All this talk of 1.5 hours on the road every day just makes my head spin. I can’t imagine. Just because others are doing it doesn’t mean it is a good lifestyle choice. What are you really buying with that ? Sheesh.
All commutes from Clairemont are quite easy, except maybe coming home from Sorrento Valley. Just getting to a south-bound freeway from SV takes 5-15 min.
The prominent parts of Clairemont usually put people off to the area, but get off the big streets (Balboa, Clmt-Mesa Blve, Clmt Drive, etc.) and you’ll find some well-build houses in great neighborhoods. Some parts of Clairemont are a disaster, but there are some nice parts, for sure. If you start shopping here, I’ll even help. I’m not a realtor, but I’m happy to give my two-cents on specific houses in the area.
Consider a canyon lot in Clairemont and send the kids to private school. You’ll have a 5 or 10 min commute into La Jolla. Or, give the Clairemont schools a try first, then move them to a private school if you are unhappy. Or, try to choice them into a UC or La Jolla public school.
We live in Clairemont but our kids don’t go to school in Clairemont so I can’t comment on the schools here, but our neighbors seem quite content with their schools, and a couple have choiced into UC. Everyone knows they aren’t North-County schools, but the lifestyle trade-off makes it all better. To the kids, it is just school, anyway. The kids will never know what they are missing. The biggest difference is you won’t be intertwined with more “upscale” parents, which is both good and bad.
For a more upscale lifestyle than Clairemont, check out University City. Could probably find a nice place that is NOT on a canyon there. The public schools there are, by most accounts, quite good. There is more traffic in and out of UC that Clairemont, but it still has that nice, central location.
Lots of Clairemont folks try to choice into the UC schools, or into the La Jolla schools, too. If you do, it’s a total score. You get “North-county” quality schools with the house payment and incredible central location of Clairemont.
