Where to live? 2 people, retired, mid50s on $100K/year. (San Diego: to rent, HOA)

[dls]

Where would you live (in the whole SD-metro region)
as a mid-50s husband/wife, no kids, retired on a $100K/year
retirement income (+social security later in life, hopefully)?
'expect to have about $250K to put down on a place.
Thanks in advance for your advice.

[cruitr]

What city/state do you live in now?

[dls]

NJ. Thanks.

[sarahkate_m]

Julian

[jarfykk]

Originally Posted by dls

Where would you live (in the whole SD-metro region)
as a mid-50s husband/wife, no kids, retired on a $100K/year
retirement income (+social security later in life, hopefully)?
'expect to have about $250K to put down on a place.
Thanks in advance for your advice.

With $100k in gross income, assuming little/no other debt (e.g. car payment), at 28% of income (bank comfort level) you would qualify for ~$2,300/month towards PITI (principal, interest, taxes, insurance).

Depending on if it is in an HOA or not, if there are Mello Roos, etc., one could assume that you would be qualified for at least $1800/month towards principal and interest, which on a 30-year note @ 6% interest is about $300k. Add in the $250k down payment you mention, and you should be looking in the $500-600k range for a home.

With that range, you have a good amount of flexibility as to location. If you could prioritize what you want it would help narrow the search a lot. San Diego is made of dozens of smaller communities separated by fairly varied geographical and weather patterns, mostly within a very nice range. Coastal is cooler as a rule, inland is warmer, really inland is a desert (literally). The different communities also have a wide variety of features. If you want a big lot and house, you'd look more inland, while if you really want that ocean breeze (ocean view is difficult in your $$ range), you'd get a small lot/house.

If being downtown is important that is another question, as is what you want to be near (water, golf, shopping, etc.) The good things is nothing is THAT far away no matter where you go.

Last concern is neighborhood quality. Not sure what your tolerance for noise, homeless, kids, crime, airplanes, etc. is. All are in abundance depending on the area. Let us know what you're looking for and we could help.

A suggested area to look is Tierrasanta which is quite safe, mostly quiet (few jets now and again from MCAS Miramar), convenient to most anywhere in San Diego, and you could get a nice place for your budget. You could score a nice downtown condo (convenient to things, parking might be an issue, noisy), a smaller place in Mission Hills (near-ish to water, nicer area mostly, super convenient), a "mansion" in El Cajon (desert, bit far for my tastes), or a host of options in between.

The nicer coastal places will be a stretch for you. Good luck, its a long process.

[dls]

Thank you very much for all that info! Yep, a safe area is pretty much a necessity, and a single family is preferable. Being near the water is not too important. I heard that El Cajon (at least parts of it) have some safety concerns. Tierrasanta looks like it fills the bill, along with Mission Hills (but MH is pricey).
Thanks again for the tips on these areas, and any other comments (more specific about these areas or others) are welcome.

[f_m]

Originally Posted by dls

Thank you very much for all that info! Yep, a safe area is pretty much a necessity, and a single family is preferable. Being near the water is not too important. I heard that El Cajon (at least parts of it) have some safety concerns. Tierrasanta looks like it fills the bill, along with Mission Hills (but MH is pricey).
Thanks again for the tips on these areas, and any other comments (more specific about these areas or others) are welcome.

Depends on what you like to do. Rancho Bernardo is the main retirement community, but there are young people there too since many jobs are there. The communities there have their own club houses if you like to hang out at the pool, tennis, golf, cards, workout etc... The main locational issue is temperature. If you are within 5-10 miles of ocean then it will stay cooler in the summer. Once you pass east beyond 10 miles or so, you probably want to consider a place with air conditioning. So people more inland can get to 100 degrees but not people with 5 miles of the ocean, more like 80 degrees.

[esmith143]

I'd get a condo in Del Mar or possibly further north along the coast.

How does this look?

SDLookup.com | 642*Solana*Cir - MLS# 090037364

I'd also look at south OC, places like Dana Point. And, if you dislike big city living, maybe even Catalina. You can manage a small place in Avalon on that income.

[NYSD1995]

I agree with esmith, a condo in North County or South OC, turnkey lifestyle with easy access to lots of amenities. No hassles of owning and maintaining a house and easy to travel when the desire arises. 500k+ will get you a nice condo in those areas. San Diego and SoCal draws a lot of retirees seeking exactly that type of setup.

[RD5050]

One idea is to rent for 6 months, and house/condo shop while you are renting.

That way, you have lots of time to explore San Diego, to decide on what area would be best for you.

And you'll have more time to work with a realtor, and take your time house hunting until you find the place which best suits your needs.

And while you visit different areas, I would approach current residents, and ask them how they like living in the area. That way, you'll know what you are getting into before you purchase.

Personally ... I like to live near places that I visit frequently, such as Mission Bay and the beach, so that was a major deciding factor when I chose the Clairemont section.I also like having shopping, restaurants, etc close, so that also helped my decision. Plus Clairemont is central to most of San Diego, so most places I visit are just a short drive away.

You may have other things which interest you (golf, tennis, museums, parks, etc), so you might want to see what's nearby before you purchase.

Also, one option when you move, if you have lots of stuff to bring with you, you might consider renting a large public storage locker in San Diego and store it there temporarily. There are lots of public storage facilities all over San Diego.