# Best place to live (soccer wise) in So Cal



## Surf Zombie (Mar 2, 2017)

Hey All,

A move to So. Cal. from the east coast could be in our future in the next 12-18 months, depending on a couple of job realated opportunities. 

Realistically, we could end up anywhere from Orange County to San Diego, so we started looking at different communities, school systems and of course soccer clubs. 

We have a very strong 07 daughter and an 09 son, who is just learning the game.  Both currently play for a very good club in our area. 

From researching online I feel  like I am starting to get a feel for the better clubs at the girls 07 age (SD Surf, SoCal Blues, Slammers, etc.)

Any thoughts on good places to live and raise a family in So. Cal? Won't be buying a ten million dollar house, but anything upper middle class-ish would be a consideration.

Thanks for any insight.


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## Kicknit22 (Mar 2, 2017)

If considering San Diego, the Carmel Valley community is one that has a lot of new development going on.  Very nice, excellent school district, and puts you in close proximity to Surf soccer.  Plus, it's a coastal community, so it puts you very close to the surf as well.  I was born and raised in San Diego.  If I could afford it, that's where I would move. Good luck to you and the family.


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## Kicknit22 (Mar 2, 2017)

Poway Unified School District has consistently been ranked among the top school districts in San Diego, if not #1, BTW.


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## Dos Equis (Mar 2, 2017)

Plenty of good soccer choices.  Let your job and possible commute drive the decision.  With traffic in that corridor, your ability to enjoy the youth soccer experience and be with your kids may be difficult if you are over an hour away from home, each way.


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## MWN (Mar 2, 2017)

There are plenty of lists of safest cities, best cities to live, etc.  My advice is narrow your search by "school" performance.  The thing about school performance (academically speaking) is that public schools that do well tend to be in desirable socioeconomic communities.  Find a high school in the California top 10% in your preferred area.  There are basically 3 counties you are looking at: San Diego, Riverside and Orange County.  Depending on where you call work, Riverside County may be off the list, but the communities in South Riverside County (Temecula and Murrieta) are very desirable and tend to represent very good values.  Almost all the communities in south Orange County tend to be good places to call home (but the cost of living will be high).  North San Diego county is also very nice, with some great schools.

Wherever there is a good school, you are bound to find a good soccer program because those are the communities and areas where the parents have money.  But, this rule isn’t absolute because the corollary is also true when it comes to high-Hispanic population areas, especially in LA and east Riverside County.


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## espola (Mar 2, 2017)

Kicknit22 said:


> Poway Unified School District has consistently been ranked among the top school districts in San Diego, if not #1, BTW.


Yeah, but - there is currently a leadership crisis.  The PUSD board fired the Superintendent after an audit disclosed that he may have paid himself several hundred thousand dollars that he shouldn't have during his few years in office.  The Board sued him trying to recover some of the money.  He has filed a countersuit claiming his contract allows him a job as a classroom teacher if fired as Superintendent (perhaps in Economics?).


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## mirage (Mar 2, 2017)

Based on your userID, you want to be near the coast and not inland like Poway, Temecula or alike (sorry not taking shot but geographic fact).  Once you establish this, then it narrows the search down somewhat.  Also, keep in mind that there are plenty of private school options too.

The commute traffic and time involved will ultimately define your home radius versus workplace.  Within that, school districts and soccer and whatever else need to be weighted and considered, along with housing costs.  So, go think about that a bit and recommend narrowing down the area rather than say SD to OC.  Since we don't know where you are now, we cannot comment on how different the commute time and distance is.  If you've never lived or spent significant time in SoCal, its hard to compare, unless you currently reside in one of the major metropolitan areas in the east coast (e.g., greater NY-NJ city area, Boston, DC Philly).

I'm sure you company has relocation package and support so they'll do the hard work for you.


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## mirage (Mar 2, 2017)

espola said:


> Yeah, but - there is currently a leadership crisis.  The PUSD board fired the Superintendent after an audit disclosed that he may have paid himself several hundred thousand dollars that he shouldn't have during his few years in office.  The Board sued him trying to recover some of the money.  He has filed a countersuit claiming his contract allows him a job as a classroom teacher if fired as Superintendent (perhaps in Economics?).


Hijack alert!!!


