The Advocate declares North Park: "San Diego's hippest hood" (El Cajon: fit in, section 8)

[AnUnidentifiedMale]

Change of Pace | Travel | Advocate.com

Agree or disagree: Is North Park the "hippest hood" in San Diego? If you don't think it is, which neighborhood do you think best deserves that title?

[kettlepot]

I'm far too old to be the judge of the what's area is the "hippest hood." I see the word "hippest" and I'm inclined to think of a full hip replacement on a 60s hippy, and "hood" makes me think of the "hood" ornament on a 50s Cadillac.

Still, I travel through North Park regularly, and it is definitely a neighborhood and commercial center that is on the upswing compared to 20 years ago. A lot of good has happened around 30th & University. However, the pedestrian activity still doesn't seem that high, and what there is of it, is still a mix between "young & hip" and "down & out". I'm not sure the area has reached critical mass yet, where activity attracts more activity, simply because it's the place to be seen. That's the tipping point that the Gaslamp reached two decades ago, and Hillcrest and Pacific Beach before that. Of course, I'm passed the age for hanging out in clubs, coffee shops, and bars, so perhaps I'm wrong. I haven't really spent time in the area on evenings checking out the scene. I really do hope this becomes a self-reinforcing feedback loop that spurs the preservation of the neighborhood to the south of University Avenue, and the rebuilding of the area between University and El Cajon Boulevard with better quality apartments to replace the blight of the Huffman Hovels.

Still, in the end, I think South Park has better prospects than North Park. SP has more intact single family homes, and its main street, (30th Street) isn't quite as filled with traffic so the area is more pedestrian friendly.

Normal Heights along parts of Adams Avenue has large-scale potential too, as does University Heights along Park Boulevard in a smaller, more neighborhoody way.

[sdlife619]

I think North Park is getting faker from all the trendy types moving in. They're not real in a sense "True Urbanites" but suburban kids trying to act and look urban. It's still a pretty cool place, but it's starting to lose it's grittiness.

Normal Heights has much more character than North Park, and it hasn't really been touched by developers (thank god), so gentrification has not taken place that would eventually lead to neighborhood demolition, killing personality of the area, and making it snobbish.

I feel even though North Park has been on the upswing for awhile now, in 5 to 10 years it might actually reverse itself, because a lot of transplants live in NP, so in time they will get bored and wind up leaving.

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by sdlife619

I think North Park is getting faker from all the trendy types moving in. They're not real in a sense "True Urbanites" but suburban kids trying to act and look urban. It's still a pretty cool place, but it's starting to lose it's grittiness.

Normal Heights has much more character than North Park, and it hasn't really been touched by developers (thank god), so gentrification has not taken place that would eventually lead to neighborhood demolition, killing personality of the area, and making it snobbish.

I feel even though North Park has been on the upswing for awhile now, in 5 to 10 years it might actually reverse itself, because a lot of transplants live in NP, so in time they will get bored and wind up leaving.

Do remember what NP was like just 5-7 years ago? I'm sure if you ask people who actually live there what they think about it's ongoing gentrification, most, if not all, would say they're glad to see some of it's grittiness going away.

And I don't think it will reverse itself in 5-10 years, rather it should get even better.

[AnUnidentifiedMale]

Originally Posted by sdurbanite

And I don't think it will reverse itself in 5-10 years, rather it should get even better.

I agree. The life cycle of a neighborhood usually runs much longer than five or ten years. I've never heard of a neighborhood becoming popular and then deteriorating just a few years later.

As long as San Diego maintains its popularity, North Park will only get better for the foreseeable future.

[TheCaliforniaBear]

These days being "hip" is not really a good thing.

Hipsters these days are almost all lame spoiled rich kids. There is nothing really hip about them anymore. They are trying too hard, it's become a masquerade of people who don't know anything.

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by AnUnidentifiedMale

I agree. The life cycle of a neighborhood usually runs much longer than five or ten years. I've never heard of a neighborhood becoming popular and then deteriorating just a few years later.

Exactly. Hillcrest began it's turnaround in the late 70's when the gays started to move in. Fast forward to 2009 and it's still a popular neighborhood. I actually think North Park is gentrifying at a faster rate. The area south of Adams, in particular, has change alot over the past decade. A friend bought a house close to St. Augustine High School about 12 years ago when it was still a bit rough, now you can't differentiate it from Burlingame because it's nice all around.

[NYSD1995]

North Park has gentrified very quickly, it's certainly the "hipster" neighborhood. The commercial district has definitely improved. That said I am not sure from a residential standpoint it has gotten all that much better. The better areas (around St. Augustines, Morley Field) were never really that bad even 10 years ago. However many areas are still pretty gross. My half-brother's mom has been in Burlingame for 20+ years and it has always been nice.

I think the problem with "hip" neighborhoods is that hipsters are transients and usually renters, and while their unbridled consumption fuels local businesses they don't seem to contribute very much to an area in terms of home rehabs or starting businesses of their own. The people who are actually invested in North Park really pre-date the hipster arrival, mostly older gay couples priced out or tired of the noise in Hillcrest, and older punkers. Those are the people in the best position to capitalize on the gentrification of the area, those are the people that will most likely direct the future of that area.

My guess is that hipsterism is on the downswing and will be replaced by something else, but without attractive apartment stock (North Park seriously lacks this) I think the yuppies will avoid it for areas like Mission Hills, Hillcrest, or South Park or Kensington which are more well-kept. I don't believe that all these "original" North Park residents are being pushed out either, there are still plenty of decrepit apartment complexes full of section 8 and poverty all over the area.

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by sdurbanite

The area south of Adams, in particular, has change alot over the past decade.

Oops, I meant to say south of University Ave, not Adams.

Originally Posted by Sassberto

My guess is that hipsterism is on the downswing and will be replaced by something else, but without attractive apartment stock (North Park seriously lacks this) I think the yuppies will avoid it for areas like Mission Hills, Hillcrest, or South Park or Kensington which are more well-kept.

I'd love to see all of those aging apartment building replaced with owner occupied townhomes/rowhomes, like those you see scattered around Banker's Hill.

[thepinksquid]

A little OTT, but kind of reminds me of a funny situation my husband and I had...

Before me moved to San Diego, we met with some of my in-laws friends out here for lunch, very nice San Diego natives that are probably in their early 60s. Now - we are in our twenties, but not "hip" by any stretch of the word. Not one bit. The friends suggested we look at North Park on our search for where to live in San Diego, as it was a great neighborhood for "hip twenty-somethings." They went on to tell us about the "hip" dive bars and such in the area, and how we would "fit in just great" there. Granted, this woman met us about all of 10 minutes at that point. When I politely told her we don't go to bars or drink, she kind of looked at me with a perplexed stare and said "well, I thought that's all people your age do!" LOL