No area is ever going to be “perfect” when you factor in price. Schools are the only reason Carmel Valley is even on our radar. That and if you have a couple where one works more in the city and the other works north county or OC, avoiding the traffic hell that is the 5/805 split has it’s appeal.
In San Diego the problem feels like you have a choice between Planned communities with good schools and decent $/sq. foot value, Non-planned outer areas that don’t have easy access (i.e. Santee) and may have questionable schools, or areas with relatively high $/sq foot (Pretty much everywhere, from La Jolla to Poway to North Park/South Park/University Heights).
