Funny, I was just talking with one of my neighbors about this the other day.
My take is that it can be attributed to a combination of four things:
1. Age: SFH is the oldest of the “new” (ie master planned) communities in San Marcos. Well SFH and Discovery Hills both, anyway.
2. Space: SFH is a little more claustrophobic than other SM areas for some reason. The streets are wide enough, but in some places the homes feel closer together.
3. HOA: I think that SFH is the only new community in SFH without an HOA. I know there are a lot of folks on here that hate HOAs, but they do tend to result in better-kept communities…which leads to the fourth reason:
4. Condition: SFH just feels a little more run down that the other new developments. Probably due to the age and lack of HOA, but it definitely does. Walk through there one weekday evening and you’ll notice the garage doors, yards, driveways just aren’t as nice. And you’ll also notice the streets are just lined with cars in the evening!
I don’t think the proximity to Vista plays into it at all.
Don’t get me wrong, we have friends who live there and it’s a fine place to live.