Dejams –

As far as your potential purchase in the future goes, it all depends on your price range. Your workplace is pretty central so you have a great selection of different areas. I would imagine the school districts will be important to you so that will prune out some of the recommendations but pricing is paramount.

SD Realtor

I would definitely recommend Tierrasanta since you’ve got children. Good schools, parks, central location.

There’s a storage place very close as well (just off Tierrasanta Blvd, southwest of the 15). You might also want to check out PODS–competitive prices and if they can pick up and drop off at your particular address, very convenient. Their facility isn’t too far from Tierrasanta either (not that you’ll necessarily need to go there). I used them for a six month stint and was very satisfied.

There are lots of apt rentals near that area. There are rentals on Balboa and Charger (Clairmont). There are many rentals in Clairmont, you might want to shop around for pricing and amenities. There are rentals in Serra Mesa on Ruffin Rd and nearby streets. There are rentals in Linda Vista on Mesa College Drive.

I agree with some of the other post about the schools. Scripps Ranch and Tierra Santa do have better schools and are still within 30 minutes commute. I have a friend in Tierra Santa with school age kids (3) and he really likes the schools there. I also have a relative living in Scripps Ranch and they state the schools are also very good there. My sister lives in Rancho Penasquitas and the schools are very good there. Rancho Penasquitas is barely within the 30 minute commute on most days. The areas that I stated earlier are just Geographically closer to your job and are not really that bad, except maybe Linda Vista.

I personally plan to buy within the next 3-7 years and would like to buy in Scripps Ranch or Rancho Bernardo. Tierra Santa is real nice, but it is an older neighborhood and the newer homes were built in the 90’s unless you are buying the homes re-built after the fire of 10-2003. Rancho Penasquitas is a nice area also with mixed old and newer housing. I was also thinking of buying a home in other parts of the county with larger lots, but the schools are not that great and I would probably have to send my kid to a private school.

Hi Dejams –

I was definitely not implying to buy now. I agree with you, hold off as long as you can to let the decline run the course. In general I would agree with the posters about Tierra Santa and Scripps. Scripps is a bit more high end then Tierra Santa and the homes are larger and have bigger lots. Don’t get me wrong as I am not knocking Tierra Santa at all. My wife and I, kids, mom in law, dogs, cats and turtles all rent a 4/3 home in Scripps with a very big backyard but it is 2500 a month. Not cheap. You could probably rent for less in Tierra Santa but maybe not get as large of a home with as large as a yard. Again, not to be snobbish but if you are going to rent in Clairemont or Serra Mesa I would be very selective. Those neighborhoods can vary and have nice and not so nice pockets. You may end up next to many nice families and you may end up next door to a bunch of tenants like yourself but may not be a nice family with kids. If you can, University City is higher end then Clairemont and not far from where you work. Also Bayview is bit higher end but the rents go up there as well. You could even go as far north as Carmel Valley but rents are a bit steeper there as well.

Anyways as you get closer to coming out let us know. Definitely plenty of places for you to choose from.

SD Realtor

Don”t do Carlsbad. The traffic is horrendous. Scripps Ranch or Tierrasanta are good bets.

Carlsbad is really nice as well. I like it. You will however look at about a 45 minute commute (one way) if you work a 9 to 5 job from KM. I also did that drive yesterday (Saturday) and there was traffic at 2 in the afternoon. Sadly this is not uncommon.

SD Realtor

Carlsbad is nice but the traffic in the North County is horrible. Don’t do it. How horrible is traffic in the North County of San Diego? As bad as LA and sometimes WORSE.

Linda Vista is not my cup of tea. South of Genesee in LV is one of the most impoverished and worst crime areas in SD. The Kearny Mesa area (north of mesa College Drive)of Linda Vista is pretty decent. The middle and high schools are terrible. Kearny High is GHETTO.

Serra Mesa is a nice neighborhood. I live there and I love it. It’s centrally located and very conveinent. The valley is right down the hill. Everything is close by. There are quite a few reasonably priced nice SFHs for rent in Serra Mesa. Unforunately, if you have kids the high school is the same school as Linda Vista, Kearny High.

I don’t like Clairemont at all. Too many tweakers. Go with Tierrasanta or Scripps Ranch. A couple of other possibilities would be Rancho Bernardo or Rancho Penasquitos.