Perfect weather, horrible schools. - 9/26/2020

Escondido wins because of the weather, but has a lot of drawbacks. The schools are HORRIBLE. Like really bad. I've moved around a lot and the schools are the worst I've ever seen. There are a lot of beautiful homes and the proximity to San Diego is close. The homeless population is extremely high. While I wish we could do something to help house them, the government has not and so they build camps all around our community. My son took a walk and saw needles and other paraphernalia that spanned about a square mile with tents. The city does nothing to clear the area. We've been robbed by residents of this camp (we have it on the camera and have seen the same people go into the camp and I even called the police department saying "I'm staring at our robbers" and they didn't come. There's theft everywhere but when you have your robber on camera and also see them walking down the street and can't get the cops to come I would say Escondido has some work to do. I think it's easy to rate any city in Southern California 5 stars because it's all beautiful and weather is perfect, but when you really get into the cracks and crevices there's more going on.

[Comment on this Posting]

Perfect weather and tons to do! - 7/14/2018

Weather is perfect year round. There are tons of things to do with the lakes, parks, the world famous San Diego Zoo's Safari Park, performing arts center, numerous wineries, and close proximity to both beaches and mountains. Not to mention, Mexico is easily accessible and within a day's drive, you can be in Scottsdale, Santa Barbara, or San Francisco. Housing costs are definitely high but in accordance with the lifestyle you get. As they say...you get what you pay for!

[Comment on this Posting]

Cost - 3/3/2016

Good cost of living

[Comment on this Posting]

need housing am a vet with a voucher - 7/29/2015

homless vet needs home

[Comment on this Posting]

Sounds wonderful! - 11/19/2013

Can't wait to move there in the future =)

[Comment on this Posting]

Climate - 6/18/2012

Great climate, too conservative minded.

[Comment on this Posting]

not too bad - 1/10/2012

some areas are good, other areas are not. I just want to make a short comment aside from that. I don't know why some people refer to "hispanic" as a bad thing. I am hispanic and my wife and we are college grads with good salaries and professional. my wife was born in Huntington Beach and I was born in Costa Rica, her parents are Doctors and my dad is an attorney. I also have many friends that are hispanic and they all go to college, one of them is even a Judge. Yes, I have to accept that there are groups of certain hispanics that live in the chepear areas of a city, sometimes some of them tend to be illegal aliens from Mexico and many others have papers and are just blue-collar workers. we moved back to Irvine because of my job but I am also aware that Anaheim is one of the safest cities in America but it's full of that type of "blue-collar type of hispanics" as you can see they are dangerous or bad people at all. there is good and bad in every race. well the point is that it irritates me when people refer as hispanics as a bad thing, when more than half of them, go to college, many have good professional jobs and are nice, decent people. and for the poor ones, oh well, at least they are trying to feed their families. I'm not against other cultures or ethnic groups, many of my friends are also white, black, asian, etc. but i just wanted to comment on comments about oh too many hispanics in that area bla bla bla.

[Comment on this Posting]

I've Lived here and there a long time.... - 10/22/2010

Escondido is in the north east section of San Diego County - Many people consider Temecula to be part of this metro area. This area over all is very diverse - you could be 50-60 miles from the ocean and still have a sneak of a view. Escondido itself has a great cultural arts center that really does it's best on it's limited income but it is an absolutely beautiful building. The arts here have tried and tried to make it. There are several galleries and it seems there just isn't enough "umph" to make it "artsy" like some other towns in San Diego. Unemployment is high right now. Classified ads are dismal, rents are still a little high unless you rent in the center of the city which is mostly Hispanic. Crime isn't really a big issue here compared to other suburbs in america from my experience. The weather is frustrating here. In the summer time when you want to be at the beach it's foggy and cold, believe me, I paid the outrageous rent to live on the beach for a year and was terribly sad. The only sunny days I saw last year were the ones in Escondido. In the summer it does get a little hot but not unbearable and it really is the gateway to many other lanscapes, high desert, low desert, mountains, oceans, and big city are all within a hour or so drive. Many people commute to San Diego for work and traffic can be bad but I have lived in Chicago and Orange County and the SF Bay Area and this traffic is nothing compared to that. It's very central to everything at a price. Housing is expensive here, if you do find anything at all under a $1,000 a month it won't be anything you would want to rent and buying seems like you pay a whole lot of money for a whole lot of driving to somewhere else to spend your day.

