What's it like in Carlsbad? (San Diego, Encinitas: rent, HOA, house)

[vesperbelle]

Hi,

We are considering a move to the southern part of Carlsbad and would love to learn more about that area. We're debating between Carlsbad and Poway. Job will be in La Jolla. We figured the commute from Carlsbad/Poway to La Jolla will be about the same, why not move to a beach town. Any thoughts from those familiar with these two areas?

1) What's it like living in south Carlsbad/Poway?
2) Is it a family friendly town?
3) Are there things to do? restaurants, shopping?
4) How are the beaches in Carlsbad?
5) How are the schools in Carlsbad?
6) How is the traffic/commute from Carlsbad/Poway for a job in La Jolla?
7) What's the quality of life like in southern Carlsbad?
8) How is the weather in Carlsbad/Poway, mild, hot, and June gloom is it all day?
9) Does it feel crowded?
10) Anything else you'd like to add?

Thank you!!

[SD4226]

Hello,

Poway is more of a western country style scene. It's also a small town scene. Things to do there: small town things, they have a $5.00 movie theatre, a nice western theme historic park that has a train that goes around it. Limited restaurants limited shopping. If you are looking to transition into a larger city such as San Diego but not ready to jump into city living Poway is recommended. It is definitely a family town. It is HOT in the summer as the scenery it is a desert scene. I'm from Tucson, AZ originally and every time I am in Poway I feel like I am in Tucson, AZ.

Carlsbad is a clean beach city scene. It's up in North County so you would stay most likely stay up in that area. Driving down from North County to let's say Downtown San Diego is around 40 minutes no commute no traffic. I think there's more to do in Carlsbad, there's water sports, beach, Lego land. Carlsbad beaches are clean and family oriented! Shopping, more restaurant choices more to do!

Both Poway and Carlsbad have top choice schools for San Diego.

Commute to La Jolla from either Carlsbad or Poway will definitely be a LONG commute minimum an hour most likely more depending on how far in you live in Poway and Carlsbad and how far in you drive into La Jolla.

A better scene between Poway and Carlsbad if your moving to get a California experience Carlsbad is the better choice.
Carlsbad and Poway are not "crowded" areas they are slow pace compared to most other beach cities or suburban neighborhood areas in San Diego

Great questions but very different neighborhood styles to each other.

I could help and dive deeper into your relocation questions and plans here!

[USDefault]

Carlsbad is an o.k. place to reside. If finances are top-of-mind, then live in Carlsbad. If not, other near-the-water or beach communities are superior (but a lot more expensive, unfortunately). Carlsbad has decent restaurants, but it's mediocre fare you can find anywhere. A food mecca, Carlsbad is not.

If you are looking for good beaches, live elsewhere, because Carlsbad beaches are short, rocky, and kinda suck. And you can just tell the rock jetties and seawalls are ruining the coast around Carlsbad (and many other places in San Diego). But don't take my word for it:

Surfline
The beaches throughout Carlsbad are mostly unimpressive beachbreaks, with the exception of a few quality spots. If it weren't for man-made jetties and rivermouths, Carlsbad would be nothing but a six-mile expanse of closed-out garbage. Luckily, our tax dollars went toward a few adjustments to the coast, which have benefited surfers immensely.

I do think Carlsbad is family friendly. It's a somewhat-reasonably priced, nice place to live. Pricing is competitive when compared with the cost-of-living in Encinitas, Del Mar, Solana, and La Jolla. Rent in Carlsbad for awhile, as I have, and I think you'll come to the same conclusion I did: Carlsbad is overhyped due to some pockets of housing "affordability" using San Diego standards. It's strip-store suburbia, with lots of HOA stucco boxes, and the greatest thing going for it is Carlbad's proximity to the Pacific Ocean.

