Neighborhoods in Greater SD (San Diego, Stockton: apartments, condo, homes)

[Prairieman]

Several posters who are planning to move to SD (like me) have asked about good and not-so-good areas in SD with respect to crime, noise, etc. There is a wealth of information on this forum as well as other websites, but it can be difficult and time-consuming to get an overall picture. To get a better understanding, I grouped what I have found out about many areas of SD county into several categories. Since the groupings could be of value to others moving to SD, I would like to share them here on C-D forum. I realize that everyone's idea of "nice" area is somewhat different, but there is surely some common ground. Hope you find this somewhat useful, and I hope I did not screw anything up too badly - please remember that I am (still) not a San Diegan.


Central SD - inner areas:
Gang injunction areas: None.
Other undesirable areas: City Heights neighborhoods of Teralta East, Teralta West, Colina Del Sol, Castle, Fairmont Village, Swan Canyon, Fox Canyon, Isenlair, Chollas Creek, Ridgeview/Webster.
A bit dumpy and rough, but OK: North Park, Normal Heights (south of Adams), El Cerrito, East Village, City Heights neighborhoods of Corridor, Cherokee Point, Fairmount Park, Hollywood Park, Darnall, Oak Park.
A bit noisy, but OK: College East and West (near SDSU), properties on ECB and University Ave outside of City Heights, areas in Downtown SD (e.g. Gaslamp).
Nicer, quieter areas: Bankers Hill/Park West, Little Italy, Middletown, Hillcrest, University Heights, South Park, Golden Hill, Normal Heights (north of Adams), Burlingame, Rolando, Old Town.
Affluent areas: Mission Hills, Kensington, Talmadge.

Central SD - outer areas:
Gang injunction areas: Linda Vista.
Other undesirable areas: None.
A bit dumpy and rough, but OK: parts of Mission Valley.
A bit noisy, but OK: parts of Mission Valley, Pacific Beach (especially near coast), Mission Beach.
Nicer, quieter areas: Ocean Beach, Clairemont, Kearny Mesa, Bay Park, Bay Ho, Serra Mesa, Birdland, Tierrasanta, San Carlos, Allied Gardens, University City.
Affluent areas: Point Loma, La Jolla, Del Cerro.

Southeast SD:
Gang injunction areas: National City, Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, Memorial, Lincoln Park, Valencia Park, south Encanto, north Bay Terraces, Skyline, Jamacha-Lomita, Alta Vista.
Other undesirable areas: Grant Hill, Stockton, Chollas View, Mountain View, Southcrest, Shelltown, south Spring Valley (La Presa).
A bit dumpy and rough, but OK: Emerald Hills, north Encanto, Paradise Hills, south Bay Terraces, Lemon Grove, Spring Valley (older areas).
A bit noisy, but OK: None.
Nicer, quieter areas: Spring Valley (Casa de Oro, Rancho SD, Dictionary Hill).
Affluent areas: None.

East County:
Gang injunction areas: None.
Other undesirable areas: None.
A bit dumpy and rough, but OK: El Cajon (older areas in flats).
A bit noisy, but OK: None.
Nicer, quieter areas: Santee, Lakeside, La Mesa (especially Mt. Helix), El Cajon (Bostonia, Granite Hills, Fletcher Hills).
Affluent areas: None.

South Bay:
Gang injunction areas: Nestor, Egger Highlands.
Other undesirable areas: Chula Vista (Northwest, near the 5), Otay Mesa West (near Main), San Ysidro.
A bit dumpy and rough, but OK: Imperial Beach, Chula Vista (other parts west of the 805).
A bit noisy, but OK: None.
Nicer, quieter areas: Bonita, Eastlake (Chula Vista east of the 805).
Affluent areas: Coronado.

