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We're back in San Diego for another scouting trip, leaving Saturday morning. We're going to drive around the La Mesa, Mt Helix, Tierrasanta, Scripps Ranch north-south loop, with a few detours east-west in some areas like around SDSU.
I'll report back later tomorrow with my updated feedback.
EDIT: We're also visiting places (again) like Del Cerro, Mira Mesa, Sierra Mesa, Lake Murray area, Fletcher Hills, etc.
Last edited by BilboTBagginz; 06-15-2021 at 07:55 PM..
We're back in San Diego for another scouting trip, leaving Saturday morning. We're going to drive around the La Mesa, Mt Helix, Tierrasanta, Scripps Ranch north-south loop, with a few detours east-west in some areas like around SDSU.
I'll report back later tomorrow with my updated feedback.
EDIT: We're also visiting places (again) like Del Cerro, Mira Mesa, Sierra Mesa, Lake Murray area, Fletcher Hills, etc.
Those are all great areas. FYI it’s Serra Mesa, not Sierra Mesa, but I’ll chalk that up to auto spell. I’m curious to to find out what you think about each. Have fun.
Those are all great areas. FYI it’s Serra Mesa, not Sierra Mesa, but I’ll chalk that up to auto spell.
I reserve the right to take full credit for that one. 50% chance it was auto-correct, 50% chance it was me not double checking what I typed.
The difference in this trip vs last 2 trips was that we had a general idea of where we wanted to look, but no specifics. It was a wide blast radius, and I didn't understand the nuances of the areas we drove through. Sometimes, I thought I was in one area based on what Redfin was telling me (Spoiler alert: Redfin gets it wrong most of the time), when I was actually in neighboring area. Unfortunately, you can't discern that when following driving directions on Google maps.
This time, I've got a printed map of the different areas and I kept a notes document from all of my trips up until now and a spreadsheet of the different houses for sale/sold that we like and are driving by today. We also have the specific area highlighted so we know exactly where we are.
Another difference is we're keeping tomorrow open for any areas that we want to double back on or other places we may want to at least drive by but aren't on our list for today.
I'll post my thoughts later tonight after we get back and I get everything documented.
I reserve the right to take full credit for that one. 50% chance it was auto-correct, 50% chance it was me not double checking what I typed.
The difference in this trip vs last 2 trips was that we had a general idea of where we wanted to look, but no specifics. It was a wide blast radius, and I didn't understand the nuances of the areas we drove through. Sometimes, I thought I was in one area based on what Redfin was telling me (Spoiler alert: Redfin gets it wrong most of the time), when I was actually in neighboring area. Unfortunately, you can't discern that when following driving directions on Google maps.
This time, I've got a printed map of the different areas and I kept a notes document from all of my trips up until now and a spreadsheet of the different houses for sale/sold that we like and are driving by today. We also have the specific area highlighted so we know exactly where we are.
Another difference is we're keeping tomorrow open for any areas that we want to double back on or other places we may want to at least drive by but aren't on our list for today.
I'll post my thoughts later tonight after we get back and I get everything documented.
If you think Redfin gets areas wrong, wait until you meet some home sellers and realtors? North Park keeps getting “bigger” as it magically annexed parts of City Heights.
I’ll give you a lot of credit for doing all your due diligence on learning about the different areas of the county before choosing a place, most don’t. I grew up here, but learned a lot while house hunting a few years ago. I didn’t want to leave any area off the table, and discovered places I’ve never really been to were much nicer (or just different) than their reputation.
When you’re done with all this you’ll probably know more about a wide range of areas than most residents of the County. A lot of people, especially transplants, perpetuate old stereotypes from hearsay, and/or know it all about a place from what they see from the freeway or major surface streets without ever really getting into the neighborhoods.
When you’re done with all this you’ll probably know more about a wide range of areas than most residents of the County. A lot of people, especially transplants, perpetuate old stereotypes from hearsay, and/or know it all about a place from what they see from the freeway or major surface streets without ever really getting into the neighborhoods.
Ain't that the truth! I know folks that were born here, lived here, and died here, and have NEVER been to Julian or Palomar Mtn! (But, they've been to Munich/Salzburg and Japan/New Zealand.) Go figure! Been all over the world, but never in their own backyard.
Now, to the OP~
Have you looked at Vista for your criteria? There are properties that "fill your bill" so to speak. Go into the more rural areas of Vista. You'll still be a 5 minute drive to downtown for a craft beer. A quarter acre of flat land would work for your dogs.
If you think Redfin gets areas wrong, wait until you meet some home sellers and realtors? North Park keeps getting “bigger” as it magically annexed parts of City Heights.
