I am not a native SoCal, but from what I’ve heard Oceanside has taken great strides to clean up it’s image. In my opinion it has become one of those sleeper picks of North County Coastal. Like SD Realtor said, there are some nice areas, but it still is a military town with a connotation for higher crime and lower-rated schools than its neighbors.
We rent in north Carlsbad near the Oceanside city limits. The location is very convenient, with close freeway access and many stores nearby.
I know someone who bought in the Rancho del Oro area about ten years ago and has raised his family there ever since.
If you are renting and work from home, you could probably find some good deals in Oceanside, as compared to other areas further south that might charge a higher rent premium.
I would do a search for nearby stores, schools, and the like to get a feel for where they are in relation to your target location. Even though you work from home, like I do, you still need to go to stores to pick things up. Reasonably quick freeway access was a big one for us.
One other downfall to being close to Camp Pendleton is hearing the various maneuvers taking place on base. For the past few weeks we have heard what appears to be bombs going off all day long. I talked to a friend who lives around the Poinsettia Av area of Carlsbad and he said he could hear it all the way down there. From our place it sounded like a loud central heater turning on. I don’t want to know how it sounds closer to the base. These sounds have not occurred in the past few days or so, however.
Best of luck in your search. I fell in love with North County Coastal from the first day I visited it almost 10 years ago.
