Are you thinking about moving to San Diego, and is Carlsbad one of the spots that you’ve targeted? You’ve probably heard us chat about La Costa a lot, and that is a big part of the Southern part of Carlsbad. And there are a lot of communities that have La Costa in the name. So today we are going to get into those communities. Some are newer, some are older.
Chris Erickson:
I’m Chris Erickson.
Cassidy Lewis:
I’m Cassidy Lewis.
Chris Erickson:
And we love making these videos for you guys, but we’re also real estate agents out here in North County, San Diego. So if you guys are thinking about moving out here, anywhere in San Diego, moving up to here, moving, relocating, anything like that, hit us up. Call text, email. We got you back. We’re moving in and around North County, San Diego.
La Costa takes up a big portion of 92009 zip code of Carlsbad. It’s in the Southeast portion of Carlsbad. Basically, if you’re looking at a map, you go down La Costa Avenue, that’s a good kind of jumping off spot to where you can see a lot of the La Costa neighborhoods. They kind of spread out from there. As we go through each one, we’re going to give you some insight into each neighborhood. What they’re all about, the housing styles and something unique so you can figure out which La Costa is going to be best for you if that’s the place you’re targeting. So let’s get into it right now.
Cassidy Lewis:
So today we’re going to start in La Costa Valley, which is actually where we’re standing right now. We’re standing at the community center, which they call The Valley Club here in La Costa Valley. And this is probably one of the best community centers in La Costa for sure. It’s got a pool, it’s got tennis courts. There’s a preschool here. There’s trails that jump off from this spot too. So there is a ton that La Costa Valley Community Center has to offer.
And then the community as a whole is one of the bigger ones. It’s all single family homes. There’s over a thousand of them in this area in the different phases of when La Costa Valley was built, and they are going to be larger homes. They’re not huge lots, they’re built in the early 2000s, so they’re kind of in that timeframe when they started switching to kind of bigger homes on smaller lots, but there’s a ton of outdoor space and there’s a ton of just convenience factor here too.
[inaudible 00:01:52] Barcelona cuts in the middle of La Costa Valley. And if you take that west, you end right at The Forum Shopping Center. So there are a ton of amenities in there and great shops and restaurants and stuff, but then also target and Walmart and all those other big box stores are just right around the corner from that too. So it is a super convenient location. And then just a quick jump onto La Costa, and you get to the beach pretty quick from here too.
Chris Erickson:
Next up on the list is old La Costa, kind of the original La Costa. A lot of just older custom feeling houses in that area. And this is located just south of La Costa Avenue. And just north of La Costa Avenue is the golf course. So Omni La Costa is right there, it’s actually a great little spot for a staycation. There’s a bunch of little condos and stuff in there, but old La Costa on the other side is where you find all those single family homes and stuff, larger lots in there. And it’s just right in the heart of that 92009 zip code. Once again, super convenient. So La Costa Avenue, like I said, splits it, so you can just shoot down, follow that all the way to the end, you’re going to end in the border of Leucadia and Carlsbad. And you’ll be able to hit the beach Ponto is right down there, which is a great beach, especially if you have kids. Large parking lot, really nice spot in there.
Cassidy Lewis:
SO like Chris mentioned, there is that custom feel in old La Costa. And that’s a lot to do with just the age of the community. And also there’s just a wide variety of homes. There’s single story like ranch style homes that are a little bit smaller. If you’re looking for that custom, not cookie-cutter feel, old La Costa’s definitely got what you’re looking for.
The next La Costa you’ll hear us say is La Costa Canyon area. La Costa Canyon High School is right in the middle of this section of La Costa, and it kind of encompasses a lot of neighborhoods. There is the true La Costa Canyon neighborhoods, which are a little bit older, definitely smaller homes. But then from there on the south side of La Costa Canyon, you’ve got Arroyo Vista, you’ve got Saddle Ridge, you’ve got the ranch, you have a ton of other neighborhoods that get clumped into that La Costa Canyon area as well. So there are a ton of different sizes, types of homes, but for the most part they’re single family.
Chris Erickson:
And this whole area is kind of right on the border of [inaudible 00:03:54] and Olivenhain. So out there in Olivenhain, it connects to a lot of the trails that go through this area of Carlsbad as well. So you can get lost out there. I’ve been running back there a lot, and you kind of zigzag in between Encinitas and Carlsbad and look at these beautiful houses, different views. I mean, once you get really back far in there, there’s some gorgeous places in the ranch, which is one of the bigger neighborhoods in that area of La Costa.
The next La Costa that a lot of people look into is La Costa Oaks. And it’s one of the bigger neighborhoods in the La Costa area as well. It’s like 800 plus homes, a bunch of different little neighborhoods within that. And on this area you’re going to find newer-ish homes, a lot of track, all track, neighborhoods basically, and on the bigger size footprint-wise. So a lot of the homes are going to be three, 4,000 plus square foot.
Cassidy Lewis:
La Costa Oaks also has two community centers. They have the main one, which is in the original phase of La Costa Oaks. They got pool, clubhouse, things like that. And they’ve also got Splash, which is on the Northeast side of La Costa Oaks.
