Which main SD streets signify their respective areas? (San Diego, El Cajon: apartment complexes, lease)

[PatanjaliTwist]

A friend’s daughter is in SD now to find an apartment within 2-wks. She stayed in the Gaslamp District last week so she could view apartments downtown & around the Marina & to get a good flavor of the city by walking about. Since she has the time, she wants to make sure she checks out as many other areas as she can before signing a lease & noticed there are better rents & more sq. footage in other parts of the city.

She said she got a good idea of the Gaslamp/downtown/Marina by walking the entire lengths of Broadway & Market from N Harbor Dr to 13th St & virtually every street in-between… a little time-consuming, but without a local to say “A & B Sts are where you want to be”, she was left to her own devices plus a local map. So far, she was most impressed with the neighborhood which houses the apartment complexes near Kettner Blvd & India St near the water & around G/Market Sts near the water… not sure if that’s Seaport, Marina or still downtown? She said the water area felt more comfortable, slightly more upscale/less congested/less noisy (although not sure how the train tracks add to noise levels… orange or blue line runs by, she said). She avoided 1st/Grape/Hawthorn Sts (my map says that’s the Harborview area) as several told her it’s directly under the airport flight path & is noisy…. since she lived across from Boston’s Logan Airport for several years, that’s probably wise advice.

But, she also knows she only saw a small part of San Diego. Unfortunately, she wasn’t able to find Little Italy… she said she definitely wasn’t in any area which housed 100 restaurants, so she’ll try to find that area this weekend. Can anyone tell me which main streets she can look for to find LI?

She also doesn’t know if she was in the Seaport area… is that the same as the Marina or N. Harbor Dr? I’m glad she’s got a great sense of humor… she said everyone she stopped to ask for directions was an Oz/German tourist who didn’t know where anything was, but since she’d walked the length of several main roads for days she was giving store recommendations, knew where restaurants were, told people how to find other hotels she’d passed by & felt like a tour guide.

Also, which streets should she concentrate on driving to & walking around to give her a flavor of other areas of the city, e.g., Hillcrest, Kensington, University Heights, Normal Heights, Banker’s Hill? Any other areas anyone would suggest she check out?

Thank you very much. You’ve no idea how helpful this info will be to her.

[kguru]

Little Italy is to the north of the Broadway area near the blue line trolley. In other areas she should consider traversing Adams Ave (University Heights/Normal Heights/Kensington) its full length. El Cajon Blvd is ok in the state streets area, but becomes run down and unsafe east of the 805. University Ave and Washington Ave would be good for getting to see Hillcrest and the North Park area. The better areas along University are generally further west; City Heights has some rough areas in it. Other areas to consider are the Midway area which is west of Old Town (near the Sports Arena). If she is interested in the beaches, she could try Ocean Beach (beyond Midway to the West), or Mission Beach (northwest of Old Town/Midway), or Pacific Beach (a little further north). Clairemont is another neighborhood that is fairly cheap probably, and not too distant. Clairemont will not be that walkable or convenient on public transit. Living close to the trolley would have its advantages. The trains do make some noise, but are much quieter than heavy rail trains like Amtrak. One factor that is important is to check out how well lit the areas are. Many of the neighborhoods around the city have rather limited lighting which can be a safety concern. Neighborhoods closer to downtown and the trolley are generally better in this regard, while some more suburban areas are pretty dark at night. Bus service quality is variable. Some lines run often, while others are rather infrequent.

[PatanjaliTwist]

Kguru... This is amazingly helpful! You've covered everything from safety to public transit. Thank you so much for being so very thorough.

My friend's daughter & I just spoke & she's pouring through CL listings... found a few Kensington bungalows & she already has a list of a few Archstone properties... Archstone La Jolla & Harborview on W. G St. are the ones that most caught her eye. She's ambivilant about those as www.apartmentratings.com has just awful reviews for every property she searches for, all of the Archstones, too... they can't ALL be that bad, but it's hard to know which review to give attention.

Tomorrow morning she'll drive to some of the areas you mentioned & walk about a bit to see if she'd enjoy living there. She's in La Jolla now & although she likes it says it's not really for her... the walkable areas seem to focus on shopping & the other areas seem more suburban, which isn't really her, mainly as she's single. She will also drive to Del Mar/Encinitas just for a quick spin... some Archstone's there, too... they might be good as an initial move just until she gets her bearings & figures out where she'd like to settle. Money's not an issue for her, but as she said, why pay $1,400/mo for a studio/1-bed if you can live on the other side of the city for $900/mo for 1-2 beds & only have to drive a bit further into town.

She's in her 40's but looks in her late 20's (lucky girl), but she ruled out Ocean/Mission/Pacific Beaches for that reason as it seems to draw those in their 20's. If you think that info's incorrect, please let me know & I'll pass it along to her. She has time, but is getting antsy so she can settle somewhere sooner so she'll be happy to get your info.

Thank you again.

[kettlepot]

To get a sense of North Park and South Park, (and she should explore South Park as well), after driving Park Boulevard to Adams Avenue, and Adams Avenue east of I-15 into Kensington, she should retrace her path and travel south on 30th Street. The northern part of 30th street will probably be un-impressive to her. However, once she crosses University Avenue and heads on south, she'll be in the heart of North Park, and crossing south of Juniper will put her in the South Park commercial and restaurant area. I think she might find exactly what she wants in a less expensive, walkable, charming neighborhood in the North Park and South Park areas. She should also take side detours off of 30th Street going east and west once she's south of University Avenue.

And FYI: The major parts of NP and SP are primarily east of Balboa Park, and only smaller parts are north and south of the park.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Hi,

There was another thread on downtown, which I had contributed to which might help detail it a bit more. //www.city-data.com/forum/san-d...-downtown.html

Little Italy is tricky to get to! It used to be much bigger a long time ago but the I-5 wound up cutting straight into it. The best way to get to Little Italy is the Blue Line towards Old Town, or if she decided to walk, there are pretty much 2 main North/South bound streets whcih run through the heart of Little Italy.
- Kettner
- India
Columbia street heads up that way to, but eventually ends. All the restaurants and shops are along Kettner and India, north of Cedar and south of Grape (for the most part).

As far as the other areas to drive around and get to, its fairly straightforward as the main artery is University Ave.

For example in the northern half of Balboa Park: Starting from Hillcrest going east, University Ave will take you going towards North Park.
She can take either Park Bl or Florida St north to Adams Ave.
Adams Ave from west to east starts in Normal Hghts and runs east towards Kensington.

Southern Half of Balboa Park: Taking 30th street south as Kettlepot mentioned will take you through more of the North Park area towards South Park. You will know you have South Park when you cross Juniper St. and pretty much hit what looks like a little village with some shops and bars. Its not big at all so when you see it, turn off the street and park because it will pass you in the blink of an eye.

Good luck :-)

[PatanjaliTwist]

Thank you Kettle & Schmoov... She's now settled in a work/live loft off Island St. in the Gaslamp. Loves it so far. She'll be looking into other neighborhoods in the coming months... she just wanted to take something she loved when she came across it even though it was more $ than expected because of all the perks... balcony, gorgeous views, quiet bldg, loft, parking space, etc. She signed a 6-mo lease & has the option to renew for another 6-mos at the same rent. She likes it.

She said she can find something in many of the areas mentioned for $500 less, but she'll wait 'til she finds out where she'll be working, what activities she'll be enjoying, etc. Right now, it's central so she doesn't have to rush into car buying... another thing that will come over the next few months.

Thank you for your info all... she has it written down & once settled a bit will be looking into other options down the line. You've all been a big help...