Empty nesters- which neighborhood is the best? (Oceanside, Escondido: wood floors, apartment)

[dhr]

We are moving from the midwest, to begin a new job. We are over 50, empty nesters so we dont need the large house or the school system. We dont want to live downtown but open to every where else. We love golf, tennis, hiking. Any suggestions?

[lrmsd]

Where's the job? What's the budget? Buying or renting? Condo/upscale complex or house or apartment?
Need details to provide the best recommendations for you.
Golf, hiking and tennis are pretty readily available in much of SD-especially north county. Also, do you prefer suburban or more urban walkable with older homes with character?

Do you need/want to be closer to the coast, or several miles inland [which gets hotter in the summer than coastal <5 miles inland...?

Empty nesters in your age group, with your interests, live throughout the city. Many good choices...
Also, 'downtown' in SD is kind of a misnomer. There is a downtown, but only recently gentrified. It's been mainly clubs, a few tourist restaurants and tourists. There's a little new housing-condo/highrise, but not much. It's not the epicenter for anything in SD. SD is more of a spread out series of suburbs and/or cities.

Possible areas of interest, to get the ball rolling:
Elfin forest/Escondido area
Encinitas
Carlsbad
Solana Beach
Del Mar
La Jolla
UTC
Carmel Valley
Mission Hills
La Mesa/Mt Helix
Kensington

Some of the areas you may be interested in, may also happen to have good schools and be good family areas, as well as good areas for your demographic [such as Carmel Valley and Carlsbad]. Just a crossover coincidence. (:

Areas probably best to avoid:
Pacific Beach/PB
Ocean Beach/OB
Mission Beach/MB
National City
Imperial Beach
Oceanside
Vista [hit or miss]
Point Loma [includes some nice areas, but probably not what you're looking for].

Places like Scripp's Ranch, Poway, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Penasquitoes, Carmel Mtn. Ranch and Tierrasanta definitely suit your lifestyle needs and have some of your demographic living there. But they may be too 'suburban' for your taste. You'll have to research, look at google images, see what kind of amenities are nearby, etc. to get an idea.

[dhr]

We would prefer urban walking life style, old houses are great but do need 3 bedrooms. Our price range is up toe $800,000. We liked the Kensington area, but wondered if Escondido and Encinitas was too far north. will be working near scripis ranch area. are there newcomer groups to join?

[lrmsd]

Also, you'll find rentals for the 'over 55 complexes' in SD. Many of them are single unit dwellings, or share only the garage wall with neighborring garage. The rates are a little less, and certainly there are many active folks living there.

Side note: Resort living is a year round lifestyle option here in SD-so there are many condos and luxury complexes with upscale amenities such as pool, tennis courts, hot tub, outdoor bbq area for residents, etc. There are many where I live in Carmel Valley, though you can find them throughout SD. Then, you play tennis for free anytime you like. Famed Torrey Pines golf course is a few miles from CV.

Poway and Escondido also have nice courses. I'm sure others will chime in with good suggestions.

[lrmsd]

Ah, okay. I will leave my other post for future researchers, however.

Well, Kensington to SR on the 15N would go against traffic, for the most part. Not a terrible choice. [Unless I am mistaken adn traffic to MM makes the 15N tough like the 805N. I'm not positive on that.] You are right, Encinitas would be farther, though only a small part of the 5S would be congested commute wise-the 56E would be a breeze in the morning [reverse commute]. Coming home it's also somewhat reverse o nthe 56.

You might want to look in Carmel Valley anyway. Sometimes 'going native' [lol] is the way to go when moving to so cal, as far as lifestyle/architecture, etc., because it will give you more/most of your desires. For that matter, Scripp's Ranch is quite nice, too. There are actually some great restaurants in the area, though it's not walkable, as you probably know.

CV is walkable for many of its neigborhoods; the del mar highlands plaza is full of shops, restaurants, movie theater, local health store, large grocery store, pharmacy, banks, etc. And there are plenty of parks, trails and some tennis courts. It's very centrally located which is one of its great aspects-just off the 5/805/56-easy to go north, south or east. You'll find homes around 800k-b/c they are mainly newer (from the last 20-30 years mostly), they usually have 4 bedrooms, definitely at least 3. Also, some people have remodeled to include some older home characteristics like wood floors. Worth looking to see...

I do think Kensington is probably the best fit for older homes but commuting to SR, with your budget and 3 bedroom needs (though this might be tough for 800k there). Be aware that realtors sometimes list something as 'south kensington' or even kensington flat out, when it's really city heights! This is a huge difference. [You might get excited about the pricing, for example]. Basically, anything south of Adams is in city heights-even though there's been some gentrification and others may have a fondness for it b/c they live there, it's best to stick north of adams ave for the true Kensington experience.

Good luck and I'm sure other posters will add good suggestions and advice....

[kettlepot]

While the best Kensington experience is north of Adams, much of Kensington south of Adams is quite nice. It does get a bit block-by-block but it is fine.

You could also look at eastern Normal Heights for quick access to I-15 and Scripps Ranch. In this case you would need to stay north of Adams.

Additionally, you could look at Talmadge for an older, walkable neighborhood.

Another favorite of mine is University Heights, particularly west of Park Boulevard. In that case you could quickly get onto SR 163 north and either travel east on 8 and north on 15, or stick to 163 north until it merges with 15.

[dhr]

Thanks for all the information. What about Mission Hills?

[bloom]

I put some very brief comments on MH in today's other active thread. I don't think there is a downside at all to MH, if budget allows.