Questions Relocation Buyers Should Ask
When Moving to Carlsbad (Part 2)
This is continuing discussion about issues that buyers relocating to Carlsbad, or other North San Diego County communities, should investigate as part of a home search and due diligence, in addition to learning about the local housing market.
Finding the right Carlsbad home that suits your lifestyle and budget can be challenge, with many considerations, on top of all you need to know about buying a home and relocation.
In case you missed it, here’s a link to Part 1 on this relocation series, with a focus on shopping, commuting routes, public transportation and the beaches.
Dining
Buyers typically want to know about the dining options in the area where they would like to live. There is plentiful dining in Carlsbad to suit all budgets and tastes, from very casual and to more upscale, although it’s not San Francisco, LA, New York, Chicago or even downtown San Diego.
Carlsbad Village has the largest concentration of places to dine covering all 3 meals, with several new places opening in the last few months of this year – Park 101, The Goods (Donuts and more), and Bluewater Grill. Café Elysa is probably my favorite breakfast place, on the Coast Road at the edge of downtown, and popular with residents and visitors alike, especially in the summer on the weekends!
Our most upscale dining is probably at the Park Hyatt Aviara at Vivace in the Aviara area of South Carlsbad, and at their popular steakhouse, The Argyle on the golf course by the Batiquitos Lagoon. Nearby is the famed Omni La Costa Resort with several paces to dine. The Sheraton offers Twenty/20 with marvelous distant ocean views, and Cape Rey (a Hilton resort) offers Chandlers, also with great ocean views from across the Coast Road.
Like wine bars? There are several in the Village – Paon, Witch Creek Winery and Tasting Room, Carruth Cellars, and OAK & Elixir. But there are certainly plenty of Carlsbad restaurants offering a wide range of wines, too.
My favorite specialty market is Vigilucci’s Italian Gourmet Market on State Street in the heart of Carlsbad Village.
And you will also find plenty of dining options in neighboring communities to the north, east and south of Carlsbad.
Schools
For many buyers the schools may be one of the more important concerns in their home search, and buyers often ask me about the schools.
Increasingly, however, I find they have already done their research online and investigated schools that interest them on sites like School Digger, Great Schools, and Niche, or by checking on the various school districts that serve Carlsbad and nearby communities.
Talking with parents in the area, and contacting or visiting the schools is the best way to ask questions and learn more. Please keep in mind I can’t guide you to particular schools or tell you which are “the best.” That’s something you need to determine on your own!!
Buyers new to the area are often not aware Carlsbad is served by 3 school districts – Carlsbad Unified Schools, Encinitas (Encinitas Union and San Dieguito School District ), and San Marcos Unified – so it’s important to know where the school boundaries are, and which neighborhoods and streets are served by which schools if that’s important to you. The Carlsbad Unified School District has 2 high schools, 1 a STEM school (Sage Creek); La Costa Canyon High School in south Carlsbad is part of the Encinitas school system.
Weather
People don’t move here only for the weather, but it’s a pretty nice benefit.
Lots of out of area people already have a good sense of our beautiful weather, either from visiting or reading about it, although some are surprised to find out how temperate it really is, even in winter…it was 70 yesterday!
And some do not know about our limited rain…although California droughts are pretty well known.
We can go for months without any rain, with the rainy season typically December through February; February is usually the wettest, but it can vary from year to year.
I often get questions about what the weather is like, and many of us refer to living here being in paradise! We do have some hot days but nothing to compare to the California desert or many other parts of the country in the summer. However, the Santa Ana winds at different times of the year can bring pretty warm weather for a few days, sometimes in the 90s at the coast and the low 100s inland, and unfortunately increased fire danger.
May Gray and June Gloom, the marine layer (and sometimes ground fog) we get at various times, is sometimes a surprise to those unfamiliar with it; it doesn’t just occur during those months but tends to be more prevalent during that time. The further inland the warmer it tends to be and the less common the marine layer.
The humidity is pretty low overall, and even when it’s humid I have to say it does not compare to what I lived with in Washington, DC., Boston, Minnesota, and Michigan.
We don’t get snow, except on the higher elevations in the mountains further inland, and you can see snow covered mountains in the distance that may lure you for skiing or snowboarding instead of surfing.
How I can Help You?
No doubt a big issue is finding the right home and neighborhood that fits your lifestyle and budget, and that so often does dictate where you want to look. Here’s how I can help you!!
Let’s have a conversation (760-840-1360), or a face-to-face meeting, so I can find out what’s really important to you when relocating here…or perhaps you are looking for a beach home (if so, here are 10 essential things to consider when buying a second home). While it can take time to uncover all these issues it’s important so I can be most helpful, and provide the best guidance to you, even if you relocation is some time in the future.
It goes without saying that you must have a good sense of your budget, both what your lender approves you for as well as your personal budget to get started on your home search.
Relocation Tips and Advice
In addition to personal guidance, and helping you with your search, I have created a couple of buyer questionnaires to help you think through what you really want as far as a house and your lifestyle. I also use some systems to assist you throughout the purchase and closing process.
I also have several checklists geared specifically toward relocation, including questions you should ask your movers and what you should know about moving with pets, that will help in your planning. Ask me about them!!
I have relocated 4 major times and have years of experience helping others relocate – I'd love to put that knowledge and expertise to work for you!
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