Does San Marcos have a beach culture vibe? (San Diego, Santa Barbara: cul-de-sac, dorms)

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by MarciaMarshaMarcia

CSU San Marcos is a relatively new campus, right in the middle of suburbia. Many students are commuters. The beach is a straight shot down 78 west, where it deadends between O'side & Carlsbad.

SDSU is a much larger campus, lots of concrete in a crowded urban sprawl, a much longer & more tedious drive to the beach.

They are both good schools.

Not sure I'd say SDSU is a "tedious" drive to the beach. You hop on 8 and you're in Mission Beach or PB in under 15 minutes even at peak drive times.

To the OP, Pacific Beach is where you'll find the "college beach area" of San Diego. Many SDSU students, as well as students from UCSD \ the University of Diego, and even Point Loma Nazarene U live,hang out, and party at Pacific Beach (PB). If you want the "college beach vibe" that's the place you want easy access to. From CSUSM, it's a very long drive (35-40 minutes in non-rush hour) to PB. Carlsbad and Oceanside are nice enough beaches but you won't find the college centric feel of PB in either place.

But, putting beach access aside, what are you planning to study? I'd strongly recommend that you choose your future university based on the quality of the program in your intended area of study, and not the access to the beach or its beach vibe. So, let us know what you're interested in studying and we can discuss the academic differences between the two schools.

[BuildingsR'Us]

I'm studying nursing and of course i wouldn't choose a school just because of it's social aspects. I'd take advantage of the program's recognition as a good school.

I do appeciate everybody's responce, all of you helped me alot on getting an idea of each campus.

And to the person who asked, yes i do consider UCSD and UC Santa Barbara having "beach vibes" because of their campus's proximenty of walking distance to the coast.

[OwlAndSparrow]

San Marcos itself feels more like a mountain and valley town than a beach town, but getting to the beach is not difficult at all. Depending on where you want you go, you might take the 78, you might take San Marcos Blvd. (which turns into Palomar Airport Road) if you're going to a beach further south or if you're traveling during rush hour for some reason (I take this road to work because it's less crowded at 7 am than the 78 is), or you can drive down south if you want to take a longer trip to someplace like Imperial Beach (I do that sometimes because that's my favorite beach in the area).


Depending on where you live, you might also be able to catch the train that runs west into Oceanside.


San Marcos does not feel like a beach town while you're in town, but it's close enough that you won't ever skip a trip to the beach just because getting there feels like too much effort.


If you go to CSUSM, learn to love hiking. Visit Discovery Lake right next to campus. From there, you can hike up the side of a mountain, and the little park at the peak gives you one of the nicest views in the county. Conveniently, there's a small telescope up there, so you can zoom in on downtown San Diego, you can get a good look at the surrounding mountains, you can watch ships in the ocean, or you can look for your house in San Marcos (mine is visible!). You can also cheat and drive up the side of the mountain, but I don't see how that's any fun.

Other nice nearby attractions include the trails at Elfin Forest, Lake Hodges, and all of the nice hidden beauty of Escondido, as well as some of the cultural attractions Escondido has to offer.

You get all of this without sacrificing the beach.


So, it doesn't feel like a beach town, but it feels like a town where everyone goes to the beach regularly, at least during the summer, and there are other options available, too.

[BuildingsR'Us]

^ Great response, just what i was looking for. And thats interesting i didn't know you can see the SD skyline from San Marcos city limits. Do you know if you're able to see mountains from the Inland Empire? Such as Mt. Baldy, Mt. Jacinto, San Bernardino mountains etc.

[OwlAndSparrow]

Originally Posted by BuildingsR'Us

^ Great response, just what i was looking for. And thats interesting i didn't know you can see the SD skyline from San Marcos city limits. Do you know if you're able to see mountains from the Inland Empire? Such as Mt. Baldy, Mt. Jacinto, San Bernardino mountains etc.

I'm actually not sure how far north you can see, since the horizon gets blocked by mountains pretty quickly in that direction (and to the east).

[Julianpieohmy]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

Erm, anyone in San Marcos (a fairly large area) can simply take the 78 west and land in Oceanside/Carlsbad in significantly less time (assuming no 78 traffic).

Erm, they explicitly asked for local roads and someone already mentioned the freeway option is generally faster. Why would I repeat?

Assuming one is leaving from the CSUSM vicinity, 78 is only faster for beaches north of Batiquitos Lagoon because the 78 goes in a west-northwesterly direction. Not to mention that the best beaches in North County are generally not at the end of the 78. (subjective of course)

[LuvSouthOC]

Originally Posted by BuildingsR'Us

^ Great response, just what i was looking for. And thats interesting i didn't know you can see the SD skyline from San Marcos city limits. Do you know if you're able to see mountains from the Inland Empire? Such as Mt. Baldy, Mt. Jacinto, San Bernardino mountains etc.

I went to the top of Twin Peaks in San Marcos. After that, I hiked.

Here is what you can see from the very top.

Update: Trying to upload photos.

[tstieber]

Originally Posted by BuildingsR'Us

I'm studying nursing and of course i wouldn't choose a school just because of it's social aspects. I'd take advantage of the program's recognition as a good school.

I do appeciate everybody's responce, all of you helped me alot on getting an idea of each campus.

And to the person who asked, yes i do consider UCSD and UC Santa Barbara having "beach vibes" because of their campus's proximenty of walking distance to the coast.

You should be aware than UCSD campus may look close to the beach on a map, but it is perched high up in the hills and is not an easy walk to the beach. In fact, it has somewhat of an isolated feel. It is a massive campus with much more of a serious academic vibe than a beach vibe. In fact, there is no nearby college town within walking distance, and college life is centered around campus. It's very international, to the point where you see more Asian students than any other demographic. Consider it the region's strongest and most esteemed educational institution, but don't expect anything at all life UCSB.

[djxpress]

A funny thing I've noticed is the people who care most about the beach are the tourists/newcomers who move to SD. They pay an arm and a leg to live by the beach, and think PB is like the best beach city in the area. They don't realize that one can live a few miles inland for much cheaper, and that PB is probably as dumpy a beach town in SD (besides IB) that there is.

Encinitas, Cardiff, Solana Beach - locals know these are the best beach towns in SD.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by LuvSouthOC

I went to the top of Twin Peaks in San Marcos. After that, I hiked.

Here is what you can see from the very top.

Update: Trying to upload photos.

There is no way you are seeing Mt Whitney from Twin Peaks. You can see San Jacinto, Baldy and Gorgonio on a very clear day, but even that is pretty rare. Too much smog inbetween here and there.