Just returned from a San Diego visit with some questions (Chula Vista: real estate, foreclosures)

[bbcdm]

My wife and I just got back last night from a week in San Diego. We went there w/o the kids to check it out because we are interested in a possible move to the area. We currently live in central Illinois and are getting very tired of our winters. Some questions & observations from our visit.

Traffic-We have been to LA quite a few times and Chicago alot, and I have to say the traffic in San Diego was very minimal compared to both. While we did not travel on say the 5 in the middle of rush hour, most routes we did take regardless of the time of day were very manageable. I would have to say avoid downtown during a Padres game. Most locals that I spoke to relate this with more people car pooling because of the price of gas.

Weather-I would have to agree with most people who have posted in these forums. The weather there is absolutely amazing. A high of about 78 degrees every day with a low in the upper 60's. We stayed on Shelter Island and there was the daily marine layer that came in every day but was gone by about 11AM. Here in Illinois we have partly cloudy skies almost every day, so I was amazed with the clear blue skies EVERY day.

Groceries-I went to a Ralph's grocery store to compare costs there vs. here. Most items were maybe 10% higher than around here. Boxed cereal did seem to be quite a bit higher, so for those with kids who eat alot that could add up.

Gas-The price paid per gallon definitely varied on where you were. With most cities the closer you are to say downtown or the coast the prices went up. The highest was about $5 at a station close to downtown. I found a station in the Old Town area that was @ $4.79. We are paying $4.68 in central Illinois.

Clean city-I would have to say San Diego has to be one of the cleanest cities I have ever been to. If you go to Chicago or Peoria around where I live there is always garbage, litter, graffiti everywhere. Along most freeways & streets out there they were free of most of this.

Housing-Most who have read posts or have done their homework have found out that the main thing that people who live there complain about are the housing costs. Every where I went, I would ask people what is the 1 thing you do not like about San Diego. The answer EVERY time was the cost of housing. This as with most will be the major factor in our decision to move. Do we want to give up our 3,000 square ft house here that is worth $200k for a 1,500 sq ft house there that costs $650k? You have to ask yourself how much is that ocean view/warm weather worth?? I think it is priceless, and I have some wife convincing to do yet.........

Jobs-While we were there, we met with a recruiter & took a tour of a local children's hospital. If you are an RN looking to move, there are jobs plenty. She could have been hired on the spot due to a shortage of quality RN's. My situation is a little different. I am in banking management, and with most out of state applicants, you will not get taken seriously until you are actually in San Diego. But there are plenty of openings to pick from when and if we go.

Car Insurance- In talking to an agent there, our rates would pretty much double. And, we both have good driving records. Goes to show you, you do pay for the increase in population

Water Temp-I would agree with the posters here that say that there are probably only 1-2 months that you can actually venture into the ocean. We have been to Hawaii a couple times and the water temp is no where like that. Last Saturday we went to Ocean Beach & about 7PM most of the people that were in the water were wearing wet suits due to the cold. In Illinois our 100 degrees do heat up the water around here, but then again that is only for 3 months out of the year.

Now some questions,
In talking to a realtor there yesterday, she suggested (and I agree) the best bet is to rent for about the 1st year and then get the feel for the area. She suggested the Scripps Ranch area due to their school system. But, wasn't this area hit hard by the fires & doesn't it get pretty hot? What would the drive time be from say central Scripps to Rady Children's Hospital? And what do most think of this area. What are some decent rental properties in this area?

Some other areas we were looking at were Clairemont (while I did notice in driving thru some areas were good and some were definitely not, but I guess that is every city) but I was told the schools are not that good. Hw is this area?

I was told the temperature you could say goes up about 1 degree every mile you go away from the coast. Is this a rough way to determine temperature?

Again it was a great time, and we did learn alot about the area. Any insight or comments are more than welcome..

