DZ,
I never said everyone wants to live just a very large group of people do. Those people are young professional families with young children. They dont mind a 30 minute commute to live in nbeighborhoods surrounded by their peers where their kids can play freely with other kids in the neighborhood. My son is 2 blocks away at a friends right now. He’s 11 and rode his bike there and I dont worry about him doing so. The social isolation I spoke of in Mt Helix is not that it is an hour or even 30 minutes away from things to do but rather sitting on top of a mountain in custom home wihtout close neighbors nearby is very isolating for most of us. To some that is Nirvana but to us it is not.
As for restaurants, I can get to any of the places from Del Mar to Carlsbad along the coast in less than 15 minutes and many in much less time even during rush hour. There are also plenty of choices along the El Camino Real corridor. From Mt Helix, you pretty much have to head downtown or into Hillcrest area to find quality restaurants. Try getting from Mt Helix to one of those places at 6 PM.
As for NCC being the definition of isolation. I avoid Lindbergh as much as I can now ebcause in most cases there is little benefit. There are very few non-stops to places I go. I can fly out of Palomar Airport (10 minutes from my house door to door) with free parking and connect almost anywhere in the world through LAX for roughly the same price. When I return, they hand me my luggage as I get off the plan and I am in my house within 20 minutes of deplaning. Qualcomm is a place I may go once or twice a year and nothing I or most people would value living near. Downtown is nice and I can hop on a train for a night out and have fun without having to drive. Just take a cab back home from the Encinitas station and pick up the car in the AM.
