Neighborhood Recommendations (Highland, Solana Beach, Del Mar: rental, condo, how much) - San Diego - California (CA) - City-Data Forum

mandasand · 01-23-2014, 07:56 AM

I am currently living in the Bay Park/Clairemont area in a condo. We would like to move to a single family home/townhouse. It's just me, my husband and our dog. I work in Sorrento Valley and hubby will be starting law school at USD this year. We are working on baby.

We have decided to stick with renting for now. We want a 3 bedroom with a fenced outdoor space. Our budget is up to $3k. I would like something central but it has to be a good neighborhood because my hubby is a little picky about that. I'm trying to manage my expectations but I would like an upgraded kitchen and bathrooms.

I am just not sure where I should concentrate my search. I do like Bay Park but there isn't many places available here for rent. Any recommendations of neighborhoods I should start looking at?

cruitr · 01-23-2014, 08:27 AM

Have you considered a single-family rental in Sorrento Valley? Here's an example:
Detached home 4BR plus bonus room - backs to canyon

mandasand · 01-23-2014, 10:29 AM

I have considered Sorrento Valley, but honestly, I have to go to work here 5 days a week and I think the area has no personality and is dead on the weekends. That house is way too big for us as well. I would like to stay under 2000 sq ft.

cruitr · 01-23-2014, 11:07 AM

mandasand... I know what you mean. When we were in home-buying mode, my wife crossed Sorrento Valley off our list early in the hunt. In addition to lacking personality, she was concerned about brush fires.

The North PB / Bird Rock area might be a good fit for you. However, the daily commutes to Sorrento Valley and USD would get old real quick.

bloom · 01-23-2014, 11:18 AM

Mission Hills. The commute is easy and within your budget easily. Nice yards. Charming craftsman home neighborhood - old school California that is opposite of Carmel Valley, Santa Luz. Really nice neighborhood park called Pioneer Park. Close to Everything.

mandasand · 01-23-2014, 11:37 AM

North PB and Mission Hills are in my price range? I want to be careful about North PB because I don't want to live in "PB" proper. We are too old for that! I like Mount Solidad but prices there are crazy.

We also considered buying. We own a house in NorCal that we are selling and we would have $80k + for a down payment. But, I think we'll wait another year or so, get hubby adjusted to law school and make sure we want to stay in SD for sure. My husband will have his pension after 20 years in the military and he gets housing stipend plus tuition covered. So, I think we will be ok with spending $3k but I really don't want to spend a dime more than that. We want to be comfortable financially.

lrmsd · 01-23-2014, 11:44 AM

Also, even tho' Carmel Valley is suburban 'new school' CA. (: , it is walkable to many shops, movie theater, Jimbo's health food store and Ralphs, and restaurants (newly rennovated Del Mar Highlands Plaza=not just chain restaurants, amazingly!), quite close to Sorrento Valley [back roads, no freeway if you want! My spouse does that commute-and most days, it's under 15 minutes, depends where in SV/CV you are.] and just off the 5 for commute to USD.

If you think you might stay for awhile, it is one of the top 3 school districts in SD, as well. If being near the beach is a plus for you, it's a few miles to Torrey Pines, but without the fog. Also, a few miles to Del Mar Village proper [you can bike...or park at TP beach during low tide, walk to happy hour in del mar, then back again. Actually, anyone could do this-it's just quite close to CV. (: ]

3k is on the low end, but not impossible. I do sometimes see signs outside of homes for 2800-3200. I think driving around [especially the 'older' part of CV,, near torrey pines high school, carmel creek elementary school, etc] can yield more options than looking at online/print ads only. Some people just put up signs in front.

The location (central) but not super hot in the summer, plus the safety/clean (and trees, relative to other parts of SD), make is a pretty nice option in the SD metro, IMO.

You could also check Solana Beach, but the housing budget may be too low.

I think, if you're trying for a baby, CV is a really, really great place to have a baby/child. Plenty of parks that are clean, easy to get to [walking distance usually], wide sidewalks for jogging or pushing the stroller, plenty of families and a generally friendly attitude towards kids.
It's quite safe, save for a few car breakins now and then. There's a police substation here, though, so there's no shortage of presence. I love that my kids can be 'old school' [speaking of old school] and walk to the liquor deli for candy]that until recently, was owned by the same family for 30 years-quite a feat in an area that is only about 30 years old!], where they'll spot the kids a dime or two for candy if they are short. And the restaurants and ralph's are always good to the kids-giving them free chips at Rubios, cookies, etc. Both of the major plazas in CV do the usual holiday and halloween give aways and celebrations, too. Older kids can ride their bikes and scooters to the parks or to each others houses. Many cul de sacs where kids play basketball, etc in the street b/c of low traffic, etc. I live in a complex and the pool and tennis are filled with kids hanging out. Plenty of people out walking their newborns, too. (: My older children walk to and from school by themselves. It can be hard to envision when your kids are younger or you're just in the planning stages...but these are generally not things they could enjoy in the central, urban areas of SD. [walking to the park and being at the park alone,, to school, the store to get an icecream, etc]

THESE are the old school things you appreciate as a parent, even though you have to sacrifice character in homes. In the list of priorities, less stress for me, knowing my kids can go places themselves is such a relief. It's literally reduced stress. I lived in Normal Heights when they were younger, and it was a huge negative daily experience that we had to share the one or two very small parks with homeless [sometimes wild cards, let's be honest and there were violent incidents-why choose that scenario willingly if you can avoid it?], drug deals and a lot of small dogs. Mission Hills is slightly nicer in some areas, though, but those are the higher priced homes on the canyon, usually. Also, parts of MH are really 'little italy' and are in the flight path for the airport-that is loud on the daily! I know a family in that situation, who had a family home they'd inherited.

Anyway, good luck w/your decision...just thought I'd weigh in as a parent and CV resident [for the past 5 years], b/c I also lived 3 years in normal heights and 3 years prior to that in clairemont [by Bay Park/Tecolote Canyon], coincidentally. Hands down, CV is the best choice for many reasons, as a parent [and even as a non parent, at this point in my life and in the SD landscape].

bloom · 01-23-2014, 11:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandasand

North PB and Mission Hills are in my price range? I want to be careful about North PB because I don't want to live in "PB" proper. We are too old for that! I like Mount Solidad but prices there are crazy.

We also considered buying. We own a house in NorCal that we are selling and we would have $80k + for a down payment. But, I think we'll wait another year or so, get hubby adjusted to law school and make sure we want to stay in SD for sure. My husband will have his pension after 20 years in the military and he gets housing stipend plus tuition covered. So, I think we will be ok with spending $3k but I really don't want to spend a dime more than that. We want to be comfortable financially.

For PB, the Birdrock area would be of interest to you. It is more inconvenient (bottlenecks) driving in and out to PB but totally doable (vs other metro. areas).

mandasand · 01-23-2014, 12:05 PM

I am not writing off Carmel Valley completely. I just am not sure if we can get a single family home for $3k there. They have nice townhomes but a fenced yard space is a non-negotiable at this point. I have a 9 year old lab. She isn't adjusting well in the condo. She's an awesome dog and really easy going. She's an inside dog, but waiting 12 hours before I get home I feel so bad for her.

It is crazy for me to think we cannot get an updated home with a yard in a good neighborhood for $3k. How much should our budget really be?

cruitr · 01-23-2014, 01:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mandasand

It is crazy for me to think we cannot get an updated home with a yard in a good neighborhood for $3k. How much should our budget really be?

If you go inland about 10 miles, you'll have lots of luck finding what you describe. Tierrasanta is a good place to look: Via Dominque Court home