Hoping to settle in SD area, 850K budget, retired, no kids (San Diego: sales, oceanfront)

[Gene&Hyun]

Hi, first time posting here. Quick background..my wife and I retired almost 2 years ago, sold our house in San Jose, and have been travelling around since then (in Thailand right now). We have spent a few months in SD, renting a small condo in the Clairemont Mesa area. Basically we prefer SD weather and general vibe over the bay area, at least for retirement. Our budget is 850k (we dont need to finance). We have spent a little time in different areas, and we really like university city, but it seems pretty expensive there. We would be happy in further out areas like rancho penasquitos, scripps ranch, etc, if we got more house for the money.

We're torn between wanting a townhouse in a gated community vs a regular house (3 bed, 2 bath, 1400+ sqft-ish). We enjoy walking our dogs, preferably along trails, but sidewalks are fine too. The gated townhouse idea was so we can continue to travel internationally for months at a time with less concerns of burglaries. I'm a retired police officer and this has been my experience, anyway. However, we're not completely sold on the townhouse idea due to hoa fees, shared walls (usually), plus we may not actually travel for awhile now as the dogs are getting older and we want them to live comfortably and in a stable place in their final years. We don't yet qualify for retirement-age communities..not old enough, and long story as to why we're retired in our mid-40's. No (human) kids, so no concerns about school districts.

I would actually consider Chula Vista, maybe Bonita, if the same quality home is significantly less expensive than SD itself. We could easily avoid rush hour to and from SD for outings, like going to Balboa Park, Seaport Village, etc. But if we can afford it, we'd prefer to actually live in SD. One of the nice things we noticed about SD is the low sales tax. It makes a big difference for eating out, buying stuff, etc, especially compared to SJ. Weather-wise, we'd like to avoid being too far inland. I know most people's reason for this is to avoid hot weather. Strangely, I'm fine with the heat, it's the colder temperatures during the winter I have problems with. My experience has been as you go more inland, summers are hotter (which I'm fine with) but winters are colder (for me, anything below 60's is cold).

We have done some research, but I was hoping to get some advice from people who have been living in the area for a while. We were also waiting and hoping for some sort of downturn in the housing market, but that doesn't seem likely due to the housing shortage. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

[NYSD1995]

I like the idea of an end unit townhome with a garage in a landscaped area for retirement. I think vs. the house you'd get for the same price, it's a lot more turnkey and easier to own.

In a big city like SD I'd rather live away from downtown in a quieter, safer, lower-traffic area, in a smaller city I would want to be closer in. Suburban SD has plenty of restaurants and things to do like beaches and hiking.

I would probably focus on the 56 corridor, Del Mar, Scripps Ranch, Carmel Valley, 4S ranch, Carmel Mountain area and Carlsbad or Eastlake as a further out, more self-contained alternative, especially if you want an SFH

[silverkris]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

I like the idea of an end unit townhome with a garage in a landscaped area for retirement. I think vs. the house you'd get it's a lot more turnkey and easier to own and I would personally rather live away from central SD in a quieter area.

I would probably focus on the 56 corridor, Del Mar, Scripps Ranch, Carmel Valley, 4S ranch, Carmel Mountain area and Carlsbad or Eastlake as an alternative.

What would be the range of HOA fees for a typical townhouse in this area? That could add up to a lot of money as an expense.

[Gene&Hyun]

Thanks for the suggestions Sassberto. I also like the end unit townhouse idea. I'm not much of a home improvement handyman, so a turnkey, landscaped property sounds ideal in many ways. We could see ourselves paying a 400-500 monthly hoa if it actually paid for useful stuff. We would prefer to avoid mello roos though, especially if it's on top of hoa fees.

I also like suburban SD. A bit quieter and still easy to get to the areas that we like to frequent. We liked both scripps ranch and carmel mountain..pretty ideal for what we're looking for. We've checked out del mar and carlsbad, both beautiful beach towns, but we personally prefer more diverse demographics. We happen to be ethnically Korean (born and raised in the US) and like the decent asian community in parts of SD. Nothing like what we're used to coming from san jose, but parts of SD actually remind me of some SJ areas (all the cool asian restaurants on convoy for example).

I'm not familiar with 4S ranch, so we'll research the area. Eastlake seemed very nice, but it seemed to be full of mello roos properties? Thanks again for the suggestions! Any information is really helpful..

I forgot to mention we'll be back in SD in mid-February to start looking at open homes. We have the rental booked through June so we have some time to shop around I guess.

[TacoSoup]

With that budget and not needing a house you could get something in the beach town of your choice, including La Jolla or Coronado. You could be oceanfront, or close to it, in Imperial Beach and Oceanside, or bayfront in Pacific Beach. My uncle looked at a gated complex on sail bay (PB) that even allowed big dogs, for under your budget not even two months ago. Have fun picking an awesome place.

[Gene&Hyun]

Nice, we didn't really consider those ocean front areas you mentioned, especially la jolla or Coronado, because we assumed they were out of our price range. We'll have to look into those areas and see..