Chris Erickson:
In this community, they do put on a lot of, the HOA, puts on events, depending on what neighborhood you’re in, but movie nights, poker nights. And convenience-wise, La Costa town square is right there. So a bunch of your shopping needs and stuff, there is Cinepolis, the high end movie theater. You got your Starbucks, obviously. So a lot of those, not necessarily anything like super local vibe wise, like restaurants, it’s a lot of chain stores and that kind of stuff. If you want that, you could shoot towards the coast. Leucadia would probably be your best bet if you want that local flavor. That’s in Encinitas. And then right down the road is Stagecoach Park, which is a big, old park. Our little guys have played soccer. They have a bunch of ball fields. They have a bunch of paths. You could scoot around, they have concerts in the park during the summertime. So that’s all within that little neighborhood area as well.
Cassidy Lewis:
Next on the list is LA Costa Ridge. This is a gated community within the La Costa Carlsbad area, definitely on the higher end, bigger homes, not huge lots, but lots big enough for swimming pools and jacuzzis and stuff like that. It is kind of an Italian style community, architecture wise, and they are just way larger lots. There are some that have pretty killer views on the south side of the community as well. And it’s kind of set on a hill. So it’s got views looking in all different directions on those outside homes.
Chris Erickson:
And convenience-wise, it’s not the most convenient neighborhood, because it is a little further back from the coast, from all the shopping and stuff. There are three gates. So there’s the main gate you go in and then a few others that locals or residents rather can use, but you don’t have to travel too far. I mean, 92009, it is a big footprint, but it’s not crazy huge. So it might add five minutes or something to your commute or where you’re going shopping or going to the beach, all that kind of stuff.
Next up is La Costa Estates. It’s one of the more unique neighborhoods that have that La Costa name. As you’re cruising through, we’ve seen a lot of houses in there and there’s some really funky houses actually. They’re really cool, custom, there’s bigger lots out there so you do have some space available to build some larger houses.
Cassidy Lewis:
And part of the reason some of them are a little bit funky too, is they are built on hills. So you get a lot of homes where you’re walking in on the main entry level, but then going downstairs for some of your living space. So we just see a bunch of that style, not as much of the single story ranch style that you see in some of the other La Costa communities. This is more two, three levels in some cases, just to build into the hill. They have awesome views looking down towards the lagoon, and a bunch of the homes in this area have views of a couple different firework shows on 4th of July too, which our clients that have moved into this area, that’s a big part of the reason they really love it, is those views.
Chris Erickson:
And a lot of the communities, these master plan communities that we’ve talked about, do have HOA or Mello-Roos which is just an additional property tax on your property tax bill. La Costa Estates does not have that since this is older, you don’t have a HOA, you don’t have any Mello-Roos. And if you’re looking for something smaller, condo style, it’s not technically in La Costa Estates, but just to the south, just to the west a little bit, there’s a big section of a bunch of condos around that golf course area as well. So you do have some starter options right in that neighborhood as well.
Cassidy Lewis:
The next section of La Costa is called La Costa Meadows. And if you are Googling this community, you’ll probably find the school first. So La Costa Meadows is on the Southeast side of La Costa Meadows and then all the communities that are around that are part of this community. You’ve got a ton of town homes right around the school. And then you’ve got a lot of older, detached houses. In that era where you’ve got the bigger lots, the homes are definitely fluctuated in size, but they’re all kind of in that corridor off Alga, running through La Costa.
Chris Erickson:
In this whole area, you do get a more semi-custom feel. A lot of homes were built in the 1970s and stuff. And like Cassie mentioned, they do have kind of those bigger lots, not huge, but pool size lots, where you do have that option if you need it.
Next up is La Costa Greens, which was one of the newer master plan communities in this La Costa area, like early 2000s to like 2010, 2012 is when they were building in there. It’s about 12 different communities. So there’s a lot. Basically Poinsettia, most of it’s to the south of that, but there are a few scattered neighborhoods to the north of Poinsettia as you’re cruising around. Alga Norte Park is right there, which if you’ve seen our videos about Carlsbad, this is one of the central hub parks where you got that skate park, you got a huge playground, you got a huge swim facility, ball park. So if you’ve got kids playing ball and all that stuff, you might end up down there a handful of times.
Cassidy Lewis:
And so the feel in La Costa Greens is kind of that Santa Barbara mission style homes, kind of that, a little bit more light colors, red roofs, things like that. And there’s definitely a lot of larger homes in this area. If you’re looking for a bigger home on definitely smaller lots, La Costa Greens is a good option. And they do have a really nice private residence club. It’s got a pretty pond in the middle. Pool, clubhouse, all of that stuff too.
And then convenience-wise, it is on the west side of La Costa. So it’s really close to a nice big center that has another Cinepolis, grocery store. One of our favorite spots to go grab a burger, Notorious Burger in that center. So convenience-wise, it is pretty close to a lot of amenities.
We have a lot of videos about Carlsbad, so check out that next one that’s popping up right now. We have vlog style, if you’re looking for kind of that boots-on-the-ground look of what Carlsbad’s all about. And if you have any questions or are looking to move out this way, definitely get in touch with us. Call, text, email. We’ve got your back when moving to San Diego.