Moving to San Diego

[KliersLC]

Hi Folks,

We will be moving to the area around the middle of April and I had a couple questions for the group.

Background: I spent 2001-2004 stationed at Pendleton and am a native Californian(Mendocino County) Been stationed in NOVA living at Quantico and working in Arlington--30 mile commute on 95--easy hour each way on a good day.

I will be stationed at Miramar and probably initially live on base or in housing off of Santo Road. We have 5 kids and a dog and the military housing usually isn't big enough for us, so we may be looking to buy a house. We can't afford anything that is big enough and not in a scuzzy neighborhood in close, so I was looking at Poway, Santee, southern Escondido, El Cajon and Spring valley.

Watching the Traffic cams seems to eliminate spring valley and it seems like Escondido has the nicest/biggest houses for the money.

On to the questions.

I have heard that the 15 south commute is less congested than a few years ago. True? The traffic cams seem to support this as everything is always green south of the 78 till past Miramar, but I wondered if anybody drives that regularly.

Also, is the afternoon commute any worse? With the time difference I am putting kids to bed during rush hour, so I haven't had a chance to check the traffic cams in the afternoon.

Any other suggestions on places to live that are affordable and not too far out?

Anyhow, I am looking forward to returning to the PRK, and hopefully will be able to make some of the LC events.

Thanks!


Dan

 

[80BajaBound]

Hey Dan-
First, I'd like to thank you for your service. Thank you!

I live in east Escondido and used to drive down south to my old gym. I can't speak on the morning commute but the evening commute isn't too bad. The only bad spot I foresee you hitting is the scrips ranch / Poway rd area. The freeway looses a lane and creates a bottleneck. Once you're through that, it's generally smooth sailing.

I personally think your on the right track with Escondido. There are some nice pockets within it and you can get a lot of house for your money. The schools are rated pretty high, some a lot better than others. I came from the coast 3 months ago to get a yard and extra space and sunshine. So far so good.

 

[TLC76]

They just finished a big project on the 15 that added carpool lanes all the way up to the 78, so that has helped congestion some. My experience heading south in the morning has been that the big delay is getting onto the freeway, once on it's not normally too bad.

I just moved from south Poway to north Poway, got a crappy house in a nicer area.

 

[sdnative]

Welcome back Dan!

I would stay away from El Cajon and Spring Valley, especially if you have kids (drugs and gangs).

Parts of Escondido are nice, but IIRC the traffic on the 15 is south in the morning and north in the evening. Depends on your shifts I guess.

Santee isn't bad, as long as you have a bit of redneck in you . You can get a good sized house and the drive up and over the 52 isn't bad.

If you don't mind a longer commute, you can get a good sized house on a large lot in Ramona or out the 8 toward Lakeside / Alpine or even further south toward Jamul.

 

[landcruising]

Santee is not bad, low crime, 2nd or 3 rd best elemetary schools, but the Sr 52 has some slow downs. Mainly a RV and boat working class town that has very little diversity. Parts of Escondido are really bad and others are really nice. Did you consider Clairmont at all? It is an older area but close to Miramar. I will agree that the 15 bottle necks just north and south Miramar. I drive it daily and live just east of it in Scripps Ranch. A lot of Military family's live near by.

 

[KliersLC]

Thanks for the replies folks.

Trafficland shows the 52 slowing down significantly every day at 7, but I should be through there before that. At this point the traffic in SD seems to start later than in NOVA--less gov/military I suppose. This makes the afternoon commute the biggest issue. I'll keep an eye out on the traffic cams and see what I come up with.

I think that 20 miles or so is my max right now. Having spent the last 3 years commuting has kind of soured me on it and I want to be able to go home for lunch.

So, it looks like the list has narrowed to Santee, Poway, and Escondido. (If nothing closer in presents itself--clairmont looked good, but was spendy for the size of house I need.)

Thanks again!

 

[car-car]

Hey Dan-
First, I'd like to thank you for your service. Thank you!

I live in east Escondido and used to drive down south to my old gym. I can't speak on the morning commute but the evening commute isn't too bad. The only bad spot I foresee you hitting is the scrips ranch / Poway rd area. The freeway looses a lane and creates a bottleneck. Once you're through that, it's generally smooth sailing.

I personally think your on the right track with Escondido. There are some nice pockets within it and you can get a lot of house for your money. The schools are rated pretty high, some a lot better than others. I came from the coast 3 months ago to get a yard and extra space and sunshine. So far so good.

Dan, welcome back. Like Mike, I'm also in east Escondido and we like it here. There are some parts of central Escondido I would definately avoid, but South and East Escondido have some really nice areas (as does North Escondido where I grew up, but that might be stretching it for your commute). Some schools in Escondido are great, others are not.

I can't really contribute much to your question on the commute south to Miramar, as my office is in Carlsbad. I think a lot of it depends on the timing when you have to be at work too.

Feel free to PM me if you want more details on the specific areas within Escondido you might be looking at. I was born and raised here, and still live here, so I know it pretty well.

