Thoughts on La Mesa Village (San Diego, Chula Vista: apartments, crime, homes)

[Mags101]

I found a great place that I can afford in the Village. It's a little run down but functional, lots of privacy and a seperate house. (No shared walls... wheee!)

I'm a LA transplant, and have lived in Santee for 3,5 years and just could not take it anymore.
That being said - anything I should know about the area? I'm a single mum and will be living alone with my child. My place is not directly out on the street and so far I have felt pretty safe in the evenings (all 2) I spent on cleaning my place to get ready to move in.

And secondly... please tell me I'm not making a mistake Santee is very secure but I hate it. La Mesa seems to have more natives and is not quite as secure, but a heck of a lot more diversity and more culture.

Thoughts appreciated!

[NYSD1995]

We live just a mile or so away in the Rolando area and use La Mesa for most of our shopping, dining, etc. We love the village, great place to take a walk and great antique shops. I think this area is just starting to show up on the radar for a lot of people who are unable to buy into Kensington or the better part of North Park, but dont want to live in North County or Chula Vista. My guess is in 10 years or so it will see gentrification too. For now it is mostly off the radar from the yuppies and neo-hippies which in my opinion is a good thing.

You are correct about the diversity - we were at the Vons in La Mesa today and this is exactly what I told my wife:
"It's so diverse here... you have white trash, ghetto trash, middle class, old people... all in the same place and mostly everyone gets along. No asians though."

It is true - you will see an interesting mix of tattooed, fat, baby-with-no-shoes east county white trash mixed with your sagging, yelling, loser ghetto thugs. But you will also see lots of old-time residents, decent hardworking people, and a nascent contingent of hipsters raising young families. La Mesa is full of natives and you will quicky realize what the "real" San Diego is all about: a unique melange of Military, nascar, country music, rap, surfing, UFC, and weed

A couple of thoughts:

- the trolley station and the general eastward migration of Southeast San Diego has brought a new crop of losers to the area. For the most part it is not a problem. But be aware it is there. LMPD does not really have a handle on things.

- as my brother said: "***** flows downhill". The hills are terrific. The flats can be block-by-block.

- Do everything you can to avoid living near apartments, main streets, or commercial streets. A few blocks up a hill or into a residential district makes all the difference. I can't stress this enough - no apartments. Not on your block, even within 2 blocks if you can. Apartments in the eastern side of San Diego are full of low-lives.

- Pay careful attention to your street and the traffic pattern. You do not want to live on a street with lots of strangers driving by all day long.

Good luck and I hope it works out for you! If you have questions feel free to DM me.

[Just1Lion]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

La Mesa is full of natives and you will quicky realize what the "real" San Diego is all about: a unique melange of Military, nascar, country music, rap, surfing, UFC, and weed

thats a f_ked up mix....take away the nascar, country music, and rap it all sounds ok to me. i guess there are more rednecks there than i had originally thought. im not a big fan of the redneck culture. there is a ton of that backwoods crap here in PA. not where i live in philly, but a little outside of the city its all about nascar and incest.

[sdlife619]

The old part of La Mesa is cool, it has diversified over the years from what I can tell, years ago it was nothing but old white folks, today you have many Hispanics, Blacks and different kinds of people moving in which I think is healthy for any city. Sure the old folks are still around and the place has generally been the same ever since I have lived in San Diego, but things are changing slowly, some in not so positive ways after hearing of all the increase in crime La Mesa has seen over the last few years, some of the ghetto has moved in, but what do you expect when every where else in San Diego is so expensive to live, La Mesa is probably one of the last bargain cities left in SD County, besides El Cajon. My grandma used to live off La Mesa Blvd over by this old church on the corner next to the Baskin Robbins. It's kinda urban over there, in a way. Of course when I was kid visiting her at the time, I never thought I would appreciate old La Mesa like I do today.

I like the older homes in the area, especially in and around La Mesa village. I don't see the city becoming gentrified or anything like that, La Mesa is an old folks of a town, not hip by any means or energetic, and it doesn't center around anything interesting like in North Park such as Hillcrest, and being so close to Balboa Park/Downtown SD.

La Mesa is actually a slight relief for me compared to El Cajon and Santee. Sure you still got a bunch of conservative rednecks driving around in huge lifted trucks, Nascar lovers in all (though we don't even have Nascar racing in SD more like import racing), but you also got some decent intelligent middle class liberals driving around that helps relieve some of the hardcore conservatism that East County is so well known for.

La Mesa is very well balanced political and culturally. You will encounter different types of people there and everyone seems to get along fine.

You will like it!

[SD Observer]

Originally Posted by sdlife619

I have lived in San Diego, but things are changing slowly, some in not so positive ways after hearing of all the increase in crime La Mesa has seen over the last few years, some of the ghetto has moved in, but what do you expect when every where else in San Diego is so expensive to live.

We all hope that the LMPD can get a handle on all of the armed robberies that seem to be increasing in eastern La Mesa.

And we all hope that the "ghetto" with all of its crime and drugs, does not become a permanent fixture in La Mesa.

This town does not need to become another SE/SD !

[Just1Lion]

Originally Posted by sdlife619

from what I can tell, years ago it was nothing but old white folks, today you have many Hispanics, Blacks and different kinds of people moving in which I think is healthy for any city.

why exactly is that "healthy" for any city? a few lines later you said how recently there has been a jump in the crime rate. i dont think its the old white folks robbing people. im just saying.......

[SD Observer]

Originally Posted by Just1Lion

why exactly is that "healthy" for any city? a few lines later you said how recently there has been a jump in the crime rate. i dont think its the old white folks robbing people. im just saying.......

The gangsters, parolees, drug dealers and prostitutes are moving into East County unfortunately.

You can see the destruction of Spring Valley, Lemon Grove and parts of El Cajon because of this influx.

I'm hoping that La Mesa, Santee and Lakeside don't become dumping grounds for the rif-raf of San Diego City.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by SD Observer

I'm hoping that La Mesa, Santee and Lakeside don't become dumping grounds for the rif-raf of San Diego City.

That ship sailed about 15 years ago.

[JohnAlt]

La Mesa Village is a great area. I've rented here for 5 years and would love to buy if the right property became available.

The only bad parts (relatively) in La Mesa are west of here. Around Helix High and west of it to the San Diego border.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by JohnAlt

The only bad parts (relatively) in La Mesa are west of here. Around Helix High and west of it to the San Diego border.

Excluding University Ave It's really just the couple of blocks around Helix High: Rosebud Lane, Schoolridge Dr, Normal St, Parks. Those few blocks are a giant apartment nightmare over there. Otherwise, the neighborhoods around there are actually OK.