Possible temporary to permanent move to SD - help with areas and market? (San Diego: for sale, rentals)

[grandisp]

We are a family of 6 with kids from 5-15 living in SLC, UT. We have been trying to move within SLC or up to Park City for ages now, but are growing weary of competing with all cash buyers for 1.4M homes that don't really offer us much of anything new or different from where we already are...except better schools up in Park City. The market here has gotten pretty intense....and I know it is in SD too, but we are thinking if we are going to bother paying this much maybe we should do something more different and fun for our family especially the kids. Especially given the covid work/school from home situation and the added location flexibility. An extended vacation of sorts but a permanent move if we like it -

Now I'm looking around the SD area, some areas of which seem budget-wise very similar to what we've already grown used to looking at - smaller homes with small lots for over $1M. Which is fine...like I said we are already kind of used to this idea of making lots of compromises just to live in an area we want to be in.
I'm just sooo new to looking in the SD market, I'm hoping for some help in getting an idea of what and where we should look. We should probably rent first - but a brief delve into calling a few listings has me nervous. And, even wiser perhaps is the thought of taking an 1-2 month VRBO or AIRBNB and then looking for a longer term rental then....but nervous we won't find something while we are there, and we won't come back to Utah at that point because we'll have listed our house for sale and I'm not looking back once we leave - so done with Utah.

What I am looking for is kind of a bit of the 'burbs' as far as newer homes (really prefer 2000s or newer), with sidewalks and maybe parks and/or pools in the area, good schools would be awesome because then we could pull our kids out of the crappy distance learning they are currently doing. We can live without a yard if we can access parks, sidewalks, trails nearby.

I kind of honed in on Carmel Valley area, but I honestly don't think I've been there (we've been tourists in Carlsbad, Oceanside, Coronado, and Encinitas) and I'm not sure what it's like in the Carmel VAlley area...it just looks like there are newer developments there and it's not too super far away from the coast.

Anyways - what is a good way to go about this? take a VRBO Type place for a few months and look and plan to find something longer term? Is it an ok time to do that in the middle of winter, or are thelong term rental options too few then? The few places I called for longer term rentals all seemed to want us to take over an exisitng lease....which makes me nervous as to why the current tenants are leaving and trying to get out of their lease.

Our budget would be in the $4000s/month for a one year lease, could do up to 5000s if it was really great or a shorter period. For purchase would be max 1.3ish (kind of trying to figure in higher cost of living in CA vs. UT).

Any thoughts on areas to look and how to go about this? Thanks!!!

[JoeSanDiegoHomes]

Good plan for VRBO. You might like poway. How close do an you have to be to the beach?

[NORTY FLATZ]

I'd suggest you talk to a couple RE agents in the areas you desire.

You have a decent budget to work with, so I'd prioritize the "good schools" for your family.

[grandisp]

Originally Posted by JoeSanDiegoHomes

Good plan for VRBO. You might like poway. How close do an you have to be to the beach?

We don't have to be super close. To us, being within 45 minutes would probably still seem like a vacation. I've read mixed things about Poway...what do you think are the pros there? Thanks!

[grandisp]

Originally Posted by NORTY FLATZ

I'd suggest you talk to a couple RE agents in the areas you desire.

You have a decent budget to work with, so I'd prioritize the "good schools" for your family.

Can you make any general recommendations of where to start with schools? I can read all kinds of reviews on the various sites for school ratings, etc. but they aren't usually a complete picture or even that accurate in my experience here in Utah. We would have kids all across the board - elementary, middle, and high school. We would be sending them to public school, and the high schooler is the trickiest. Shy/asperger's, very technical & looking for computer programming buddies, may drown in a large high school but we may not have a choice. He's been going to private school here with about 80 kids in his class, but if we move where schools are better we'd like to send him to public and that would really free up some money for mortgage as well.


Thanks!

[joosoon]

Originally Posted by grandisp

What I am looking for is kind of a bit of the 'burbs' as far as newer homes (really prefer 2000s or newer), with sidewalks and maybe parks and/or pools in the area, good schools would be awesome because then we could pull our kids out of the crappy distance learning they are currently doing.

For now, most districts are still doing distance-learning here so that part won't change.
As for schools, particularly for your oldest, you can check out the various magnets available and maybe that will help you decide somewhat where to go. I think this link will show you some of what's available in SDUSD. The list is a bit incomplete though. I'm sure the smaller districts will have something similar.


As for school ratings, I would take most with a grain of salt. Your kids can have a bad experience at a highly rated school just as easily as one with low marks. The metrics most of the great school type sites use are test scores and user ratings similar to Yelp.

[grandisp]

Originally Posted by joosoon

For now, most districts are still doing distance-learning here so that part won't change.
As for schools, particularly for your oldest, you can check out the various magnets available and maybe that will help you decide somewhat where to go. I think this link will show you some of what's available in SDUSD. The list is a bit incomplete though. I'm sure the smaller districts will have something similar.


As for school ratings, I would take most with a grain of salt. Your kids can have a bad experience at a highly rated school just as easily as one with low marks. The metrics most of the great school type sites use are test scores and user ratings similar to Yelp.

Yeah - I think even the CA distance learning is likely better than most of what is going on around our area. Currently we can choose in person or distance, but either way it's pretty awful.

I'll check out the info on schools, thanks!

[NORTY FLATZ]

Originally Posted by grandisp

Can you make any general recommendations of where to start with schools? I can read all kinds of reviews on the various sites for school ratings, etc. but they aren't usually a complete picture or even that accurate in my experience here in Utah. We would have kids all across the board - elementary, middle, and high school. We would be sending them to public school, and the high schooler is the trickiest. Shy/asperger's, very technical & looking for computer programming buddies, may drown in a large high school but we may not have a choice. He's been going to private school here with about 80 kids in his class, but if we move where schools are better we'd like to send him to public and that would really free up some money for mortgage as well.


Thanks!

Having a child "On-the-spectrum" does create it's own challenges, unfortunately.

I hesitate recommending a district, as I'm only familiar with 1 or 2 of the districts in the County. I just don't know how all the other districts stack up in comparison. The only stats I have access to, are the same one's you have access to.

Have you looked into any of the "Academies?"

There's the "Army Navy Academy" in North County. (It's males only.)

[Redflag71]

Here is a web link for some homes in the Southern part of San Diego: Imperial Beach which is close to Coronado CA:

https://www.redfin.com/city/9239/CA/Imperial-Beach

I think Imperial Beach is better than Coronado because the weather is cooler the people are friendlier and there is less traffic/crowds/tourists.

JMHO

[grandisp]

Originally Posted by Redflag71

Here is a web link for some homes in the Southern part of San Diego: Imperial Beach which is close to Coronado CA:

https://www.redfin.com/city/9239/CA/Imperial-Beach

I think Imperial Beach is better than Coronado because the weather is cooler the people are friendlier and there is less traffic/crowds/tourists.

JMHO

Ok, thanks - I wouldn't have known to look there. I definitely prefer cooler, although hubby not so much. Although, I think hot in SD area must be different than the hot we are used to - Phoenix which is 115 dry heat in summer, and SLC which is surprisingly still upper 90s and 100 dry heat in summer.