East County San Diego

East County's warmer temperatures are a huge attraction for people when deciding where to buy a home.  Besides the climate, the communities in these inland cities are filled with long-time residents who not only welcome new families, but feel a "sense of community" in their own neighborhoods.  Whether you want to drive to one of the beautiful beaches, La Jolla, South Bay, Mission Valley or any of the San Diego attractions, it usually takes about 15-30 minutes, depending how far east you live.

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La Mesa is one of my favorite east county locations.  It's a community filled with diverse neighborhoods and affordable housing for all types of buyers - especially first time home buyers.  Home prices range from $150,000 to $600,000.  From affordable, well-established family-friendly tract homes, exclusive custom homes, La Mesa has a lot to offer.  For instance, Mt. Helix is a mountain community filled with upscale homes (ranging in price from $500,000 to a few million) with incredible panoramic views of San Diego County.   On lower ground, you'll find neighborhoods of La Mesa bursting with outdoor activities. For example, residents enjoy the attraction of Lake Murray Park.  There you will find year-round fishing, a picnic area, and a popular 3.2 mile paved path for walking, running or riding your bike, which encircles the lake.

In the charming downtown area of La Mesa, you always feel welcome amongst the diversity of quaint shops and a variety of restaurants. Year round you'll see people strolling on the streets and enjoying what this community has to offer.

San Carlos is an older, well-established neighborhood.  This community is a neighbor to La Mesa, Del Cerro, the College Area, El Cajon and Allied Gardens.  Here you will find an abundance of beautiful homes where yards are nicely maintained and where residents know their neighbors.  It seems to be in the middle of "everywhere", since it only takes 15 minutes to travel to the beach, La Jolla, Pacific Beach, South Bay, Mission Valley or even the mountains.

San Carlos is known for the ever-popular and highly trafficked Cowles Mountain. In fact, it's slated as the most hiked mountain in the entire county. With its 1.5 mile trek to the top of the peak where you can see all the way to the beach, you'll find people of all ages hiking this mountain all year long, day and night!

Alpine is a small quiet mountain community which sits at the base of the Cuyamaca Mountains.  Near Interstate 8, this East County neighborhood is located 30 miles east of Point Loma.  This rural community is called home to approximately 15,000 and residents love it due to not only the warmer climate, but the picturesque foothills.  In Alpine you'll find many small ranches and attractive homes which lie amongst the sycamore, oaks, eucalyptus and pepper trees.  Residents also enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking, bike-riding, boating, fishing and horseback riding.

Jamul is a small rural community in San Diego's East County.  Their neighboring cities include Rancho San Diego, Granite Hills and El Cajon.  This small-town bedroom community is situated in the hills and most of the homes have large expansive lots.  With a population of approximately 9,000 people, the residents have a sense of pride in their tight-knitted community.  It's truly a safe environment where families are comfortable walking about day and night.  In fact, Jamul offers quite a few outdoor activities which include hiking, biking, camping and fishing; they also have recreational parks as well as dog parks.