overwhelmed! -- where to live in SD area (San Diego, Oceanside: houses, restaurants)

[someguy10]

Originally Posted by oddstray

If you don't like the older places, you probably won't like Clairmont Mesa. The most recent development is, as you note, in north county. Look at Black Mountain Ranch, Torrey Highlands, Pacific Highlands Ranch, and Del Mar Mesa. (Those are the names of the neighborhoods from this map: Community Profiles | Planning Division The developments are new enough that many people name developments rather than neighborhood names. Offhand, I can think of 4S Ranch and Santa Luz. I'm sure there are more.)

Thanks, I'll start checking those out. It's tough for someone who doesn't know the area -- I like to use VRBO or Trulia to scope out places in areas and it's hard to match some of the names listed here versus the neighborhoods/cities those sites list. That map should help, though.

[eastcoastbias]

Originally Posted by someguy10

Great info folks -- keep it coming! Our place here is very contemporary with a very open floor plan and quite a lot of glass and natural light (as much as the crappy weather gives us). It's huge by SoCal standards and we certainly don't need anything that large in SD.

We did look at some rental units online in the Clairemont area (prior to RD5050's detailed info) and found them really yucky. There're lots of 50/60/70's homes where we lived in the Midwest (in fact, a majority fall into that category) and we dislike them immensely.

Definitely commute isn't an issue. We'd rather our money go toward sunniness (both marine layer and weather and also to a contemporary place with lots of natural light) and our outdoor life (porch/yard and walking/running/biking). Ideally we'd have 3 bedrooms (one for our real bed room, 2 for separate home offices) although 2 BR could work, too.

Honestly we were originally thinking north country. It'd be nice to have a totally walkable place, but if I'm living in SoCal with the amazing weather, I'm going to have a fun convertible, da*& it. And since neither of us have to work traditional commutes or traditional hours, we can time driving any real distance to avoid the worst traffic times.

Being able to exercise is a top priority. For example, during the nicer months in the midwest, I put around 500 miles a month on my road bike and try to keep average speed around 19-20mph. Sometimes the Mrs. comes along at more relaxed pace. Sometimes we take out hybrid bikes to ride for fun or to markets/etc. We also walk 2-6 miles, sometimes several times a day. You get the idea.

I was thinking North County all along for you myself, but have you thought of Coronado? If you don't have to commute off the island for work I think it could be great for you. What's amazing people don't to seem to drive, they bike everywhere- so you can imagine its very walkable. The only problem with it given your situation- it is not a street bike/mountain bike area- its more of a lets go on a ride to the store or the beach. Perfect place to walk or run though, IMO. Coronado is the type of place that puts you in the vacation state of mind 365 days of the year.

There are nice walkable areas in Encinitas, Carlsbad where the downtown areas are very walkable and there are nice homes right by those areas, although they can be the old beach type housing still there are newer homes.

If you are looking for brand new homes 4S Ranch may fit the bill. I'm not crazy about 4S Ranch- its a new community its very quiet but I hear they are developing it quickly and I don't see that as a benefit down the road. Del Sur and San Elijo are also newer home areas in the North County. All these areas are a drive to the beach though.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

someguy10,

If you dont like older homes that remind you of the midwest, then this eliminates a good chunk if not all of any of the urban neighborhoods.

What you are looking for would be away from the coast as well, generally west of the 5 up and down the coast is where houses have been there for a while.

Are suburbs ok for you? The areas that eastcoastboas would fit into that category and be newer. They are all tract communities which all generally have small strip malls with shops etc and be a short drive to the beach.
Many have biking, walking paths as well, but more spread out than urban walkable.

Take a look at communities like Santaluz, 4S Ranch (as mentioned) and areas in Faibanks Ranch. Its more upscale in these areas and less yucky.

[someguy10]

Suburbs are ok.

Are there particular areas that tend to have single family homes with modern or very contemporary architecture? They don't necessarily need to be new builds (and can be "old" or older) as long as they have that look.

We're looking to spend time out there in October checking places out and are trying to organize a priority visit list. Thanks to everyone for all the past and ongoing help!

Originally Posted by shmoov_groovzsd

someguy10,

If you dont like older homes that remind you of the midwest, then this eliminates a good chunk if not all of any of the urban neighborhoods.

What you are looking for would be away from the coast as well, generally west of the 5 up and down the coast is where houses have been there for a while.

Are suburbs ok for you? The areas that eastcoastboas would fit into that category and be newer. They are all tract communities which all generally have small strip malls with shops etc and be a short drive to the beach.
Many have biking, walking paths as well, but more spread out than urban walkable.

Take a look at communities like Santaluz, 4S Ranch (as mentioned) and areas in Faibanks Ranch. Its more upscale in these areas and less yucky.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by someguy10

Suburbs are ok.

Are there particular areas that tend to have single family homes with modern or very contemporary architecture? They don't necessarily need to be new builds (and can be "old" or older) as long as they have that look.

We're looking to spend time out there in October checking places out and are trying to organize a priority visit list. Thanks to everyone for all the past and ongoing help!

I honestly cant say that we have much modern architecture outside of downtown. We have lots of suburbs here that are made to look older and in line with SD's history. So there are accents of Spanish influenced architecture and style throughout most of the county, outside of the 50s-60s tract homes.

Now, I have seen some older homes in areas like Clairemont that are fixed up in a mid-century modern style, but the houses all around that house might not be. So you get kind of an eclectic feel.

