I’m not sure if there is a whole lot of “white collar.” In the nicer areas, you’ll get a mix of retirees, high-end blue collar, small business managers, teachers, engineer/IT guys, etc.
Too bad you missed the Clairemont garden tour. It is in early May. You get to see alot of the nice places.
Shopping is excellent. The Town Center Square (Vons, Movies) and the Home Depot/Target/Ralphs on Gneesee/Balboa are where we shop the most. UTC is close, as is all of Kearny Mesa.
One thing you should know is where 92117 (Clairemont) turns to 92111 (Linda Vista). Check redfin or some other map with the zip codes to see it visually. Real Estate people prefer 92117, though there are plenty of decent places in 92111. Decide for yourself if you want look in the nicer parts of 92111 or not, but just know when you have crossed the line.
Also – know where the canyons are. Tecolote canyon comes up from the south, crosses Mt. Acadia, crosses Balboa, then curves east across Genesee. Follow that and you’ll find the nice places. Some canyon “fingers” poke into unlikely places and you find some gems. Even houses that are not on the canyon in canyon neighborhoods tend to be nicer.
Expect to pay $40K to $50K more for a canyon house with the same numbers as a non-canyon house.
In a few places – like north of Clairemont Mesa Blvd (CMB) from I-805 all the way to Regents – you will go from “not so nice” within 4 blocks of CMB and Clairemont Drive to very nice as you get closer to the Hwy-52 canyon. The transition can be rather sharp, too, like on Baxter.
I’ll try to cover the good areas.
– I think your best values are any “Mt” streets west of Genesee and North of Balboa. Follow these back to the canyon. On the way you will find a nice neighborhood of mid-level 1500 sf, 2-car gar places. Mt. Etna is a pretty busy street and Mt. Herbert is somewhat busy. Redfin listings show 4462 Mt. Henry at $435. A little small. 4584 Mt. Henry Place is on a canyon at $543. Probably quite nice. 4151 Mt. Hukee may be in your sweet spot. Interior remodels are a must in Clairemont.
– Mt. Streets south of Balboa and West of Genesee can be nice, but they are in Linda Vista. I’d say some are worth looking at. Check out a street called Burford, too. Nothing for sale there now, but it’s kind of unique.
– West of Regents, west of Moraga, east of I-5 is interesting. (above and around costco and along the I-5/I-52 canyon areas.) Some much nicer homes there, though they get pricey. And you have to be very careful with shifting lands there. We looked at a house on Driscoll that needed about 50K worth of foundation work. Lots of landfill above costco. If you turn west off Regents onto Luna, you go through a couple blocks of “yuck” then hit some nice spots. Distant freeway noise may be an issue for some people in places with Bay / Freeway views. Bay Ho resides in this area.
– North of Balboa Between Clairemont Drive and Moraga is hit-and miss. Cool canyons, but it seems cramped. Stay well south of CMB.
– The box formed by Balboa, Genesee, CMB and I-805 is kind of “so-so” You’ll have to go look at those yourself. Some OK places. Some run-down places. Nothing super nice. You’ll go under 400K here if you don’t mind just a little “trailer park” in your life, and darn close to 300K if you don’t mind alot of “trailer park” in your life.
– The Bay-Park side of Clairemont – the box formed south of Balboa by the 92117 border is pretty cool. You’ll have to go house-by house there. Lots of variety. The tradeoff there is – you get a view and lose a flat yard. Streets named after native american tribes are a little eclectic, maybe cramped, but you can get a view.
– The thing is, a canyon spot can pop up anywhere and be pretty neat.
To avoid:
– neighborhoods with 1-car garage houses never impress.
– Anything within 2 blocks of CMB is unlikely to be nice.
