won't ask what firms there are, due to the recent posting, but what are decent areas to live in, both within San Diego proper and the surrounding community.
Also, is the design community as tight as it seems in San Fran?
i am a sd native, born there in 1964 so i've seen it all.
little italy is very cool. closet thing to a "physical design community". i personally think it and downtown have the best pedestrain zones in sd. but others may not.
downtown in the gas lamp district is cool. lots of lofts and psuedo lofts. a bit trendy though right now. design community (not pyhsical) overall not as tight as sf.
golden hills is up and coming and hip but not much of a pedestrian zone.
hillcrest caters to hip and alternative lifestyles. plenty of businesses proudly fly rainbow flags there and everyone has a nice kept yard as well. very cool restaurants. nice pedestrian zones. i think it's the best alternative to little italy if you want a small house with a yard, not a loft or condo.
mission hills is hip and a bit more family oriented but costs $$$$. well, all of sd costs $$$. there are some very cool new residences going in on the 4000 block of brant street there real soon. the architect is a buddy of mine, my little brother is the developer. keep an eye on that location :)
stay away from the 'burbs and surrounding mcmansion communites if you can help it. traffic can suck coming into the city and life out "there" is nothing special for any sense of place.
on the coast, del mar, la jolla are a bit pretentious. but nice places to visit for a sunday walk with the girl or over-spend for dinner.
pacific beach is a lot of beach punk kids. parties can be heard all times of the night. some areas of pb are trashy.
ocean beach is a dump. smells like dig shit everywhere on old burnt out lawns. point loma is nice but very $$$$ and lots of older established types. not hip really. sailing yachts abound there.
south of downtown sucks pretty much.
north county coastal communties are ok for some, very trendy. bad design though. the over-stuffed martha stewart look will confront you in every store. lots of wanna-be yuppies live in north coastal communties, drive trendy bmw's, have the latest exotic breed of dog, etc. not my cup of tea at all.
east county communities are known as a bit redneck 'burbs. 4x4's, dirt bikers, even meth labs. but not all. lots of families.
overall, stick within a 5 mile radius of downtown and you'll be ok if design and a nice sense of place concerns you.
also a SD native, 1973 here... I've only visited since graduating from high school, but if I had to live there I'd go for Mission Hills, Hillcrest or North Park (which is east of Hillcrest), maybe Golden Hill - and I hear there's a south park now too? Lots of cute houses, easy to walk around.
Funny when I was in high school there wasn't much going on downtown and nothing basically in little italy, but I always liked that area (gelato vero & saffron, yum) all my "artist" (meaning dj/drug dealing friends) lived downtown until they re-did the gaslamp and then everyone moved to hillcrest and northpark...
I would recommend against beach communities as well, unless you like to surf. It's pretty easy to get around san diego and the beach is not too far from downtown actually.
I have been here for 3 years. I lived in Mission Hills and now am in City Heights. I would move to North Park - it's still (more) affordable and has a good commercial area.
I'm another san diego native. Golden hill, mission hills, hillcrest, north/south park, are all great places. Also think about Kensington, which is a little farther away but pretty good. Just stay as far away from the gaslamp and little italy as possible, unless you like yuppies.
this is great, as I'm planning to move to San Diego in January - I like to plan ahead. for those of you from the area, whats the average rent for a place? also, hows the design/architecture economy - aka is it stupid for me to move down there? right now I'm in Massachusetts, so I'll probably splurge and drive cross country...
I don't know who actually lives in Kensington. But they do have the best video store in SD, a good theater, a great mexican restaurant, and good bars on the otherside of the 15. They might well be yuppies, but at least they don't live in silly buildings with contrived italian names near overpriced restaurants and 10 dollar covercharge - "I'll wear my party shirt with multi colored vertical lines with the collar up" bars.
yeah, kensington, forgot the name... had some fun times there back in the day (think rave after-parties, man I'm getting old). i think most of the other old movie theaters in SD are gone :-(
oh, and off the subject, a friend of mine DJs down there - MarkEQuark and he's really really good. I swear - despite the name (a left over from said rave days). Haven't seen him for a while but I think he's at The Flame regularly, monday or wed.
Normal Heights, baby. Name sez it all. It's all about the neighborhoods and which neighborhood you fit...
As another native (crap, more of us than I thought!) I can share with you the fact that the distinctive trait of San Diego is a monumental insecurity; every public discussion revolves around whether the issue will make SD "world class." Gag. Everyone hates LA because they are afraid of LA's power and prestige, not the smog, crappy people and overpriced housing. San Diego has that stuff in spades!
There may be a bubble on the condo market downtown... all these mixed use buildings waiting for the umpteenth drycleaner to move in and every other storefront is a creative financing mortgage broker or a developer's office...looks pretty but brittle if you know what I mean. Fun as hell right now though... enjoy it while it's hot.
Ocean Beach does not smell like dog shit. That's "hemp" you're smelling. OB is the last bastion of beach kultur in SD.
Places to avoid: Avoid the rental hell of Mission Valley. UTC is scary.
A male DJ at the Flame... hmmm. I hope he's the ultimate super power chick magnet or he may get pretty lonely... ha ha
hahaha... I wasn't refering the architecture, but your point is well taken. But as I see it, the worse case scenario is more of the same, but in San Diego. Personally, I'd rather be in San Diego than Springfield.
Apr 29, 05 2:05 pm ·
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housing in San Diego
won't ask what firms there are, due to the recent posting, but what are decent areas to live in, both within San Diego proper and the surrounding community.
