Best Neighborhoods to Live in San Diego ?? (Poway, Kensington: home, university)

[vvin]

Wow, this is fantastic. I think I found my top neighborhoods to reside based on this forum feedback and my personal criteria ( 1. Local or near walking distance to coffee, wholefoods/organic grocery, local restaurants/pizza/subs 2. somewhat close to trails for running/outdoors 3. within 15-20 minutes of nightlife, concert halls, bars, downtown stuff 4. reasonable distance from work (Kearney Mesa - Spectrum) 5. relatively safe, secure, signs of life in area though trendy/hip not required)


1. Hillcrest (great amenities, show signs of fun/life/enthusiasm, and perfect commute to work in Kearny Mesa in the AM)
2. North Park (for same reasons as Hill Crest)
3. Cortez Hill-Downtown (Same reasons as #1 and #2, and close to 163 Hwy for commute to work)
4. Gaslamp/Little Italy (Not sure about accessibility to work in the AM)
5. Normal Heights/Kensington (Need to do research)
6. South Park/Golden Hill (need to do research)
7. Tierrasanta, Clairemont Mesa (proximity to work is perfect but may be too suburby and lifeless for me - no offense)
8. Mission Hills (Doesn't seem to offer anything except it's in the middle of everything...)
9. Bird Rock (Need to do research; traffic in AM may be an issue)
10. UTC/PB (Ok, but driving/traffic to work may be an issue)

[T. Damon]

Here is a little flavor for the uptown neighborhoods mentioned:

SOUTH PARK San Diego -nice vibe in the "village" areas and close enough to walk downtown and its amenities if you walk like a New Yorker-35 minutes, or 10 minutes or so on the #2 bus running every 11 minutes.
NORTH PARK SCENE ~ what's doing
sd urban (look into the "hoods" links for others)

San Diego Uptown News -general goings ons/calendar - such as:
30th Street Blog: FRIDAY: 30th on 30th! hop on and off the #2 bus with a day pass to stay out of trouble.

Good Luck

[Clevelandgal]

Keep in mind Mission Hills and Mission Valley, although near one another,are 2 totally different places.

Mission Hills is an old San Diego community next to Hillcrest and has some great cafes and coffee shops. It is kind of pricey for the budget you laid out. Mission Valley is the chainy, centrally located place.

[laina1980]

If I coukd do it over again I would have lived downtown when I was younger and single. Instead I lived in North County which is nice, but suburban feeling.

My fave city in SD is Encinitas, but it is fsr form Kearny Mesa. La jolla also a little far, and pretty pricey.

[kettlepot]

Follow what Sfoysd, Clevelandgal and T Damon recommended, live in the neighborhoods surrounding Balboa Park: Hillcrest, University Heights, North Park, South Park, plus Normal Heights. Mission Hills and Kensington might not work because of expense. Golden Hill and Cortez Hill could be a bit far on the commute side. Can someone tell the OP if the bottle neck at the junction of the 5 and the 163 forms in the morning, or if its only an afternoon phenomenon.

These Balboa Park neighborhoods have organic food markets and weekend farmers markets. Plenty of walkably close nightlife - Mission Valley might have places you could walk to, but the trip would not be "walkable" as in a pleasant experience. For parts of Hillcrest, North Park, and South Park, plus Golden Hill, Balboa Park would be right at hand. For University Heights, northern North Park, and Normal Heights, the park would not be close enough that you could walk or jog to it. Still these other areas would have plenty of other things to offer.

La Jolla, and Pacific Beach can be an absolute bear to reach the freeway unless you live fairly close to the freeway on ramp (and who wants that?).

Frankly, given your criteria, I'm surprised it took 5 to 10 responses before people got round to pointing you towards Hillcrest, North and South Park, University and Normal Heights.

[MovingAloha]

Originally Posted by kettlepot

Follow what Sfoysd, Clevelandgal and T Damon recommended, live in the neighborhoods surrounding Balboa Park: Hillcrest, University Heights, North Park, South Park, plus Normal Heights. Mission Hills and Kensington might not work because of expense. Golden Hill and Cortez Hill could be a bit far on the commute side. Can someone tell the OP if the bottle neck at the junction of the 5 and the 163 forms in the morning, or if its only an afternoon phenomenon.

These Balboa Park neighborhoods have organic food markets and weekend farmers markets. Plenty of walkably close nightlife - Mission Valley might have places you could walk to, but the trip would not be "walkable" as in a pleasant experience. For parts of Hillcrest, North Park, and South Park, plus Golden Hill, Balboa Park would be right at hand. For University Heights, northern North Park, and Normal Heights, the park would not be close enough that you could walk or jog to it. Still these other areas would have plenty of other things to offer.

La Jolla, and Pacific Beach can be an absolute bear to reach the freeway unless you live fairly close to the freeway on ramp (and who wants that?).

Frankly, given your criteria, I'm surprised it took 5 to 10 responses before people got round to pointing you towards Hillcrest, North and South Park, University and Normal Heights.

Actually I asked the question about Hillcrest and University Heights back on the first page, but he never responded.

Oh well, I do agree, that the central location would be my choice, but it initially appeared he was looking north.

Happy New Year!

[Dale the male]

Point Loma is quite nice and that's where I have spent time.

[vvin]

Thanks for all the links and feedback. I'll be going through padmapper and other sources to secure room or apartment. If unsuccessful, I'll just stay in a hotel for a week when I arrive in San Diego and drive through the listed neighborhoods. My top neighborhoods, listed below, are based on this forum feedback and my personal criteria ( 1. Local or near walking distance to coffee, wholefoods/organic grocery, local restaurants/pizza/subs 2. somewhat close to trails for running/outdoors 3. within 15-20 minutes of nightlife, concert halls, bars, downtown stuff 4. reasonable distance from work (Kearney Mesa - Spectrum) 5. relatively safe, secure, signs of life in area though trendy/hip not required)


1. Hillcrest (great amenities, show signs of fun/life/enthusiasm, and perfect commute to work in Kearny Mesa in the AM)
2. North Park (for same reasons as Hill Crest)
3. Cortez Hill-Downtown (Same reasons as #1 and #2, and close to 163 Hwy for commute to work)
4. Gaslamp/Little Italy (Not sure about accessibility to work in the AM)
5. Normal Heights/Kensington (Need to do research)
6. South Park/Golden Hill (need to do research)
7. Tierrasanta, Clairemont Mesa (proximity to work is perfect but may be too suburby and lifeless for me - no offense)
8. Mission Hills (Doesn't seem to offer anything except it's in the middle of everything...)
9. University Heights (need researach)
10. Bird Rock (Need to do research; traffic in AM may be an issue)
11. UTC/PB (Ok, but driving/traffic to work may be an issue)
12. Point Loma (need research - too far from work I believe)

[tonyinsd]

All of downtown would work just fine for your commute in the morning. It's a straight shot up the 163 to get to Kearny Mesa.

[Clevelandgal]

I think if more easterly neighborhoods (S.Park, N.Park, Normal Heights) are looked at, 163 could be a pain to get too so most people use 15/805. Does anyone know what the 15/805 looks like in a reverse commute to Kearney Mesa? I know 163 is unconjested in both north and south reverse commutes (unless of course there is a padres came in the afternoon). I have taken the 805 southbound to downtown in the afternoon from Kearney Mesa,and there can definitely be some traffic. I think that is because people must be heading home to south county, whereas 163 is strait to downtown.