We are a family of six moving to the SD area from New England. The three areas that have been suggested to us are: Coronado, La Jolla and Del Mar. We have four children (grades 4, 7, 9, 11 in September). They have attended private Catholic school since kindergarten. Could you please give me some advice on schools – public vs. private? We are literally a blank slate at this point and need advice. Would also appreciate any comments on whether these towns are family friendly.
It sounds like you have money for private school. If that’s the case, I’d personally would send your kids to either La Jolla Country Day or Bishops. Those two school’s reputation far surpasses even the best public school in San Diego. Since both of those two schools are in La Jolla, I’d pick La Jolla. You can’t really go wrong with either of those 3 areas in term of prestige, house, view, etc.
Check out Pacific Ridge school in Carlsbad also. It’s newer and I’ve heard great things from friends who send their kids there. They brought in the headmaster from Horace Mann to run things. It’s very small and individualized. Probably a bit pricier but you will save on housing.
You will get a lot more for your money housewise while still being in a great coastal community with one of the best public school systems in the county as well.
As native San Diegans, my wife and I chose to send our kids to La Jolla Country Day School. My brother sent his four girls to The Bishop’s School in La Jolla, and, as others here have mentioned, there are definitely other excellent options.
Another area, near Del Mar, called Carmel Valley, (zip code 92130) has excellent public schools as well as two private Catholic schools I know
of–Notre Dame Academy and Cathedral High School.
Depending on where you will be working, you might want to check out housing options by zip code in this and other areas at sdlookup.com.
With regard to particular areas of San Diego being family friendly–I would say that you should be fine in all of the areas you mentioned with regard to housing, schools, and building a wonderful life for you and your family in San Diego–but I would definitely check out Carmel Valley as another very strong option.
Not sure about your price range, but you can also check out Rancho Santa Fe as well.
If you don’t want to pay La Jolla Country Day or Bishops tuition level for k-6, you should also check out Mission Bay Montessori Academy for k-6th grade.
Agree with checking out Rancho Santa Fe as well. I didn’t mention it, because I thought the interest was elsewhere, but we’ve lived in RSF for years, and love it.
At sdlookup.com, you can pull up the 92067 and 92091 zip codes to take a look at housing options in those areas.
If the OP is considering beach cities, and local schools aren’t an issue, what about Ocean Beach? Beautiful area, has a walkable “downtown” and less of a rowdy crowd than PB.
The Poway Unified School District (PUSD) is excellent! It encompasses Poway, parts of San Diego (Rancho Penasquitos, Del Sur, Santa Luz), Rancho Bernardo, and some unincorporated areas (4S Ranch).
Thanks for the info. Again, the areas I mentioned have name recognition and since I know virtually nothing about the area, that’s all I have to go on. I will definitely check out Pacific Ridge and Carlsbad when we come out.
Other than Carlsbad, do you know which towns have good public school systems? LaJolla Country Day and Bishops are too pricey for us.
