Cielo in RSF

[grange9]

I would like to know other people’s views on Cielo. I am relocating from out of town and really like the Cielo gated community for the views, homes and the school district (namely the houses in the R Roger Rowe/Torrey Pines/Canyon Crest district). I work from home, so I am not bother by a commute, except the one that involves taking the children to and from school. I read about the recent lawsuit against the developer. It did not look like a good investment for the original buyers. The home prices look like they have underperformed the region. Are current prices reasonable now or will I have trouble selling it in five years time? Why does it seem like there are so many homes on sale? When do they expect to finish building another road out of the development? I would also like to hear from current residents if possible. How do you like living there? Where do you buy groceries? The last thread in this forum on Cielo is eight years old. I would like to hear more recent opinions. Thanks for your comments.

[Anonymous]

We lived in the main part of the Ranch while the kids attended Rowe. We contemplated Cielo when we first moved there, and are very glad we decided against it. It is way out there. The Ranch is isolated enough, and then to add another slog out there – with the concurrent traffic jam in the AM and PM rush hours (yes, Del Dios is a highway from the coast to Escondido) would have been too much for us. Even picking up our kids from friends houses out there seemed like a chore — getting to the gate, through the gate and then up the hill to wherever the house was…. We work from home too, but kids have school and activities, and they will be doing those in all places, Del Mar, Solana, Encinitas etc… Even from where we were, I was logging almost 80-100 miles a day just shuttling kids once I had 1 in HS and 1 still at Rowe, each with their own activities. Now that the market is closed in RSF, you are a good long way to do basic grocery shopping. For years we would be coming home from the airport or being out to dinner or something, and breath a sad heavy sigh when we exited the 5 freeway and knew we still had almost 20 minutes until we were home….

When you look, it seems like you are getting a lot of house for a discount to the area, which you are. That discount, of course, doesn’t go away if/when you decide to sell. If ever there was a placed that screams — rent first to see if you like it – it would be Cielo IMHO.

btw, R Roger Rowe is a fine school with small classes etc… I haven’t checked recent enrollment, but each grade is typically well under 100 kids, sometimes in the 60-70 kid range. Small schools can present issues as well.

edit/add — since you are looking in the general area, one big thing to know is that many (most) of the houses in the original “Covenant” area of the Ranch do not have access to high speed internet. Strange but true. Recently, the prior board entered into an agreement to move forward with a community owned fiber system for super high speed, but that deal was just killed by the “new” board. So, if you expand your search to that area, verify that you will have access to high speed internet. Seriously.

[flyer]

Having lived in RSF for many years, and raised our children here, I agree with all of the above, and also, don’t care for Cielo. Many people we know have decided against Cielo for many of the reasons you mentioned, however, if you decide to pursue that option, I would also suggest renting there first.

It’s a large investment, and I think it would be wise to have all of your questions answered firsthand before you make your decision.

There are challenges to living in RSF, especially when you have children, but, like you, since we have never been concerned with regular commuting schedules, if you prefer having a large home with acreage, not far from the coast, and still relatively close to everything you need and want, you will love it here.

Also, you might want to check out other homes in the 92067, 92130, and other zip codes of interest at sdlookup.com. It’s a great resource, and we’ve recommended it to many friends who have relocated here.

Best of luck!

[njtosd]

You might take a look in the area of Del Mar Mesa. Not sure what your price point is, but that area is more centrally located (92130), many lots have great views, and it’s the same school district. And I would avoid any area that has already had litigation involving HOAs or similar. Doesn’t bode well for the future.

FWIW – Cielo looks a lot different (better) on the internet than it does in person. I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s like people put up a bunch of big houses on property no one wanted. Power lines are an issue if I recall correctly. And if your kids have friends from the school district who they want to see (study session, band practice, whatever) it could be a 40 minute drive, even without traffic.

[Anonymous]

One little “tweak” — those other areas may be in the same High School District, but not in the same school district as far as K-8 is concerned. R Roger Rowe school has a very specific boundary and in some cases you have to carefully check your APN number with the school. Interestingly, there are some places out in Elfin Forest that go to the school, while some properties a mile away don’t.

On the “can’t put your finger on it” thing, I always felt that you are enjoying a nice drive through the Ranch and it is pretty and landscaped and there is lots of vegetation and trees, and then bam, you are hit with stark reality that San Diego is really a barren desert, and then you arrive at the Cielo gate.

[njtosd]

[quote=elbarcosr]One little “tweak” — those other areas may be in the same High School District, but not in the same school district as far as K-8 is concerned. R Roger Rowe school has a very specific boundary and in some cases you have to carefully check your APN number with the school. Interestingly, there are some places out in Elfin Forest that go to the school, while some properties a mile away don’t.