Regards,
Adam

 

[cryoguy6075]

Hey Dan,
Congrats on getting to Miramar... I spent about 2 years there and total of almost 13 years on the west coast. My wife is a school teacher in Murrieta(I got stuck in Yuma). I was going to offer a suggestion. There is a guy Mr. Hackett that runs the car pool program on base. Basically the state gives you vouchers to pay for the van plus gas (saves you a ton of money). You ride with other Military members to and from work so you can take advantage of the car pool lanes without paying. Also there is less wear and tear on your own ride. Plus you get A LOT more home for your money up there, and the schools there in Temecula/Murrieta are rated top in the nation. The crime is very low too. If you would like more information let me know and I can get you his email. Good luck at your new duty station!

 

[TemeculaTim]

Dan,

I commute from Temecula to Rancho Bernardo. The recent road work in Escondido has really improved the commuting times. If you get into the carpool lanes you can scoot all the way to MCAS Miramar very quickly.

My average time into work is about 30-40 minutes once I get on the 15 in Temecula- the key is getting an early start. Traffic heading home is a little heavier- but it is worth the drive north. Temecula\Murrietta is a nice area and there are great deals on houses at this time.

Plus your closer to the desert and mountains

 

[devildogcruiser25]

Hey Dan, Glad to see that there will be another cruiser lover on Miramar! I live in base housing right now and no way is there room for 5 kids. We have some friends that live in Santee, traffic isn't terrible, but going anywhere in SoCal during rush hour isn't fun. Let me know when you get to town so we can do some runs!

Jon

 

[KliersLC]

Thanks again guys. I tried the commute from Temecula to Pendleton a few times and wasn't real thrilled with it. Plus the NOVA commute has me burned out. I don't mind driving, but the camry isn't coming with us, so the shorter commute the better. I think even Escondido would rate a beater commuter car....

Talked it over with the wife and the military housing office has a ~2000 square four 4 br (just a bit smaller than what we are in now). I think we'll end up taking that and then moving in 6 months or so if we find that it isn't working for us.

 

[mobi-arc]

What size house are you focusing on and what's your budget?

 

[KliersLC]

Looking for 4+ bedrooms, 2300+ sq.ft, 2 car garage, pool is a plus, but not required, within 20 min of Miramar. Budget is 400k--maybe a little bit more for a house with a short commute--less for a longer commute.

 

[TLC76]

Realtor.com has a pretty handy search tool, you can search by neighborhood/city etc, SF, bedrooms, baths, price, all that good stuff.

 

[80BajaBound]

Looking for 4+ bedrooms, 2300+ sq.ft, 2 car garage, pool is a plus, but not required, within 20 min of Miramar. Budget is 400k--maybe a little bit more for a house with a short commute--less for a longer commute.

My best friend just bought a 4 bedroom house in the mt helix area. It's on just over an acre, sloped, with a pool. He paid in the mid 400s. He and his wife seem to really like the area. I know nothing about the schools or area. Just another suggestion that came to mind.

 

[SDTLC80]

Hey Dan, you know us military people we just learn to adapt and overcome. LOL... Good luck and let us know when you arrive.

 

[SkyHunter]

Hi Dan,

I live in Tierrasanta (next to the Murphy Canyon Housing) and work in Rancho Bernardo. Distance is about 16 miles each way on the I-15. I can get to work in about 20 minutes in the morning and get home in about 25 minutes in the early evening. That includes traffic lights at both ends. Southbound I-15 in the evening generally backs up from Clairemont Mesa Blvd to the I-8. Luckily I get off the freeway at Clairemont Mesa Blvd. You will probably hit more traffic from the I-15 offramp to the base through Mira Mesa. Tierrasanta/Murphy Canyon is very kid friendly and many military families live in Tierrasanta proper. Elementary schools are great, Middle schools are pretty good and the HS is like most SD Unified high schools: poor scores so you have to keep your kids on track... The Poway School District is supposed to be great. That includes Poway, Carmel Ranch, Rancho Penasquitos and Rancho Bernardo.

Good luck,
Steve

 

[OyajiJon]

I just got orders back to SOCAL and purchased a home in San Marcos (next to Escondido). There are lots of good deals to be had on many homes built in the late '90s/early 2000s. If you need an agent, I can recommend one as she just helped us close our home in Mar of last year. As others have mentioned, the commute will suck from here if in a single passenger car. More than one warm body = HOV/Express lane for free. I have a very good friend who does the Vanpool thing from his home 2 miles away to Miramar and doesn't mind it at all. My 14 y/o goes to Mission Hills High and loves it.

Anyway, I'm here, like the rest of those who chimed in, to help however I can.

Jon

 

[KliersLC]

I just got orders back to SOCAL and purchased a home in San Marcos (next to Escondido). There are lots of good deals to be had on many homes built in the late '90s/early 2000s. If you need an agent, I can recommend one as she just helped us close our home in Mar of last year. As others have mentioned, the commute will suck from here if in a single passenger car. More than one warm body = HOV/Express lane for free. I have a very good friend who does the Vanpool thing from his home 2 miles away to Miramar and doesn't mind it at all. My 14 y/o goes to Mission Hills High and loves it.

Anyway, I'm here, like the rest of those who chimed in, to help however I can.

Jon

Thanks!

Do you work on Miramar, Pendleton or ???

 

[OyajiJon]

Nah, brother, I'm a squid. I'm about to be sent to the east coast for 6 months and then back to sea on the SD minesweeps. Been on amphibs since 93 so thus is going to be a new thing...let me know if there's anything I can do to assist, and I'll do my best.