Also, is the design community as tight as it seems in San Fran?
i am a sd native, born there in 1964 so i've seen it all.
little italy is very cool. closet thing to a "physical design community". i personally think it and downtown have the best pedestrain zones in sd. but others may not.
downtown in the gas lamp district is cool. lots of lofts and psuedo lofts. a bit trendy though right now. design community (not pyhsical) overall not as tight as sf.
golden hills is up and coming and hip but not much of a pedestrian zone.
hillcrest caters to hip and alternative lifestyles. plenty of businesses proudly fly rainbow flags there and everyone has a nice kept yard as well. very cool restaurants. nice pedestrian zones. i think it's the best alternative to little italy if you want a small house with a yard, not a loft or condo.
mission hills is hip and a bit more family oriented but costs $$$$. well, all of sd costs $$$. there are some very cool new residences going in on the 4000 block of brant street there real soon. the architect is a buddy of mine, my little brother is the developer. keep an eye on that location :)
stay away from the 'burbs and surrounding mcmansion communites if you can help it. traffic can suck coming into the city and life out "there" is nothing special for any sense of place.
on the coast, del mar, la jolla are a bit pretentious. but nice places to visit for a sunday walk with the girl or over-spend for dinner.
pacific beach is a lot of beach punk kids. parties can be heard all times of the night. some areas of pb are trashy.
ocean beach is a dump. smells like dig shit everywhere on old burnt out lawns. point loma is nice but very $$$$ and lots of older established types. not hip really. sailing yachts abound there.
south of downtown sucks pretty much.
north county coastal communties are ok for some, very trendy. bad design though. the over-stuffed martha stewart look will confront you in every store. lots of wanna-be yuppies live in north coastal communties, drive trendy bmw's, have the latest exotic breed of dog, etc. not my cup of tea at all.
east county communities are known as a bit redneck 'burbs. 4x4's, dirt bikers, even meth labs. but not all. lots of families.
overall, stick within a 5 mile radius of downtown and you'll be ok if design and a nice sense of place concerns you.
also a SD native, 1973 here... I've only visited since graduating from high school, but if I had to live there I'd go for Mission Hills, Hillcrest or North Park (which is east of Hillcrest), maybe Golden Hill - and I hear there's a south park now too? Lots of cute houses, easy to walk around.
Funny when I was in high school there wasn't much going on downtown and nothing basically in little italy, but I always liked that area (gelato vero & saffron, yum) all my "artist" (meaning dj/drug dealing friends) lived downtown until they re-did the gaslamp and then everyone moved to hillcrest and northpark...
I would recommend against beach communities as well, unless you like to surf. It's pretty easy to get around san diego and the beach is not too far from downtown actually.
I have been here for 3 years. I lived in Mission Hills and now am in City Heights. I would move to North Park - it's still (more) affordable and has a good commercial area.
I'm another san diego native. Golden hill, mission hills, hillcrest, north/south park, are all great places. Also think about Kensington, which is a little farther away but pretty good. Just stay as far away from the gaslamp and little italy as possible, unless you like yuppies.
There aren't any yuppies in Kensington?????
this is great, as I'm planning to move to San Diego in January - I like to plan ahead. for those of you from the area, whats the average rent for a place? also, hows the design/architecture economy - aka is it stupid for me to move down there? right now I'm in Massachusetts, so I'll probably splurge and drive cross country...
I don't know who actually lives in Kensington. But they do have the best video store in SD, a good theater, a great mexican restaurant, and good bars on the otherside of the 15. They might well be yuppies, but at least they don't live in silly buildings with contrived italian names near overpriced restaurants and 10 dollar covercharge - "I'll wear my party shirt with multi colored vertical lines with the collar up" bars.
yeah, kensington, forgot the name... had some fun times there back in the day (think rave after-parties, man I'm getting old). i think most of the other old movie theaters in SD are gone :-(
oh, and off the subject, a friend of mine DJs down there - MarkEQuark and he's really really good. I swear - despite the name (a left over from said rave days). Haven't seen him for a while but I think he's at The Flame regularly, monday or wed.
Normal Heights, baby. Name sez it all. It's all about the neighborhoods and which neighborhood you fit...
As another native (crap, more of us than I thought!) I can share with you the fact that the distinctive trait of San Diego is a monumental insecurity; every public discussion revolves around whether the issue will make SD "world class." Gag. Everyone hates LA because they are afraid of LA's power and prestige, not the smog, crappy people and overpriced housing. San Diego has that stuff in spades!
There may be a bubble on the condo market downtown... all these mixed use buildings waiting for the umpteenth drycleaner to move in and every other storefront is a creative financing mortgage broker or a developer's office...looks pretty but brittle if you know what I mean. Fun as hell right now though... enjoy it while it's hot.
Ocean Beach does not smell like dog shit. That's "hemp" you're smelling. OB is the last bastion of beach kultur in SD.
Places to avoid: Avoid the rental hell of Mission Valley. UTC is scary.
A male DJ at the Flame... hmmm. I hope he's the ultimate super power chick magnet or he may get pretty lonely... ha ha
well it's not always ladies night... it'll be worth it if you at all like house music, or can even stand it, because he's a genius...
Youre typically gonna pay between 600 to 800 per bedroom. Add a couple hundred for each less bedroom. So a single is about a 1000. Double 800, etc.
Pixelwhore, you're in Springfield right? We chatted about your firm I think once. Any questions feel free to contact me.
ODR: thats right, had forgotten about that.
yup, Springfield - going to be one helluva change that I'm looking forward to.
mmhmm... neo classical colonial to neo spanish colonial.
hahaha... I wasn't refering the architecture, but your point is well taken. But as I see it, the worse case scenario is more of the same, but in San Diego. Personally, I'd rather be in San Diego than Springfield.
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