be highly rated. Definitely would rather be closer to the coast that further away. But even Poway with low humidity would be cooler than North Carolina in the summer.
Thanks for the pointer on the parents connection. Great resource.
We are going to see some more houses this weekend so will see how it goes. It still boggles my mind how much mello roos is in some areas...I've never seen this fee in any other city including Northern California.
Been a busy few days. First, thanks for the replies. I did read about the bond issues for Poway schools - unbelievable.
Also appreciate the feedback on the neighborhoods. San Marcos seems to have hit or miss areas from what I've read although the schools seem to be highly rated. Definitely would rather be closer to the coast that further away. But even Poway with low humidity would be cooler than North Carolina in the summer.
Thanks for the pointer on the parents connection. Great resource.
We are going to see some more houses this weekend so will see how it goes. It still boggles my mind how much mello roos is in some areas...I've never seen this fee in any other city including Northern California.
Thanks
When it comes to San Marcos schools (and neighborhoods), a general rule of thumb is to avoid the areas that feed into San Marcos Middle School.
Paloma Elementary in Santa Fe Hills is the one exception in the north/west part of the district. However, your children would still attend San Marcos Middle. South and East are the better areas and schools.
You definitely won't need 850K in SM, unless you absolutely need a 3700 sq. ft. hillside house with ocean views or small ranch in twin oaks. 750K buys you a brand new 3500 sq. ft. house in the most affluent community in San Marcos- with ocean views and top schools. (although it is a tract home)
Been a busy few days. First, thanks for the replies. I did read about the bond issues for Poway schools - unbelievable.
Also appreciate the feedback on the neighborhoods. San Marcos seems to have hit or miss areas from what I've read although the schools seem to be highly rated. Definitely would rather be closer to the coast that further away. But even Poway with low humidity would be cooler than North Carolina in the summer.
Thanks for the pointer on the parents connection. Great resource.
We are going to see some more houses this weekend so will see how it goes. It still boggles my mind how much mello roos is in some areas...I've never seen this fee in any other city including Northern California.
Thanks
Oh yeah it was HORRIBLE what happened with those capital appreciation bonds with the Poway Unified School District. We talked about it in depth on other threads. Those morons that had anything to do with it should NEVER hold public office again. However, even considering that liability way down the road, I honestly don't think it will have much impact on home prices as long as the school district remains one of the top rated in the area then parents will continue to buy regardless of that extra expense.
The difference for the typical homeowner isn't going to be enough to sway them away from buying a home in the District as long as the schools remain top rated. That's the true wildcard... if the schools are as top rated in 20 or 30 years vs. today. My guess is that they will be and that the extra expense of the bonds won't stop people buying in the District at all.
DEFINITELY I agree with you on the Mello Roos taxes. That was totally new for me as well. I've owned in other places and never had to deal with Mello Roos taxes. My wife was initially against buying where we did because she didn't want to have to pay Mello Roos taxes but I convinced her that in the grand scheme of things it was worth it considering the schools in the area are great.
Definitely you have to be able to not only accept the fact that you have those but consider how much more it would really add to your bottom line. I absolutely see both sides of that argument and had to actually face the decision while we were going through the buying process. Ultimately I decided it was worth it and don't regret buying in a Mello Roos area for a second.
Also, note that there are options you can take including pre-paying off the entire Mello Roos taxes ahead of time. It doesn't probably make sense if you aren't sure if you will move in the future. But it DOES make sense if you are buying your "forever" house and know you will stay in it for the foreseeable future. I pre-paid mine off and it was a no brainer for us as we will definitely stay in the house for the long-term.
Good luck with the search and let us know how it goes.
When it comes to San Marcos schools (and neighborhoods), a general rule of thumb is to avoid the areas that feed into San Marcos Middle School.
Paloma Elementary in Santa Fe Hills is the one exception in the north/west part of the district. However, your children would still attend San Marcos Middle. South and East are the better areas and schools.
You definitely won't need 850K in SM, unless you absolutely need a 3700 sq. ft. hillside house with ocean views or small ranch in twin oaks. 750K buys you a brand new 3500 sq. ft. house in the most affluent community in San Marcos- with ocean views and top schools. (although it is a tract home)
Totally agree with rhanifin. I live in San Marcos, and my favorite area is the San Elijo Hills which borders La Costa - which is in Carlsbad. You don't need to spend 850K unless you're looking for a substantial square footage on hilltops with ocean views.
Note that the San Elijo Elementary school gets filled up quickly, so much so not all the residents in San Elijo are guaranteed a spot for their kids...they are automatically transferred to Discovery or Carrillo or some of the schools in neighboring Carlsbad.
I understand another elementary school is in the works to be built in San Elijo to accommodate the population growth. If SM is on your top list to buy, stay away from the general areas rhanifin listed.
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