Where would you rent an oceanfront condo in San Diego area. ?
 

Had a recent thread that gave us tremendous help. We want to rent a condo ocean side.I have seen some lovely ones in Imperial Beach and in Encinitas.There are also other communities obviously more upscale, but do you think these 2 areas are safe? Are we better off in La Jolla or Del Mar? We will rent where you think the scenery is more beautiful or there is a special place where we can have a view of the city lights as well as the ocean? If there is no great differnce between these communities scenery, views and safety ( no tatoo parlors etc. etc.)then we would rent and save our money since we will be spending a week or two here before heading to Tucson- where we rent for a month. Totally unfamiliar with area. We do not mind being out of the loop. We would actually prefer staying where we can soak up the scenery, take hikes, etc. We would obviously drive into SD at off times to avoid the commuter rush,. We live near Chicago so we understand traffic!!!! Thanks in advance for the info I am hoping to get. Carol

I would take Encinitas over Imperial Beach.

Do NOT go and rent a condo in Imperial Beach..next to the border..
Encinitas is a great coastal town up the road from Del Mar..
Carlsbad is nice too..

we agree yet again Tams...DO NOT rent in IB - go to Encinitas...

There are a ton of rental condos in Solana Beach, which is one town south of Encinitas. That's where we always rent, through Dave Stubbs Realty, www.vacationbeachhomes.com.

Solana Beach is the next town up from Del Mar and a lovely town..great beach and lots of good restaurants..
Dave Stubbs has some great rentals and is a respected realtor.

Hi Dawn..

Some of the condo complexes in North County have full-time residents who are unhappy about the unit next to them being rented short-term to vacationers. Some of the cities involved are looking at new laws to prevent short-term renting. When you are considering how safe an area is for your vacation, the people who live there are considering how safe it is for them to have strangers coming and going all the time around their homes.

Thanks as always for your good info. IB is out!!!!Have e-mailed homeowners in Encinitas.

TahitTams--You always have good opinions. I read the board. Am also checking into Carlsbad.

MonicaRichards..thanks for the website nfo. makes searching much easier if I have a professional helping me. Will contact them shortly.

Barbara, I understand what you are saying about short term renters. Normally, we would stay in a hotel for 1 week, but we want to exprience SD with the thought of returning here next year for a month or so. We currently rent in Tucson for the month of Feb. If the cities want to make rules about who can rent and length of stay...fine. I only look for people who are renting their homes on HomeAway and VRBO> If they do not wish to rent for short stays it is clearly stated. Some believe it or not rent for 1 nite. I was worried about any safety issues becuse coming from the Chicago area I am not familiar with what it might be like to rent near the border. I thought the question I asked was valid and I appreciate your 2 responses as well. On a personal note, we own a summer home near the lake in MIchigan. Since the area is close to Chicago, it is a virtual Cape Cod in the summertime. We rented our home for the 1st 5 years we owned through a rental agency. We had excellent renters. We no longer rent and sometimes I am not crazy about the large family reunions taking place when others rent. However, this is a matter for the homeowners to discuss and rules enforced.Do not mean to sound preachy, but I can not worry what the neighbors in Encinitas might think of me. My question was referring to the type of community. We do not want to rent where there are transients,low grade strip mallsetc. I am way off the topic. Sorry

If anyone has other sugesstions, let me know.The Home Away board has loads of homes in Mission Bay. Should I look there or not? Thanks!!!

Thanks idleweiss!

I would do the coast of North County SD..
When you get some places, let us know so we can give you the best advice from all of us.

Well I am the one who told idleweiss about the condo in Imperial Beach. Now as most of you San Diego Fodorites know, I live in North County. I would never in a million years have gone to Imperial Beach.

BUT-last year my friends from Arizona rented a condo in Imperial Beach while visiting their son going to USD. I went down to visit them and was very impressed by the area on Sea Coast Drive. I would never in a million years thought it would be that nice. So Memorial Day weekend of this year, their son was graduating from USD and their family and my family was coming from Arizona for the graduation. I didn't see doing all the driving back and forth from Fallbrook so I rented the condo next door to theirs. I just couldn't get over how nice the condo was. We were right on the beach and had it almost to ourselves even on Memorial Day. It really didn't matter that we were close to Mexico-we enjoyed walking along the beach and sitting out enjoying the ocean. It only took us about 10-15 minutes to get to Coronado and not much longer to downtown San Diego and we were usually going against traffic. The best thing was the price of this condo. It was so reasonable for one of the nicest rentals I have ever had. I wish I had a reason to rent it again but now all the kids live in the LA/Long Beach area.

I did tell idleweiss to look in La Jolla, Del Mar and Pacific Beach. She is going to be in San Diego during Feb or March according to her other post. Encinitas is obviously very nice but I just hate dealing with all that I-5 traffic.

