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Hi everyone! I need some insider info on San Diego. I've posted to city-data before and am so appreciative of the helpfulness of this community. So, thanks in advance!
We are scouting out a place to live when my husband graduates with his PhD (MCDB). California is loaded with biotech, and we have found a great deal of companies in the San Diego area. He has excellent publications, so if the long list of job vacancies is any indicator, I don't believe he will have a problem procuring a position. I work from home, so commute is not an issue for me. We have a 17 month old daughter, a standard poodle, and prefer a walkable neighborhood. We are looking for condos in the 350-400K range.
We need two bedrooms, but we were hoping for a third so that our parents could visit comfortably. I've been trolling the realty sites for months and I have noted that a two bedroom at our price point is a fairly easy catch but a three bedroom is not. Those are usually over the 400K mark or in neighborhoods others on city-data have labeled unsafe. Is a three bedroom condo in a nice neighborhood under 400K a pipe dream?
We have been looking mostly in Mira Mesa/Rancho Penasquitos area, as that is a quick commute to the biotech corridor. But we are open to other areas, so long as the commute is not overly long. We have not heard great things about SD's public transit. Coming from the east coast, we live in a neighborhood with a very high walk score. We'd love to be able to walk to restaurants and shops. This seems harder to find wen looking for a condo.
What neighborhoods should we focus on? We own a house and I've never lived in a condo. I am thinking condo life would be fun-- pool/hot tub/gym, instant community. But I tend to be an optimist. Should I have concerns about condo life?
Those are usually over the 400K mark or in neighborhoods others on city-data have labeled unsafe.
The San Diego area is one of the safest metro areas in America. There are very few areas here that are truly "unsafe" although some are more family-friendly than others.
Rather than recommending areas where you may not find much inventory in that fits your budget, maybe we should approach this in a different way.
Besides Mira Mesa and Rancho Penasquitos (which would certainly be good options if your husband ends up working in Sorrento Valley), where else are you finding 2 and 3-bedroom condos in your price range?
If you can let us know that, then we can discuss the pluses and minuses of those areas for a young family without people steering you to areas that may not fit your budget.
Once your husband has a job lined up, you can sort out those areas based on which ones will offer decent commutes to his eventual job location.
Is renting for the first year after your move a possibility?
(P.S. if your husband wouldn't mind a little longer commute, and you can stretch your budget to approx. $450,000, you'd have some options for single family homes in some nice family friendly areas.)
Up until this point, I have been looking almost entirely at Mira Mesa/PQ. I noticed mostly 2 bedrooms at our price range. The list narrowed significantly in that area when I began looking for 3 bedrooms. When I expanded my map boundary, however, I found a lot of options in the city-- Mountain View, National City, and Encanto. I noticed that many commenters on city-data described these areas as "the hood," particularly Encanto.
I am encouraged to hear you say that SD is safe; I did look at some crime statistics by neighborhood and found it to be moderate in Mountain View.
Really, our only limiting factors are the commute to Sorrento Valley and our price range. National City seems to be a great distance away on the other side of the city, but google maps is listing an 18 minute commute. I thought San Diego had a lot of traffic. Am I misinformed?
We would rather not go beyond 400K, as I will be quitting my full time job here and working part time from home there. We will be mostly dependent on one income. We were hoping to stay closer to 350K to avoid PMI, but are willing to make exceptions to find what we need.
Really, our only limiting factors are the commute to Sorrento Valley and our price range. National City seems to be a great distance away on the other side of the city, but google maps is listing an 18 minute commute. I thought San Diego had a lot of traffic. Am I misinformed?
Are you using the feature of Google Maps that lets you change from "with traffic right now" to any day of week and time of day? Mapping from "National City" to the center of Sorrento Valley and 8:00AM, it shows less than 19 miles but typically 35m-1h5m. Reversing that one and leaving Sorrento at 5pm shows 50m-1h40m(!!!) to get home.
So for National City, on a good day you're talking a roundtrip commute of 1h25m and a bad day 2h45m. I know some big city east coasters think nothing of spending 2 hours a day commuting, but I really suggest you try to keep the average under an hour a day. It really sucks sitting in traffic watching the beautiful day go by!
What are you used to living in now? On a quick glance, anything near Sorrento under $400K is going to be 2BR, and often with 1BR and/or under 1000 sqft. The couple I looked at also had $300-400/mo condo dues, so factor that in.
Up until this point, I have been looking almost entirely at Mira Mesa/PQ. I noticed mostly 2 bedrooms at our price range. The list narrowed significantly in that area when I began looking for 3 bedrooms.
Mira Mesa and Rancho Penasquitos are very good family friendly options, but due to their proximity to Sorrento Valley, are going to be more expensive areas too. Still, if commute time is the main factor, you might find it worthwhile to sacrifice that third bedroom. Both make a lot of sense if that is where your husband ends up working.
Encanto, Mountain View and National City would not be my first thought for a young family that is unfamiliar with San Diego. The poster in the other thread you read does NOT have young children. She has dogs. She's also using VA financing, which means she has some restrictions that really limit her options.
(By the way, Google maps tends to be wildly off when it comes to commute time unless you are looking at actual live commute times.)
Instead, I'd suggest you see what types of condos/townhomes you can find in these areas:
Claremont Mesa, Serra Mesa, Kearny Mesa, Mission Valley, Tierasanta, eastern end of Carmel Valley, Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Oceanside, San Marcos, La Mesa, Santee, Rancho San Diego, and possibly Chula Vista. You may also find a few options for smaller condos in places like University City, Northeastern La Jolla, and Carlsbad -- inventory is constantly changing.
