Escondido, California

Escondido's strengths and challenges

Moved here in 2019. We wanted to get into Poway but found a great spot in southish esco for a lot less.

At first we loved it, great neighbors and pretty quiet. Was able to leave packages on the door while we were at work, no crime, no homeless. Over the last 12 months, it’s take a large turn for the worse. Locked mailboxes being burgled, multiple packages stolen, sketchy characters snooping around at night, and a noticble increase in DUI (personally called and acted as a witness in 2 cases within 6 months). Had to do a security overhaul because of so many burglaries around the area, which is sad because this used to be “the nice area”.

I like to take daily walks and pick up trash around the area. I’ve stopped because whereas I used to barely fill up half a bag, I now have a full bag before I’m half done with the walk. I’ve tried reporting it to the PD since I’ve seen the same douche park in the same place with same car and always litters in the same spot, to which I get a “when we have time we will look into it”. Hasn’t stopped, same kid still does it, that’s an easy win they just decide to miss.

Grand renovation is looking good. Could be faster, but I understand how that goes. Hoping the eclectic/old/staples of main don’t get priced out, there needs to be some help for the cornerstone places!

All in all it’s gotten worse, but getting rid of the homeless, cracking down on drugs/alcohol drivers and general crime would be great!

Escondido's strengths and challenges

I moved to Escondido with my family in 2017. We live near Felicita Park. We moved here because, at the time, we could get more house/land for our money. I feel very comfortable and safe in my neighborhood. We're very close to Bernardo Elementary which I believe is one of the better elementaries in Escondido. I feel confident our child is getting an excellent education there.

I tend to stay away from north and east Escondido as I see those areas as less desirable. As many people have mentioned already, we, too, have homeless in our neighborhood. There are homeless living in the tree line off of Park Rd and Bernardo. We know they cruise the neighborhoods after midnight looking for easy hits on unlocked cars. My sister's car has been robbed a couple times. They tend to take sunglasses and loose change. So, yes, no matter where you are in Escondido, you cannot escape the homeless crisis. I would say that the homeless issue definitely needs to be addressed with realistic solutions.

I think the redevelopment of downtown is nice and gives the city a hometown feel. Overall, I think there are a lot of great restaurants throughout Esco. However, I do find myself going to San Marcos, RB, Carmel Mountain for shopping and entertainment. I think the shops along Escondido Ave could use some sprucing up. They look pretty run down and old.

We love to mountain bike and Lake Hodges and Daly Ranch are amazing for that. Kit Carson park is awesome, too. We spend a lot of time at Kit Carson for various sports.

Overall, I love our area of south Escondido (west of the 15). It has a pleasant rural but still city feel to it. Like most places in SD County, there are good and bad parts of town. I feel fortunate to live in one of the better parts.

Escondido's strengths and challenges

Current Escondido Resident. I was born and raised here, moved away for a bit but returned when I got married since it was a central hub between family, friends, and work, and rent was cheaper than San Marcos.

Pros: Everything that's being done on Grand Ave. All the new restaurants, and the redesign of the street gives it a small town Main Street vibe.

Cons: As has already been stated, the homeless population is a huge problem. There are places in the city that I won't take my kids because of this. While my kids love Grape Day Park, it's getting worse and worse, and I've started taking my kids to parks in San Marcos to avoid it. Also, the streets are a mess. So many potholes and even areas where the streets are crumbling. Lastly, rent isn't cheap anymore. I know that's a problem everywhere right now, but we're currently looking for a bigger place, and the prices might dive us out.

More cons than pros at this point

Thinking of moving to Escondido and looking at apartments, how's the food, safety, etc of the area?

In terms of safety, the safest places are in the northern most part of town, and the southern part of town. I used to live in the west end, at times it can be sketch but old esco is really nice and pretty safe imo. For food, there are places like Killer pizza from Mars, Dominics on Grand ave, Agrussa’s, burger bench also on grand. When we get back to normal, cruisin grand occurs every Friday for a few months. And we have other local events that go on. I’ve loved hear my whole life, but with that being said it’s pretty easy to get a feel for the town.

I agree with everything this person said about Escondido, but I have a few things to add.

The other nice part about living on the north or south end of town is that there are nice hiking trails on the north end of town by lake Dixon in an area called Daley Ranch and there are also some nice trails around Lake Hodges and in the Elfin Forest. (if you like to get outside). On the south end of town, Kit Carson Park is really nice.

As far as food goes, there are lots of good Mexican food places dotted around. Stone Brewing has expensive food (it is good), but the garden is a great place to have drinks. Filippi's Pizza is a downtown classic. Taco Tuesday at the Brigantine is pretty awesome if you like fish tacos. Hernandez Hideaway sits down by Lake Hodges and is a great secluded spot for a date.

The California Center for the Arts typically has some cool art events and they used to have some decent musical acts come through. That will probably pick up again once things get back to normal regarding covid.

If you are thinking about having kids, I believe the top public elementary schools in Escondido are Bernardo Elementary and L. R. Green (both on the southern end of town). I think (I may be wrong) the middle schools in Escondido are all pretty mediocre. As far as high schools go: there are a couple of academies and a charter high school that have pretty high rankings, Escondido and San Pasqual are decent, and Orange Glen is not great.

Living in Escondido California [EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW]