Grateful to Live in Carlsbad
This is my 4th entry for the November Gratitude Challenge hosted by Debe Maxwell, CRS.
We moved to Carlsbad in April 2005 from Boston, and I am very thankful that we did.
It was a tough decision to leave the Boston area after living there for 20+ years in multiple homes and communities. We loved the Boston area, other than the winter cold, snow and ice, and left behind lots of friends and family in New England and the northeast. Photo is from the winter before we moved, in Harvard Square (Cambridge) near where we last lived before relocating.
We spent a lot of time (several house hunting trips over 1 year) looking at properties in different communities around San Diego before settling on Carlsbad. Why? It worked for our budget (a good sized house with land), and we could be close to the beach.
Indeed we have lots to be thankful for living in Carlsbad.
The City of Carlsbad has about 116,000 people (I’ve seen several estimates for 2021 and 2022) although it has grown since we moved here. Given Carlsbad’s size we have the community amenities we wanted without living in a big city, and easy access to amenities in nearby communities.
We did not want to be in San Diego itself but wanted to not be too far from downtown, or from LA (1.5 hours north) so we could easily visit our older daughter who had graduated from USC in 2002 and was living in the Culver City area. We are thankful for the convenience of getting to San Diego when we choose for the arts and dining and the airport – although I can’t say I am thankful for the traffic, I’m accustomed to it - but with all that Carlsbad offers the trips to SD are less common these days.
With both daughters and their families (4 grandkids) in the LA area we are very thankful to be able to visit them easily, even for a day trip, and for them to get down here periodically. And we’re pleased Carlsbad provides easy access to the desert cities (Palm Springs, Palm Desert, La Quinta), and to the former gold-mining town of Julian in the mountains. All are fun places to visit when we want to get away for a day or two.
Convenient access to shopping, especially groceries, and dining options was important to us when house hunting, and we are grateful for all that Carlsbad offers. The weekly farmers market in Carlsbad Village is a plus, as is the variety of grocery stores. I can’t say we were overly impressed with the dining scene in Carlsbad when we first moved here, at least as compared to Boston, but things have improved significantly in the time we have been here. While we don’t dine out all that often it’s wonderful to have the options that we do when the mood strikes.
We both enjoy the arts and are thankful that Carlsbad has a reputation as an arts community, and one that continues to expand. While this was not a primary criterion when we were house hunting in 2004 and early 2005, we are grateful for what Carlsbad offers. Art galleries, Barrio Glassworks, arts and crafts fairs, live music and the summer TGIF Concerts in the Parks series (photo below), the Museum of Making Music and their concerts, and performance theater are just some of the things we enjoy. They suit our lifestyle well!
Access to the beaches was important in our home search, given we gave up our waterfront vacation home on Lt. Island on Cape Cod when we decided to relocate to the Left Coast. We knew we could not replace it when moving to CA, but being in a seaside community with nice beaches was essential…and Carlsbad certainly provides that. We enjoy easy access for walks, relaxing on the bluffs, sunset watching, and an occasional visit when the grandkids are around.
Lastly, I am very grateful for my real estate business in and around Carlsbad. It's easy to sell the lifestyle in a community I like so well.
We’ve lived in Carlsbad for 18 years now (in 3 different homes), longer than any other community during our married life. And we are both forever thankful for all that Carlsbad offers – it more than meets our personal, work, and lifestyle needs.
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