I'm torn.... Downtown or suburbs?? :(

[moved]

Well, you can walk to Office Depot, and a couple of restaurants across the street. Kmart just closed, and there's no sign of another business going in there anytime soon.

[tonyinsd]

Originally Posted by shmoov_groovzsd

I don't know about 12 and 9 year olds though Tony...that might be a stretch. What do those demographics qualify as kids in terms of age range?
I Definitely remember kids....but more like strollers or less than 5.
Empty nesters and married couples largely lived in all the Marina District high rises. At least according to our friends at Cityfront, Harbor Club, Watermark and Horizon.
Anyone that lived in Pacific Terrace, where we were with were renters with infants waiting to buy a home elsewhere.
So I agree with you its just the exception rather a norm.
That building won't do them any favors either renting in with the kids.

So far based on your experience now that you own, are the residents that own different than in a rental building? Even though we rented for 6 years it was in a condo. Totally different vibe imho than a full rental place.

Pacific Terrace would not where I would want to raise a kid. It is right there in the middle of the Gaslamp and that would not be conducive to raising kids when you have to keep them inside after 8 PM so you don't have to explain things you would prefer not to.

But the demographic breakdown is interesting. It has kids five and under, and then kids 6-18. Guess which age group has more? It's the children 6-18. There are around 2,000 of them, versus 600 for the really young ones.

They're living somewhere. And don't forget, the 92101 zip has an elementary school, a middle school, and the science and technology high school. So there have to be enough kids there to go to these schools.

It doesn't matter for this poster, since she found another place, but I would say that people shouldn't dismiss living downtown if they have kids. There are 2,000 families doing it.

Originally Posted by Mbrwr

Its called the Promenade. Ok I just noticed it's called the Promenade Rio Vista.

The Promenade Rio Vista? When I cracked my cell phone screen, I went there to meet a guy at a coffee shop and he worked on the phone there.

The property itself is nice. You've got a fountain and some green areas. The only problem is that once you leave the property, it's suburban sprawl.

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by tonyinsd

Pacific Terrace would not where I would want to raise a kid. It is right there in the middle of the Gaslamp and that would not be conducive to raising kids when you have to keep them inside after 8 PM so you don't have to explain things you would prefer not to.

But the demographic breakdown is interesting. It has kids five and under, and then kids 6-18. Guess which age group has more? It's the children 6-18. There are around 2,000 of them, versus 600 for the really young ones.

They're living somewhere. And don't forget, the 92101 zip has an elementary school, a middle school, and the science and technology high school. So there have to be enough kids there to go to these schools.

It doesn't matter for this poster, since she found another place, but I would say that people shouldn't dismiss living downtown if they have kids. There are 2,000 families doing it.

Nice thanks Tony, that is really interesting. Had no idea they broke out under 18s like that into different segments.

We wouldnt raise a kid at PT either, even though its on the border of Marina and Gaslamp.
We would prefer to go further west in the Marina District (which we might consider doing.)
But with all this news downtown, for as much as I am not the biggest fan of the East Village as it stands now, should be interesting to keep tabs on.

How are you liking it? Where abouts in EV are you?

[moved]

In the 92101 zip code, the elementary schools are Sherman and Washington, the middle school is Roosevelt, and the high school is San Diego High. But the kids that go there don't all live in the 92101 zip code.

[tonyinsd]

Originally Posted by shmoov_groovzsd

Nice thanks Tony, that is really interesting. Had no idea they broke out under 18s like that into different segments.

We wouldnt raise a kid at PT either, even though its on the border of Marina and Gaslamp.
We would prefer to go further west in the Marina District (which we might consider doing.)
But with all this news downtown, for as much as I am not the biggest fan of the East Village as it stands now, should be interesting to keep tabs on.

How are you liking it? Where abouts in EV are you?

I think that if you went further west you'd be okay. I could see raising a kid at the properties around Pantoja Park. It would be far enough away from the craziness but close enough that you could walk with your kids to the Embarcadero, the Children's museum, and all the other thing that downtown has to offer.

I'm living in Union Square right now. I like it. It's far enough away to not have the constant noise of living where I used to, but it's close enough to walk to. And I really like the design of the place. The place is landscaped like it's a resort.

Let's put it like this. If my brother told me he was moving here, and he wanted to know if my niece could be raised at the complex, I'd tell him absolutely. The East Village is still gentrifying, but with the projects on the books it's going to be a lot nicer.

