What’s happening in Mira Mesa?

[mrquoi]

We are moving back to San Diego after selling our home in UTC a couple years ago. However, UTC still looks ridiculously overpriced, so we’re looking at Mira Mesa. (They’re basically the same vintage of crappy tract houses, anyhow, and the commute is better.)

Judging from the photos on Ziprealty, it looks like MM was overrun by flippers who put in granite countertops and a new lawn and are now trying to get out. Gotta love those photos with the squares of new, badly installed turf showing in the “vast, park-like lawn”.

I am curious if anyone with boots to the ground can say how things look out there? Lots of signeage? People talking about the bubble? The houses I’ve been watching seem to drop $5-$10K every couple weeks without selling. We’re renting for 6 months to a year, though buying in the late fall would be nice. Too soon?

[an]

I’ve been following Mira Mesa very closely for the last year and a half. It seems like price has dropped about 10-15% from a year ago. So to me, it’s still very early to be buying. The big ARM reset hasn’t really started yet. I would personally wait till after 2007 to start seriously looking to buy. I prefer Sorrento Valley over Mira Mesa. You might look there too if you’re looking at Mira Mesa.

[jrock]

I was looking at Mira Mesa quite a bit over the last six months. It seems quite clear that prices there have flattened and are starting to ebb. Like Clairemont, some of the neighborhoods are hit or miss; some nice little enclaves but a lot of properties that have not been kept up. In terms of price appreciation, Mira Mesa seems to lag somewhat. I was considering purchasing a home in west mira mesa for a good few months, but market conditions look to be deteriorating. I suppose in a 20 year time frame, a home purchase almost anywhere in SD would likely turn out well. But life moves too fast these days and I know very few people who can say where they will be in 3 years let alone 20. For myself, I decided to hold off on purchasing a home in SD. Right now, it just seems that the downside risk outweighs the upside potential.

[hs]

I have met a couple of realtors and they told me not to buy in Mira Mesa, especially if you have kids. Schools are not that great. They told me Scripps Ranch and Rancho Penesquito are better areas.

[Carlsbadliving]

I agree, just a few minutes north will put you in Penasquitos. Much nicer neighborhood with nowhere near the congestion of Mira Mesa. You’ll probably pay a little bit more but well worth it.

[an]

Of course Scripps Ranch and Rancho Penesquitos is better, but it’s also more expensive. It’s like saying you shouldn’t buy in Scripps Ranch/Rancho Penesquitos because Carmel Valley is better. There’s always a better place to live for more money. I grew up in Mira Mesa, went to MMHS. Yes, there were gangs and there were fights. However, I wasn’t any near that stuff, went to UCSD and now have a nice comfortable job. So, yes, you can spend more a live in better place w/ better school, go for it. But it’s not the end of the world either if you can only afford to live in Mira Mesa. I can name much worse places. If you raise your kids well, I think it would be better if your kids are top 10-50 from a pretty good school than being in the middle of the pack in a better school. You can shine much more. When applying to colleges, I doubt they put that much weight in the school you graduate from but more on what your GPA is and what your SAT score is.

[mrquoi]

Wow, such fast responses. We’re interested in the west end of MM for commuting reasons. Part of the reason for buying a cheaper place in Mira Mesa rather than Scripps Ranch or RP is that I can stay at home with my kids, which I think will affect their success in school more than anything. However–to me, anyhow– Mira Mesa schools on the west side do OK compared to Scripps Ranch. (I haven’t looked much at east MM.)

Here’s some API scores from 2005.

http://api.cde.ca.gov/APIBase2006/2005Base_Co.aspx?cSelect=37,San,Diego

The first # is the number of students, the second is API base, the third is statewide rank.

