Best area for a large family? (San Diego, La Mesa: 2015, rental, houses)

[JW83]

What would you consider the best area in the San Diego area for a large (2 adults, 5 kids ages eleven and under) family? We're not concerned overly concerned with price (our rental budget is 4K/month), we're mostly concerned with safety and good public schools. We have two children on the autism spectrum, so good schools with good special ed programs would be a bonus!

[Cardiff Kook]

Originally Posted by JW83

What would you consider the best area in the San Diego area for a large (2 adults, 5 kids ages eleven and under) family? We're not concerned overly concerned with price (our rental budget is 4K/month), we're mostly concerned with safety and good public schools. We have two children on the autism spectrum, so good schools with good special ed programs would be a bonus!

Really depends on how big a house and how many bedrooms you need. You aren't going to get a massive house close to the beach with 5 bedrooms for 4k a month. You'll definitely need to look a bit further inland if you need a huge house and 5 bedrooms.

[JW83]

We don't really need a huge house--our kids are all boys, and we can easily put them in a 3 bedroom with bunk beds (we have in the past). We don't really need to be on the beach, inland is fine, we don't need it to be walkable or near the ocean or anything fancy--just somewhere safe where we can feel safe alone when my husband is away for work. Are there certain inland areas safer than others? We don't mind going a little north or even going all the way south to the border region, or more inland...really flexible, we just need to be within 50 miles of San Diego to satisfy the location requirement for his job.

[Cardiff Kook]

Originally Posted by JW83

We don't really need a huge house--our kids are all boys, and we can easily put them in a 3 bedroom with bunk beds (we have in the past). We don't really need to be on the beach, inland is fine, we don't need it to be walkable or near the ocean or anything fancy--just somewhere safe where we can feel safe alone when my husband is away for work. Are there certain inland areas safer than others? We don't mind going a little north or even going all the way south to the border region, or more inland...really flexible, we just need to be within 50 miles of San Diego to satisfy the location requirement for his job.

Poway

[hitman619]

Where about in San Diego is his job located?

[JW83]

He's mostly on the road in the San Diego area--services electronic equipment in hospitals and will be travelling all around. There's no central office to report to in the morning, so as long as we're in the area we're good.

[hitman619]

Originally Posted by JW83

He's mostly on the road in the San Diego area--services electronic equipment in hospitals and will be travelling all around. There's no central office to report to in the morning, so as long as we're in the area we're good.

I Like La Mesa
Close to all freeways and small town vibe

[bigdaddy5]

I'd assume you want a lot of yard with room to run around.

I'd say Poway or Ramona.

Huge house lots and decent schools.

[oddstray]

Third vote for Poway.

I'd also suggest Rancho Penasquitos, which is west of Poway and is in the Poway school district. It's an older neighborhood so the houses actually have yards around them. Rancho Bernardo (north of Poway) also has a good number of families, and also has a good number of well-off retired people.

[RainbowHope]

Another vote for Poway, especially if you need programs for kids with Autism.

Just adding this, the vaccination bill just passed. Make sure your kids get their vaccinations if you are using public schools.

California Assembly approves one of the toughest mandatory vaccination laws in the nation - LA Times