Best communities of San Diego?

[RightSide]

Ok, since it seems like most everyone here is actually looking to buy in San Diego at some point in time, can you tell me about what you think are the best places to live?

…I’m thinking Carlsbad / Encinitas suits my sensabilities…nice town, good place to raise kids…

Any hidden gems people know about?

[powayseller]

I already put in my 2 cents about Poway. And let me add: Poway has the lowest crime you’ll find anywhere. My neighbor just told me she checked various other cities to move to, and couldn’t find any other place with a low crime rate like Poway, so they decided to stay.

[lostkitty]

I’ve lived in RanchoSFe, Solana Beach, downtown La Jolla and Coronado. Love La Jolla and Coronado for all the walking (hate the traffic down the hill into LJ now though)(hate the ‘I got mine’ attitude in Coronado). Love Rancho for the sun and serenity/privacy.
Love DelMar and Solana Beach for the high school and for the most artsy/laid back beach feel of the citizens (used to be this way anyway – I’ve seen a lot of those women like the blonde mom character in that Spanglish movie the past few years – you know the ones – hardened chests and bodies – looking you up and down, evaluating, and boldly saying “How do you stay thin – where do you work out?” – Duh… well I exercise a little but its genetics… what a weird way to get to know someone… doesnt happen in upstate NY. Why do we all have to look exactly the same?!)
I think Leucadia and encinitas have cultivated the “artsy ” feel more the past few decades. I like that.

Spend my summers in all these towns and still love them. For retirement I think I’d pick Coronado. Such freedom for the kids on bikes/on foot.

I havent lived in Poway, but I’ve heard nothing bu good things about it over the years. We just never opted to live there because I actually like the fog rolling in and the overcast days. Gives the skin a break from the sun – nice to go for a bike ride or a walk/jog in. No air conditioning necessary.

[an]

My vote has to go to Sorrento Valley. Mostly business, only a few small residential areas. Which make it great if you work in the high tech telecom industry, which I do. Weather wise, it’s just as good as LJ and it’s only 10 min away from the beach. Yet it’s close enough to the freeway, you can go practically anywhere easily. Also, the price is very decent compare to all other coastal towns.

[barnaby33]

Assuming that a place is safe for the kids isn’t always a good thing. Coronado is very cloistered and yet there are so many ways to go astray there. Plus its not stimulating for a kid. I lived there twice, I know. Parents always move places saying its good for the kids, but really its for the parents.

Josh

[barnaby33]

So many choices. San Diego has limitless choices. If you love the beach, take your pic. There is the laid back Encinitas/Leucadia area. There is the up and coming Oceanside area and the uber-expensive and personal favorite Del Mar. The commute sucks though.

If you love the city. La Jolla is a world unto itself though its citizenry is unfailingly stuck on itself and its always kinda cold. Clairemont has lots of options, as long as you want a 1950’s stucco box with an extra 1000 square feet of house, unpermitted. It is however centrally located.

Poway, ah yes the country in the city. I went to high school there, though never lived in it. It used to be that Poway was somewhat isolated from the rest of the city you had to get off the freeway and kind of hunt for it. Alas no longer. It has grown to be a rather large suburb. Good schools decent houses, but not many jobs. I seem to remember it being a horse friendly town, though I imagine that is changing.

Sorrento Mesa/UTC, sterile.

Countryside anyone? I suppose Valley Center, my childhood home still qualifies. Not a good choice though if you have gambling issues. I hear they have quite a few casinos now. Plus its full of Mormons. It is beautiful and the sunsets cannot be beat. Again the commute will be a bear, unless you want to make very little money then Escondido is an option.

Julian is beautiful, somewhat isolated and very rural. I have only actually gone there a few times, mostly after paragliding at Mt Laguna, but it has a quaint charm. That is unless you own a large truck or SUV and have to drive into the city to work.

I think almost any part of San Diego can be a good place to raise kids. There are execptions, but no place is perfect.

Those are just a few, as I said this place has so many options.

Josh

[zk]

Carmel Valley is just north of Sorrento Valley, just southeast of Del Mar, directly east of Torrey Pines. The weather, if you ask me, is perfect. 70-75 almost every day in the spring, summer, and fall. Overcast less frequently than right on the coast (La Jolla). Overcast only a few days a year more than Scripps Ranch (which is where I used to live, and which is just southwest of Poway). A tad less cold in the winter than Scripps Ranch. If you like it warmer in the summer than 70-75, then further inland (Poway, Scripps Ranch, Tierrasanta, Rancho Bernardo etc.) would be more to your liking weather-wise. The weather in San Diego and north county is determined mostly by how far you are from the ocean. Less than a mile, lots of overcast and a bit cool in the summer, 1-4 miles mild summers, 5-10 miles warmer summers, more than 10 or so miles hot summers.

