naturally your job location will detemine your driving time but great cental neighborhoods are Tierrsanta, Mission Valley, UTC, Scripps...just to name a few.

Tue May 20 2008, 19:31

Hi, we moved here about 6 years ago from the Bay Area. Schools were a very important consideration for us. If we hadn't moved to SoCal we would have moved to Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga for the schools. In So CAl we considered 2 areas; La Jolla and Rancho Santa Fe. La Jolla because although it is in the San Diego Union School District it has a a stellar high school, La Jolla High, and an even better elementary where they not only differentiated between GATE but also had a program for really high achievers called Seminar. In the end we chose Rancho Santa Fe for it's K-8 school. The programs are exemplary, both my children will be in the RSF K-8 middle school. It is a combined campus (elementary and middle) with small class sizes of 16-20 per class. There are honors classes, my 7th grader is in Honors Algebra/Geometry, my 6th grader is in Algebra 1. Fabulous science programs with a new program being rolled out next year, an actual art lab, music, chorus, band, spanish, Columbia University Literacy programs, electives (6th and up) classes with drama, robotics, rocketry, journalism, web design, imovies, sculpture, etc. Additionally, students can join after the RSF teams for golf, lacrosse, soccer, track, cross country, tennis, volleyball, etc or be part of the student council. All within the confines of a student body of around 750. the school emphasizes character development as well as academic achievement. After RSF they will have 4 top notch high schools to choose from, Torrey Pines, La Costa Canyon, Canyon Crest Academy and San Dieguito Academy. Additionally, there are numerous fabulous private schools available, even in the North County, one new one is called Pacific Ridge. I've heard many good things about it from friends. Homes in the RSF School district range from 1.1 to 10+ million. Houses start in Elfin Forest, an equestrian community of 2+acre homes to large estates and ranches in Rancho Santa Fe. We chose the RSF Schools because we wanted more property with our home. There are also condominiums and small lot houses in the village of Rancho Santa Fe which are under the 1 million range.

All the other coastal (cooler) locations, Solana santa Fe Schools - Fairbanks Ranch, Hacienda, Crosby, Rancho Santa Fe Farms; Del Mar, Encinitas, are all great elementary districts. Make sure to check out where the kids end up going to middle school in between elementary and high school. Some may be over crowded. Likewise the public high schools are very large from 2500 to 4000 students; however, they are exemplary.

One interesting alternative is to go to the charter schools provided in Point Loma, such as, High Tech High and middle school, International School, etc. It has a fabulous teaching staff, Phd's, etc.

Mon May 19 2008, 19:47

Hi
Since schools are a very important factor to you I recommend checking out this site: http://www.ed-data.k12.ca.us/ it is filled with a wealth of information on schools. If you need any help, please do not hesitate to call me. I will be more than happy to help you. Cleda Rodriguez 619 972-0094

Thu May 15 2008, 17:39

If you are looking to purchase:An important figure aside from school would be price. What price range are you in?
Like every other county, prices differ across the county. There are great schools here, but first I would determine your price point and then go from there.

Tue May 13 2008, 16:57

Carmel Valley has Torrey Pines and Canyon Crest which are highly rated schools. A very nice neighborhood, where 5 and 56 meet so it's pretty central to go up north, down south or even east for that matter. Encinitas and Carlsbad are also really good neighborhoods with great schools. You can search for all homes in those neighborhoods on my website below. Welcome to Paradise San Diego!

Mon May 12 2008, 23:58

San Diego is a great area to live. I have lived her for years and love the people, schools, and small town feeling. I am a realtor located in North County San Diego area. This area also has great schools, please see the website for San Diego county Schools API. You have two communities with great schools on the Coast. That is Carlsbad and Encinitas.

The Encinitas schools are all in the top 20 of all high schools in San Diego. The junior high schools are ranked high as well. Both communities have great towns, and coastal feel. Depending on what you are looking for and your price, will give you a better idea of where in these towns you could live.

Carlsbad is approximately 30 minutes from downtown and Encinitas is 25 miles from downtown. You could easily communte to Orange County, Sorrento Valley, or Downtown San Diego. It depends on the weather you like as well, since the coastal communities probably have the most mild climate.

Please visit my website athttp:// www.encinitasproperties.net to understand the area better. I have a lot of resources for the buyer to better understand San Diego County.

Happy House Hunting....Catherine Barden, (760)815-3866

Mon May 12 2008, 11:19

Depending on your criteria, there are some wonderful areas in San Diego county, outside of the San Diego city limits. Poway, CA, for example, is known for its beautiful communities and high ranking school district.

Mon May 12 2008, 10:17

Oh, I forgot to give you another link to some helpful information about our San Diego market place. Here is a link to our MLS Market Stats.... it will give you a broad idea of the pricing in the different areas.

Again feel free to contact if I can be of further help.

Denise Gleavey
Coldwell Banker
1-800-735-5619
Denise@IHandleRE4U.com
www.IHandleRE4U.com

Sun May 11 2008, 21:48

Since schools sound like your number one concern in selecting an area to relocate to, then I would suggest checking out the website listed below. It will connect you to all the local school districts where you can review the school performances and details.

I agree that Del Mar/Carmel Valley area along with the Poway district are the tops in our county... you may be limited based upon your budget. You mentioned you would be willing to drive 60-90 minutes. That far of a drive will take you into the Riverside County from our I-15 freeway on the east side of SD County. You will find much more affordable housing and newer communities there. On the west side of SD County that drive time will take you into the southern point of Orange County... it is much higher prices on the west side of I-5 but further east if I-5 some good family areas... but still may overall be higher than SD County.

If I knew your price range I could direct you better as to which areas would be the best for your personal budget.

Feel free to write back with a specific price range and describe what kind of style of home that you are looking for. My contact info is listed below. I would be happy to give you further guidance.

Good luck, Denise Gleavey
Coldwell Banker
1-800-735-5619
Denise@IHandleRE4U.com
www.IHandleRE4U.com

Sun May 11 2008, 21:43

Hello! If you like i can refer you to a Century 21 Agent in the surrounding areas that you are interested in. Let me know if you are interested.

Sun May 11 2008, 21:16

Our two premier school districts are Poway and Del Mar. The Del Mar district includes Carmel Valley. The Del Mar / Carmel Valley area is (on average) a higher-rent district - mostly due to its proximity to the ocean.

Drive-time to / from downtown is about 20 minutes for either. The I-15 Corridor (to Poway) tends to be more crowded.

Feel free to call.

Robert T. Boyer, Ph.D.
Real Estate Investor Advisor
America's Finest Real Estate
San Diego's Finest Real Estate
www.SanDiegosFinestRealEstate.com
SanDiegosFinestRealEstate.blogspot.com
Phone: (858) 755-2111

Sun May 11 2008, 20:51

If you go coastal, Carmel Valley can't be beat. Inland would be Poway Unified which serves Poway, Rancho Bernardo and Rancho Penasquitos. Let me know if you need specific neighborhood breakdowns in these areas based on price.

Sun May 11 2008, 20:50