Which SD town made the "top 10 cities for families" list?

[TheSD]

Yeah, I really like Eastlake/Otay Ranch. Its a shame tech jobs are further North. I'm still on the fence if its worth the hour commute in the morning (6AM) and the afternoon (2:30PM). Its safe, affordable, and 20minutes from Coronado. Don't know why its so cheap.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by TheSD

Yeah, I really like Eastlake/Otay Ranch. Its a shame tech jobs are further North. I'm still on the fence if its worth the hour commute in the morning (6AM) and the afternoon (2:30PM). Its safe, affordable, and 20minutes from Coronado. Don't know why its so cheap.

The commute is so bad a lot of people won't consider it. Also a lot of people automatically wont consider anywhere with a high hispanic population.

[Ilovepahrump]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

Ilovepahrump, Great post. I really enjoyed reading it because you paint such a lovely picture of the area. My husband and I lived in Southwestern College Estates around the same time that the first EastLake homes were being built. We moved to Jamul shortly thereafter as we wanted some land to spread out, but every time we drive through that part of the County, we always comment on how nice the area has turned out to be. And, it looks like there are still newer SFH for around (or even under) $500,000 there. We do miss the weather in that area -- we aren't that far east as the crow flies from Eastlake, but once you get over "the mountains" into Jamul, it definitely gets warmer in the summer than east CV.

Are your kid(s) in school yet? I have worked with a couple of students from Olympian H.S. but I don't know much about the elementary schools in Eastlake/Otay Ranch so if you have any insights to share from your personal experience, that would be helpful to people who might be interested in the area.

We have one in elementary school. There's a year round schedule at most CVESD schools, which I love. Many of the schools have a 50/50 Spanish/English dual immersion program that starts in Kindergarten. It's a highly sought after program at our school, and I hear it's very good (though our child is not in it). Tons of after school activities and sports available, even for the youngest grades. The schools (like the community) are very diverse.

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by TheSD

Yeah, I really like Eastlake/Otay Ranch. Its a shame tech jobs are further North. I'm still on the fence if its worth the hour commute in the morning (6AM) and the afternoon (2:30PM). Its safe, affordable, and 20minutes from Coronado. Don't know why its so cheap.

Depending on where you're heading, the morning will be the worst of it, unless you can use the 125 toll road. At 2:30, you shouldn't hit a lot of traffic on most days.

I agree with Sass: many people are afraid of Chula Vista because it has a larger hispanic population and is close to the Mexican border so that's kept prices low. But then, parts of North County are pretty diverse too (Vista, Oceanside, San Marcos, Escondido, etc.) And, it's my impression that Eastlake/Otay Ranch has a different demographic than downtown Chula Vista or the rest of the South Bay -- but that's just an impression based on spending time there over the years.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

Depending on where you're heading, the morning will be the worst of it, unless you can use the 125 toll road. At 2:30, you shouldn't hit a lot of traffic on most days.

Nearly everyone in our office with kids lives there (our office is downtown) and they are constantly complaining about the commute, they say it takes on average an hour to get home. I couldn't imagine commuting to/from Eastlake to Sorrento Valley

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by Ilovepahrump

We have one in elementary school. There's a year round schedule at most CVESD schools, which I love. Many of the schools have a 50/50 Spanish/English dual immersion program that starts in Kindergarten. It's a highly sought after program at our school, and I hear it's very good (though our child is not in it). Tons of after school activities and sports available, even for the youngest grades. The schools (like the community) are very diverse.

Thanks for answering my question, Ilovepahrump. I knew Olympian HS was on year round from my students, but I didn't realize that most of the schools in CV were. When we drive through, it does seem like a very family-friendly area (SWE was too back when we lived there).

Our school district (in Jamul) has a similar immersion program. My daughter wasn't in it, but my son was for a couple of years and loved it. He picked up a decent grasp of Spanish, and went on to study German, Latin, and ancient Greek in high school and college. He now works in software and has told us that he thinks his early exposure to another language "primed his brain" to quickly learn different programming languages. I'm not sure if that's true, but he really enjoyed his time in the immersion program.

[hitman619]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Nearly everyone in our office with kids lives there (our office is downtown) and they are constantly complaining about the commute, they say it takes on average an hour to get home. I couldn't imagine commuting to/from Eastlake to Sorrento Valley

And over the years it has gotten way worse. The development of Otay Ranch made things worse.