CA Pelicans: Tell me about Carlsbad, Oceanside and Encinitas..

[Vipergrün]

Ok, so I am not planning on moving back soon (at least a year), but am starting to look at target areas where I could start thinking about. I'd probably re-enter the UC system and finish out my retirement at UC San Diego.

What can you tell me about Carlsbad, Oceanside and Encinitas? They seem to have decent freeway access to UCSD. Housing seems "affordable", decent homes in the 700K range. Although, it appears homes are sitting and I'd expect prices to drop. I surfed quite a bit in this area as a kid, but that's been years......and years..

Would you avoid either of these areas? Crime worse in one vs. the other? Schools?

Thanks for your input. Feel free to contact me via PM if ya want.

[Mr_Wizard]

I do not have anything constuctive to answer your questions with, but I do have to say "GOD I MISS LIVING IN CALIFORNIA" Wife and I lived in Oceanside for a couple of years when I was in the Marine Corps. Bought my first Harley when I was stationed out there. Wished I would have owned my P-car when I lived there. I miss driving up and down PCH everyday. What a great view. Eastern NC is not bad, but pales in comparison to Southern California. I need to look at Hot Jobs or Monster!!!!!!

[motion]

Carlsbad and Encinitas are nice, Oceanside is a bit run-down and is considered to be a Marine town. I'd look at Carlsbad if I were you.

[JavaBrewer]

Ditto what Richard said. Stay away from Oceanside & Vista as they have active gangs with corresponding criminal activity. Also their schools continue to score at the bottom of the CA rankings. Carlsbad is a freshly expanded community with lots and lots of money spent in the last 5 or so years. Top schools and great local shopping. Encinitas still has the surf bum look and feel but around every corner are new shops and very expensive homes. Schools are equal to Carlsbad. Both areas are pretty tough to get around in during rush hour.

North County I-5 to UCSD will be rough in both directions. Some folks take the coast highway but other than affording views of the ocean the PITA commute is the same. If you have flexible hours then that might not be a problem. Sadly no car-pool lanes on I-5 North of Del-Mar - yet.

Carlsbad real estate is slightly less expensive than Encinitas. Of course that all depends on home style and proximity to the beach (West of I-5 = $1M entry).

[DByers]

Come on Brad, you know you want to be in SB!!!!

When is that green monster going to be done by the way?

[Vipergrün]

Originally posted by DByers
Come on Brad, you know you want to be in SB!!!!

When is that green monster going to be done by the way?

Dood, I wish I had held on to my Goleta house before moving to Ventura Unfortunately, unless things really tank, or my parents pass on, I'll never be able to afford it there, especially on a UC salary

The Fast Green Frog (tm) should be done soon. She looks awesome and Tyson has expressed his liking the light-weight and handling

[nostatic]

as a 3rd generation San Diegan, I dreamed of living in Cardiff or Leucadia. Even if I had the money I'm not sure I'd live there now (unless I didn't have to go anywhere). Traffic on the 5 is a nightmare if you have to commute. I know friends who live in Carlsbad and take the train down to USD (further south than UCSD) and that isn't a bad way to go. But by car? No thanks...

I think your housing price estimates are a bit low unless you want to look more inland. When we were looking 3 or 4 years ago anything within a few miles of I5 was close to a million.

[ZAMIRZ]

I live down in La Jolla right now and attend UCSD undergrad. I love it, don't need to go on about the advantages/disadvantages over L.A. since you're probably well aware of how much more laid back it is here.

I think Encinitas or Del Mar are probably your best bet, Osides and Carlsbad are a bit far for commuting to UCSD IMHO. If you can swing the cash, La Jolla IMHO is bar none the best place to live down here. Even with 2 roommates, I pay an arm and a leg for the 3-bedroom house we're living in, but I absolutely love it down here. The weather's awesome, there's no smog, the people are so laid back, and the cars...I see all the crazy Mercs down here (SLR, SL65, etc. on a daily basis), plenty of Porsches, Ferraris and the other day I even drove past a Bugatti Veyron just parked on the side of the street.

Night life is pretty good too on the weekends. There's lots of new-rich people down here so the clubs are usually poppin, there's always a drink-special somewhere, it's good times.

I can't say enough about school too, it's awesome. They're expanding and building left and right, in the next few years it's really going to come together. There's always parking on campus, people are so friendly, always ready to help, classes are easy to get and lots of pretty girls

Feel free to PM me if you have any specific questions Brad, it would be fun to see you down here man.

[Mr_Wizard]

Gotta love those California Girls too!!!!!

[Joe Bob]

My Dad and Brother live in the Del Mar area...the traffic sucks and is getting worse going south....

Oceanslime.....runaway....

Vista....yack....

Carlsbad is cool, but 700K? Where....hell, I'll move there....

BTW...I thought you LIKED CO? What changed your mind?

[Vipergrün]

Originally posted by mikez


BTW...I thought you LIKED CO? What changed your mind?

I do like it, just not as much as CA.... There are things in CA that just are not in many other places. Of course, there are things here too, which are not in CA. Wifey and I just do not know how many Winters we can go through, no grass, no leaves, no greenery, no flowers...... There are definate advantages here, though, schools, people, etc. Just have to see how it all weighs in in a couple of years....

[pbs911]

Brad,
Florida.
Your half way there.

[Vipergrün]

Originally posted by pbs911
Brad,
Florida.
Your half way there.

Hey Paul....we actually looked there, but I think we were jaded cuz we were looking in the Orlando area. Did not get a chance to check out some of the gulf coast areas. Where do you think you'll end up?

[JavaBrewer]

Originally posted by mikez
My Dad and Brother live in the Del Mar area...the traffic sucks and is getting worse going south....

Oceanslime.....runaway....

Vista....yack....

Carlsbad is cool, but 700K? Where....hell, I'll move there....

BTW...I thought you LIKED CO? What changed your mind?

I searched on realtor.com and came up with over a 70 single family home hits between 600 and 750K. Example find:

Carlsbad for $700K

Now granted it's not going to be a beach house, but you can find something newer, ~2500 sq/ft, 4 bdrm/2.5 bath, small yard for $700K easily. Just depends on what you classify as a "decent" house.

That same home might be a $650K house in 8-9 months...or it might still be a $700K house.

[pbs911]

Originally posted by bb80sc
Hey Paul....we actually looked there, but I think we were jaded cuz we were looking in the Orlando area. Did not get a chance to check out some of the gulf coast areas. Where do you think you'll end up?

On the south east coast, somewhere between Port St. Lucie and Pompano Beach. My first three months will be studying for the Bar exam in July so I am looking for someplace quiet. After that I'll look around for a couple motnhs until I find a place to buy. You simply can't find the quality of realestate in So Cal that you find in Florida. Sure there are hurricanes, hot humid weather, and big bugs, but it is a trade off.

[Vipergrün]

David, that was my exact search and I had the same results. I don't need a beach house, as long as the beach is within (short) driving distance The last time I drove to the beach it took me 18 hours in an RV

[JavaBrewer]

If/when you come looking you may want to drive through San Marcos. We're 5 minutes East of Carlsbad which means mostly clear skies vs. marine fog layer on coast, ocean breeze in the evenings. We're about +5-7F warmer in the summer than Carlsbad but still very reasonable - my home has no A/C. 15 minute drive to the coast on Palomar Airport Road. Ocean and Mountain views and about 15% cheaper real estate than Carlsbad - or equal price with larger lots.