Up and coming San Diego hoods??? (Altadena: rental, low crime, neighborhoods)

[newgensandiego]

Originally Posted by cruitr

I was on a 'taste of' in central PB (Pacific Beach). One of the restaurants was Vegan. As I reached for a sample the owner said "Don't you want to know what's in it?" I said no. I just wanted to taste it. It tasted like $hit. With Vegan food, it's the "what's in it that counts."

I'm guessing there was more to this exchange that would lead you to that conclusion...

But usually people do in fact want to know what's in their food before eating it. Especially if they are trying something new...at a "taste of" thing. Or have allergies... or general dislikes...

[cruitr]

Originally Posted by newgensandiego

I'm guessing there was more to this exchange that would lead you to that conclusion...
But usually people do in fact want to know what's in their food before eating it. Especially if they are trying something new...at a "taste of" thing. Or have allergies... or general dislikes...

Yes, Vegans love to talk about their meals but this was my first encounter with a Vegan chef. My knowledge of Vegan staples was and still is very limited. I didn't even know what questions to ask.

I could never be a Vegan. Butternut Squash as a main entree just doesn't do it for me. And I just can't go without eggs.

[echo42]

Logan Heights is the new North Park.

[cruitr]

Originally Posted by echo42

Logan Heights is the new North Park.

If that's the name of the area around Chicano Park, that area is exploding with construction. I always called that area Barrio Logan. That area could blow by North Park and turn into another Hillcrest. However, that area does suffer from a hard-to-fix name problem. Sort of like Chula Vista. No matter Chula Vista does, it gets very little respect.

[kttam186290]

Originally Posted by newgensandiego

As for suburbs, I'd say Oceanside and La Mesa are the most up-and-coming. Vista and Escondido are finally turning things around. Growing investment in National City too. San Marcos has a lot going for it, but it's already already elevated itself as a nicer area in the past two decades. Chula Vista still relies on sprawl, but the Otay Town Center development is pretty impressive.

East County still seems pretty stagnant.

Of course, having a state university there really has helped San Marcos too.

[newgensandiego]

Originally Posted by kttam186290

Of course, having a state university there really has helped San Marcos too.

I'd argue that CSUSM has played a minor role in elevating San Marcos in the last 20 years.

San Marcos' rise was the result of the city's masterplanning of upper-middle class neighborhoods. More importantly, the city took advantage of the loophole in CA redevelopment law and was able to siphon off crazy sums of state money by designating empty land as blighted (e.g. San Elijo Hills).

Money poured into the city and to city leaders' credit, they did re-invest it in lower income neighborhoods. At one point, nearly 10% of the housing stock had some form of affordability restrictions. SM crime dropped precipitously (it's now one of the lowest) and test scores rose dramatically across all demographic groups. The influx of upper middle class residents further strengthened the school system.

Overall, San Marcos is/was a very well run city. It had a disproportionally lower # of city employees, but paid them more. This attracted higher quality staff.

CSUSM and Palomar are great assets and will definitely be a major stimulant for growth and redevelopment moving forward. But ultimately, it was a combination of good governance and siphoning state monies that allowed SM to rise above Vista, Oceanside, and Escondido since the '90s.

[echo42]

Originally Posted by cruitr

If that's the name of the area around Chicano Park, that area is exploding with construction. I always called that area Barrio Logan. That area could blow by North Park and turn into another Hillcrest. However, that area does suffer from a hard-to-fix name problem. Sort of like Chula Vista. No matter Chula Vista does, it gets very little respect.

Yeah, that is Logan Heights. Barrio Logan is an invention by realtors and community leaders trying to change something without doing any actual work. The people making the change are the business owners and neighbors that have made an investment and sacrifice setting up shop and homes in a rough area.

The same thing occurred many years ago with South Park. The name South Park is an invention by several real estate agents to change the stigma of Golden Hill into something else, while doing little to really affect any change. I could call them out by name but that would be snarky.

This name change thing is happening a lot lately. I watch the news and they're naming locations that I have no idea where they are.

[cruitr]

Originally Posted by echo42

Yeah, that is Logan Heights. Barrio Logan is an invention by realtors and community leaders trying to change something without doing any actual work. The people making the change are the business owners and neighbors that have made an investment and sacrifice setting up shop and homes in a rough area.

The same thing occurred many years ago with South Park. The name South Park is an invention by several real estate agents to change the stigma of Golden Hill into something else, while doing little to really affect any change.

I didn't know that about Barrio Logan. The name change may have worked because Cesar Chavez Pkwy is looking quite trendy lately. South Park too. It's a quaint family community these days. When I walked south of Broadway, I knew I was in Golden Hill. If all it takes is a name change, I'm all for cleaning up a 'hood. It sure beats wasting a lot of tax money which usually does nothing.

[tstieber]

We explore San Diego several times a week and just went through Logan heights / Barrio Logan yesterday. It's really gentrifying but still staying true to its vibe. A very cool place that's in the process of opening is a few streets over from Logan Avenue called bread and salt, it's an old bread factory from the 1800s that's turned into a variety of uses including Gallery space and restaurants. I love that area.

I would still consider la Mesa I've been coming, given that it's come a long way but still has lots more room for further improvement. All the charming historic homes downtown make it a very cute and walkable attraction.

Linda Vista definitely has a great location, but without a walkable retail district, it will be up and coming only in terms of real estate potential, just as we are seeing with people remodeling older homes in Mira Mesa and Serra Mesa. But it will remain a bedroom community.

Downtown Chula Vista also has a great downtown retail corridor that is starting to turn around noticeably. National City has similar bones but very little to offer yet, however, there is tons of development ready to happened down there, with a very high end food Hall, breweries, and even high-rise residential developments in the works.

I'd love to see Escondido enjoy some of the same upgrades. Did they have a nice little downtown with a phenomenal performing arts Center and lots of historic homes within walking distance of the retail corridor. Unfortunately, there are still Lots vacancies and not so great tenants. The potential is there, and it will happen. Anywhere there is a historic core, the changes will come. People are excited to live in walkable City environments, even in smaller Suburban cities where the vibe is more of a Main Street USA.

[TacoSoup]

Originally Posted by echo42

Yeah, that is Logan Heights. Barrio Logan is an invention by realtors and community leaders trying to change something without doing any actual work. The people making the change are the business owners and neighbors that have made an investment and sacrifice setting up shop and homes in a rough area.

The same thing occurred many years ago with South Park. The name South Park is an invention by several real estate agents to change the stigma of Golden Hill into something else, while doing little to really affect any change. I could call them out by name but that would be snarky.

This name change thing is happening a lot lately. I watch the news and they're naming locations that I have no idea where they are.

I think the naming of Barrio Heights had more to do with the 5 splitting through Logan Heights than it did with realtors and community leaders trying to make something out of nothing. As far back as I can remember Barrio Logan was west of the 5, Logan Heights east of it. I’ll give Barrio Logan some credit, but not as much as some here are trying to give it. I’ve been going to the Restaurant Depot there for years and the neighborhood (houses) hasn’t changed much. It takes more than a new shopping center/condos, neighborhood street sign and bricks in the road to gentrify an area. Drive though where people are actually living and you’ll see it has a long way to go before it’s at the level some are touting it to be.

I remember 20 years ago when they broke ground on Petco Park and Barrio Logan was going to be the next spot because it would become one seamless flow from there to East Village. It’s making progress in doing that, but how long are people suppose to wait for a neighborhood to turn around? I suppose it’s one thing if you can sit and hold real estate, but if you have a family you could go from childbirth to college and still not see the turnaround in areas that are “up and coming”.