[TacoSoup]

Here are few examples in La Jolla. One in birdrock, one near the village, and one in the village, all at/under your budget.

https://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Diego/...m_content=link

https://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Diego/...m_content=link


https://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Diego/...m_content=link


Get to know the areas you like first, then go get an experienced local agent. They’ll have more listings than what you’ll find online. Good luck

[NYSD1995]

I would expect HOA dues in the 400-500 range, and at that price, you should expect a pool, spa, hot tub and gym. Further out, a golf course and clubhouse is an option as well.

regarding La Jolla and Coronado, different strokes for different folks, unit would be smaller (i.e. 800-1k/sf), may not be updated (that place in Coronado for example needs a lot of renovation) and you'd be in a much more dense, crowded, traffick-y, walkable, urban area, albeit a very nice one.

Personally I am done living among tourists, homeless, and businesses and I like living away from the crowds. If going to the beach is your priority and you are willing to trade off square footage and privacy, thats a good option.

There are a lot of asian-americans in the 56 corridor - mostly tech professionals and young families. 4S ranch probably has the highest concentration of that demographic, there is a mix of high end townhomes and SFH and it's all very new and turnkey. Eastlake more of a Mexican-american presence but similar layout and development type.

[tstieber]

Obviously you won't be right at the beach or have an ocean view in that budget, and you would definitely be looking at a condo as opposed to a townhouse, but if a location by the ocean is something you really enjoy, then definitely check it out. I would highly recommend if you're browsing on sites like Redfin, to look at the properties that have recently sold, so that you can gauge whether or not they have been generally going over asking price. In your price range, you could also look into parts of downtown if you think you might enjoy high rise condo living within walking distance to the harbor and Bay as well as restaurants.

I'm also a Bay Area transplant to San Diego and really enjoy the somewhat quieter pace, the day trips, and in particular, our beautiful and less traveled back country, with its bucolic countryside and small wineries everywhere. In fact, I recently discovered that San Diego is the only region in California that has five distinct climate zones within an hour's drive, ranging from Desert to Mountain to Mediterranean to semi-arid. Because of it, we have an amazing diversity of landscapes as you head Inland from the ocean. The forest and the desert are only 30 minutes from one another!. If you love nature, then I can give you some great tips, as well as some of my favorite small wineries.

I agree that 4S Ranch is a nice area, adjacent to Del Sur, which is also nice, Definitely highly suburban and family-oriented, but at your price point, you would also be looking at attached housing, as even the smaller homes with garages in the back are beginning to approach $1000000 now. Also, be aware that Mello-Roos School bonds are high in that area. My sister-in-law lives there with her kids to enjoy the great schools, but her property tax is around 1.4% as opposed to just over 1% County base. That may or may not be a deal-breaker to you. That area, along with Carmel Valley, have very high concentrations of Asian families working in professional jobs, but the downside is that the infrastructure there does not include Asian markets or restaurants, so you would still have to drive quite a ways to go down to those areas for your shopping trips. Again, maybe not a deal-breaker either.

I'm super familiar with a lot of those Suburban communities along the I-15 Corridor, as I myself live in Scripps Ranch and absolutely love it. For your budget, you would probably have a challenging time finding a good single family home in this area these days, but you could easily find a townhome for noticeably less and have money left over.

I understand your concerns about Inland areas getting colder in the winter, but I would say that actually only applies to the night time. Inland areas, depending on your location, will drop down into the 30s and 40s at night, or about 10 degrees cooler than the coast. Frost is not unheard of depending on your location. But Inland areas warm up more during the day year-round. We've been having warm spells recently and enjoying 75 to 80 degree temperatures in our neighborhood, while the coast has been in the mid 60s. Last week, we met a friend for a walk along Mission Bay and left Scripps Ranch in warm sunshine, only to be greeted with howling wind, fog, and 60°. Yes, the coast is beautiful, and for a few months in late summer, the weather is absolutely perfect, but overall, I find too much of the year to be not warm enough and in Spring, sometimes socked in with Marine layer for weeks on end. For my money, going a bit inland beats the coast 90% of the time. Issues with summer heat are not that bad that often until you go very very far inland like Ramona, Alpine, or Lakeside. My parents still live in Walnut Creek, where I grew up, and they have far more 90 degree and triple-digit days up there then we ever get down here, because we are still more influenced by the coast. So don't be too afraid of the interior suburbs! Suffering through a few weeks of heat more than makes up for the months and months of superior weather compared to the coast in my opinion. I'd rather live inland, get more house for the money, and just drive 20 minutes to the beach to spend the afternoon there.

Personally, for your budget, your willingness to enjoy townhome living, and your appreciation being close to Asian neighborhoods, I can't think of a more convenient location that checks more of your boxes than Scripps Ranch where I live. We are only 15 minutes from the Clairemont Mesa Convoy area and only 5 to 10 minutes from Mira Mesa, which has a lot of the great Asian supermarkets including H Mart, Lucky Seafood, Seafood City, and a really big Vietnamese Market as well. Since you mention you are Korean, H Mart would have a great selection for you! At Clairemont Mesa and Convoy, the Zion Market Place is also an enormous Korean supermarket. I'm not Asian myself, but I do a lot of shopping in the Asian markets and cook a lot of Asian food, so I really appreciate being close to those shopping options.

Glad to welcome enthusiastic new neighbors to the San Diego Community! Congratulations on your decision to settle here!

[cruitr]

I'd stick with University City. With the trolley coming to UC/UTC, UC is looking at tremendous growth potential.