Relo from Boston – urban mom wants it all

[frossty]

Coming west this spring/summer to join the other smart family members who’ve escaped the cold. Single mom with 7 yr old son, new job will involve travel, so the housing factors are:

1. stay close to family for kiddo backup when I travel (fam’s in northpark, chula vista and linda vista)
2. progressive, diverse, dynamic and perfect school (yah, I know). Especially concerned for excellence in the middle school years – smart peers, compelling content.

My style is more downtown, but want the kiddo to be able to bike down the street to see friends.

Small is fine; no mcmansion thanks. Townhome/condo ok, love a small single fam.

Your advice please! Areas to start searching? Sites/discussion boards for school insights? Other factors to keep in mind? And where the hell do I start?

Thanks all, and congrats to Prof P on sharkjumping.

[DataAgent]

Your housing budget?

[UCGal]

Given your family’s areas and your interests in middle schools… I’d suggest North Park in the Roosevelt middle school boundaries.

Roosevelt has an IB program, a well respected seminar program (if your kid tests in), and feeds into San Diego HS.
San Diego HS has various campuses within campuses – including an IB program, etc.

http://rooseveltmiddle.org/myp.jsp

[sdduuuude]

I initially thought “you are screwed,” basically. Anywhere progressive will be a crappy school district. Maybe UC Gal knows something, though. She’s good like that. I’d consider private school or rolling the dice of “choicing” into a school within the district.

[frossty]

My budget’s under 500K.

Thanks to UCgal for the insight into Roosevelt. I’d LOVE to be in North Park, but:

Based on the insight on “progressive”, I’ll revise the school requirements: rigorous, diverse, dynamic. Strong math and science is very important; can that work without tigermom-ness?

[bearishgurl]

[quote=frossty]My budget’s under 500K.

Thanks to UCgal for the insight into Roosevelt. I’d LOVE to be in North Park, but:

Based on the insight on “progressive”, I’ll revise the school requirements: rigorous, diverse, dynamic. Strong math and science is very important; can that work without tigermom-ness?[/quote]

Look into “High Tech High,” a SDUSD Charter School which starts in the 7th grade. It is close to dtn SD and your child may likely be able to “choice” into it from several urban neighborhoods, including North Park (92104).

I actually know families who have obtained an “interdistrict transfer” for their kids to attend HT Middle and High from the “far reaches” of Chula Vista (an entirely different school district).

see: http://www.hightechhigh.org/

Hint: I’ve heard the “projects” assigned to students at HTHS are akin to actually “being on the job.”

And contrary to what sdduuuuude posted, Roosevelt Middle and SD High are very good schools 🙂

edit: I erroneously stated that HTH was part of SDUSD. It is located within the boundaries of SDUSD attendance areas but is a Charter School, thus it is not run by SDUSD. In addition, it has recently opened a Chula Vista campus. However, my friends’ children (in Chula Vista) attend the “Pt Loma” campus, located at “Liberty Station” (on the old SD Naval Training Center land). In addition, the middle school there begins in the 6th grade (not 7th grade, as I stated earlier).

HTMS/HS is an incredible opportunity for the students who are selected to attend it, IMHO … well worth the application process.

[temeculaguy]

BG, she is a single mom, she needs schools and streets that her kid can bike or walk to and whose playmates in the neighbrhood attend the same schools. What’s the Chula to HTH drive at 7 am, half an hour? I say more, I dated a woman in Pt. Loma, very near that school, there’s no quick way there. Every light is like 5 minutes, I bet it takes an hour. What are the odds that in a city of 1.3 million, her kid gets one of the 400 spots in one of the good schools if she doesn’t live there. That place can be harder than college to get into.

I like the liberty station suggestion, but I think it might be too pricey, it’s more of a 600k+ range, but has everything you are looking for. Tierrasanta is my suggestion, but it won’t feel urban. It’s a close in suburb. The reality is, you can’t have both and be a single parent and pay under 500k unless you make the decision to live in a suburb until the kid goes to college. Pick the relative that will lilely be the most helpful and rent near them to get a feel. Where’s the grandma? They are usually most helpful. If it’s the Chula Vista resident, look at bonita, but it’s mostly bigger houses. If it’s Linda Vista, check out Tierrasanta. If it’s North Park, look at kensington or maybe San Carlos. The Mt’ Helix area is in the middle of those, but it wont feel urban either, nor does it have little houses, La Mesa is another option, but the same drawbacks, big houses, pricey. The trouble is, the safe neighborhoods where kids can ride bikes and have their neighbor friends be their classmates and walk to school, are in the suburbs. Since your kid can’t live in Poway while you live in the city, you are going to have to make compromises. You can find pockets where you can find close to what you want, but not from a computer on the East coast, you are probably going to have to live here a while to find those.

