NY-er moving to SD- but where??

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=scaredyclassic]Temecula wine country. [/quote]

I knew someone would say Temecula. the motto is traditional value, future horizons, or something like that.

[FlyerInHi]

I would say all the requirements not doable in California.

I have family in Dutchess county and visit the NY area frequently.

The feeling is totally different. There is no village feel in San Diego, although it’s a city of villages. The distances are also greater.

Since your husband is the one wanting back to Cali, you should let him decide and have what he’s missing.

[scaredyclassic]

[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=scaredyclassic]Temecula wine country. [/quote]

I knew someone would say Temecula. the motto is traditional value, future horizons, or something like that.[/quote]

Literally every time we come home my wife says, we live in a beautiful house.

[scaredyclassic]

[quote=FlyerInHi][quote=scaredyclassic]Temecula wine country. [/quote]

I knew someone would say Temecula. the motto is traditional value, future horizons, or something like that.[/quote]

Old traditions, new opportunities.

Future value, traditional horizons.

Horizontal values, traditional future.

Futuristic traditions, opportunistic haze.

[scaredyclassic]

I love Temecula so much I really could cry. I would fight to defend it. I’m from Brooklyn ny. I feel like my life is perfect here. I have 3 kids. They are all happy.

[scaredyclassic]

That feeling of belonging is illusory.

[NYMom]

FlyerInHi…thanks for the comments. Respectfully, I disagree that he should decide. This decision should be based on what’s best for our children first and foremost. I do agree that it will be hard to find, but am hopeful that there are people in CA that want that same community and want to raise their kids the right way. It’s these fears that keep me up at night.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=NYMom] . . . we have a 6 and an 8 yr old . . . We are an educated, successful family, but are raising our kids in a very old-fashioned way. We live well below our means and place a high value on family. I want my kids to grow up comfortably, but with an absence of silver spoon entitlement….[/quote]

I just reviewed the OP again. NYMom, if your spouse is flexible on where he lives (I assumed he might be because you researched areas in LA and Orange Counties), may I suggest some alternative Cali locations which offer the lifestyle you’re seeking?

If your kids attend public school in coastal urban CA, there will come a point when they reach MS and HS where they’re going to be small fish in a large pond and start to beg for the same things their peers have and feel like an outcast if they don’t get them (clothing, shoes, accessories, gadgets, etc). This is even MORE pronounced if the school lies in an attendance area where the bulk of its students come from fairly affluent families. There is only so much a parent can do to lower their kid’s constant “expectations” at this age. Every kid needs friends in order to belong. Unless their kid(s) school requires their students to wear uniforms, there is a lot of “competition” among students in the way they dress and look in urban and suburban public high schools in CA (and likely in most of the rest of the country, as well).

Example: the competition can get ridiculous among HS girls, many of whom try to outdo each other with designer handbags (costing $300 – $800 new) and ask to replace them every year! And the list goes on …

Your child is less likely to come in contact with this phenomenon if he/she is enrolled in a private school or a public school in semi-rural or rural area. May I suggest the following CA small cities and towns which may offer the lifestyle you’re looking to bring your kids up in and also have the listing inventory which meets (or almost meets) your requirements? Here are a few suggestions (from south to north):

Julian
Ojai
San Luis Obispo
Aptos
Carmel
Placerville
Healdsburg
Sebastapol
Ukiah
Eureka

If you MUST have an urban setting in SD (the way you are describing it here), then Mission Hills is your best bet, IMO, but send your kids to nearby Catholic HS, where they will wear uniforms and sign academic and behavior contacts and won’t be allowed to engage in all the distracting “competition of superficiality” like they would in public school. You won’t get the lot size there which you are seeking in your price range but SD, unlike suburban/exurban NY, has a lot of diverse free or low-cost recreation available nearby, making it completely unnecessary for a family to have a large, lavish (and expensive) entertainment-type backyard. (Water and electricity are both VERY expensive in SD County.)

Grant (public) School (K-8) is excellent.

http://www.sandi.net/grant

SD Catholic HS near MH:

boys: http://www.sahs.org/

girls: http://www.aolp.org/

[UCGal]

I think the one thing that has to give is your lot size. It just doesn’t happen within the coastal areas. And if you add in village feel, it really doesn’t happen.

