I live in Bay Ho. My wife and I lived there for a year before finding a place to buy. The location is amazing. Our commute is really short, and I can pop in to surf at Scripps in 10 minutes. The traffic is not bad, the shops are close by. The area is very safe and you get a nice sized lot with a backyard for kids. Bay Ho and Bay Park seem to be improving. A few nice developments like Tavara Ridge. A few new restaurants/coffee places. I imagine that will accelerate when they complete the Trolley to UTC/UCSD in 2020. The owner of this site lives here…
The parks are pretty nice, with Alcott being open for kids to cycle/play around.
We have two kids and I do not like our assigned school at Cadman. But the reason is that the principal and half the staff retired last year (I think the district offered a retirement package?). So the school seems to be in flux at the moment. Plenty of our neighbors ‘choice’ into the University city district. Spreckels/Curie Elementary, Standley middle, and University high are 5-10 minutes drive. Plenty of Daycare places are available in Bay Ho/Bay Park as well, along with preschools.
Some cons are pretty much standard Clairemont complaints. Bay Ho/Bay Park are not walkable at all. Especially compared with North Park, although that might prevent the homeless problems you see in North Park. You find houses that look like bombsites right next to rebuilt houses. It is suburbia, and boring for some. I do not mind that problem after living in PB for 6 years. After having kids I like the peace and quiet. The houses stock is old, built in the 50s. Make sure you get a good inspector. Get your sewer lines scoped, cast iron pipes have a lifetime of 75-100 years but if someone poured acid to relieve a blockage then that shortens the lifespan.
I used whatever mortgage place my realtor suggested, it made the buying process easier. We then refinanced.