Thanks

[sav858]

If you're worried about fires I defiantly would stay away from Scripps Ranch and most communities east of I-15 or even a little west of I-15. Scripps Ranch is nice, pretty typical white bread, conservative, cookie cutter subdivision. Nice if you like that type of neighborhood and scene. Very safe and good schools. And yes it gets hot, anything around the I-15 corridor can get fairly warm during summer and fall.

Clairemont has good streets and bad streets and some crime, and the schools aren't the best. Have you looked into University City? It's nicer and has better schools than Clairemont and is in a very central location and close to a lot of things.

La Mesa and San Carlos also seem like nice solid middle class communities to check out, I'm not too familiar with those areas but others posters on here are.

[JakeDog]

You can venture into the water with a wetsuit in the winter no problem.

[NYSD1995]

Scripps Ranch has good schools and yes, does get hot in summer. It is also dull.
Clairemont is OK but as you noted has bad schools. University City just to the north is much better (and much pricier).
San Carlos / Del Cerro / Allied Gardens also has good schools and is less expensive than either of those areas, but farther inland.
La Mesa is nice, hot summers, schools are hit and miss (mostly miss)

If you are working at Rady then University City is probably the most convenient and nicest area.


I actually prefer the inland areas because we don't get hit with the marine layer which even is present into August this year. However there is a 10-15 degree differential between the coast and most inland areas.

[TristramShandy]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

However there is a 10-15 degree differential between the coast and most inland areas.

True - - but when talking about heat in the inland areas, it is nowhere near as bad as the midwest or northeast. I've lived in San Diego for over three years now and have never turned on air conditioning or used heat in winter. That was never the case back east. I'm very susceptible to heat, and La Mesa/Spring Valley heat does not bother me.

To the OP - - you were paying that much for gas this past week??? They must really jack up prices downtown. I've found gas for as low as $3.77 in La Mesa, and the average is below $3.90 around my house.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by TristramShandy

True - - but when talking about heat in the inland areas, it is nowhere near as bad as the midwest or northeast. I've lived in San Diego for over three years now and have never turned on air conditioning or used heat in winter. That was never the case back east. I'm very susceptible to heat, and La Mesa/Spring Valley heat does not bother me.

To the OP - - you were paying that much for gas this past week??? They must really jack up prices downtown. I've found gas for as low as $3.77 in La Mesa, and the average is below $3.90 around my house.

I'm with you, I grew up in the Northeast and I don't mind the heat here at all, it's dry.

Gas in Carmel Valley is still way over 4 bucks (I saw it for 4.39) yesterday, it just varies widely depending where you go.

[bbcdm]

Thank you for all of your responses. In reviewing some of the real estate books that I brought back, I am noticing a very large # of bank repo's/foreclosures in the Chula Vista area. There are ALOT of newer/bigger houses that are listed. Was there any reason that this area was hit so hard with the real eatate mess that it has??? And I would assume this is an area to definitely avoid?

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by bbcdm

Thank you for all of your responses. In reviewing some of the real estate books that I brought back, I am noticing a very large # of bank repo's/foreclosures in the Chula Vista area. There are ALOT of newer/bigger houses that are listed. Was there any reason that this area was hit so hard with the real eatate mess that it has??? And I would assume this is an area to definitely avoid?

The area of Chula Vista east of 805 was almost entirely built post-2000 and as a result was subject to massive overbuilding. Also a large amount of mortgage fraud was perpetrated on mostly spanish-speaking people there. This is not a bad area although the foreclosure situation makes it's future a little bit cloudy.

Schools are decent, homes are large, it is a popular area actually. However the commute to most job centers is pretty lousy, and as a renter you have to watch out for your landlord being foreclosed on (this is happening to a friend of mine right now).

[ranzchic]

Re: chula vista

The only major highway is also a tollroad, and you have to pay both ways. I hear that many of the commercial stuff there like the new mall is struggling to attract people so I would probably expect tons of vacant commercial lots as well.

Definitely a case of overbuilding.

[bbcdm]

One area that we did not have time to check out is the 4S Ranch area. I know there is another post on that area a few down from this one, but I was wondering how far of a drive it would be to Rady's ????????