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[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by Boose

Shnikee, I guess that's why we'll have to go out to SD and see for ourselves . I grew up in the late 1970s in an eastern Mass. neighborhood that had two bars, a used-car lot, several welfare recipients, a fish & chip shop, paint factory and the boarded-up remains of a foundry. A casual glance would have suggested a rough area, yet the homeowners were proud of what they had and were always aware of who was on the street and what they were doing. I was 100% safe there and the neighborhood has remained stable as the elders have died and their houses have sold to young families. So you never know at first glance.

I do appreciate knowing the street boundaries for better/worse neighborhoods in SD, though. I have the Rand McNally city map, and the neighborhoods are labeled in a very general way.

In SD city, the area to avoid is a quad roughly bounded by the 805 fwy to the west, El Cajon Blvd to the north, 54th street to the east, and 94 fwy south. There are exceptions to this, but generally you want to stay out of most of City Heights, in particular the Teralta, Castle, and Colina Del Sol neighborhoods.

[Shnikee]

Yeah that area hasn't come up on my search. Either has logan heights and other areas which are mostly rough.... the real kind of rough... not city-data rough. Hah.

[kettlepot]

Originally Posted by Boose

Shnikee, I guess that's why we'll have to go out to SD and see for ourselves . I grew up in the late 1970s in an eastern Mass. neighborhood that had two bars, a used-car lot, several welfare recipients, a fish & chip shop, paint factory and the boarded-up remains of a foundry. A casual glance would have suggested a rough area, yet the homeowners were proud of what they had and were always aware of who was on the street and what they were doing. I was 100% safe there and the neighborhood has remained stable as the elders have died and their houses have sold to young families. So you never know at first glance.

I do appreciate knowing the street boundaries for better/worse neighborhoods in SD, though. I have the Rand McNally city map, and the neighborhoods are labeled in a very general way.

You might be able to kind of match up your Rand McNally city map with our neighborhood map sticky at the top of the San Diego forum. That map has boundaries but no streets, and your R-M map has streets but no boundaries.

The areas in San Diego that have your type of living but may or may not have your price range generally surround Balboa Park:

This area is bounded by I-8 on the north, I-5 on the west, I-805 on the east and a southern line that generally extends east-west at the southern edge of Balboa Park.

These neighborhoods are Park West/Bankers Hill, South Mission Hills/ Middletown, (these previous two listings seem to be undergoing a name change), Hillcrest, University Heights, North Park, and South Park.

I wrote a C-D dissertation on most of these neighborhoods last summer. Check my previous post for more information.

Is Hlllcrest good for a young family?

Downtown has some areas that will give you some of the feel you want in Little Italy and around Cortez Hill, but would probably be too expensive. Ditto for the neighborhood of Kensington which is east of the I-15. Also outside of the boundary area I mentioned is Normal Heights. You should definitely price rentals in Normal Heights as it may appeal to you. However, in general you should stick to north of Adams Avenue. South of Adams Avenue it is definitely block by block with the eastern edge near the I-15 probably being a little bit better, but would still have issues.

Sassberto mentioned Golden Hill which is south of Balboa Park, and east of Downtown. I've never been a fan of this area, but I've never lived there and perhaps have never seen the better areas. Sassberto gives good information though, so don't rule it out.

[Boose]

Originally Posted by kettlepot

The areas in San Diego that have your type of living but may or may not have your price range generally surround Balboa Park:

I wrote a C-D dissertation on most of these neighborhoods last summer.

Yes, I actually bookmarked it and sent it on to my husband a couple of days ago -- thanks! And Sassberto, I marked the areas you mentioned on my map. Now I know why houses in Chollas Creek are relatively inexpensive.

Thanks again for the info.

[RD5050]

Check San Diego Craigslist under apts for rent:

san diego craigslist > apts/housing for rent: search

It will give you an idea of what apartments are available, and in which neighborhoods for up to $1200/mo.

I recommend living either downtown, or somewhere north of downtown. The closer you get to the Mexican border, you will find more problem neighborhoods (gangs, etc).

The further east you live (away from the coast), the hotter the climate gets.

My personal favorite neighborhood is Clairemont.

I have an extensive write-up about Clairemont here:

Best San Diego Neighboods - and why?