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## espola (Mar 2, 2017)

If you are raising a top-level male player, being within easy driving distance of LA Galaxy Academy training grounds  (near Stub Hub Stadium and Cal State Dominguez Hills) should be an objective.

Ignore the oil refineries at the bottom of the hill.


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## socalkdg (Mar 2, 2017)

"Joke mode on"  Obviously your strong 07 DD from the east coast will be equal to a beginning AYSO soccer girl in Southern California.  "Joke mode off".   Hey, this is a socal soccer forum, our players must be better than everyone else.   

All kidding aside,  try to live less than 15 miles to your job, which will be at least a 30 minute drive.   So many good places to play soccer that I wouldn't worry about where to live based on soccer.  Living somewhere based on where you are working much more important.  I'm 40 miles a way and over an hour every day each way.  It wears on you.  Love my job, just not the drive.


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## Striker17 (Mar 2, 2017)

socalkdg said:


> "Joke mode on"  Obviously your strong 07 DD from the east coast will be equal to a beginning AYSO soccer girl in Southern California.  "Joke mode off".   Hey, this is a socal soccer forum, our players must be better than every else.
> 
> All kidding aside,  try to live less than 15 miles to your job, which will be at least a 30 minute drive.   So many good places to play soccer that I wouldn't worry about where to live based on soccer.  Living somewhere based on where you are working much more important.  I'm 40 miles a way and over an hour every day each way.  It wears on you.  Love my job, just not the drive.


You joke but I was actually going to ask what club they are at in the East Coast because that is actually a huge factor ..
But then I saw the ages and was like uh 2007 and 2009 players aren't elite


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## espola (Mar 2, 2017)

socalkdg said:


> "Joke mode on"  Obviously your strong 07 DD from the east coast will be equal to a beginning AYSO soccer girl in Southern California.  "Joke mode off".   Hey, this is a socal soccer forum, our players must be better than everyone else.
> 
> All kidding aside,  try to live less than 15 miles to your job, which will be at least a 30 minute drive.   So many good places to play soccer that I wouldn't worry about where to live based on soccer.  Living somewhere based on where you are working much more important.  I'm 40 miles a way and over an hour every day each way.  It wears on you.  Love my job, just not the drive.


You joke, but a few years back my son got the opportunity to play in Surf Cup because a SoCal team won National Cup and then Regionals so had a conflict with USYS National Championships.  A San Diego team with a good record was invited to fill the opening and my son was asked to be a guest player because he had been guesting with them for big tournaments for a couple of years.  The team played three State champions from east of the Mississippi without a loss and won their bracket, but was eliminated by a different SoCal team in the semis.


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## MyDaughtersAKeeper (Mar 2, 2017)

I have heard that there is a decent soccer club that practices at the Polo Fields in Del Mar. 

All kidding aside, keep your commute short and as close to the ocean as you can get.  I think that combination would make for a pretty good quality of life.  Good luck.


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## jrcaesar (Mar 2, 2017)

If you like Austin or Portland, you will love Long Beach...

*23 Things To Know About Long Beach Before You Move There*

39 Reasons We Love Long Beach


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## f1nfutbol fan (Mar 2, 2017)

Loaded question, with so many options.... there is life outside of soccer & you will realize it once you move to the west coast, especially if you never lived here before.

Review greatschools.com & other school related websites.

There is so much to do... as stated before, live where you will be happy, as traffic sucks...

OC area - mission viejo surrounding areas...aliso viejo, etc
San Diego area -  carmel valley, encinitas, carlsbad, san elijo
LA - im fond of riviera village, between redondo beach & palos verdes

Good luck... oh, traffic is only bad when you need to go anywhere


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## seesnake (Mar 2, 2017)

Kicknit22 said:


> If considering San Diego, the Carmel Valley community is one that has a lot of new development going on.  Very nice, excellent school district, and puts you in close proximity to Surf soccer.  Plus, it's a coastal community, so it puts you very close to the surf as well.  I was born and raised in San Diego.  If I could afford it, that's where I would move. Good luck to you and the family.


This is good advice. I live in the area and love it. Be aware that if you play at a high level at SD Surf you will be driving a lot (45 mins+) to matches since they play in SCDSL which is mostly an Orange County/LA league. You have other good club options if you want to play at a fairly high level as well. Look at Del Mar Sharks, San Diego Soccer Club, Others...


