Well…it’s official! My wife and I are moving to Carlsbad. I accepted a Sr. Scientist position in Carlsbad and we’re flying in next weekend to look for rental homes. We will gladly bid Chicago winters good-bye!
Any suggestions for newcomers?
My wife will probably be driving north for work (she’s in sales, hoping to have an interview next week). We’re extremely excited to be moving to a place so multisport friendly.
David
Join San Diego Tri Club. I have no idea about houses near there, JP will be a better help for that.
Hard to go wrong any place, but there are a few places where you’ll be surrounded by young marines. Their world is different fromt he rest of SoCal, so you need to be prepared for it. I loved it. Those guys and gals were a large part of my business and they treated me to some amazing trips on base. At the time it was closed… not sure if its still closed off.
It’s a small area. Toss a dart, and you’ll be able to do all the rides and runs that they have to offer. You really cant lose unless you struggle with the young, aggressive marine families. I was the ONLY person in my complex that wasn’t in the military in Oceanside, but like I said, I was OK with it. Had to deal with some of the problems that young men and women have, plus some of them were messed up from their tours… outside of SOME parts of oceanside, you really cant go wrong.
Take a look at places like Vista and San Marcos. the best riding and running is inland, so have a peek away from the coast. Its still just a 15min rive to get to the coast, but you’ll love the hills and trails.
Also PM Mike Plumb. he posts here a lot and knows the area really well. Great coach too, if you need the services.
Track access at San Marcos or at Mesa community college? Mike, what’s the name of that great track?
Oh, and congrats, by the way. Given all the lay offs and such, that a great score landing a job in carlsbad. I’m sure you’ve worked your ass of for it so… Well done! Enjoy.
Join San Diego Tri Club. I have no idea about houses near there, JP will be a better help for that.
SD tri club is great, but if your North, get in with the Camp pendleton tri club. You’ll thank me when you’re running and riding on the ONLY untouched land in SoCal. Plus they have, what, 3 x 50m pools on base?
wow, lucky you!! You are going to love it here, so much to choose from.
It’s hard to say one exact part of Carlsbad/Oceanside is the best to live in because each seperate area has it’s own advantages/disadvantages.
In the 9 years that I have lived in the area I have lived in south Carlsbad (LaCosta), Oceanside both on the coast and inland near the end of the bike path. For the past 3 years I have lived in what is called The Village in Carlsbad and love it. Starbucks is exactly a mile away, which doesn’t matter if you like coffee or not, it is the starting/meeting point of many great rides including the Wednesday pro ride. Pizza Port is a couple of blocks away (great pizza and also a micro brewery). To me running along the coast is never boring and I do almost all of my runs there since I am a block from the 101. The best riding though is inland which is easier to get to from just about anywhere in Carlsbad/Oceanside.
There are two good tracks nearby, Cal State San Marcos and Mira Costa College in Oceanside. I also coach a free track workout every Tuesday night which is not on the track right now and is instead on the bike path in Carlsbad beside the RR tracks in the Village.
Once you get here and start looking around, drop me a line and I’d be glad give you openions about the various places you might be considering.
Welcome to triathlon paradise.
You’re going to hate it. Today’s going to be mid-70’s. Waves are about 3-5 feet, sunny, offshore. Lots of places to ride. You’ll never want to go to work. Oh, and if you miss the snow, just drive 2 hours to the San Gabriel or San Bernardino mountains. It’s a winter wonderland up there with several ski resorts. See you on the roads!
Thanks for the great comments everyone! MyAn and I are so excited! Moving to Carlsbad is going to be a wonderful transition… professionally and personally. Since leaving Chapel Hill (NC) in 2006 we’ve been missing the multisport training community and the weather/geography that makes it’s so much fun. I struck gold this time. We look forward to establishing new roots in SoCal.
Looking forward to seeing you on the roads/trails!