On the “can’t put your finger on it” thing, I always felt that you are enjoying a nice drive through the Ranch and it is pretty and landscaped and there is lots of vegetation and trees, and then bam, you are hit with stark reality that San Diego is really a barren desert, and then you arrive at the Cielo gate.[/quote]

Sorry – yes, up to 8th grade it’s not the same school district. I forgot that that was an issue. Still (very) good schools, though. The 6th grade class at Ashley Falls school last year was about 80 kids (in three classes) – about 600 altogether in the school, so not huge. CVMS, however, is enormous.

The word that I would use to describe the area that Cielo is in would be “gulch”. Maybe RSF Gulch. Not surprising that they didn’t go with that one.

[grange9]

Thanks for all the informative comments. The point regarding high speed internet is especially important and not trivial for me. I cannot work from home without fast internet. I have 250Mbps now on fiber broadband, and it would be difficult having speeds under 100Mbps. What sort of internet packages do home have in RSF?

There seems to be many good elementary/middle schools in the district aside from R Roger Rowe. However, my impression is that Torrey Pines and Canyon Crest are by far the best secondary schools in greater San Diego, and I should definitely stay in that high school district.

Del Mar Mesa (92130) looks like a convenient location. But aside from golf course views, which parts have good views and newish houses like Cielo? Everyone seems uniformly against staying in Cielo given the location. I would be curious to hear views from someone who is currently staying there and/or likes it there. Anyone?

[flyer]

Regarding your internet question, here’s the latest info on the status of a recently proposed deal. You’ll note several negative comments after the article, which you might want to take into consideration and, with all of the high-profile residents in the community, it’s hard to believe this issue has never really been solved. That said, many of us have found our own excellent solutions, but I prefer not to make recommendations to others.
http://www.rsfpost.com/rsf_association_terminates_fiber_internet_deal

And in related news:
http://www.sandiegoreader.com/news/2016/jun/03/ticker-rancho-santa-fes-covenant-john-moores/

For additional questions and wrt other internet options, you can try contacting the RSF Association: http://www.rsfassociation.org/club/scripts/section/section.asp?NS=HP

And here are some examples of available properties in the neighborhood:
http://www.sdlookup.com/Real_Estate-Rancho_Santa_Fe-Homes_For_Sale-92067

[FlyerInHi]

How fast is your Speedtest in the ranch?

[flyer]

Some tech friends put a package together for a group of us, and we’ve been getting download speeds of around 150 Mbps and uploads of around 13 Mbps. Even though those numbers aren’t great, they beat the averages in the area.

It can be a pain at times, as when we were working on the international launch of our latest film project, but, in general, we’ve found ways to make it all work, so it can be done.

Hopefully, the new Board will reconsider the fiber project which will have great benefits for current homeowners, and, if any of us, or our kids, ever decide to sell our properties, will also make them more appealing to future homeowners.

[Anonymous]

Regarding High Schools. SDSU has 4 High Schools, Torrey, LCC, CCA and SDA. Torrey and LCC are traditional-type high schools and are the geographic default schools – by your location, you go to one of them. CCA and SDA are academy schools and you can elect into them. For that matter, you can live in Torrey Pines area and elect into LCC, and vice-versa if you want. All 4 schools have a different vibe and type of student and it’s really a neat thing to have a choice of 4 schools. That being said, enrollment at the 2 academy schools is not assured; some years they are over-subscribed so there is a blind lottery. The last 2 years everyone got their first choice. The 2 years prior, SDA and CCA were over subscribed so a number of kids were turned away and had to go to their default geographic school.

[grange9]

How are children assigned to elementary schools in RSF and Carmel Valley? For example, if you live in the Roger Rowe zone, do the children still have a choice of elementary schools, like high schools, or are they confined to attending that one school? Likewise, if you live in 92130, do you have a choice of several elementary schools to choose from, or restricted to the nearest one? Thanks.

[njtosd]

[quote=grange9]How are children assigned to elementary schools in RSF and Carmel Valley? For example, if you live in the Roger Rowe zone, do the children still have a choice of elementary schools, like high schools, or are they confined to attending that one school? Likewise, if you live in 92130, do you have a choice of several elementary schools to choose from, or restricted to the nearest one? Thanks.[/quote]

In CV kids are generally assigned based on a boundary map. In the past, there have been oversubscribed schools where even kids within the area for that school have to attend a different school with more available space. This was generally associated with neighborhoods that were quickly developed and filled with families who generally had young students. Since most of CV is now developed, that sort of unevenness is becoming less of a problem.

[Author]

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