Well, I am going to have to plead guilty to a bias opinion, but I would have to say that Poway and Scripps Ranch are great neighborhoods for all of the things you are looking for. I live in Scripps and really have found it to be the perfect place to raise my family. Poway is another great option, they have an awesome school system, and a place that I think you would find some homes in your price range. I just got a young couple situated in Poway for under $400K, and they love it there. Hope that this helped!

As a San Diego native and a Realtor my 2 cents would be your best bet is to hop in your car and drive the neighborhoods. I like to drive my clients around and show them the area first then we can narrow down the home search from there. See which ones you like. As said before http://www.greatschools.net is a great source for school info. I would also agree with the two best school district in town are the San Dieguieto and Poway school districts. However those neighborhoods will be tough to get into at $400,000 price tags. I am fond of 92081 (the Shadowridge area and parts of 92069 & 92078 San Marcos) You should be able to find something nice for around $400,000. Good Luck!

Try south Chula Vista (eastlake area). We have several distressed properties in this area. The schools are renown among districts for some of the highest scores. Very little crime is also present in this area for reasons I could share with you at another time.

Chris Herring http://www.SanDiegoRealEstateByChris.com
Allison James Estates & Homes (01857829)
619-277-6400 (c)
619-334-4263 (f)

Hi,
also a home buyer, I truly believe Santee 92071 is awesome. It isn't as busy as some areas in SD, West Hills high school is awesome, elementary schools are good, and crime is low. I have lived here since I was 5yrs old (28 now =) & my hubby too. We love it and it is more affordable. It is a little more redneck then others but the rnew construction has done wonders. Good luck!

Adrianne130,

For my clients I recommend using http://mapping.arjis.org/ for crime information and
http://school-ratings.com/svg/index.html for schools.

Your price range is just on the border of detached homes and condominiums in the Poway Unified School District.

Kind Regards,

Marcie Sands, REALTOR
Simply The Best Real Estate Company, Inc.
Rancho Bernardo
760-644-1562

Hi Adrianne,

We lived in Ranco Penasquitos when we first moved to San Diego 10 years ago. As for your price range:

2 currently for sale at $425,000 and below
8 in escrow
12 closed in the past 6 months

We want you to know it is possible to get what you are looking for. Let us know if you have any other questions.

Best to you,

Mark and Kari Shea
San Diego Real Estate Experts
Foreclosure, Short Sale & Investment Specialists,
Development Opportunities & Traditional Real Estate

Adrianne130,
You can search for information about any neighborhood for schools, crime, prices, demographics, climate, commute times, vacancy rates etc. at ...
http://www.fredeckertgroup.com/template20/nextpage.asp?mnu=49318
You can also compare two areas at a time and it is free.

The best school districts in San Diego County are: The San Dieguieto school district which includes Carmel Valley, Del Mar, Solana Beach, Cardiff by the Sea and Encinitas or the Poway school district which includes Poway, Rancho Peansquitos, Carmel Mountain Ranch & Rancho Bernardo.

San Dieguieto is north San Diego county coastal and Poway is north San Diego county inland.

400K will be tough for a detached property.

Go to my home search site: http://www.SearchSanDiegoHomes.net and you can check out the homes for sale in the above listed cities.

Happy house hunting!

The best resource for neighborhood safety is the local police or the courty sheriff's department. They have access to the most current and accurate informationa and are generally very willing to be supportive.

Good luck

Dear Adrianne,

Here is a great tool for locating San Diego's best schools http://www.greatschools.net/city/San_Diego/CA. Poway, Rancho Bernardo and Rancho Penasquitos have some great schools and the more affordable area of San Diego for great school ratings is El Cajon. Please let me know if I can arrange for an specialized search for a home in these areas that will meet your needs. I can be reached directly or via my website.

Best of luck in your search!

Sincerely,
Katrina Hamilton
Direct: 858-405-4407