Unfortunately the good weather of the West comes with a different type of city (much to the dismay of some pigs) but most people don’t raise kids in the city. You can either walk to a store/bar/coffee shop or you can walk to a good school, rarely can you do both at the same time, and when you can, you can’t buy for 500k.

A small place at liberty may be your best bet.

[sdrealtor]

Great suggestion on Liberty Station. Its kinda urban and kinda suburban. She should be able to get a nice place (3BR 1500 sq ft townhome) in her price range if she is patient. For a traveler, I dont know that one could have better access to the airport. Its clean, safe and walkable to all shopping one needs on a daily basis. There’s a Wine Steals for a quick night out or a glass of wine on the way home if you have time.

She should scope out a rental there and see if it makes sense for her. Plenty of time to buy as prices arent going any where soon nor are rates.

[UCGal]

A note on high tech high/high tech middle…. they are charter schools and admission is by lottery. There are also multiple sites. My understanding is that it is MUCH easier to get into the south bay campus (convenient to Chula Vista) than to the campus at Liberty station. I have applications in for the point loma campus for both my boys but am not optimistic. That said – it looks like an incredible program,

http://www.hightechhigh.org/?show=schools

Liberty Station might be a very good fit of urban/parks/convenience to the airport and family. Our friends who live there love it.

[scaredyclassic]

Temecula?

Family often doesn’t come through.

With the extra $ you can buy reliable help.

If dads still in Boston and wants to visit temeculas a bit much.

Actually you say family is just travel backup. You can drop kid off on the way to airport!

Temecula schools are safe and good and temecula is an excellent place.

It is the second safest city in America.

Also, it is clean.

It is like heaven, but here, on earth.

Plus it’s pretty cheap.

[scaredyclassic]

Perhaps I shouldn’t be allowed to talk to new people

[Coronita]

Umm. Dude…folks…

Me thinks ya folks overlooked un poco detail that her kid is 7, just in case you got some of that Kalifornia public school reading comprehension edukation)…

That means her son is in 1st grade (roughly), in case you got that nice Kalifornia public school math edukation…. 🙂

That’s kinda a long time to be thinking about High School at this point, and even a stretch to be worrying about Junior High, no? Things change, like the ‘hood environment, job situations, even personal likes/dislikes of hoods , kids likes/dislikes of hoods/school/hommies. Ya? Comprende? Ni dong bu dong?

Welcome to San Diego and in general Kalifornia! Hope our public eduKation don’t freak you out… I’m a product of it…

[Coronita]

Me thinks also the original poster left out the details if the prefers to be renting or buying off the bat… Big difference, ya?

Me personally would be recommending her to rent first, at least until her son gets older….for said reasons above +

1)her job situation might change to require less travel.

2)her son get’s older will need different needs in school, depending on how is son is progressing. If he’s doing fine in public school, different ballgame than if her son is doing horrible.

3)she might decide urban living isn’t cracked up as it use to be, especially in san diego versus say the beach.

4)she might *um* get remarried and have a larger fammily in the future, ya know in case she bumps into some that’s not such a prick.

5)public schools could get closed, at rate Gov. Brown wants to deal with our fiscal budget crisis (or not deal with it, depending on how you look at it)

6)Relatives/friends that she depends on may move, may change,etc….And the interaction with them and her growing boy moving forward is TBD….

[scaredyclassic]

Probably an urban mom who wants it all will dislike temecula, even though it’s what she probably really needs.

[Anonymous]

[quote=walterwhite]Probably an urban mom who wants it all will dislike temecula, even though it’s what she probably really needs.[/quote]

Anyone who describes themselves as ‘urban’ will probably find a reason not to like Temecula.

[Author]

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