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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
moving to san diego - advice on area
Looking into buying a home in oceanside. Is this a good neighbourhood? Looking for something on the higher end of middleclass, close to downtown, parks, beaches, good schools, community centres. Safe, Family and community neighbourhood a must.
Re: moving to san diego - advice on area
Oceanside is in North San Diego County and butts up to Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton.
You want to be near downtown San Diego? Oceanside is not the place you want to be.
Mission Hills. It is a very pedestrian friendly and safe area. Great restuarants and close to downtown, Hillcrest, Old Town and Little Italy. Historic homes can be found throughout the neighborhood and good schools.
Feel free to contact me if you have more questions.
Just make sure you check out the area you want to live in during the day and night... there are parts of Oceanside that are nicer than others. We chose to move from Oceanside to Carlsbad. It's still near everything, but crime rates are lower, and the area is cleaner. However, there were very nice places in Oceanside - clean, very homey... problem is we just couldn't afford those places.
Perks of oceanside is of course the location to the beach, if you are going to be going to CP, it is located near it. You are also less than an hour from downtown SD and an hour or so away from LA... it's a nice in between area.
Well Oceanside is a decent sized CITY of over 100,00 people. There are nice parts of Oside and there are some parts that you DO NOT want to go into. Oceanside has a major gang problem and they have had a few police officers shot and killed in the past few years. It has a large Marine population and a good sized Samoan population. Its about a 45 minute drive down to San Diego and about a 60 minute drive to Anaheim (Disneyland). LA is still going to be about a 90 minute drive to the north. There isnt a hospital in Oside--you will have to go south to Encinitas or head east to Vista or Escondido (if its a major trauma emergency). I have quite a few coworkers that live in Oside and they like the parts of the town that they live in but you do have to be very careful when you check out neighborhoods.
If you want to be closer to downtown San Diego--check out stuff in Point Loma. The old NTC site is now an area called Liberty Station--its a mixed use area of residential, military and commercial property. The only drawback to that area is that you do get airport noise--the airplanes take off right over Point Loma.
Check out news stories about Oceanside and the rest of north San Diego County at www.nctimes.com. Its our local paper and it will give you an idea of stuff that goes on in this part of the county---festivals, news about the school districts, city improvements, etc.
Thanks ladies for the advice. Someone told me Encinitas was the place to be and I thought that was oceanside. Im starting to think it's not what Im looking for.
Maybe I can rephrase my question: what is the best middleclass neighbourhood, near downtown, close to beaches and parks and a good family neighbourhood? We also have 2 dogs so dog friendly parks and hiking in the neighbourhood would be good. We're planning a trip out to get a better idea, but it'd be nice to know what neighbourhood to look in. I think we want to be in the heart of San Diego.
Mission Hill sounds nice pricey.
Thanks again for all advice
Hillcrest might fit what you are looking for. Its got a mix of young couples, families and single people. It does have restaurants and bars within walking distance and it has a lively gay scene. It is within walking distance to Balboa park. The only bad thing about Hillcrest is that parking can suck at times---if you rent, you might not have a place that has parking and then you have to park on the street. Most of the higher end places do provide parking but it is something to check into if you have 2 cars.
San Diego is a dog friendly city but it can still be difficult to find places that will rent to people with pets---we have a cat and it was a pain finding a pet friendly place.
If you are looking to buy a place immediately, you might be able to find a good deal on a place in downtown or little italy. There are a ton of townhomes/flats that were built during the housing boom and now they have been reduced in price and are semi affordable.
There are some nice places in downtown San Diego (lofts, etc) but parts of downtown are still a bit sketchy. One of my good friends got sick of being robbed whenever he would walk home from work so they moved back up to Escondido---he was walking home at odd hours and they lived towards the bad part of downtown so as long as you arent running around at 1am you shouldnt have any issues.
You might want to consider looking for a place to live based on where you would be working. The commute out here sucks and public transportation is horrible. I work 16 miles away from my house and my drive home takes almost an hour!
Some other areas that may be a good fit:
San Carlos - It is near San Diego State University, a little east but very close to Mission Valley and Downtown, family friendly, close to Lake Murray and Cowles Mountain.
Kengsington or Talmadge are also great areas, a little less than Mission Hills but close to that range. Great restaurants and family vibe. My friend lives in Kensignton and there are always block parties and community events going on.
Allied Gardens/Del Cerro area might also fit the bill. Again, close to San Diego State and Mission Valley, but very cute old historic houses and good schools. I rented a 3-bedroom house when I was a graduate student in the area for about $1700/month (with landscaping) and often saw people walking their dogs, kids riding bikes, etc. in the neighborhood.
The closer you get to downtown, the more "urban/city" and less community-feel is what you'll start to find. Other areas to look into:
La Mesa, Point Loma (pricey!), University City (closer to La Jolla, but still feasible to downtown), Del Mar/Encinitas/Cardiff (pricier and up the coast, but again, still reasonable to downtown). Inland and more mid-north county range (30-40 minutes to Downtown) I'd look at Poway, Rancho Bernardo, or Rancho Penasquitos. Those cities have much more of what you've listed -- again, the further from downtown, the more kid-friendly/community/parks/lakes/etc. you'll find!
If you want to be near downtown I'd look at Hillcrest or Cortez Hill...you are close to Coronado beach (and a few others). I'm in Cortez Hill and I swear everyone owns dogs downtown. There is a great dog park in Balboa Park (24 hour off-leash) which is in between Hillcrest & Cortez Hill.
You will find a lot of nice condos in these areas. And I feel really safe there. Plus lots of cute restaurants & stuff.
Are you still looking to move to the SD area? I am a realtor with Coldwell Banker and would love to help. Email me for any advice or concerns, talia@coldwellbanker.com
Hope to speak with you soon. You'll love SD!