Move from Bay Area to San Diego - worth it? (San Jose: rental, condos)

[drums]

We are a non-white couple with 2 kids aged 7 and 3. We make a total of 250k per year and live in the Bay Area. I work from home. We love the diversity and weather. However it is too expensive for us. We pay 3500 for a 2 bedroom condo and can't afford to buy or rent a bigger house. My husband is considering jobs in the San Diego area and the east coast (PA and NJ). We would love to stay in CA bevayse of the weather. Can anyone please let me know if it's possible to get what we are looking for in San Diego area?

He will be working on the science park road. (92121).

We are looking for an area with:

- good schools and excellent safety
- commute time under 20-30 minutes in traffic
- a 3 bedroom house for rent under 3k or looking to buy around 500k

Is there any area that would meet our needs?

Thanks in advance!

[dechatelet]

The house you want in the neighborhood you want with good schools and excellent safety would cost at least $750,000. I don't know what the rent would be assuming you could find a rental.

Traffic in San Diego is terrible, like most cities.

The best public schools are in Poway. But that's an expensive community.

The San Diego Unified School District is terrible. You'd be better off home-schooling your kids.

Other good areas outside of San Diego proper are Del Mar and Encinitas. But they are also very expensive. Million dollar-plus homes.

[ontheGtrain]

No area is going to meet all of your needs on your income. But if your willing to put in the time on the freeway you can have most of it in Alpine. Even better in Temecula but a lot more drive time. But both Alpine and Temecula are hot in the summer but good schools for your young kids and very safe.

[drums]

Thank you for your replies!! I will consider these places.

[drums]

Also thanks for your perspective on schools. That's very helpful to me.

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by drums

Also thanks for your perspective on schools. That's very helpful to me.

This might be helpful. It's an interactive map put together by a local newspaper that shows data about all of the schools in San Diego County. (The article makes it sound like it only shows schools within the City of San Diego, but the map actually shows every public school in the country):

https://www.voiceofsandiego.org/topi...diego-schools/

There are plenty of good schools here, and many are in areas with more reasonable prices. And, contrary to popular belief, even the much vilified San Diego Unified has some excellent schools. The map will help you figure out the lay of the land in terms of schools.

I won't kid you, however: finding a single family home for $500K in an area with top-rated schools is going to be tough. However, you will find options between $550 and $650 in certain areas that have schools that are well regarded. If you're open to townhomes, you'll find more good options around your price point.

Your rental budget of under $3500 shouldn't be a problem for a single family home, as long as you are open minded about location and don't need to be right by the beach.

Good luck!

[silverkris]

What about Mira Mesa? It's not too far from your spouses' work location - if you can stretch the housing dollar a bit.

[Larry Siegel]

Originally Posted by dechatelet

The house you want in the neighborhood you want with good schools and excellent safety would cost at least $750,000. I don't know what the rent would be assuming you could find a rental....The San Diego Unified School District is terrible. You'd be better off home-schooling your kids.

...including Canyon Crest Academy? Naah. Even second-ranked Torrey Pines High School is pretty good.

Live in Carmel Valley - houses around $1 million are pretty nice; condos are less. You will need to spend more than $500K, but on a $250K income you should be able to. Whoever is suggesting Temecula or Alpine must think you own a helicopter - they are very, very far away.

SD will be a big value-for-dollar upgrade from SF. Only the beach areas in SD are as expensive as SF.

[aewan68]

Originally Posted by drums

We are a non-white couple with 2 kids aged 7 and 3. We make a total of 250k per year and live in the Bay Area. I work from home. We love the diversity and weather. However it is too expensive for us. We pay 3500 for a 2 bedroom condo and can't afford to buy or rent a bigger house. My husband is considering jobs in the San Diego area and the east coast (PA and NJ). We would love to stay in CA bevayse of the weather. Can anyone please let me know if it's possible to get what we are looking for in San Diego area?

He will be working on the science park road. (92121).

We are looking for an area with:

- good schools and excellent safety
- commute time under 20-30 minutes in traffic
- a 3 bedroom house for rent under 3k or looking to buy around 500k

Is there any area that would meet our needs?

Thanks in advance!

If you want better schools and more bang for your buck then PA would be it. If you cannot stomach the weather in the Northeast then it would be a bad move. I'm a native of PA and left due to opportunity and not wanting to live in Philly or Pittsburgh, the balance wasn't good enough for us to stay at the time, having lived in four states up to this point myself moving around is getting old. PA is hit or miss, the areas that have the jobs tend to be more $$, In some areas though the schools are quite good and housing can be lower, though taxes are high even in the burbs.

I would avoid moving to NJ at all costs, it's the state everyone is leaving or want's to leave. I have relatives in NJ who are looking to move to PA or elsewhere.

I would look at North County, Carlsbad, we live on the Carlsbad/San Marcos line and it's not too nuts here (yet) and there is a plethora of companies nearby making the commute a breeze. Not Bay Area opportunity or the higher pay you would see further South though, yet is the cost of housing and traffic worth it? Not that it's cheap here, it's not La Jolla level COL.

I have had plenty of opportunties to relocate to the Bay Area, almost did it a few times and still get leads monthly for job opps, but the cost of living is just too far gone to make it feasible, also the weather is much cooler than here, would think we would be hard pressed to adjust. Also we are 8 miles from the Beach, nothing like the drive required from San Jose to Santa Cruz we considered.

[Larry Siegel]

Originally Posted by aewan68

I would look at North County, Carlsbad, we live on the Carlsbad/San Marcos line and it's not too nuts here (yet) and there is a plethora of companies nearby making the commute a breeze. Not Bay Area opportunity or the higher pay you would see further South though, yet is the cost of housing and traffic worth it? Not that it's cheap here, it's not La Jolla level COL.

To the OP: If you can arrange your hours so that the commute from the eastern part of Carlsbad to your La Jolla job is not too awful, you can save a bundle. The $1M Carmel Valley house is $700K in Carlsbad far from the beach; townhouses and condos are proportionately less.

I agree that Pennsylvania is a much better bet if you want to save money.