I’ll give you a lot of credit for doing all your due diligence on learning about the different areas of the county before choosing a place, most don’t. I grew up here, but learned a lot while house hunting a few years ago. I didn’t want to leave any area off the table, and discovered places I’ve never really been to were much nicer (or just different) than their reputation.
When you’re done with all this you’ll probably know more about a wide range of areas than most residents of the County. A lot of people, especially transplants, perpetuate old stereotypes from hearsay, and/or know it all about a place from what they see from the freeway or major surface streets without ever really getting into the neighborhoods.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NORTY FLATZ
Ain't that the truth! I know folks that were born here, lived here, and died here, and have NEVER been to Julian or Palomar Mtn! (But, they've been to Munich/Salzburg and Japan/New Zealand.) Go figure! Been all over the world, but never in their own backyard.
Now, to the OP~
Have you looked at Vista for your criteria? There are properties that "fill your bill" so to speak. Go into the more rural areas of Vista. You'll still be a 5 minute drive to downtown for a craft beer. A quarter acre of flat land would work for your dogs.
It's been a long day of driving. I know I promised an in depth update tonight ..which may still come later..but right now my wife an I are discussing everything we saw today and collecting our thoughts.
Norty: We're not trying to base our decision totally on the dogs, only because they're big dogs/shorter lifespan/they're already 8 years old. Hopefully that doesn't sound morbid. We love our dogs, but we know they're prone to a shorter lifespan than smaller dogs (although the Akita has had two surgeries and he could be considered bionic at this point). The reality is...the dogs will probably pass at some point while we're here and we're ok with making concessions to get them the exercise they need, vs buying a house that we only decided to buy because of them...if that makes sense.
Looking back on my notes, I did check out Vista previously. I noted it as hit and miss, but honestly..in my price range...that's all of SD county.
We really liked Helix...but no walkability and the hills/elevations would be a challenge. We LOVE the unique houses though.
Certain areas of La Mesa were nice...I'll clarify that when I collect my notes tonight or tomorrow. All of La Mesa is not the same.
There was one area, higher up in Rancho Penasquitos that was nice...but the drive through the the areas BEFORE we got there were...OK...not great..not bad. Unfortunately, I feel like a lot of those nicer areas are out of our price range, or will be when we're ready to buy.
I have a ton of written notes, but they're up in the hotel room and we're outside relaxing after driving around for 6 hours. We're gonna spend tomorrow looking at any areas we feel need a second look.
I will say that we do like the La Mesa/Helix area and the proximity to the highway and ease of access to downtown/beaches if we choose to go there.
We're staying in Rancho Bernardo right now because we get a really good travel agent rate....but this place feels and looks like this is where people well off come to retire. Golf...golf...golf...everywhere. Nothing wrong with that at all. Me personally, I don't want a house bordering a golf course with random people in my vision every day. I can see where some people would like/love that. That's just not us. Rancho Bernardo is nice though...can't deny that. We did go south towards Poway and you could tell that there was a slight difference in income/upkeep. Still, not a bad area....but we're not golfers and it didn't appeal to us.
Again, I have a bunch of notes up in my hotel room so once we get back there I'll update the thread.
I've heard Fletcher Hills is worth checking out, so any suggestions/comments on that area are appreciated.
Rereading your first post and prices have ballooned here. Even Clairemont is over 800K for a SFH. Are you opposed to something inland like Ramona? I haven't reread the entire thread. If price is a concern please know things have went psycho this last year anywhere near the beach, as in 30 miles from it.
Rereading your first post and prices have ballooned here. Even Clairemont is over 800K for a SFH. Are you opposed to something inland like Ramona? I haven't reread the entire thread. If price is a concern please know things have went psycho this last year anywhere near the beach, as in 30 miles from it.
Yeah, I've been following the price trends religiously. Like, I'm probably more in tune with SD county than anywhere else right now. I'm not gonna lie...my wife was a little discouraged after our tour yesterday, and I'd be lying if I said that I don't have a fear that the rising prices will put us in the "well, we settled for this because we couldn't afford anything else". I really don't want to do that. I'd rather rent...but there's a risk with that too.
Ramona is actually somewhere that I hadn't considered because it's too far inland for us temperature wise and is missing other check boxes that are important to us. When I first started looking seriously at SD back in 2019 when I was living in the Bay Area, I found a ton of houses in Temecula and Murrieta that we liked. But, once I started doing due diligence, I realized that we'd be sacrificing the things most important to us. It just didn't make sense to spend all this money (WAY more money than I ever thought I would EVER consider for a home) and not have your most important boxes checked". Don't get me wrong, we know we'll have to sacrifice and compromise on a lot of things, but if I feel like I could get Ramona/Temecula/Murrieta in another state for far less money.