I rarely agree with bearishgrrl – but I think she may be on to something with Mission Hills. It’s very much a neighborhood with walkability and core businesses (vs strip malls) along Ft. Stockton and Goldfinch. Some of the lots on the canyons are larger – but they tend to go at a premium – perhaps higher than your budget.

Grant Elementary (K-8) is one of the better grade schools in San Diego Unified. For private school Frances Parker Elementary is in Mission Hills as well. As mentioned, the neighborhood can feed into Roosevelt or SDHS. Those schools are a bit more urban – but they offer the IB program. (Disclaimer – I’ve enrolled my boys in Roosevelt middle. It doesn’t look exceptional on paper – but they have a strong GATE/Seminar program and offer the IB program.)

RSF is probably out of your price range unless you go for a real fixer upper. Anything in Del Mar within your price range is likely to be a smaller lot. I like both areas a lot.

Newer areas (Carmel Valley, etc.) are definitely tract homes with less mature landscaping than the older parts of Del Mar, RSF, and Mission Hills.

[UCGal]

This one is a large (by San Diego standards) lot – but it’s canyonside – so less useable. (But good for privacy.) In Mission Hills, in your budget. Best – it’s walkable to Ft. Stockton/Goldfinch where the shops and restaurants are.

http://www.redfin.com/CA/San-Diego/3980-Pringle-St-92103/home/5358987

Here’s one in Del Mar that’s a bit smaller (3k sf, rather than 4k) – but is close to an acre.

http://www.redfin.com/CA/Del-Mar/13434-Racetrack-View-Ct-92014/home/4433295

[UCGal]

Here’s one that meets your requirements (although on the high end of budget) in RSF.

http://www.redfin.com/CA/Rancho-Santa-Fe/5450-El-Cielito-92067/home/4189794

[spdrun]

Considered throwing out the lot requirement and going North Park or Uni Heights? Some interesting older homes in those areas.

[bearishgurl]

[quote=spdrun]Considered throwing out the lot requirement and going North Park or Uni Heights?[/quote]

North Park ONLY just north of the City velodrome and swimming pool (“state” streets). Still, the largest homes there are probably only 2600-2700 and these homes, several with a river rock frontage and HUGE front porches, rarely come on the market (for good reason). Their lot size would average 9000 however. In North Park, NYMom would probably want to sent her kids to private school immediately (elem sch) unless she can somehow get them into McKinley. There are private Catholic Elems in South Park/Golden Hill.

Uni Heights is full of substandard lots and otherwise odd-shaped lots due to the corner of the canyon it sits on. And I don’t think NYMom wants her young kids walking in the vicinity of University Ave and Park Blvd. (There isn’t much else to choose from around there.)

Uni Heights is GREAT for single Gen Y.

[flyer]

As a native, who has also lived many other places, I think you may have to give and take a bit with your requirements in the San Diego area–especially at this point in time–and in the price range you mentioned.

That said, we’ve lived and raised our kids in Carmel Valley, and for the past many years, in Rancho Santa Fe. The kids loved both areas and turned out great, so you might give those locations some consideration, as well as Del Mar, as others have mentioned.

In addition, check out sdlookup.com, and run searches by zip code in Del Mar (92014), Rancho Santa Fe (92067), and Carmel Valley (92130). That way, you’ll see exactly what’s available in the price range you mentioned.

Best of luck!

[SD Realtor]

I like most of the recommendations on here. If you are looking for non cookie cutter then yes Del Mar and Rancho Santa Fe are nice places but range in prices and while you have a lot of money to spend, you may find that the IDEAL place you want exceeds the budget. Personally I love the area east of Encinitas, known as Olivenain. To me it represents some of the best San Diego has to offer.

My strong advice to you is to come to San Diego and rent. Rent for awhile and go see all the different areas San Diego has to offer. The diversity of neighborhoods is really cool and it is nice to get advice from the people who LIVE here. However personal tastes vary and you may find that once you have lived here for awhile you may find some quite unique areas that people may not consider for themselves…

[Author]

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