Photo courtesy of the San Diego
CVB and James Blank
San Diego is California's second largest and the nation’s
seventh largest city. With nearly a half million households, the city of
nearly 1.3 million is blessed with year-round good weather —
temperatures average 60 to 70 degrees with less than 10 inches of rain a year
— beaches, bays, palm trees, hilly urban areas, flat sprawling mesas,
foothills, mountains and desert.
With an economy based on its vibrant seaport, technology, tourism and the military,
the city’s crown jewel is a swath of communities from Little Italy and
Cortez Hill to the Gaslamp Quarter and East Village.
That's the once-blighted area San Diego's downtown redevelopment agency, Centre City
Development Corporation (CCDC) is transforming into a 24-hour model city core
of economic growth, residential development, and quality-of-life
infrastructure where people can live, work and play.
The cost of housing is perhaps the only downside to the fun, sun and surf.
The median single-family home price, $604,300 for the greater metropolitan
area, is one of the highest in the nation. Likewise for condos at a median
$384,600. Average rents were more than $1,200, including everything from
studios to four bedroom town homes.
Here are four notable neighborhoods that capture the wealth of choices
offered in the San Diego area. Urban choices include the sophisticated, diverse Hillcrest near
downtown San Diego and Ocean Beach, the quintessential California beach
community. Suburban choices include La Mesa, which has a "Leave-it-to-Beaver" feel and the inland community of
Poway.
