For that money in Poway, I’d be looking at something like a 2000 sf on a half-acre …

Poway is seriously overpriced (unless you have a kid who’s in high school or will soon be in high school). A house 1000 feet from mine just closed last month for 650K. It was 4000 square feet on 2.25 acres. The commute to any point in the county is at most 10 minutes longer from here than from 13625 Holly Oak Way.