But I wanted everyone to know how nice this Imperial Beach area was. Before I rented this condo, I would have been one of the first ones on here to say "don't stay there". I still think it's a good alternative if she can't find anything suitable in North County and wants to be right on the beach.

Here's a link to the condo in Imperial Beach. Just to add-I have no financial interest or ownership in the condo-just thought it was great.

/www.homeaway.com/USA/California/San-Diego-County/vacation-house-Imperial-Beach/dni/1/p204170.htm

Hey Paula..
Gosh, no offense to you at all!
Just knowing the area, it is not something that I would personally want to stay and I know they are trying hard to clean it up..plus, you are an hour away from most things..
Unless they are doing things in Chula Vista and surrounding areas..
All the best to you!

TahitiTams-No offense. I just wanted you all to know how surprised I was by the area. It really didn't take us long to get most places-like I said downtown was 20 minutes and Coronado about 15 driving along the Strand. Traffic was much less than dealing with North County traffic unless you were heading south at 5pm.

I do agree, though, that for a first time tourist it's probably not the best place. I like places where you can walk to shops and this location is more remote. And you definitely have to drive to everything. But for a beach front condo around $1300 a month in off season, it's a great deal. It also would probably be better for families if you have kids who want to be at the beach all the time. My Arizona friends and I are now renting a condo for 4 nights up in Sunset Beach area (between Huntington and Seal Beach) for Thanksgiving. We are paying $1800 for four nights and that's a good deal for that area.

Sorry meant to say $1300 A WEEK in my last post. $1300 a month on the beach would be worth it just about anywhere. LOL

I was loading the boogie boards in the car when I saw the $1,300 a month!!

A condo on the beach in Encinitas most likely will be quite busy, with a street between you and the ocean.

In the ad paula posted, it said it is right across from the wildlife refuge and estuary in Imperial Beach.
The condos is sitting on the ocean with no street in the way of the view. (I would make sure it had windows facing the ocean). I visited someone with one of these condos once in the winter, It was a stormy night and the ocean was right there. Any closer and we would have seen fish swimming by. Here’s a website that would tell you more about IB www.cityofib.com

Imperial Beach is close to Coronado and just as far away from the zoo and Balboa and Cabrillo National monument etc as Encinitas without having to go through the 5 merge. A horrible intersection of two freeways near Del Mar that you want to be no where near at rush hour.

IB is not generally a tourist area, although there are places to eat and grocery stores etc. They don’t roll up the streets early b/c there is really nothing to roll up. It’s just not a destination. That can be a good thing depending on your state of mind. Tijuana is close, you can see the hills of TJ from IB, I wouldn’t suggest anyone actually go there, simply b/c it’s dirty. IB is not dirty and it’s not a crime infested area. It’s just a small, sleepy little city. Like beach towns used to be.

Encinitas is a very nice area, where IB is just okay. There are some good restaurants in Encinitas. For eating, IB will have the usual commercial places, with some great little taco shops and ma and pa cafes. Although I think they have a large restaurant at the pier. I don’t live near there but I get down there now and again.

Encinitas, Carlsbad and La Jolla are very popular spots because they are lovely areas- and very busy.

TahitiTams-Yes I would be loading my boogie boards up also!

L84SKY-I think you are right on summing up the differences between Encinitas and Imperial Beach. I think the biggest downside of IP was not having a lot of restaurants close by. It didn't really matter much to us because we had lots of family and were cooking many of the meals. When we did go out, just went over to Coronado.
The condo does have windows facing the ocean. In the pictures from the link, they only show the living room which is the middle room. The family room is right off the deck and is all windows. Like you said, when the high tide comes in, you couldn't be much closer to the water. After my family left, I still had the condo for a couple of days and it just happened some friends from NYC were in town. They have traveled all over the world and used to own a place at the Jersey Shore. They said they couldn't remember anyplace they had stayed where they were so close to the water. I loved just sitting in the family room or on the deck and listening to the waves crashing.

Thanks paula, I was hoping it was a fair assessment. If someone likes to get off the beaten path, I think they’re prepared for it to be a little slower. It’s not for everyone but the OP sounds like someone who might march to a different beat. When I read your suggestion I thought it sounded like a pretty good idea, but then I’d hate to see that area become like the rest of the beaches. The last time I was in IB, I could actually drive without tons of people milling around.
I like to think of it as a little slower but it really doesn’t have the dramatic beauty of the other beaches.

www.barbaramclain.com is a property manager for north san diego county beach property.

I was in Carlabad last week and there are lots of properties with rental signs.

Are you thinking of now or in the summer?

Yes IB doesn't have the beauty of the La Jolla or North County Coast. When we were there for Memorial Day Weekend, it wasn't crowded at all by our condo and I really appreciated that.

Carlsbad would also be a good place to look for condos. I love Carlsbad, just walking around the Village and the beach is nice there. I saw some condos there on vrbo that seem to be right on the beach. The biggest problem with Carlsbad is dealing with traffic into San Diego but you can always take the Coaster.