Living in Carlsbad, California

The city of Carlsbad is one of the most desirable communities in San Diego. Located at the very north end of San Diego, it’s known for its family-friendly neighborhoods, great beaches, restaurants, golf courses, public schools and more.

The median home price in Carlsbad is just over $1.1 million.  A good rule of thumb when it comes to San Diego homes prices is that the closer you are to the beach, the more expensive it gets. The farther away from the coast you go, the land prices become slightly more affordable.

As far as Carlsbad’s location goes, probably the only real negative is that it’s not in the center of San Diego County. We’re just south of Oceanside and just north of Encinitas, which is about 35 minutes to downtown. If you tend to work up in Orange County or Los Angeles, Carlsbad is a great choice because you’re going to save time on your commute by being further north. A lot of industries are located right in Carlsbad though so many people that live here commute locally to the office. There’s a ton of technology companies here. Upper Deck Baseball Cards has a headquarters here. Some video game companies including High Moon Studios which developed Call of Duty. They also have a lot of golf companies in the area, including Callaway and TaylorMade.

One of the best things about living in Carlsbad are the beaches. There’s Carlsbad City Beach, Tamarack Beach, Ponto Beach, and the Carlsbad State Beach as well. They also have some great lagoons where you can do things like paddleboard, jet ski, water ski, or just cruise around on a boat. 

Carlsbad has a very walkable village with lots of great coffee shops and restaurants. Campfire is really good, as is Blue Water GrillCrackheads has a great outdoor patio. If you’re living in San Diego, you want to be able to eat outside all year round and Carlsbad has the most outdoor patios in all of San Diego. There’s also Park 101 which is one of the best restaurants in Carlsbad - love their lobster tacos. Speaking of food, they also have a great donut shop in Carlsbad! I really like the glazed donut at The Goods.

LEGOland is one of my kids’ favorite place to go visit and we’ve actually done a lot of staycations here. LEGOland hotel is awesome for the kids. In the bedrooms, they have this little treasure chest in there that you have to try to figure out the combination to it. When you open it, they have a LEGOs that kids can play with. The hotel and the park both are just very interactive in general. If you are a Costco member, you can get a great deal on an annual pass for around $100. So, if you go two times a year to LEGOland, it definitely pays for itself. 

Carlsbad offers residents and visitors tons of options when it comes to parks. Poinsettia Park is one the largest parks in the area, but there are other great ones like Alga Norte Park. Calvera Hills Park actually has a dead volcano, which I thought was kind of interesting. 

A few breweries with tasting rooms in the Carlsbad Village include Pure Project and Culture Brewing.  There’s also Burgeon Beer Company here. If you’re looking to move to Carlsbad or in San Diego, we’d love to help you find your next home. Click here to get in touch with us!