Sandburg Elementary 446 855 9
Ericson Elementary 537 873 9
Hickman Elementary 471 860 9
Mason Elementary 571 824 8

Miramar Ranch Elementary (Scripps Ranch) 540 876 9
Dingeman Elementary (Scripps Ranch) 527 930 10

Challenger Junior High Challenger Middle 1,098 807 9
Wangenheim (Scripps Ranch) 1,275 797 8

Mira Mesa Senior High 1,800 758 8
Scripps Ranch High 1,657 799 9

Gasp! A Realtor lying about schools! Not that they would try to steer you into a more expensive house by exploiting your parental guilt. But that would be evil since you could put the difference in house prices towards college tuition.

HOWEVER! Mira Mesa students have a *much* higher priority than Scripps Ranch, RP, Clairmont, UTC, etc. if they (or parents) decide they want to attend a magnet school or charter school. So, say my son turns out to be a lovely kid with a passion for science or the arts. He’d have a much better shot being from MM.

http://sandi.net/enrollmentoptions/magnet/enrollment_priority.html

High Tech schools (excellent charter schools) students are admitted through a zip code based lottery system.

http://www.hightechhigh.org/schools/

[an]

I completely agree with you mrquoi, and the numbers don’t lie. When I was in school, we always had problem getting money because we always rank near the top in test scores. I don’t know how it is now, but i’m sure it hasn’t changed much.

[powayseller]

asianautica said – When applying to colleges, I doubt they put that much weight in the school you graduate from but more on what your GPA is and what your SAT score is.

What matters is the environment. Mother at home, instead of working. Classmates who have mothers at home, so they are emotionally strong, value academics, pursue interests, have opportunities.

The higher test score schools attract the better teachers. More teachers apply to these schools, so the schools have their pick of staff.

Higher test score schools are a result of kids who come from “good” homes. Kids from educated parents are raised to value education. Since education is linked with income, you find that the higher test scores are in higher income areas. It’s not that poor people are less smart, but that their parents did not go to college, and are less likely to be support education for their kids, less likely to have caring parents, more likely to have a dysfunctional household.

My daughter, a student at Poway High, is surrounded by students who want to excel. It is cool to excel, do well in school. She tries to keep up with her friends: who can take the most honors and AP courses?

Is this the same way at Chula Vista High? National City High?

Again, the test scores are a measure of the types students that will surround your student. I care more that my daughter works hard and can solve problems, and be self reliant, than that she is the best student at her school. This is why we moved to Poway – for the environment of other like minded families.

Read The Millionare Next Door. Over 70% of them got Bs and Cs in college.

Going to Ivy League schools doesn’t increase your odds of having a happy marriage.

I think the mother at home in Mira Mesa is an example of what we should all strive for: kids and family are more important than status, and there is more to life than going to the “best” schools. These kids are going to be better off in the worst Mira Mesa schools, assuming mom at home spends time with her kids, than if she worked and they went to La Jolla Country Day.

[an]

powayseller, I somewhat agree and disagree with your post. I don’t think you need a parent to be home all day. You just need parents to be home at decent hours, i.e. not work-aholic. I agree that you need parents who teach their kids values and put importants in education.

I don’t know about Chula Vista High or National City Hight, but I know Mira Mesa High had good test scores. Like I said, we were among the top in SD school district. That’s why we always had problem with getting proper funding because they think we don’t need it.

I agree kids from educationed parents are raised to value education. However, I know many who try to excel in school even though their parents had very limited education. It might be due to us being 2nd generation immigrants. In Mira Mesa High, there were plenty of students who try to excel, and I hang around with them. We took as many Honor/AP classes as we could. We even took classes at JC. I had friends who end up going to Ivy Leagues and do well in college just like they did in HS.

So, my point is, nurture has a lot more impact than nature. Environment will help you achieve a little bit more, but how the parents raise their kids is much more important. Like you said, mom at home is better than mom working night and day.

[solman]

I live in Mira Mesa, have for over 6 years. Definitely the best bang for your buck in San Diego, in my opinion. Great retail, very convenient commute to Sorrento Valley, 4 exits on the 15 so plenty of options to avoid heavy traffic, etc. And it’s SO cheap compared to any other area, except perhaps Chula Vista.