North County - coastal:
Gang injunction areas: Oceanside (Eastside, Crown Heights, Libby Lake).
Other undesirable areas: Oceanside (Back Gate aka Deep Valley aka Mesa Margarita - near intersection of Vandegrift Blvd. at N. River Rd.).
A bit dumpy and rough, but OK: Oceanside (older downtown areas).
A bit noisy, but OK: Oceanside (downtown areas near train and coast).
Nicer, quieter areas: Oceanside (newer areas, e.g. Fire Mountain), Carlsbad (especially La Costa and Calavera Hills), Encinitas, Solana Beach.
Affluent areas: Del Mar.

North County - inland:
Gang injunction areas: Vista (between Santa Fe Ave. and railroad), San Marcos (around Rancho Santa Fe Rd. between Mission Rd. and San Marcos Blvd.), Escondido (area bordered by Grand, Escondido, Lincoln and Midway streets; area bordered by Grand, Juniper, Felicitas and Upas streets).
Other undesirable areas: None.
A bit dumpy and rough, but OK: Escondido (other older central areas).
A bit noisy, but OK: Mira Mesa (especially busier streets).
Nicer, quieter areas: Vista (Sycamore, Shadowridge, Buena Creek, Alta Vista, etc.), San Marcos (San Elijo Hills, Santa Fe Hills, Discovery Hills, etc.), Escondido (newer southwest, southeast and northern areas), Poway, Rancho PQ, Scripps Ranch, Ramona, Carmel Valley, Sorrento Valley.
Affluent areas: Rancho Bernardo/4S, Rancho Santa Fe.

[Sassberto]

Amazing post! I think there are certainly going to be some minor disputes on some of these but overall, some great info here. One thing to remember is that especially in the inner city neighborhoods you might need to break down the areas beyond their neighborhood name. For instance - there are undesirable portions of Kensington, Talmade, El Cerrito and Rolando as well as very nice blocks too. Generally speaking the city neighborhoods have very well defined borders (i.e. south of El Cajon, North of Adams, west of 54th, etc...)

A couple of suggestions for changes:
- La Mesa, Spring Valley, and Lemon Grove are considered East County, not SE. SE usually refers to within SD City limits
- National City is usually considered part of South Bay
- University City is probably considered affluent
- I would probably put El Cerrito up into a higher category and move Rolando down a category (El Cerrito homes are larger, often better-kept, and cost more)
- I would qualify North Park into 2 areas, i.e. South of University and North of University)

[sav858]

This is some great information, thanks for taking the time to post it! I've never even heard of a lot of those smaller neighborhoods; you sure seem to know a lot about areas of SD ,more so than some locals like me.

I'll add a little of my own input to the Central SD - outer areas since that is what I know best.

Originally Posted by Prairieman

Central SD - outer areas:
Gang injunction areas: Linda Vista.
Other undesirable areas: None.
A bit dumpy and rough, but OK: parts of Mission Valley. parts of Clairemont (mostly in and around CM Blvd. but overall not too bad).
A bit noisy, but OK: parts of Mission Valley, Pacific Beach (especially near coast and Garnett Ave), Mission Beach. Ocean Beach (mainly near Newport Ave and the pier)
Nicer, quieter areas: Clairemont, Kearny Mesa, Bay Park, Bay Ho, Serra Mesa, Birdland, Tierrasanta, San Carlos, Allied Gardens, University City. North PB
Affluent areas: Point Loma, La Jolla, Del Cerro.

[revelated]

Originally Posted by Prairieman

Southeast SD:
Gang injunction areas: National City, Barrio Logan, Logan Heights, Memorial, Lincoln Park, Valencia Park, south Encanto, north Bay Terraces, Skyline, Jamacha-Lomita, Alta Vista.
Other undesirable areas: Grant Hill, Stockton, Chollas View, Mountain View, Southcrest, Shelltown, south Spring Valley (La Presa).
A bit dumpy and rough, but OK: Emerald Hills, north Encanto, Paradise Hills, south Bay Terraces, Lemon Grove, Spring Valley (older areas).
A bit noisy, but OK: None.
Nicer, quieter areas: Spring Valley (Casa de Oro, Rancho SD, Dictionary Hill).
Affluent areas: None.