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## MWN (Mar 2, 2017)

seesnake said:


> This is good advice. I live in the area and love it. Be aware that if you play at a high level at SD Surf you will be driving a lot (45 mins+) to matches since they play in SCDSL which is mostly an Orange County/LA league. You have other good club options if you want to play at a fairly high level as well. Look at Del Mar Sharks, San Diego Soccer Club, Others...


But if you play in Coast at a high level plan on driving 2+ hours.  SCDSL is the league for the southern portion of California.  Coast is the league for LA and north and far east.


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## seesnake (Mar 2, 2017)

MWN said:


> But if you play in Coast at a high level plan on driving 2+ hours.  SCDSL is the league for the southern portion of California.  Coast is the league for LA and north and far east.


San Diego also has SDDA which has some good competition at the top flight but is a bit inconsistent. It is a lot less driving if you live in SD.


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## Multi Sport (Mar 2, 2017)

Don't choose where you live based on a soccer club, that is like choosing a college based on a soccer team.


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## espola (Mar 2, 2017)

Multi Sport said:


> Don't choose where you live based on a soccer club, that is like choosing a college based on a soccer team.


You know some people do that, right?


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## Multi Sport (Mar 2, 2017)

espola said:


> You know some people do that, right?


Sadly, yes.


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## chargerfan (Mar 2, 2017)

Surf Zombie said:


> Hey All,
> 
> A move to So. Cal. from the east coast could be in our future in the next 12-18 months, depending on a couple of job realated opportunities.
> 
> ...


I would look at a lot of things, and proximity to a good soccer team would be very low on my list.  Finding the best school system should be #1.


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## SoccerQ120 (Mar 2, 2017)

If you are veering toward SD County, I would definitely consider Poway.  It is a little further East from the Ocean, but I agree with Kicknit22, they have a great school district, great community for all sports, and probably the best bang for your buck in this expensive housing market if you want to stay somewhat central in the county.  You can find some older fixer uppers or newer homes that are more move in ready, so lots of options and variety.  If you are renting, the rental rates are typically pretty competitive.  As far as soccer goes, there are a lot of different clubs within striking distance.  This way you don't have to feel like you are limited to just the closest club.


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## justneededaname (Mar 3, 2017)

Glad to see all the San Diego posts. I agree, Carmel Valley or 4S Ranch (Poway USD) are excellent choices. With one caveat, you have to like Suburbia. Most people are fine with that, but in case you are someone who likes a more urban, older, and maybe less sterile environment, I figured I would add another option to consider.

San Diego has some excellent upper-middle class urban neighborhoods. They include Bird Rock, Point Loma, Mission Hills, Kensington, and North Park. If your vision of southern California is palm tree lined streets full of Spanish bungalows, then these are the places to check out.

Your soccer choices are more limited unless you are willing to sit in traffic for hours. Basically you have Albion (http://albionsoccer.org/index.html). But it is an excellent, large club with lots of play levels for players of different abilities and when the kids get older, DA programs for both boys and girls.

The other issue with these urban neighborhoods is like all urban areas, the public schools suck at middle school and high school. You can find lots of great elementary schools.  If you can afford private school, then you are golden.  A neighborhood such as Mission Hills gives you walking access to a great private school, it is 5 minutes to downtown San Diego, has great, local independent shops and restaurants, and is a five minute drive to the Albion training fields which are a 200 yard walk from the beach. Which is probably the greatest advantage of Albion that I know of from a parent's point of view. Drop the kids at practice and then take the dog for a walk on the beach. There are much worse ways to spend an afternoon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_Hills,_San_Diego

http://www.sandiegomagazine.com/San-Diego-Magazine/June-2014/Neighborhood-Guide-Mission-Hills/

http://missionhillsheritage.org/districts.htm


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## Surf Zombie (Mar 3, 2017)

OP here. Just wanted to say a quick thank you for all the thoughtful replies. Great information. Lots of reasearch to do. 

Be glad you live where you do. We've got our first Spring outdoor tournament scheduled for this weekend and it's going to be in the 30's and windy. 

Plus, the Surf has been flat for a week. Awesome!


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