Taking a scouting trip to SD in 10 days. I've done the research, but looking for a sanity check (San Diego: sale, crime rate)

[BilboTBagginz]

Ok, so I went back and looked at the recommendations everyone had here and compared them to the houses i had favorited in Redfin.

This house ticks all the boxes, and is in eastern Oceanside

More eastern Oceanside, which from what I gather has a lower crime rate than Oceanside west of 5.
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Oceanside/...7/home/3285489
https://www.redfin.com/CA/Oceanside/...6/home/3370959

This one sold already and I can only see one picture, but it's also located near Ivy Ranch

Another one, far east Oceanside

Another, Ivy Ranch area

I could list more but they're probably all in the same area. Is this part of Oceanside decent? I mean, it *seems* to be, but driving around during the day and night might be a different story. The houses seem well kept, which is important to me because we'll be keeping our house well maintained but I didn't do a Google street view on all of them so who knows.

It also looks like I had a few houses in San Marcos favorited and I generally like the interior, exterior and open floor plans I'm seeing there. Fallbrook had nice houses, nothing wrong with them but they didn't really appeal to me. Mira Mesa was similar. I wouldn't cross Fallbrook or Mira Mesa off my list, but I'd probably prioritize other areas for a first trip. La Mesa was similar.

Carlsbad, University City and Clairemont Mesa seem out of my price range for a SFH along the coast.

I plan on taking a look at OC tonight as well.

One thing I totally forgot to ask about....is healthcare. What's the state of quality accessible healthcare in these different areas? I assume closer to SD proper means better healthcare, but are there any areas that have particularly inaccessible or poor healthcare? If that's the case, I'll probably cross them off my list in a hurry.

Thanks again.

[loveautumn]

Healthcare in SD is excellent. Scripps, Sharp, UCSD are big providers here and local clinics are popping up everywhere too. Actually the burbs are great for healthcare access. One thing you really don’t have to worry about here, though appointment wait times are getting longer.

San Marcos might actually work for you, that area is changing (gentrifying) a lot, Vista (certain areas) could work too. Personally I’d skip Mira Mesa.

[RosieSD]

To get a sense of crime in the local area, plug the actual addresses of the listings that interest you into this site: https://www.crimemapping.com/

It will show you all reported crimes (data comes from police/sheriff arrest records) near any address for up to the last six months.

Important: Be sure to reset the date range to the last five or six months. The system default is only a week and that can be deceptive.

If data is available on the site for your current address run a report for it as well, so you have something for comparison.

The reason I suggest doing this is because most folks have a pretty limited sense of the crime levels around any particular address, even if they live nearby. So it's best to look at actual police data to get a sense of what a neighborhood is like.

Also, one person's sense of a "good" neighborhood can be very different than another person's. Some people get freaked out when they see a few car thefts, while others only start to worry when they see armed robberies on the same street.

[BilboTBagginz]

Originally Posted by loveautumn

Healthcare in SD is excellent. Scripps, Sharp, UCSD are big providers here and local clinics are popping up everywhere too. Actually the burbs are great for healthcare access. One thing you really don’t have to worry about here, though appointment wait times are getting longer.

San Marcos might actually work for you, that area is changing (gentrifying) a lot, Vista (certain areas) could work too. Personally I’d skip Mira Mesa.

Thanks, good to know!

Originally Posted by RosieSD

To get a sense of crime in the local area, plug the actual addresses of the listings that interest you into this site: https://www.crimemapping.com/

It will show you all reported crimes (data comes from police/sheriff arrest records) near any address for up to the last six months.

Important: Be sure to reset the date range to the last five or six months. The system default is only a week and that can be deceptive.

If data is available on the site for your current address run a report for it as well, so you have something for comparison.

The reason I suggest doing this is because most folks have a pretty limited sense of the crime levels around any particular address, even if they live nearby. So it's best to look at actual police data to get a sense of what a neighborhood is like.