East County:
Gang injunction areas: None.
Other undesirable areas: None.
A bit dumpy and rough, but OK: El Cajon (older areas in flats).
A bit noisy, but OK: None.
Nicer, quieter areas: Santee, Lakeside, La Mesa (especially Mt. Helix), El Cajon (Bostonia, Granite Hills, Fletcher Hills), Campo.
Affluent areas: None.

Good listing.

On the Southeast, the ones I bolded are definitely gang influenced. In fact Emerald Hills is itself the name of a gang. Paradise Hills, which I believe includes Meadowbrook Apartments, is the center of gang influence in most of southern San Diego.

On East County, I added Campo there which is a little known, almost rural subcommunity close to the border. It's quiet and rather nice, just people don't want to live there because the commute is too far to everything.

[Prairieman]

Thank you all VERY much for your excellent comments so far! It is a relief to see that knowledgeable San Diegans like yourselves are generally comfortable with the groupings made by a non-local. I will incorporate your suggestions, and plan to repost the revised version after more folks comment.

To Sassberto: Splitting North Park is a great idea - it was difficult to place. Kensington and Talmadge were also difficult, since they progress from very affluent up north to rather average down by ECB. I am hoping to get input from our friendly Kensingtonian, sdurbanite.

To sav858: Your points regarding OB, PB and Clairemont are well taken, especially since many newcomers to SD are drawn to these areas.

To revelated: The infamous Meadowbrook Apartments are actually in neighboring Bay Terraces, but I understand that there is gang activity in both areas. As you probably noticed, I was trying to distinguish a really gang-infested area like Chollas View or Lincoln Park, versus a more "fringe" area like Paradise Hills or north Encanto. Emerald Hills will be moved down a notch. I appreciate your input.

I am also hoping to get comments from folks with a detailed knowledge of the South Bay (e.g. jksouthbay88) and North County (e.g. kimmer).

Thanks again!

[TomSD]

Nice summary. As with anywhere else most areas have their exceptions but this is a good reference for people looking for somewhere to start or for a general overview.

[CrissCT]

Great post. I won't disagree that 4S Ranch is kind of an affluent area but would just like to point out that as a planned community we do have a number of income based apartments and a diverse range of home sizes from condo to larger homes. It's definitely not as affluent as Rancho Santa Fe.

[kettlepot]

It's a fine line between making useful distinctions and overburdening the reader with information, but I'll make a few comments on some of the neighborhoods.

University Heights could be split between Nicer and Quieter west of Park Boulevard, and Noisy but OK east of Park Boulevard.

I would actually suggest splitting North Park into 3 areas, Nicer and Quieter north of Adams Avenue, Noisy But OK (or even Rough and Dumpy) between Adams Avenue and University Avenue, and then Nicer and Quieter south of University Avenue near the Park.

The City Heights neighborhoods of Islenair and Azalea Park might be better classified as A Bit Dumpy and Rough but OK. They looked decent when I've walked through them. Islenair has actually been designated as an historic district.

Clairemont is such a huge area, It might be appropriate to add the descriptor of Noisy But OK to areas along the main thoroughfares, but maybe that's a given in any neighborhood.

You were right in your follow up comments about Kensington and Talmadge having a rather wide variety within their boundaries, While most of these two neighborhoods are nice, they both have areas that are not up to par. Some blocks could either be described as Rough and Dumpy but OK or even undesirable. Overall though, I believe that among Central San Diego neighborhoods, Mission Hills and Kensington stand alone, so it might be more appropriate to classify Talmadge as Nicer and Quieter.

[JM926]

Awesome post!

[revelated]

Originally Posted by CrissCT

Great post. I won't disagree that 4S Ranch is kind of an affluent area but would just like to point out that as a planned community we do have a number of income based apartments and a diverse range of home sizes from condo to larger homes. It's definitely not as affluent as Rancho Santa Fe.

Not trying to hijack the thread...but where? Reserve did offer some income consideration but IMO the ones worth living in were all occupied.