I used to go quite frequently (mainly to museums) when I was a kid and my dad worked in New York… I guess that falls under “nice to have if you have kids”, though 20-25 mi extra won’t make a hell of a lot of difference when doing that.
HOWEVER, if I were raising a family in San Diego, I’d strongly consider somewhere within walking/biking distance of a beach. As a kid, I used to spend summers at the shore — being able to walk to the beach, to the store, down the street to hang out with friends was great when you were ten.
For under $1.5MM, you CAN find such a thing in North County south of Oceanside. It will probably be older and smaller, but the area is more important than house size.