My neighbors are the coolest. One invites us to all his July 4 and birthday parties. Everyone’s really down to earth.

That being said, the neighborhood is definitely in decline. There are Target shopping carts left on the side of the road every block or so. People park huge RVs on the street, and sometimes on their front lawn! One guy stucco’d his entire house lime sherbert green on Gold Coast Drive. I can’t stop laughing every time I drive by. I feel bad for his neighbors though. There are a large number of renters in the neighborhood. Every 6 months, I’ll see a street full of broken car windows, as the kids went crazy the night before. The list goes on and on.

So it’s time for us to move, unfortunately.

[davelj]

There is an important difference between correlation and causation. The only reason that higher test scores are correlated with stay-at-home mothers is that this condition tends to be associated with a husband that went to college, has a higher income and can afford to support the family as a single wage earner. Such families tend to value education. However, the issue of causation is NOT that the mother stays home but rather that there is an emphasis on education. In fact, when adjusting for the education of the parents alone, there is very little difference between the education of kids with working mothers and those with moms that stay at home. And, taking it a step further, when adjusting for parents that are actively involved in their kids’ education (through PTA, etc.), even the prior education of the parents drops off in importance. The critical issue of causation is: To what extent do the parents actually value education? (See first and second generation Asians in the US for a good example of this phenomenon.)

My parents got divorced when I was 8 and my brother was 9. She went to work full-time after the divorce. I didn’t see either of them very much growing up after that, but they valued education. My brother ultimately went to a top law school and I’ve got two graduate degrees. It’s anecdotal, but I really don’t think a mom’s staying at home has anything at all to do with success in education or life, for that matter, from a causation standpoint. And the data supports that. Although there is probably a correlation due to the reason stated above.

[powayseller]

I believe the causation is education of parents causes kids to do better in school. Mother at home causes kids to feel more secured and loved. Every kid beams when his mom comes to help in the classroom, goes on fieldtrips, picks him up from school. This is for the emotional nurturing. It’s important that people make the proper choice in a mate so they can give their kids a life with 2 parents under one roof. Having an intact home is not chance, it is a result of making healthy choices.

Studies show that children raise by moms, without a dad in the home, are much much more prone to problems with drugs, violence, dropping out of school. It’s a big social problem. I dug up all the studies once to send to a friend, who seemed to think her ex-husband was disposable to her kids.

I did not come from an intact home either , but my kids have it better than I did. They have both mom and dad, with mom being home for them. How much better can life be for a family?

davelj, I’m certain your mom was an excellent role model, and she raised you well and you felt loved by her. There are always exceptions.

[CardiffBaseball]

My wife teaches which basically pays the rent. She is at a small private school about a mile or two from my kids elementary school in Cardiff. I take them each day, and she picks them up.

Sure I’d love to have her ditch the job, but we frankly need to get out of debt. Given that we aren’t paying extra for before or after school care, I am fine with the arrangement. She can still get them to and from important activities (such as baseball), and if I need to I can work from home as long as it’s not abused (for instance, sick child).

[mrquoi]

Well, I’m back from a weekend in San Diego. I’m still formulating my philosophy as to what will make my kids turn out (hopefully) successful. Some combination of environment, peers, parenting, and the kid.

Anyhow there weren’t that many signs or open houses up in Mira Mesa except up and down Calle Cristobal. Encinitas on the other hand — there were a ton of signs along El Camino. A particularly large nest of realtor and FSBOs on El Camino and Manchester.

There are definitely dumpy parts of Mira Mesa — it’s sort of a street-by-street thing. But, since we’re planning to do an old-fashioned 20 percent down, 30-year fixed, it’s where we’re headed. Unless the market totally tanks and I can get a little beach shack across from Swamis for the same money 😉 But my data-deficient instinct says the really big cuts will be in places like San Elijo Hills, Temecula, Murrieta, Santee, etc rather than on the beach. We drove from LA down the 15 and they’ve got billboards for inland developments all over the place. I’ll make a count the next time I drive down.

[Author]

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