[Comment on this Posting]

I LOVE ESCONDIO - 6/23/2009

I moved from New England to Escondido 10 years ago and I really love this town. It has a wonderful mid-century downtown with museums, theaters, restaurants, coffee shops and a wine bar, right next to neighborhoods with small bungalows and ranch-style houses. There are lakes, hiking trails and parks as well as a lots of places to shop. Less than 30 miles to San Diego and the beaches, it is sunny almost all year round, though it can get too hot for some late summer. For an ongoing discussion about what makes it a great town you can go to www.weloveescondido.blogspot.com

[Comment on this Posting]

Noise! Noise! Noise! - 12/31/2007

I was warned by people not to move here. After living the last five years in the north county coastal cities of San Diego(Solana Beach, Carlsbad, Oceanside) I got tired of all the coastal fog and wanted warmer day time temps(yes it is colder here at night than the coast in the winter, but I am asleep at night and it is warmer in the day time here). I went on to Craigslist and found a great small house with a big yard to rent for a bargain price of $900 a month (vs $1500 a month on the coast for a tiny one bedroom). Plenty of space for my small dog and my partner to live in comfort. In the last six months we have endured loud music every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night from various neighbors(sometime during the week too). Most of the music is mexican music which I am not fond of and give me the sense I am stuck in a mexican restaurant all the time. The other music is loud hip hop music which I like to listen myself as well. I just don't like to be forced to listen to it when all I want to do is lay down on my sofa and watch a movie. I call the Escondido police on a weekly basis and they do come out and ask the people to turn their music off or down which everyone seems to comply with their demands. I don't understand why these people think that playing their music as loud as they can in their backyard is okay. Additionally, to this is the cars and trucks that go by with their music so loud it shakes my house. Another big problem is the gang graffiti everywhere. People here just don't care about their neighborhood. They throw trash on the ground constantly and their trash cans are always over flowing, yet often the blue recycle containers next to the cans are empty. I will say the weather here is great and better than the coast. I moved here from the northeast looking for better weather and the coast is to cloudy six months out the year. Plus it is overpriced. I will say that Escondido is broken up to in many different parts. North Escondido and South Escondido is much more affluent without the problems I have discussed above. Also, western Escondido by San Marcos seems better too. I live in Old Escondido which could be a great place since it filled with old craftsman and victorian style homes. I am sure at one time it was a great place to live, but not anymore. There are area worst then where I live particularly the valley parkway neighborhoods where crime and gangs are a big issue. I am moving soon northward to Temecula. Same weather without the trashy people. There is a reason why people call Escondido the armpit of San Diego county and it lives up to its representation well.

[Comment on this Posting]

expensive - 6/20/2007

Escondido is not a pretty city and its expensve to live hear. 1300/ month for rentals is not uncommon. There are nice hill surrounding it with the ocean about 1/2 hour away and freeways are readily accessible.

[Comment on this Posting]

San Diego county is the best BUT! - 1/15/2007

i love san diego and every city in it for the most part most the places are nice you do have your ghettos just like any othere big city BUT ESCONDIDO i donno i have even lived in escondido just north of san diego and i love it here but it has a major drug,gang,graffiti and car jacking problem oh yeah and the highest hit and run rate in california.Dont take escondido wrong now thow because it still has nice parts not as many as other north county cities but still a nice place to live.(STAY out of central and west escondido and you should be fine

[Comment on this Posting]

Raised my kids here.I'm a little worried about rai - 7/18/2006

A politically wierd city that won't admit that there is a drug problem.Used to be a nice little town, but now I'm begining to wonder?

[Comment on this Posting]

Sprawling Secluded Custom!!! - 7/2/2006

A lovingly crafted home nestled by the side of a mountain...quiet and secluded yet just minutes from major freeway and shopping center. Four bedrooms plus optional bonus room, 4.5 baths, pool and spa, mature landscaping on almost an acre. Views too!

[Comment on this Posting]

San Diego -- Caught in the grip of Los Angelesizat - 3/4/2006

The whole area is unfortunately undergoing huge unbridled growth. For example, due to freeway construction everywhere, it can easily take over 1 hour to drive 20 miles.

[Comment on this Posting]

The weather is great, wish I were there. - 2/5/2006

I moved away in 1990 but still go back often to visit my family and friends. I lived in Escondido for 17 years and it will ALWAYS be home to me. Theres no place like it. Located just outside of San Diego, there is tons of stuff to do and the weather is just gorgeous.

[Comment on this Posting]