I grew up in the San Pasqual area of Escondido then lived in the city proper for a few years before moving to the coast. The rural area is nice if you want land, but the commute to San Diego is a nightmare. I’ve been back to the San Pasqual area for mountainbiking and it still looks nice (not sure how the high school is though)
Like other posters have said, 92029 and 92025 are nice areas if you don’t mind the commute. What you get for the price in these zipcodes is pretty decent relatively.
As far as Escondido the city goes (and living there), the ghetto comments were right on the mark. The few (four at the most) years I lived in the city, I had my car broken into at least six times. I finally left the doors unlocked so they wouldn’t break the window anymore. Gangbangers, meth heads, lowlifes, oh, and the California Center for the Arts. I don’t even like driving through the city anymore and try to avoid it.
The important thing is that this city hasn’t always been like this, it has gotten considerably worse over the last 20 years. My guess is that it hasn’t reached bottom yet, I’d stay away.