David
Thank you for the nice comments. I’ve enjoyed the journey to get to this point. I’m appreciative for this new opportunity and REALLY looking forward to it! Even if we were moving to downtown Detroit, I’d still be excited about the job, but the location in Carlsbad makes it a win-win!
Work hard…play hard!!
My answer is based on what you have as a budget for housing. You can go inland a bit right now, and get a steal. Lots of houses new/old on the market that are not selling. IF you have a few bucks, then I would get something with an ocean view, or at least a walk to the beach. I lived in Leucadia for 12 years, which is right next to Carlsbad on the south end. Between there and downtown is about 6 miles of houses, some right on the water, some just east of the coast hwy, with ocean views. You can of course just jump onto the coast hwy, a favorite of a lot of riders, or just head inland on several roads, and be in the Hils/mountains in 20 miles or so. The Carlsbad masters is a great swim choice, and if you are close to the ocean, it is usable a lot of the year for swimming. The place there is getting really crowded, that is why I like to be on the coast when possible, opens up the hemmed in feeling. Otherwise, you can go inland where Paul Thomas and Kenny Souza have places, and you are on the edge of the mountains, about a 15 minute drive to downtown Carlsbad…
Best bet is to go visit for a week, ride your bike around the entire area, and something will hit you as the perfect place for you and your family…Enjoy, I loved my time there…
Welcome to the area. As others have mentioned, this really is a multisport paradise. I live in north Carlsbad near Tamarack. I typically swim at Carlsbad Masters or the Ecke YMCA in Encinitas.
Tri Club San Diego is a fantastic resource…but most of their activities are further south.
A few of us North County residents recently started a Google Group (LINK) for people in our area to share info on groups workouts, etc.
Feel free to PM me with any questions.
You will love it there, I guarantee… I second the Pizza Port recommendation. Try a Pizza Solana. Like others have said, probably best to get over there and look around. THere are some very nice locations inland and some nice ones near the coast. It depends on what you like. Make sure you get a carne asada burrito at one of the …bertos (Filibertos, Robertos, Albertos, Juanbertos, Eribertos etc…). You will find inland to be more affordable and you will get more house and yard for the nomey. However, I found that when I lived there I was rarely home. There is too much to do there to stay home. I opted for a condo in LaCosta.
Mike
Welcome to Paradise…
Not to be redundant, but there sure is a lot to see. Best thing I can say = you will spend far less tiem on your trainer or treadmill then you once did…
Though TCSD is the “big” boy in town, there are a couple others - mine is Encinitas Tri Club (ETC). Fairly loosely affiliated…i’m not even sur ehow I “joined”!
Its easy to find groups to train with, heck - give me a call or an e-mail, we’d love for you to join one of our workouts (Sat a.m. ride, Wed p.m. track workout, evening swims, etc).
Anyway, welcome - and thanks for (hopefully) helping to bring home values back up again!
p.s. thanks to JP for the link to North Coast Multisport group on Google - i just joined!
I’d just like to add that you suck and I hate you.
Camp Pendleton has a tri club? You probably can’t get on base unless you’re in the service…right?
Anyone can ride on base but you have to bring your I.D. to get on.
Thanks for all the tips everyone! MyAn and I went on a house hunting trip last weekend to Carlsbad. We’re signing a lease today for a house in this area:
Mimosa Dr & Catalpa Rd, Carlsbad, CA 92011
Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=mimosa+and+catalpa+92011&mrt=all&sll=33.099793,-117.27283&sspn=0.010588,0.02178&g=7200+Mimosa+Dr,+Carlsbad,+CA+92011&ie=UTF8&ll=33.099883,-117.272701&spn=0.084701,0.174236&z=13
Job with Invitrogen?
You will love it. Enjoy. I lived with ST’r Mike Plumb in Carlsbad back in 2003. If you get a place in Carlsbad, there’s a high chance you’ll run into him. Terrific place and great people.
Yes 
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Congrats - my wife is a business analyst for ABI (or formerly ABI). She’s been in Carlsbad the past few days for some meetings.