Don't know about schools. Traffic is about what you'd expect -- meaning damn heavy on the 5 and the 101 during morning and evening commutes. La Jolla to Carlsbad or Poway? Yeah, you'll be sitting in it, and it will suck, and congratulations, you're going to hit the worst areas, especially when traveling north for the evening commute. One big parking lot. Don't discount this. I'd give it a test run for a couple weeks to see if it's something you want to put up with for years. I wouldn't; I purposefully tried to get everything done by 1:30 p.m. so I could be off the freeway by 2:30 p.m. when the traffic starts ramping up bigtime.

Working in La Jolla? If you can swing it, live in La Jolla. The ability to avoid the freeways and take surface streets will save you many hours per week in mind-numbing traffic. Again, experience it for several weeks or months before you commit to a purchase.

[LaJollaEast]

If La Jolla is not affordable for you I would consider University City. You are going to have a long commute from Carlsbad or Poway to La Jolla.

[mauialoha]

well i love where i live which is la costa area. Thats South Carlsbad but actually closer to encinitas than to Carlsbad village.

very nice shops and restaurants and very good schools too. My kids went to encinitas grade schools and La Costa Canyon High.

As for traffic, both my wife and i have jobs that start early. If you get out to the merge by 6:30, or 6:45 am you are ahead of the traffic. Afternoon is more difficult and thats where La Jolla makes it tough. It is situated out on the coast where it juts out and therefore you are usually pretty far from the freeway. it can take 20 min just to get to the 5.

[Suburban_Guy]

https://www.quora.com/What-is-it-lik...bad-California

Moderator cut: link removed, competitor site

Why I Love Living in Carlsbad

[vesperbelle]

Originally Posted by USDefault

Traffic is about what you'd expect -- meaning damn heavy on the 5 and the 101 during morning and evening commutes. La Jolla to Carlsbad or Poway? Yeah, you'll be sitting in it, and it will suck, and congratulations, you're going to hit the worst areas, especially when traveling north for the evening commute. One big parking lot.

Hi thanks for your response, we're looking at the south Carlsbad area, does the traffic move along slowly or does it come to a dead stop?

[vesperbelle]

Originally Posted by mauialoha

well i love where i live which is la costa area. Thats South Carlsbad but actually closer to encinitas than to Carlsbad village.

very nice shops and restaurants and very good schools too. My kids went to encinitas grade schools and La Costa Canyon High.

As for traffic, both my wife and i have jobs that start early. If you get out to the merge by 6:30, or 6:45 am you are ahead of the traffic. Afternoon is more difficult and thats where La Jolla makes it tough. It is situated out on the coast where it juts out and therefore you are usually pretty far from the freeway. it can take 20 min just to get to the 5.

Hi there, wow you live in the area that we're looking at and also work in La Jolla, that is exactly our situation. We are looking at south Carlsbad for our relocation. Since it's closer to encinitas, do you tend to go to encinitas for shopping, restaurants, etc? How long does it take you to get home in the evenings after work, does the traffic move or does it come to a dead stop?

Thank you so much!

[Axxlrod]

The "best" part of Carlsbad, is the most southern part that is part of the Encinitas school district. I live in this part.

You haven't mentioned a budget, but you'll need to be able to spend approx $1M+ to buy a house in this area.

We do 90% of out shopping in the Encinitas part of El Camino Real.

Schools are great in this part.

No idea about traffic as it doesn't affect me. But I do know that downtown La Jolla (around Prospect) is a pain to get in/out of. Plan on traffic hell if you work around that part. If you do, I'd suggest to live around Bird Rock area.

[vesperbelle]

Hi, thanks for your advice, I'm not familiar with SolCal can you tell me what zip code is Bird Rock area? I will do a search of homes there, our budget is 1M+, thanks.

Originally Posted by Axxlrod

The "best" part of Carlsbad, is the most southern part that is part of the Encinitas school district. I live in this part.

You haven't mentioned a budget, but you'll need to be able to spend approx $1M+ to buy a house in this area.

We do 90% of out shopping in the Encinitas part of El Camino Real.

Schools are great in this part.

No idea about traffic as it doesn't affect me. But I do know that downtown La Jolla (around Prospect) is a pain to get in/out of. Plan on traffic hell if you work around that part. If you do, I'd suggest to live around Bird Rock area.