Middle-aged lesbian: Northpark? (San Diego, El Cajon, Imperial Beach: apartments, condos, homes)

[Brookside]

Relocating to SD; steady employment; financially stable; zero illusions.

Ocean Beach has its appeal, but I'm over the living in a sh!--y apt cause it's close to the beach thing.

I would simply prefer to be in a safe attractive nabe where I can walk my dog, enjoy a good weekend brunch, and maybe a meet-up (or two) where I won't be the oldest person there . 😉

Budget under $2500 a month.

Really like North Park (the one time I ventured there, although the population seemed to skew a bit young).

Any other neighborhoods I should consider?

TYVM!

[cruitr]

People like short commutes. SD is a big place. Where will you be working?

[lostsoul359]

Originally Posted by Brookside

Relocating to SD; steady employment; financially stable; zero illusions.

Ocean Beach has its appeal, but I'm over the living in a sh!--y apt cause it's close to the beach thing.

I would simply prefer to be in a safe attractive nabe where I can walk my dog, enjoy a good weekend brunch, and maybe a meet-up (or two) where I won't be the oldest person there . ��

Budget under $2500 a month.

Really like North Park (the one time I ventured there, although the population seemed to skew a bit young).

Any other neighborhoods I should consider?

TYVM!

Are you self employed like me? Work from home? It is nice!
North Park is way too Hot for me. Too much concrete everywhere. The sun bakes it like yuck. The homeless situation is increasing, stinky and because of its proximity to downtown where all of the homeless gather for all of the free service; the perimeter is growing to inner cities such as NP and Sherman Heights...to name a couple, to offer freebies for the homeless.
What climate do you prefer? I live in Palm City, aka Nestor; aka Otay Mesa West; the zip code is 92154. Otay Mesa West is mostly suburban and condos and apts, beach climate mixed with inland climate depends, the further west you live the cooler it and it is more about quiet from road noise, open stargazing ability, nature. The demographics here are retired Military (70 plus) as well as every race it is a melting pot. Not too much crime, compare it to NP or North County any day. I also wanted to mention I did see 2 Lesbians at the Home Depot on Dennery Road, looked like a couple. We really could used some more diversity out here, and we are all pretty friendly, Hispanics are very nice clean people, I am talking about the law abiding humble ones, they are all over my nabe (sorry I cannot perform a spell check on my new WIN10
From my house, Imperial Beach is just a 5 mile drive west, not a bad beach town. It can be time consuming to live there, and do a work commute to the downtown area. No MTS Trolley over there (yet) There is bus service, and I know how to time it right but what if the bus is not on time? Screwed. Uber or Lyft if no Amigos Amigas or Familia

[kettlepot]

North Park is a good choice, but I would also recommend University Heights, to the northwest of North Park, and Normal Heights, to the northeast of North Park.

University Heights has a smaller commercial strip along Park Boulevard between El Cajon Boulevard and Adams Avenue. The commercial strip is only about 3 blocks long. It has several restaurants, a bar or two, plus some other shops. It's a nice, but not "happening" urban area. The area west of Park Boulevard (and north of Washington St) is a protected enclave from the hustle and bustle of urban San Diego.

Normal Heights is a much larger neighborhood of about 18000 with a much larger commercial area along Adams Avenue between the 805 and 15 freeways. It includes a multitude of restaurants, bars, services, plus a grocery and drug store. The drawback Normal Heights has is that it is just on the cusp of being hit by a wave of development which it could actually use because most of the existing multi-family housing stock is older and lacks amenities. Therefore, it may be harder to find quality apartments that meet the standards which your $2500 budget implies.

If you could be more detailed in what you desire from your housing and neighborhood we could offer even more specific advice.

[poop58]

Adding to what other's have said I would say South Park area is good as well. A good mix of old and you, homes and apts, small town/ big city feel. Easier to find street parking than North park, quieter yet still has it's main strip of restaurants bars coffee shops and dog park. easy access to the 94 and 5 freeway

[Brookside]

Thank you all for the suggestions. I am very lucky that commute time will not be an issue.

Definitely want to be within the city of SD. I guess I need to understand its neighborhoods better; visited often when I was a kid (and for extended periods) but it has changed, of course.

Can anyone recommend a good website/blog/alternative weekly for this purpose?

[cruitr]

Check the Neighborhoods link at this site: San Diego City Beat - San Diego CityBeat

[T. Damon]

sd urban - san diego's core neighborhoods

Also has several great links including neighborhood sites.