You are best to look downtown in the condos. I am not really sure what a modern looking house looks like from your perspective. Do you have an example from Google images?
I have seen sort of 80s contemporary in La Jolla but they are massive houses and super expensive. Is that what you mean by modern? I just havent really seen neighborhoods where there is a likeness throughout for this type of architecture or style.

[someguy10]

Some examples of what we like ... I realize from a pure standpoint some/many of these aren't technically modern, but they are what most folks seem to call "modern":

Coronado Vacation Rental - VRBO 474854 - 3 BR San Diego County House in CA, Large Family Friendly Home with Pool and Handicap Ready
North Park Vacation Rental - VRBO 487266 - 2 BR San Diego Bungalow in CA, Modern Chic Bungalow Near Downtown San Diego

North Park Vacation Rental - VRBO 397056 - 3 BR San Diego House in CA, 3 Bed/ 2 Bath, Big Yard, Walk to Balboa Park;5 Min Downtown

The last one definitely isn't modern even in the looser sense, but it's very bright and open and is therefore fine. As we've dug deeper, we have found some places (two of the three above) in the Balboa park areas that would work.

[someguy10]

Thought I'd come back and give an update. A lot has happened since my post almost exactly a year ago. The remote job situation had a hiccup that caused a delay but it's looking like that is going to turn out better than originally expected. In the meantime, we've had a chance to do some SD recon and I'll report that here. Without really intending it, most of our experience was coastal (west of 5). I'm giving this uncensored and from our point of view, which is personally biased just like every opinion. I'd love to get more feedback; also, maybe this will help others.

Pacific Beach -- It's flat coming in from the ocean -- no cliffs like much of SoCal coastline. On the weekends, the beach front areas including the beach seem to be fully of 20-something hipsters and wannabes doing the see and be seen thing. Lots of tight trunks, tats, tricks on bikes, etc. Very crowded and not very pleasant. Totally different on weekdays. Much fewer people and a different crowd. I took it to be about 60% vacationers and 40% older local types. PB has great shops and restaurants along beachfront road and along Grand. Malibu style homes on the beach with lots of bungalow style places off the beach but west of 5.

Bird Rock -- cliff coastline (no beach). More upscale than PB and a lot quieter all the time. But not as upscale as La Jolla proper. It's a nice balance in between LJ and PB. Easy bike or car access to the beach at PB and the shops/food. More two-story homes, especially west of La Jolla Blvd (parallel to 5 but west of it). Also some cute one-story homes. Pretty much all single family.

Del Mar -- Cute town. Lots of restaurants, fewer shops. Seems as pricey as LJ. Cliffs but beach below.

Encinitas -- very cute walkable downtown/village type area. Seemed more local/authentic than Carlsbad's downtown. Didn't get time to fully explore housing around the downtown area. Some nice single family homes up in the hills. Many of those are nice and newer, but tended to be huge (3000+ sqft).

Carlsbad -- nice walkable downtown area. But it seemed very commercial and touristy.

North Park/Balboa area -- Balboa park itself is great. Sort of a cross between Golden Gate Park in SF and Central Park in NYC. Checked out some open houses in the area and just weren't hot on the area/vibe. Maybe we were too spoiled by Bird Rock and LJ.

Coronado -- Flat and amazing wide beach. Nice strips of restaurants and shops. Homes looked nice but didn't get into checking any out in detail. Also didn't get to check out marine layer issues. Definitely a potential contender depending on marine layer.

We stayed in and liked Bird Rock but it had significant marine layer greyness lasting until late morning on all but a couple days. Couldn't comment as surely on the other towns as far as marine layer. Also liked Encinitas and Coronado. Pacific Beach is also an option but we'd have to stay in on weekends which is fine.

Generally we loved the weather and the people. Definitely seemed to live up to the laid back stereotype. It was funny adjusting to certain things. Like having laundry in a detached garage -- no big deal since the weather is always good and no chance of pipes freezing

We need to spend more time checking out inland options. Would love some updated recommendations based on my info above. Also, any challenges if we missed the boat on the coastal options. My SO has added Santa Barbara to the CA potentials list and also the Scottsdale area in AZ. I realize this is the SD forum, but if anyone has specific experience comparing SD to either of those, I'd appreciate it, too. Obviously SB is more expensive and Scottsdale/Phoenix is less, considerably less in some cases. Thanks again -- what a great source of info you all are!

[Oboe700]

Originally Posted by someguy10

How is Encinitas in terms of cloudiness/marine layer?

Why is the marine layer such a concern? For areas near the coast, it clears out by noon at the latest and isn't year round.

[someguy10]

Originally Posted by Oboe700

Why is the marine layer such a concern? For areas near the coast, it clears out by noon at the latest and isn't year round.

Can you shed some more light on the specifics? In late August in the LJ/Bird Rock area, we had more grey mornings than not. Also, it seemed to roll back in before sunset on around 1/3 of the days. Waking up in the morning to that boxed in grey feeling sucks -- we can get that where we live now and for 1/5 the price. I've read about May gray and June gloom, but expected much less of it in mid and late August?

[1AngryTaxPayer]

I lived in PB almost 20 years. I can remember one summer we had almost no sun at all the entire summer. I had to drive up onto the Mesa to even see it. If you live near the beach you better like drizzle and fog.