SD Wannabe needs geography lesson (San Diego, Vista: house, neighborhoods, construction)

[MaireSD]

Hubby and I are retired and want to move to SD county to be near (not too near - ha ha!) our son. Our only real requirement (not surprising) is that it be not terribly expensive... like under $700K. The bigger the better and the closer to downtown the better and the warmer the area the better. We were thinking La Mesa. But - except for it being not close to downtown- Vista/San Marco area seems good. And we really love Poway, but I think that is too expensive. So knowing what you know, if only reasonable price were an issue, which of these places would be nicer for a retired but active couple who love outdoor activities and getting involved in their community.

[TacoSoup]

Originally Posted by MaireSD

Hubby and I are retired and want to move to SD county to be near (not too near - ha ha!) our son. Our only real requirement (not surprising) is that it be not terribly expensive... like under $700K. The bigger the better and the closer to downtown the better and the warmer the area the better. We were thinking La Mesa. But - except for it being not close to downtown- Vista/San Marco area seems good. And we really love Poway, but I think that is too expensive. So knowing what you know, if only reasonable price were an issue, which of these places would be nicer for a retired but active couple who love outdoor activities and getting involved in their community.

Unless you’re planning on heading downtown during morning traffic (which I don’t know why you would being retired) it’ll only take you 15-20 minutes to get there from La Mesa. Vista, San Marcos, and Poway to a lesser extent, are a hike from downtown regardless of traffic. I grew up in Poway and now live in the La Mesa area and both would be great for an active retired couple. La Mesa has the superior location for exploring San Diego of the two. Good luck

[cruitr]

As TacoSoup said, La Mesa is a great centrally-located place to live. Before this current lockdown, there was a construction boom going on in La Mesa. If you move to La Mesa, you'll see a lot of changes in the next few years.

There are some nice homes in La Mesa under $700k. Here's an example:

https://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-2000173...-Mesa-CA-91941

This house is about 8 miles from downtown SD. Add a mile or so for the airport.

[momtaxi]

Warmer overall or highs or lows? The hotter areas tend to have lower lows as well.

Why do you want to be close to downtown?

What do you love about Poway?

[tstieber]

I would agree that la Mesa is a far as Superior location for access to downtown, major attractions, and has the warm whether you are looking for. Poway may be the only one of those cities that's even warmer, but location to downtown can't be beat from La Mesa.

[Axxlrod]

Curious why OP wants to be as close as possible to downtown since they're retired. Assuming restaurants?

If that's the case, you'd be better off living in a more desirable area and just driving to DT for dinner one in a while.

Since "warmer the better" is a criteria, stay close to the 15 freeway or east of it.

[TacoSoup]

Originally Posted by Axxlrod

Curious why OP wants to be as close as possible to downtown since they're retired. Assuming restaurants?

If that's the case, you'd be better off living in a more desirable area and just driving to DT for dinner one in a while.

Since "warmer the better" is a criteria, stay close to the 15 freeway or east of it.

I’m guessing it’s where their son lives seeing they wanted to be close, but not to close to him? If not that, then yeah I could see the restaurants. That, along with the shows, airport, marinas, and Balboa Park all come to mind when someone wants to be close to downtown when not for work. We may never know seeing they haven’t been back since their OP?

They have a $700k budget so I don’t think they have to worry about living in the hood. Plenty of nice homes in good neighborhoods for that once you get past the 15.