Carlsbad or Penasquitos for 500K?

[Scarlett]

… Or, how much does the house age matters (in these areas/those ages)?

We have a hard time deciding if we should expand our search for houses to (South) Carlsbad. Our top choice until now was Penasquitos – for our price range, school and commute. We work in La Jolla downtown and UCSD, currently.

A 500K buys a 70’s-80’s built 1800-2000 sf SFR in PQ, usually no or small HOA, no MRs – in good shape, with a decent yard. For 500K we’ve seen in South Carlsbad a few decent, over 2000 sf, SFRs that were built in 1990s & 2000s, no MRs and HOA of ~$100. I am not sure how lots and yards compare in generally. But that’s 15-20 yrs age difference. It seems to me as being a lot. How much is that worth it?

Schools are not a factor, as I believe them to be roughly about as good in Carlsbad as in PQ.

We can swing the commute to beat rush hours most of the time if we’d live in Carlsbad, so we could get to/from work in 35′. Still, it is a longer commute, and can be much uglier than from/to PQ in 10% of the time.

We like the newer houses because presumably there will be less work/maintenance/upgrades to do, if well built. (We are not handy and very busy).So we like the houses and the neighborhood(s) better in South Carlsbad, but we are certainly fine with PQ.

What area would you pick to focus your search for house(at 500k)?
We don’t plan to buy until 2012.

[sdrealtor]

The schools in parts of South Carlsbad are actually rated better and are closer to Carmel Valley than PQ. The community around here is amazing and very welcoming. Anything you need in daily living is within a 5 to 10 minute drive if not closer. You would love it here so that is my vote.

[sdrealtor]

The schools in parts of South Carlsbad are actually rated better and are closer to Carmel Valley than PQ. The community around here is amazing and very welcoming. Anything you need in daily living is within a 5 to 10 minute drive if not closer. You would love it here so that is my vote.

[sdrealtor]

The schools in parts of South Carlsbad are actually rated better and are closer to Carmel Valley than PQ. The community around here is amazing and very welcoming. Anything you need in daily living is within a 5 to 10 minute drive if not closer. You would love it here so that is my vote.

[sdrealtor]

The schools in parts of South Carlsbad are actually rated better and are closer to Carmel Valley than PQ. The community around here is amazing and very welcoming. Anything you need in daily living is within a 5 to 10 minute drive if not closer. You would love it here so that is my vote.

[sdrealtor]

The schools in parts of South Carlsbad are actually rated better and are closer to Carmel Valley than PQ. The community around here is amazing and very welcoming. Anything you need in daily living is within a 5 to 10 minute drive if not closer. You would love it here so that is my vote.

[ariffe22]

Your worst traffic will be during the Fair Season and some for the Race Season for Carlsbad.

[ariffe22]

Your worst traffic will be during the Fair Season and some for the Race Season for Carlsbad.

[ariffe22]

Your worst traffic will be during the Fair Season and some for the Race Season for Carlsbad.

[ariffe22]

Your worst traffic will be during the Fair Season and some for the Race Season for Carlsbad.

[ariffe22]

Your worst traffic will be during the Fair Season and some for the Race Season for Carlsbad.

[Scarlett]

Thanks. I was looking at the 2010 APIs for high schools, as an example.

San Marcos High has a 2010 API of 829!- higher than any of the other Carlsbad high schools! Mission Hills high (also SMUSD) API is 839. Which makes the high schools in Carlsbad/San Marcos pretty closely rated to the ones in the famous Poway Unified which are 850s (Mt. Carmel High in PQ is 818)…Other Carslbad high schools APIs: La Costa Canyon – 818, and Carlsbad High- 812. Compare this to High Schools of – University City (795), Mira Mesa (818), La Jolla (841), and Torrey Pines (870).

Of course, API is not all that there is to a school.

[Scarlett]

Thanks. I was looking at the 2010 APIs for high schools, as an example.

San Marcos High has a 2010 API of 829!- higher than any of the other Carlsbad high schools! Mission Hills high (also SMUSD) API is 839. Which makes the high schools in Carlsbad/San Marcos pretty closely rated to the ones in the famous Poway Unified which are 850s (Mt. Carmel High in PQ is 818)…Other Carslbad high schools APIs: La Costa Canyon – 818, and Carlsbad High- 812. Compare this to High Schools of – University City (795), Mira Mesa (818), La Jolla (841), and Torrey Pines (870).

Of course, API is not all that there is to a school.

[Scarlett]

Thanks. I was looking at the 2010 APIs for high schools, as an example.

San Marcos High has a 2010 API of 829!- higher than any of the other Carlsbad high schools! Mission Hills high (also SMUSD) API is 839. Which makes the high schools in Carlsbad/San Marcos pretty closely rated to the ones in the famous Poway Unified which are 850s (Mt. Carmel High in PQ is 818)…Other Carslbad high schools APIs: La Costa Canyon – 818, and Carlsbad High- 812. Compare this to High Schools of – University City (795), Mira Mesa (818), La Jolla (841), and Torrey Pines (870).

Of course, API is not all that there is to a school.

[Scarlett]

Thanks. I was looking at the 2010 APIs for high schools, as an example.

San Marcos High has a 2010 API of 829!- higher than any of the other Carlsbad high schools! Mission Hills high (also SMUSD) API is 839. Which makes the high schools in Carlsbad/San Marcos pretty closely rated to the ones in the famous Poway Unified which are 850s (Mt. Carmel High in PQ is 818)…Other Carslbad high schools APIs: La Costa Canyon – 818, and Carlsbad High- 812. Compare this to High Schools of – University City (795), Mira Mesa (818), La Jolla (841), and Torrey Pines (870).

Of course, API is not all that there is to a school.

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