Originally Posted by moved

In the 92101 zip code, the elementary schools are Sherman and Washington, the middle school is Roosevelt, and the high school is San Diego High. But the kids that go there don't all live in the 92101 zip code.

You're absolutely right. If I were to guess, I'd say it's likely the elementary schools have kids mainly from the 92101 zip, the middle school probably has a good percentage of them, and the high school is a blend of multiple zips.

[moved]

You're absolutely right. If I were to guess, I'd say it's likely the elementary schools have kids mainly from the 92101 zip, the middle school probably has a good percentage of them, and the high school is a blend of multiple zips.

Yep, www.sandi.net closed Sherman Elementary for a while to renovate it. They wanted to close it completely, but the parents objected. The kids that go to Roosevelt and San Diego High come from all over. I live a few blocks from Wilson Middle School, and some of the kids transferred to Roosevelt to get out of the "hood."

[shmoov_groovzsd]

Originally Posted by tonyinsd

I think that if you went further west you'd be okay. I could see raising a kid at the properties around Pantoja Park. It would be far enough away from the craziness but close enough that you could walk with your kids to the Embarcadero, the Children's museum, and all the other thing that downtown has to offer.

I'm living in Union Square right now. I like it. It's far enough away to not have the constant noise of living where I used to, but it's close enough to walk to. And I really like the design of the place. The place is landscaped like it's a resort.

Let's put it like this. If my brother told me he was moving here, and he wanted to know if my niece could be raised at the complex, I'd tell him absolutely. The East Village is still gentrifying, but with the projects on the books it's going to be a lot nicer.



You're absolutely right. If I were to guess, I'd say it's likely the elementary schools have kids mainly from the 92101 zip, the middle school probably has a good percentage of them, and the high school is a blend of multiple zips.

Nice! We saw several units in Union Sq a few years ago and really liked it. You are right, its like a resort and the units had some of the better floor plans compared with some of the high rises closer to Market.
Sounds like you got a great deal and so much development happening in that area.

We are contemplating moving back downtown in perhaps a few years. The big deal breaker is if we have kids or not. No rush. But its nice to see inventory down in 92101. Man it was up over 600 units at one point just over a year or so ago to 200ish!

[i_love_autumn]

Originally Posted by T. Damon

SOUTH PARK San Diego

As Shmoov says it ain't the cheapest place to live and it's small size limits your options but it's one of the best urban neighborhoods in the city. Better schooling options than most too.

Kensington, Mission Hills, University Heights are all great urban neighborhoods here.

Thanks for the info! After living over 40 years in a dead/boring small city,my son and I definitely do not want to live in the suburbs,but near,shopping,restaurants and Balboa Park,instead.

[i_love_autumn]

Originally Posted by shmoov_groovzsd

Try looking for houses to rent in South Park or North Park (near Morley Field) closest to the Balboa Park. If you look on a pad mapper.com type website you can see more visually what I am talking about.

Its a true city-surburb that has all the great amenities of urban life but with a little more space and proximity to easily one of the best parks in country. Balboa Park.

We couldnt justify buying one of the houses there as our first home, but in terms of walkable communities that are really growing and not way out in the burbs, is the best area to live based on what you were looking for. Smaller homes, close to shops and freeways.

I love the suggestion for renting a 'house',saw several on padmapper.

[i_love_autumn]

Originally Posted by tonyinsd

There are plenty of families living downtown. Don't let the people who say it's all 20 somethings puking on the sidewalks fool you into thinking that. It's baloney. How many 20 somethings can afford seven figure condos? There are plenty of those here.

This morning, on my way to yoga class, I passed two families with kids who were walking their dogs. One was going into the complex, and one was going out. They typical person living downtown doesn't have kids, but many do.

Moderator cut: link removed, linking to competitor sites is not allowed

Those are the demographics of the downtown zipcode. The majority of the people living here are adults, but about ten percent of the population are kids.

I wouldn't live in Vantage Point, because I think it's overpriced for what you get.

But clearly, there are people raising kids here. If that's what you want, then find a place that has the amenities that you want. What are you looking for? Maybe that's a better place to start.

Thank You! That is valuable information to share,because there are some [one in particular] who does continually say this baloney about downtown San Diego!