Great neighborhoods in West Mira Mesa (specific neighborhoods/streets)?

[Think4Yourself]

Doc is making some great points in this thread.

[Think4Yourself]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Safety in San Diego is generally not an issue. Mira Mesa is not dangerous. It is a low/moderate income, high density area with all the problems that come along with it, including a longstanding gang problem but it's almost all just little wannabe thugs. I think the reason this is such a turnoff is not because the schools are actually bad, but because for an area that is almost completely sterile suburbia, it has many of the urban problems (poverty, traffic, run down housing), but none of the urban upside (walkability, restaurants, nightlife, culture). The unfortunate reality is that nearly every year there are still a few drive-by shootings in Mira Mesa , i.e. SDPD Gang Unit investigates Mira Mesa shooting - San Diego, California News Station - KFMB Channel 8 - cbs8.com.

I noticed you had to go back half a decade to find a shooting and it didn't even involve people who actually lived in Mira Mesa. With almost 100,000 residents (or what is expected to be 100k once these massive infill developments are completed) you will get all kinds as the place is a small city in itself. That said, like any other large place/small city there are great parts and older not as nice parts. On average even in the older parts it is extremely safe with a very low crime rate compared to both the state and national averages. Stick to the newer, nicer, closer to the beach parts and there is very little difference between Poway and NW Mira Mesa. I grew up in Scripps Ranch and even it has some older and not as nice parts but it still blows Poway or even 4S Ranch out of the water when it comes to household income. Mira Mesa has a higher average household income than probably 80% or 90% of the country so calling it ghetto is rather lame and not very true.

[nprcomments]

Wow, thanks for the input on both sides. I appreciate the perspectives, especially on culture.
I agree you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but when shopping for neighborhoods it's the only thing I can go by, short of knocking on doors and talking to people (which I am open to doing if we find a house we really like).

As this thread is going on, I'm realizing just how important schools will be in our criteria. I know that Poway schools have a great reputation. What is the school culture like in Poway? Is it sports-oriented? The arts? Academics? Does Poway have a bubble mentality or does it encourage students to see the world beyond? I ask because where I live, there are 2 main school districts -- one huge one where I'd be very particular about which schools my kids attended (due to the variance in quality), and another small one (high scores, high parent involvement but elitist and homogeneous etc.) that has a very strong culture of pep rallies, sports and cheerleading. If I had the choice, we'd probably go with the large district but be very choosy about schools since we're not a huge sports family. If it's better to start a new thread on schools, I can do that. Still learning the rules around here

[docmcstuffin]

Originally Posted by nprcomments

Wow, thanks for the input on both sides. I appreciate the perspectives, especially on culture.
I agree you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but when shopping for neighborhoods it's the only thing I can go by, short of knocking on doors and talking to people (which I am open to doing if we find a house we really like).

I agree, there's no way for you to know. If it bothers you that your neighbor doesn't maintain their yard, then you either have to live in an HOA or live in a $900k+ neighborhood. One thing I noticed around San Diego is that, all areas that's in the $500-600k without HOA, they all are hit and miss base on landscaping. I personally wouldn't mind that my neighbors maintain their yard, but it wasn't a deal breaker for me. I would much rather not have to ask for permission every time I want to do something to my house. Also, I want to reiterate the culture differences. I observe that it's more likely for white people to spend their money on landscaping than 1st generation asian immigrants. Especially in the price range of $500-600k non-HOA area.

Originally Posted by nprcomments

As this thread is going on, I'm realizing just how important schools will be in our criteria. I know that Poway schools have a great reputation. What is the school culture like in Poway? Is it sports-oriented? The arts? Academics? Does Poway have a bubble mentality or does it encourage students to see the world beyond? I ask because where I live, there are 2 main school districts -- one huge one where I'd be very particular about which schools my kids attended (due to the variance in quality), and another small one (high scores, high parent involvement but elitist and homogeneous etc.) that has a very strong culture of pep rallies, sports and cheerleading. If I had the choice, we'd probably go with the large district but be very choosy about schools since we're not a huge sports family. If it's better to start a new thread on schools, I can do that. Still learning the rules around here

I rarely hear anything about PHS on the news when they're reporting HS sports. But you do hear a lot about various HS in SDUSD. I'm not sure if there's a different emphasis on sport or that they're just not as good. But, I do know SDUSD have more sport options than Poway. Mira Mesa Band and Choir are top notch. As for academic, keep in mind that your kids will be going to a particular school, not the district. So, just because on average, PUSD his higher average than SDUSD doesn't mean mean a particular school is PUSD does better than a particular school in SDUSD. SDUSD has a much more diverse student body than PUSD, especially in social economic and race, so the variance is much larger. You can go here to see the API score for all schools in PUSD:2013 Growth API LEA List of Schools Report (CA Department of Education) and here for SDUSD:2013 Growth API LEA List of Schools Report (CA Department of Education). Then find the school your kids will be going to, base on where you're planning to buy. Then compare the two schools. You can then go to http://www.greatschools.org/ and read parents and students review of the particular school. Also, keep in mind that SDUSD has a Seminar program. Not sure if PUSD has a similar program or not. But Seminar program is where if your kid are in the top .1% according to the Raven Test. They will be in a special class with all other Seminar kids. The teachers will teach at a much deeper level.