Carmel Valley schools really are the best in the San Diego area (except maybe Rancho Santa Fe) and some of the best in the state. Test scores are very high, college attendence rates are very high for high school graduates, parents are very involved, new schools are opening to keep up with demand. Campuses are clean and safe.

Carmel Valley in general is very safe. Less crime than most places (including Poway, according to Yahoo Neighborhood profiles. Found one!).

There is plenty of shopping and other businesses close by. The beach is a very short drive.

The area wasn’t built up until the mid ’80s, so almost all the houses and businesses are newer than that. I suppose some people like that, and some people don’t.

It’s a very suburban feel, without any of the hipness of Del Mar or artsiness of Leucadia or bohemianness of Ocean Beach or young-hangoutness of Pacific Beach or rusticness of Poway or urbanness of downtown or ritziness of Rancho Santa Fe or oldness of Escondido or Hootervilleness of Ramona or enlightenedness of Hillcrest or lemony freshness of Lemon Grove or… well, I could go on and on. Suffice to say that it’s very plain vanilla suburbia. But it’s upscale plain vanilla. And did I mention the weather is nice?

[powayseller]

Sounds like paradise. I might consider moving there myself. How are the lot sizes? (I don’t like those big boxy houses on teeny weeny lots, clustered 10′ apart.) Does Carmel Valley have established large-tree neighborhoods on 1/4 acre or more lots?

[zk]

Some lot sizes are small, some are big. But the big ones are very, very expensive. Lots of houses are 10′ apart. Some aren’t. But again, the ones that aren’t are generally a couple million. Del Mar Meadows is in Carmel Valley, and some of the lots there are half-acre or more. But I don’t think there’s anything there for less than $3M.

Camel Valley does not have large-tree neighborhoods. If that’s what you’re looking for, Carmel Valley is definitely not for you. As I said, it’s mostly built since the mid ’80s.

[powayseller]

I guess that’s why we ended up in Poway: for under $800K, you can get a 2300 sq ft house on a large lot, and you’ve got open space, hardly any traffic, low crime, and the good schools.

But if you’ve got the money, skip Poway and go coastal.

[sdrealtor]

Personally I prefer South Carlsbad/Encinitas a mile or two east which has the same great sunny weather, is in the same 2ndary school district as Carmel Valley, high test scores, more diversity (which is one of the major reasons why average test scores are a bit lower than CV) a very educated population, great high tech/bio tech jobs in the Palomar Airport business park area, great beaches, people from CV routinely drive up here to go shopping because there isnt much in CV, is very safe, has higher quality home construction with a variety of builders (CV is virtually monopolized by Pardee), larger lots, mature trees and a true community feeling with a history more than 25 years old that is lacking in CV.

If you hate to drive, CV does have a much shorter commute.

[zk]

Yes, CV is virtually monopolized by Pardee, which is unfortunate. I’ve owned two Pardee homes and had nothing but trouble with quality and with their Customer Service.

As far as shopping, there is very little in CV unless you like Von’s, Baskin-Robbins, Souplantation and Ace Hardware and that sort of thing. UTC isn’t too far away.

CV is very diverse, but probably in a different way. Lots of people from Taiwan, China, India and the middle east. My daughter’s preschool is like a little UN. 20 kids in her class, and I don’t think more than 7 or 8 of them are of strictly European descent.

[sdrealtor]

But you didnt end up in Poway..you ended up in Lakeside! Your very nom de plume (sp?) is a lie!

[lostkitty]

I actually agree. That is why we left. It is good for the kids physical freedom… biking and walking. Not intellectual or ‘spiritual’ freedom (I am not referring to religion).
Schools are not great either, which was actually the main reason.

[seniormoment]

ZK,

A few weeks back, Will Carless wrote an article about
the Carmel Valley, did you read it?

That article points out that about 2000 illegals, all male, camp out there next to all Carmel Valley communities, no running water, garbage piles up, they
stand around the roads waiting for day job calling…

Low crime? I won’t move there because there are the 2000, all male illegal immigrants sitting in everyone’s backyard watching you at night…, I am not a brave man, I need a peaceful mind if I have to pay
good price for my home …

Go to SandiegoVoice, under the housing section, you’ll see that article, very scary.

[Author]

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