Apartments in zip code 92105 (San Diego, El Cajon: cheap apartments, rental homes, condos)

[fedfan]

Hi,

I am moving to San Diego from colorado. It is a bubble assignment, so I will be there for around one year. My office is located in zip code 92105. I am single and plan on renting a one bedroom apartment. It will be better if it is close to the office, but can live farther also.

Please recommend any good apartment complexes/other around this area. Is the neighbourhood safe?

Thanks for any input.

[socketz]

92105 is City Heights, user Sassberto knows that area very well.

[Sassberto]

Check out this thread:

http://www.city-data.com/forum/san-d...t=City+Heights

I would recommend living outside of City Heights in Normal Heights, North Park, or pretty much anywhere north of El Cajon blvd from the 805 to about 54th street. (92104,92116,92115)

[kettlepot]

I'll vouch for what Sassberto said. If you can provide an estimate of your rental budget, and the intersection of the office location we might be able to give you even more particular advice. And will you be driving to work? Or taking the bus?

[fedfan]

Thank for all the replies, they have been really helpful.

Kettlepot: I will be driving to work. My office is located near Chollas Heights Reservoir, 54th st and college grove drive. My budget is around $1100, if that is even possible.

Thanks

[kettlepot]

Well, if you want to keep your commute short and sweet, you can just drive south on 54th Street from either Talmadge, El Cerrito, or Rolando. Rolando will be the closest of the three, and is Sassberto's home turf. I'm sure he'll be around soon to provide real details on that area.

El Cerrito will have some overflow from SDSU in either the apartments or in students living together in rental homes. The neighbors hate it, but for you it might not be the issue it is for property owners. Still, overall it's a nice neighborhood as is Talmadge. In Talmadge don't live near Hoover High (47th, Meade, Norwood) unless you have too. And try to stay north of Monroe Avenue. There's just a bit more crime in the first block north of El Cajon Blvd.

$1100 sounds very doable for a one bedroom, unless you're wanting some kind of spectacular countryclub type apartment complex. I've mentioned elsewhere that a two bedroom California Cottage from the 1940's was renting for $950 in Talmadge a few months ago. I don't believe Talmadge or El Cerrito have big complexes with all the amenities. I'm not sure about Rolando. I have seen a series of larger apartment complexes along the southern edge of Rolando along University Avenue. No doubt there are others Sassberto can tell you about.

[Sassberto]

Kettlepot pretty much nailed it, any of these areas are maybe 10 minutes away from Chollas Lake - I'll add some local flavor as I own a home in the area.

As a rule of thumb, if you are west of 54th, stay north of El Cajon (Monroe, really). If you are East of 54th, stay north of University, and the further north you go the better it gets.

The areas immediately around Chollas Lake - Oak Park, Darnall, Rolando Park - are not great, but not terrible areas. It's mostly very diverse lower-middle class homeowners. Not really a place I'd recommend renting an apartment.

If you go north as Kettlepot suggested, the area improves considerably. As a general rule these neighborhoods tend to be comprised more of single-family homes and fewer, smaller apartment complexes. Generally the apartments are located either on or 1 block away from a main street like El Cajon Blvd, University, or College.

Talmadge area has the most multi-family units of the areas mentioned, mostly smaller apartment complexes of 8-12 units. It also has more crime as you head towards El Cajon Boulevard. The farther north you go into Talmadge, the nicer it gets, until you hit million-dollar homes at the north edge of the Mesa. Definitely do not go south of El Cajon blvd west of 54th. I really like the small cottage complexes that Kettlepot mentioned and you will find them here.

El Cerrito is mostly single-family homes and is a very nice area. There are some apartments on the blocks just north of El Cajon. Overall there is less crime as you go east of 54th. The area of El Cerrito south of El Cajon (up behind Crawford / Horace Mann) is not bad and there are more apartment options there. I would specifically recommend the blocks south of El Cajon on 60th Street & College Way. A lot of apartments here that have been converted to condos, many rentals, close to the shopping center on College & El Cajon. I can tell you specifically to avoid the Hillside Garden Apartments on 58th and University in El Cerrito. It looks nice from the outside but looks can be deceiving.

You will sometimes hear the entire area called 'Rolando' but Rolando Village is really only the area bounded by College, University, El Cajon, and 70th street. There are just a few apartment blocks, mostly behind the shopping center on College and El Cajon, centered around Stanley / Acorn street, or just off El Cajon Boulevard. It's hit and miss there as some buildings have been renovated but some have not. Rents will be lower there than in the blocks where all the apartments went condo. That said, that area is getting a huge new Douglas Wilson project so it might be getting niced up in the next few years. It's reasonably safe and quiet but I will say that 90% of the problems in my neighborhood happen in those 3 blocks. There is also a city park with basketball courts nearby which is rare in this part of the city.

North of El Cajon and East of College is what we affectionately call the 'student ghetto'. There are a lot of large complexes with cheap apartments there, specifically on Montezuma and Catocin Drive. Unfortunately there is also a lot of noise, trash, and college-related issues to deal with.

You can also continue to go east towards La Mesa, but the apartments really thin out once you leave the city of SD. However the further east you go, the safer, cleaner, and more expensive it gets.

I would definitely avoid any large complex which is immediately around SDSU because of the rowdy / party factor. Also I would look at Normal Heights and North Park which are west of the area. These neighborhoods are more dense and busy but have a lot more apartment options, as well as nicer amenities like restaurants and shopping.

Also, here are some pics of the area (including my house and my buddy's place) to give you some idea:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/rolandovillage/pool/


Post here or PM me if you have any questions.

[fedfan]

Sassberto, thanks a lot for your detailed reply. I will look at the areas you suggested and short list some apartment complexes, and ask you again for your opinion.

Thanks again.

[kettlepot]

Just wanted to suggest one more area. There are many apartment buildings along Collwood Avenue (which is essentially and northerly extension of 54th St) between Montezuma Road and El Cajon Blvd. These are all fairly large buildings which will have professional management. They all probably have a lot of amenities. The downside is that they probably contain a fair number of students from SDSU. However, given that they should have a manager on site, and are well-maintained buildings it could be that the students in general behave reasonably well. College kids don't automatically mean a dumpy, loud, dirty environment - particularly when older people are mixed in. We really shouldn't automatically stereotype. And if you are youngish, and want to be on the make for college girls, or boys depending on your interest/gender. You might really like it. Just putting that out there.

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by kettlepot

Just wanted to suggest one more area. There are many apartment buildings along Collwood Avenue (which is essentially and northerly extension of 54th St) between Montezuma Road and El Cajon Blvd. These are all fairly large buildings which will have professional management. They all probably have a lot of amenities.

Excellent suggestion, I knew I forgot something :-)

Only downside to Collwood is it may be a little pricier and the street is very busy , but it's a straight shot to Chollas Lake down 54th ... maybe 10 minutes away at most.

As far as student behavior, I think Kettlepot is correct that not all the students are bad. However, there are definitely problems when you have large numbers of students dominating an apartment building or neighborhood. You would not believe the horror stories I hear from residents in College View Estates where the whole 'mini-dorm' thing is happening.