Rent vs. buy in SD – and where?…

[jonze170]

I’ve been following the forums for several months now – great stuff. I’ve been transferred from SC to San Diego, CA. Following closing on my current home in SC, I’ll have approx $400,000 available for the purchase of a new home in SD – (of course I’d prefer to save a chunk of that instead of pouring it all into a home). Based on what I’ve read here and in other places, I’m prepared to rent for at least the next year before jumping back in and buying. I’ve got small kids (3 and 5) so I’ve got to rent in an area with good schools. Powayseller – sounds like you are happy in the North County inland area of Poway – I’ve heard the schools are good there. I’m hoping to get into something in that area, but it appears that rents are going up. Months ago $1/sq foot seemed very available, but that seems to have shifted a bit. How did you find your current rental? Additionally, are you familiar with other areas (4S ranch, Point Loma, etc.)?… Thanks for the guidance all – if just a fraction of what I believe is correct, renting for near term is the way to go. On another note – I drove through 4s on Saturday – for sale signs everywhere!

[BostonAndOC_RE_perspective]

Jonze,
Go and check out the Poway shools – visually. Excellent stats and reputation, but visit the prospective campuses your children will attend. You will see horrible overcrowding. No one in SD will vote for any sort of bond measure that can help build new schools. The legacy of prop 13 is that CA public schools are overcrowded and underfunded.

You might want to check out private schools.

[zk]

Jonze,

It’s a bit more expensive, but check out Carmel Valley (it’s within San Diego city limits, zip 92130). The schools are the best in the San Diego area, and among the best in the state. It’s also cooler in the summer, close to the beach, and not too far from downtown (about the same from downtown as Poway).

[powayseller]

We moved to Poway for the schools, as do most parents. You can also find good schools in LaJolla and other coastal cities (google San Diego API or SAT), but we couldn’t afford to buy a house there. You also have to deal with overcast and cold weather if you live near the beach.

Some parents do choose private schools, but plenty of rich families send their kids to the public schools. We have a Montessori preschool, so there’s something also for the little one.

Poway residents passed Proposition U, a $200 million bond measure to update our aging schools, a couple years ago, and all 3 of my kids’ schools are currently being remodeled. It’s about time. The schools are crowded; we have about 30-50% more students at each school than they were built to handle. I don’t know if this is unique to Poway, though.

We found our rental by checking the San Diego Union Tribune, craiglist, and getting MLS for-rent listings from our realtor. In December, there were many options, and rents were a little over $1/sq ft.

4S Ranch has very small yards, and the houses are too close for my liking. But many families do like the area, and I checked some rentals there.

Powy is the City in the Country, with horse property sprinkled throughout. Built up by mid-1980’s, the city has more open space acres than any other city in the County. I can’t remember the exact numbers now, but I think Poway has 13,000 preserved acres, while the other 18 cities in the County have only 20,000 acres. Because they do not allow developers in Poway, the city has remained stagnant in size, and traffic is not a problem. The only construction going on is infill type of stuff.

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