Also, one person's sense of a "good" neighborhood can be very different than another person's. Some people get freaked out when they see a few car thefts, while others only start to worry when they see armed robberies on the same street.

I've already hit crimemapping.com along with 2 or 3 other related sites. They all vary in what they show. I've also done the "gang maps" for correlation.

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by BilboTBagginz

Thanks, good to know!



I've already hit crimemapping.com along with 2 or 3 other related sites. They all vary in what they show. I've also done the "gang maps" for correlation.

How does the data compare to where you live now? I always encourage folks to make that comparison using real police data because as I said, many of us have a false sense of what is happening in our own neighborhoods.

I wouldn't worry too much about trying to map out gangs. Gang members have cars and don't stay in neat little areas. While it would be silly to say that there is absolutely no gang activity in San Diego County (or Oceanside), it really isn't a huge worry for most people in their daily lives, unless they're actually in a gang themselves. (Not saying you should ignore crime obviously!)

Please come back and let us know what you think of different areas after you do your scouting trip. It's always useful to hear additional impressions! Enjoy your trip.

[saibot]

Originally Posted by pacific2

Actually, that's not always the case. Mello-Roos was eliminated for most of Aliso Viejo, but the city did not make any huge increases in HOA fees. They have always been very small at less than $500 a year.

Didn't happen in Rancho Santa Margarita, either. Our Mello-Roos finally went away, but the HOA remains at $55/mo.

[BilboTBagginz]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

How does the data compare to where you live now? I always encourage folks to make that comparison using real police data because as I said, many of us have a false sense of what is happening in our own neighborhoods.

I wouldn't worry too much about trying to map out gangs. Gang members have cars and don't stay in neat little areas. While it would be silly to say that there is absolutely no gang activity in San Diego County (or Oceanside), it really isn't a huge worry for most people in their daily lives, unless they're actually in a gang themselves. (Not saying you should ignore crime obviously!)

Please come back and let us know what you think of different areas after you do your scouting trip. It's always useful to hear additional impressions! Enjoy your trip.

I like to use neighbohoodscout.com as well for getting crime data. The area I live in now borders Oakland proper. It has a lower crime rate than Oakland, but certain parts of the city are definitely higher as the access to/from Oakland becomes easier. That being said, the crime rate where I live is *slightly* higher vs Oceanside, by 7 percentage points.

I mention gangs because even though they have cars, they do claim their own sets which will be where they congregate the most. I don't imagine most people will be needing to have a real time feed of gang activity, but I also wouldn't want to buy a house in an area that a gang claims or frequents. It's just another data point I like to collect. I'm all about data.

So far it looks like San Marcos, parts of Oceanside, Chula Vista and La Mesa are on the first trip list, based on what's for sale now and what's sold in the last 6 months, and also all the other data points I've discussed previously.

[LaJollaEast]

I think so much of where you live depends on what things you enjoy doing. Over the years we have had friends move from more central areas of San Diego to north county and even areas of east county that never really left that area to do things here in San Diego proper after the move. It's one of the reasons my husband and I have kept our small home in an area we love that is very walkable and we can easily access everything we love about living here. For us being less than a mile from the ocean is something we don't want to ever give up!

I would see if you can find any places you like in Clairemont or Mira Mesa near your budget just because they are more central.

[BilboTBagginz]

Originally Posted by LaJollaEast

I would see if you can find any places you like in Clairemont or Mira Mesa near your budget just because they are more central.

Being close to the ocean is somewhat important to us. We can walk 5-10 minutes and get to the ocean where we are now.

I'm starting to see the importance of being centrally located vs North.

[loveautumn]

If you want to be close to the ocean, IMO North County is better. Being in “central” SD, I think more people would go to Mission Bay, Ocean Beach or Pacific Beach, which skews much younger. People I know who live in what you refer to as central SD rarely ever go to the beach. Just food for thought, SD
County is a huge place! Seems you have a good deal where you are now, why is it again that you want to move?