We're staying in Rancho Bernardo right now because we get a really good travel agent rate....but this place feels and looks like this is where people well off come to retire. Golf...golf...golf...everywhere. Nothing wrong with that at all. Me personally, I don't want a house bordering a golf course with random people in my vision every day. I can see where some people would like/love that. That's just not us. Rancho Bernardo is nice though...can't deny that. We did go south towards Poway and you could tell that there was a slight difference in income/upkeep. Still, not a bad area....but we're not golfers and it didn't appeal to us.
. . .
Besides not being golfers, there's s another good reason to beware of homes near golf courses. San Diego has too many golf courses. And when they go out of business, developers buy them and try to cram in too many housing units. So that devalues the neighborhood and worsens traffic and water availability.
We're staying in Rancho Bernardo right now because we get a really good travel agent rate....but this place feels and looks like this is where people well off come to retire. Golf...golf...golf...everywhere. Nothing wrong with that at all. Me personally, I don't want a house bordering a golf course with random people in my vision every day. I can see where some people would like/love that. That's just not us. Rancho Bernardo is nice though...can't deny that. We did go south towards Poway and you could tell that there was a slight difference in income/upkeep. Still, not a bad area....but we're not golfers and it didn't appeal to us.
. . .
Besides not being golfers, there's s another good reason to beware of homes near golf courses. San Diego has too many golf courses. And when they go out of business, developers buy them and try to cram in too many housing units. So that devalues the neighborhood and worsens traffic and water availability.
That's a fair point. There does seem to be a ton of golf courses here. I get it though. All my close friends golf, so they would love it. I always said I'd try it when they made it a contact sport.
I know I promised an update last night but by the time the wife and I finished talking about the day, getting depressed, feeling defeated because of the prices and narrowing down the area we liked, it was bed time. My body clock is still 3 hours ahead apparently.
So, a few things that I want to say before we head out for another few hours of driving around. Forgive me if I'm repeating myself:
Pictures lie. They are always over saturated and taken at angles to hide flaws. Very few houses on our list presented themselves like they did online.
There are some areas where houses aren't in the best of shape, but the neighborhood seemed ok for the most part. If there was an abundance of half put together cars in driveways or cars sitting on bricks, that's a NO for me. It doesn't mean that these people are horrible, it just means that I wouldn't buy a house there. I know maintenance can be a thing that gradually creeps up on you. You might not think about fixing the wood around the garage door because it's not a priority..unless you're ready to sell.
I'm working with small sample sizes. We're picking houses that are somewhat in our budget (for now) that are for sale or sold recently. Obviously, we're missing a lot so my take on areas will not be totally accurate.
I now have a better understanding of most of the areas we're interested in. We're actually headed out shortly to take a quick look around the La Mesa area. Some of my previous observations may have been inaccurate pertaining to the area of the county I THOUGHT I was in. Having said that, SD county is like a lot of similar places that I've visited or lived in, especially the Bay Area. You drive through a sketchy neighborhood, and on the other side there might be a nice neighborhood that pops out of nowhere. Some areas are more consistently "nicer" than others for sure. Even some of the areas that people would probably look down on, aren't THAT bad. I've seen and lived in MUCH WORSE. Desirable for me? No, but keeping everything in perspective, it could be worse (that doesn't mean those areas shouldn't strive to be better...they absolutely should).
I won't focus on the areas we won't consider. The areas we did absolutely love were Mt Helix (ugh, the hills and crazy driveways are a problem for sure), and the San Carlos/La Mesa/Fletcher Hills area. We did like a neighborhood in Rancho Penasquitos but it was "in the hills" and we were just kinda "meh" about the area until we got up in the hilly area. Not because it wasn't nice, but because the houses were mostly cookie cutter. We hate cookie cutter neighborhoods. Hate em. Hate em! We just like homes that have a bit of uniqueness and character. We also realize a lot of those cookie cutter houses may look totally different inside, but for us the outside is just as important. Also, a lot of the areas we looked at didn't have any sort of back yard, which for us would be difficult with the dogs. Some of the areas we drove through were nice, but we crossed them off our list because they didn't have 2 car garages. I know most people in SD use their garage for storage, but we actually need to park 2 cars inside and that's one thing that we won't compromise on. Also, some areas were nice, but WAY too busy. We took those off our list.
If anyone has any other suggestions, please throw them my way. We're here for another day (moving closer to downtown to hang out there for a day) and then we're flying to the Bay Area on Saturday morning to visit a friend.
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