Descriptions of the North County Coastal beach towns (San Diego, Oceanside: low income, apartments)

[thepinksquid]

There was a fantastic thread awhile back with someone commenting and comparing neighborhoods in San Diego proper. I was just thinking to myself that it would great if someone (cough cough Encinitan ) had some more insight into the differences, similarities, and "vibes" between the different beach towns in North County.

Mostly I was thinking of:
Encinitas
Solana Beach
Leucadia
Cardiff-By-The-Sea

I know that when I visit, they seem different from one another, yet I can't put my finger on what separates one from another in the terms I listed above.

I excluded Carlsbad and Oceanside because I kind of feel like they're much larger than the other places I mentioned, and that there's different neighborhoods within them that would complicate things.

Anyhow...thanks in advance!

[djxpress]

I know that Solana Beach is a little more upscale crowd since it's adjacent to Del Mar. You've got the small art district right there on Cedros Ave.

Leucadia is a little bit more grungy and dumpy, but it's basically the western part of Encinitas. Lots of older homes, etc.

Encinitas and Cardiff are basically just beach towns (Cardiff is technically just the south part of Encinitas), I feel like a lot more of the residents from Cardiff have been around for a while.

You really can't go wrong in any of those areas. There are small pockets in Leucadia as well as in Encinitas (kind of around San Dieguito) that aren't the best places to be at night.

There really isn't that much of a difference between them except for what I can think of above. However others may have some things I haven't thought of.

[Encinitan]

The differences in these areas are pretty subtle, but there are differences.
Solana Beach is maybe more upscale, more expensive, especially down by the coast (west of the 5). The newer buildings are sleek and modern, not like you'd see in a beach town. Lots of little shops (like on the Cedros Design District) but not a lot of big-box stores (Target, etc) in SB. Solana Beach is still predominately a bedroom community. The eastern edges are more tract homes compared to the coastal area where you have more non-conforming uses (houses in commercial areas and vice versa).
Encinitas is a city made up of 5 different communities (Cardiff, Olivenhain, Leucadia, downtown/Old Encinitas, and New Encinitas/Village Park). These communities were only incorporated to form the city of Encinitas in 1987, so they retain a lot of their individual character.
Cardiff is a small, exclusive ($$$), funky beach community. The streets on the hill over downtown don't have sidewalks and lots of homes have been converted to multiple rental units. There are a lot of surfers, runners, triathletes, and other outdoors enthusiasts in Cardiff. Lots of shorts, t-shirts and flip flops work to work around here.
Leucadia is the northern coastal part of Encinitas that was founded in the 1800s by a religious group. The streets are named for Greek Gods (Orpheus, etc.). Some inland sections of Leucadia are very undeveloped, almost rural. The coastal stretch is pricey homes, condominiums, and some shops. There is a movement now underway to revamp the 101 through Leucadia to slow down traffic and increase pedestrian uses.

[NYSD1995]

From south to north...


Del Mar: Moneyed, village-feel, small commercial district, physical barrier to eastern development (hillsides), relatively few condos compared to other areas. Del Mar is the most uniformly high income single-family-home dominated upscale area.

Solana Beach: More mixed socioeconomically, larger commercial district, more heavily developed, more condos and rental units. Mix of high and low income areas.

Encinitas: Slightly more upscale than Solana Beach, more modest than Del Mar but still well-kept, more developed, largest commercial districts, extensive eastern development. There are some low-income areas as well. Encinitas in my opinion has the best zoning and separation of single family, commercial and multi-family.

Cardiff: exclusive, minimally developed, basically an enclave of high income single-family homes with limited commercial on PCH.

Leucadia: mix of upscale and downscale, some mobile home parks, varied socioeconomically, less infrastructure (no sidewalks), some hodgepodge zoning w/ apartments and houses in close proximity, most commercial concentrated on PCH frontage to I-5. Leucadia is probably the lowest overall income levels of all these.

Carlsbad: most heavily developed, large physical area, and highly populated, the largest commercial district with it's own distinct village, highly developed residential out to the eastern boundary of the city, mix of socioeconomic levels, some highly zoned areas and some hodgepodge zoned areas, most varied overall with a range from Barrios to mansions.

[thepinksquid]

Thanks!! You guys are awesome, this was exactly what I was looking for!