You likely would not have to use the express lanes. I15 north of Lake Hodges is not that bad even during the rush hour and you will be going against the traffic. It should not be worse than weekend traffic. That being said, there is still big difference between driving from Del Sur and driving from the northern edge of San Diego.

With that kind of budget I would start here: http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Diego/18342-Saint-Etienne-Ln-92128/home/6540866

Can’t you buy in Carlsbad for that price and be 15 min from work? (And maybe if you’re lucky, walking distance to the beach.)

I hear you on being closer to the city, but it isn’t hard to get into SD during off hours from the north if you’re only going once or twice a week.

[quote=cato1974]Thanks for the quick response all… one question:
do you mean that going from Del Sur to Fallbrook will be worse than going from the Northern edge of SD or vice versa. I’m assuming vice versa. 🙂

We will also look in Temecula, but prefer the schools in the PUSD or even the San Dieguito district.

Is carlsbad that close? google maps has me at 35 min from Carlsbad to Fallbrook.. essentially the same time from the Del Sur/Black Mountain area.[/quote]

Carlsbad isn’t that close. Carlsbad to Fallbrook is probably 30 minutes on the 78 or the 76 which tends to have bad traffic and plenty of accidents. As far as I know the 15 express lanes are only open in one direction at a time. Southbound in the morning, Northbound in the evening, but since you are heading against traffic it shouldn’t be a problem.

PUSD has a good reputation in terms of quality, but at the same time the administrators are the morons that sold balloon payment bonds to fund school upgrades. You can find out more about that here.

[quote=cato1974]Thanks for the quick response all… one question:
do you mean that going from Del Sur to Fallbrook will be worse than going from the Northern edge of SD or vice versa. I’m assuming vice versa. 🙂

We will also look in Temecula, but prefer the schools in the PUSD or even the San Dieguito district.

Is carlsbad that close? google maps has me at 35 min from Carlsbad to Fallbrook.. essentially the same time from the Del Sur/Black Mountain area.[/quote]

I know I’ll hear a lot of disagreement about this, but I would seriously consider stretching to the San Dieguito Union HS District (either in the Solana Beach or DMUSD elementary school district) if schools are a big deal for you. Poway is also good but the bond issue (mentioned in another post) will become more significant as the years go on. We moved from SD (DMUSD/SDUHD) to the east coast for about 5 yrs and then moved back to SD. We were very familiar with SD, having lived here for over 10 years, and we considered a lot of different locations such as 4S ranch, etc. (which is Poway) but eventually chose a home in the same district we had moved from. The drive is an issue – so it’s something you’ll have to consider. Also, it’s probably a bigger issue once your kids get to middle school (which is part of the high school district for SDUHSD) and high school.

[quote=cato1974]Thanks for the info:

To “all”.. what length drive do you think from the house you linked to?

To ‘njtosd’… It seems you read my mind as I was also considering that situation strongly. I know the high schools Canyon Crest and Torrey Pines have consistently performed well and on par with what we are used to in the Northeast. What length drive do you think I’m looking at from the areas you mentioned : Del Mar and Solana… I guess it boils down to how long it will take me to get to the I-15 because I think once I’m on the 15, I can hopefully zip up pretty quickly.

Thanks again guys for all your input :)[/quote]

Canyon Crest is a great school. My son says he wakes up in the morning and looks forward to going to school, which is from a kid who once compared kindergarten to prison. I’ve heard great things about Torrey Pines as well, although none of our kids have gone there. In terms of the drive, I would try to look at houses in this general area:

http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-130059957-5444_Valerio_Trail_San_Diego_CA_92130

or

http://www.sdlookup.com/MLS-130051511-5172_Seagrove_Pl_San_Diego_CA_92130

based on your earlier post. (The Valerio house is probably over priced). You would take Carmel Valley Rd. east, which turns into Bernardo Center Dr., from which you’d get on to I-15.

Depending on the time of day, you can get to I-15 in about 20 minutes that way. Sometimes less, but probably not in the morning.

Hello there,

We are very happy in Talavera 4S Ranch, but we are a bit below your budget (more like $900K-$1M).

At your price point, you could consider the Ivy Gate community (feed into Stone Ranch Elementary), or as others have mentioned places like Santaluz, the Santa Fe Valley (Crosby etc). There are other small communities just north of Camino del Norte (near Maranatha School, etc), but I would have some concerns about changes in traffic patterns once some of the newer shopping centers, etc reach completion. I believe that all of the areas mentioned above are gated.

From the Crosby and Santa Fe Valley, etc, you will be able to cut up to Del Dios Hwy and enter I-15 already north of Lake Hodges in Escondido. If you are in Santa Luz or 4S, you will not have gate access to some of those roads, and you will more likely enter at Camino del Norte or Bernardo Center or Rancho Bernardo Rd. However, from what I can tell, there is fairly light traffic on I-15 north in the mornings. I don’t think you would need to use a FastPass. Contrary to what another poster said, I believe that both north- and south-bound lanes are open on most mornings (barring a MAJOR event — I’ve only seen that once in 1.5 years living around here).

If you do choose somewhere farther south (Carmel Valley corridor, Del Mar, etc), you can be assured that I-56 east bound has VERY light traffic in the mornings.

Santaluz also comes into my mind. Beautiful surroundings, great Poway schools, and community feel. The traffic can be heavy leaving Camino Del Norte area. An alternate route would be Rancho Bernardo Road to 15. I know a great Realtor who lives in Santaluz who could provide more information to you. (P.S., I really don’t think you will like Temecula unless you own a horse or off road vehicles) Julio and Lindsay Lopez at Pacific Sotheby’s Rancho Santa Fe office at
(858) 759-8920