For three bedroom condos and two bedrooms with more square footage and amenities, my hunch is that, over a period of time, you'll find more options in your price range in the areas that I've put in bold above. I'm just guessing though so don't hold me to it.
Some of these areas will be longer commutes to Sorrento Valley than others, but since your husband doesn't have a specific job lined up yet, for right now, I'd cast a wide net. Get familiar with a broad range of family friendly areas that are likely to have at least a few options in your price range, rather than narrowing things down too quickly. Once your husband knows exactly where he'll be working, you can visit San Diego and see which areas appeal to you most and focus in at that time.
Keep in mind that inventory in your price range may be very different than it is right now when you are ready to actually buy.
I'd also suggest that instead of just looking at list prices, you do some research on what condos are actually closing for in different areas. Sites like Zillow.com allow you to look at closing prices. This is important because the list prices can be deceptive in more competitive areas. So, look at both.
Also, pay close attention to the condo association fees when you are looking at those listings. I've seen condo fees as high as $400 a month!
Taking condo association fees into account, if you and your husband can stretch your max budget to $450,000 or so, and he is flexible about a slightly longer commute, you can probably find some Single Family detached homes in a few of these areas as well as other areas, especially inland. Of course, you and your husband will have to decide whether the extra time will be worth getting more space and privacy, but don't rule it out.
I also can't stress enough that having a good realtor who is experienced with the areas you're looking at is going to be worth their weight in gold. As I said, a lot of the listings you'll see on sites like Redfin and Zillow in lower price ranges can be a little deceptive in terms of whether they are a good buy or not, so having a realtor who knows the area, the market, and what a reasonable bid for a place is, will be critical.
Mira Mesa and Rancho Penasquitos are very good family friendly options, but due to their proximity to Sorrento Valley, are going to be more expensive areas too. Still, if commute time is the main factor, you might find it worthwhile to sacrifice that third bedroom. Both make a lot of sense if that is where your husband ends up working.
Encanto, Mountain View and National City would not be my first thought for a young family that is unfamiliar with San Diego. The poster in the other thread you read does NOT have young children. She has dogs. She's also using VA financing, which means she has some restrictions that really limit her options.
(By the way, Google maps tends to be wildly off when it comes to commute time unless you are looking at actual live commute times.)
Instead, I'd suggest you see what types of condos/townhomes you can find in these areas:
Claremont Mesa, Serra Mesa, Kearny Mesa, Mission Valley, Tierasanta, eastern end of Carmel Valley, Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Oceanside, San Marcos, La Mesa, Santee, Rancho San Diego, and possibly Chula Vista. You may also find a few options for smaller condos in places like University City, Northeastern La Jolla, and Carlsbad -- inventory is constantly changing.
For three bedroom condos and two bedrooms with more square footage and amenities, my hunch is that, over a period of time, you'll find more options in your price range in the areas that I've put in bold above. I'm just guessing though so don't hold me to it.
Some of these areas will be longer commutes to Sorrento Valley than others, but since your husband doesn't have a specific job lined up yet, for right now, I'd cast a wide net. Get familiar with a broad range of family friendly areas that are likely to have at least a few options in your price range, rather than narrowing things down too quickly. Once your husband knows exactly where he'll be working, you can visit San Diego and see which areas appeal to you most and focus in at that time.
Keep in mind that inventory in your price range may be very different than it is right now when you are ready to actually buy.
I'd also suggest that instead of just looking at list prices, you do some research on what condos are actually closing for in different areas. Sites like Zillow.com allow you to look at closing prices. This is important because the list prices can be deceptive in more competitive areas. So, look at both.
Also, pay close attention to the condo association fees when you are looking at those listings. I've seen condo fees as high as $400 a month!
Taking condo association fees into account, if you and your husband can stretch your max budget to $450,000 or so, and he is flexible about a slightly longer commute, you can probably find some Single Family detached homes in a few of these areas as well as other areas, especially inland. Of course, you and your husband will have to decide whether the extra time will be worth getting more space and privacy, but don't rule it out.
I also can't stress enough that having a good realtor who is experienced with the areas you're looking at is going to be worth their weight in gold. As I said, a lot of the listings you'll see on sites like Redfin and Zillow in lower price ranges can be a little deceptive in terms of whether they are a good buy or not, so having a realtor who knows the area, the market, and what a reasonable bid for a place is, will be critical.
P.S. This may be way more information than you need, but since you sound like a girl after my own heart who likes to do her research here are a bunch of good links that may give you some other ideas about places in the San Diego area that you'd enjoy living:
But that's exactly why my daughter and her husband just opted to buy a single family home over a condo/townhome for their first home.
Once they started adding in HOA fees for the condos/townhomes they liked, they realized they could kick in just a little bit more and buy a single family home with a yard instead. But, they were also very open-minded about areas and commute times, so that helped a lot too.
Of course, different strokes for different folks. Everyone except billionaires chooses their own compromises to live in San Diego.
(That said, I still think that if you have a *firm* budget of under $400,000, a condo/townhome is still probably your best bet...as long as you aren't paying $550 a month in HOA fees.)
Last edited by RosieSD; 01-29-2018 at 04:43 PM..
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She's also using VA financing, which means she has some restrictions that really limit her options.
