All of your questions are excellent considerations concerning the purchase you desire to make, and I’m sure you’ll receive lots of advice here.
We faced a similar choice when we moved from Carmel Valley to Rancho Santa Fe many years ago. In Carmel Valley everything was basically “outside your front door” as it is in Del Sur and 4S Ranch–schools, shopping, etc.
In RSF, as you might find in The Lakes, you’ll have to make more effort to accomodate your children’s needs. That said, in The Lakes, you will still be much closer to everything you need even if you do buy there, than we were in RSF.
In the end, since this was our chance to buy our forever dream home at an incredible price, we chose RSF over convenience. Our kids attended private schools anyway, and we were able to get them to all of their activities. Over twenty years later, we’re all glad we made the choice we made.
All of that said, of course, there are no guarantees concerning real estate purchases. When we purchased our home, we knew we would, most likely, be staying it the house for the rest of our lives, so that was not a factor in our decision.
If you feel you may desire, or may need to sell, you’ll have to factor that variable into the equation as well.
Hopefully, there will be some factor that will influence your decision one way or the other, and I wish you the best!
