Top 10 Best Places to Live in San Diego

San Diego is full of diverse neighborhoods that cater to all kinds of lifestyles. If you’re considering moving to San Diego, check out the top ten best places to live in and around the city.

Grantville

Located near the San Diego River, Grantville is a town with a lot of plans. Though nothing’s been finalized, they include an increase in community spaces and a lot more housing, including a series of multi-floor apartments with retail space mixed in, to the currently light industrial area. While the plans will help accommodate San Diego’s growing population, they also mean that the area is going to see some great new opportunities for new restaurants and businesses in the future. The median home price is $534,400, and the average rent is $904.

Those who enjoy the idea of mixed-use living will enjoy the developing plans for hundreds of new housing units that will include lots of retail and commercial space, set to be build in Carmel Valley, another San Diego neighborhood.

South Park

If you’re looking to escape the big, corporate box stores of the city, South Park may be just the ticket. The neighborhood may be small, but its tight-knit community is full of small, eclectic stores and restaurants. Essential to any visit are Cafe Madeline, a fancy little coffee shop, Progress, known for its home decor and gift items, Kindred, a vegan eatery that serves cocktails and beer, and the most popular pizza joint on the block, Buona Forchetta. Wondering just how anti-corporate South Park is? In 2014, Target tried to move in with a TargetExpress, a smaller version of their big box store, and locals rose up and started a petition, and Target delayed its plans. The store opened last October, but you can be sure that the community will put up a fight before surrendering any more of their land to big name corporations. The median price for a home in South Park is $425,800, and the average rent is $1,741.

Ocean Beach, another San Diego neighborhood, also raised its own fight, though theirs was against a Starbucks that moved to town more than 14 years ago. The store still exists, though its the least profitable in the San Diego area, but the town still doesn’t have a Target, Walmart, or a McDonald’s.

La Mesa

Looking for a quiet neighborhood, away from the hustle and bustle of downtown San Diego? Look no further; La Mesa is a quaint village full of mom-and-pop shops, locally owned restaurants, and antique stores. This urban escape recently began adding more greenery, lighting, park benches, and better crosswalks to La Mesa Boulevard, in the heart of downtown La Mesa. Just a ways a way from the downtown hub are a variety of parks, public stairways climbing the Windsor Hills area, and a walking trail that wanders through public art spaces. The median home price in La Mesa is $468, 350, and the average rent is $2,127.

Another quiet village full of tasty local restaurants and quirky shops is Escondido. The ability to walk to most of the area’s attractions makes it a great choice for active people.

Carlsbad

For those passionate about cycling and the ability to zip around town on two wheels safely, Carlsbad is the place to be. Last year the city, in conjunction with the San Diego Bike Coalition and Circulate San Diego, began working together to raise awareness for improvements in the area that made it safer for cyclists and walkers, including buffered bike lanes and more roundabouts. They’re hoping to encourage people to walk or bike rather than driving cars for nearby errands. An outreach program with local elementary schools is working to get children involved in the program as well, and on track for a healthier future. The median price for a home in Carlsbad is $721,000, and the average rent is 3,163.

If you like the active lifestyle that Carlsbad offers, you’ll also like Coronado, the only community in San Diego to score a silver rating from the League of American Bicyclists. Its beach culture and wide bike paths make it the ideal neighborhood for outdoor enthusiasts.

San Marcos

Another awesome neighborhood for active lifestyles is San Marcos, the home of Twin Oaks Valley trail, where you can walk, jog, bike, and even ride horses down the two-mile, sycamore an oak tree lined trail. Near the trail is the Twin Oaks Valley Golf Course, and the only public equestrian facility in San Diego, Walnut Grove Horse Park, where the Horse Heritage Festival is held each October. The median home price in San Marcos is $489,700, and the average rent is $2,115.

If you enjoy horseback riding enough to join an association, Rancho Santa Fe is home to The Covenant, a members-only property with over 50 miles of trails. There are even local clubs that offer lessons, starting kids off as early as age three.

North Park

If you’re someone who loves to sample local craft beers, North Park is the area for you. Six breweries are nestled among a variety of coffee shops, cultural venues, and some sweet new restaurants, including Wow Wow Waffle, Nomad Donuts, and StreetCar Merchants, the only place in San Diego to get a cup of Intelligentsia coffee. The area is walking-friendly, so you’ll be able to walk home after tossing back a pint or two from the likes of Current Brewing, Modern Times’ Flaverdome, Falls Brewing Co., or one of the other breweries. The median home price in North Park is $484,500, and the average rent is $1,910.

Imperial Beach

When Imperial Beach elected a new mayor who also happened to be a surfer, hold a Ph. D.D. in geography, and was the executive director of Wildcoast Consercation, eco-focused initiative in the neighborhood took off. Mayor Serge Dedina is a born and raised local who is now working to preserve Imperial Beach’s class Southern California beach town vibe, while also helping build and strengthen the community, by opening a new, free skate park and a grocery store, and by monitoring ocean quality and beach pollution levels. The changes have attracted some new businesses as well, including Coronado Brewing Company, and the Pier South Resort, and continued growth is likely. The median home price in Imperial Beach is $721,000, and the average rent is $3,163.

Chula Vista

Searching for a neighborhood to raise healthy kids in? Chula Vista’s Elementary School district was the first to join Live Well San Diego, and initiative seeking to start farm-to-cafeteria programs, gardens in schools, expand education on nutrition, and create distaste plans and safer routes to school. They even have a mobile app to let parents stay up to date on lunch menus, account balances, and more. Chula Vista also have three charter schools that received grants last year for different projects, including one to add solar power to the school! The median home price in Chula Vista is $464,720, and the average rent is $1,747.

City Heights

Another great place to raise kids is City Heights, a diverse and well-populated neighborhood that has seen a lot of recent growth. Some family-friendly additions include plans for Central Avenue Skate Park, a half-acre park that will include a 6,000-square-foot skating area, and turf and play areas. A new YMCA was also recently added, bringing in fun new fitness options, including a 7,500-square-foot gum, a soccer field, two swimming pools, and more in their LEED-certified building.

Normal Heights

If cultural diversity is something you look for when searching for a new home, Normal Heights might be just the place. In 2014, UT San Diego reported that Normal Heights has a distribution of ethnicity that closely matches the distribution of the United States, more so than any other region in San Diego. Half of the population is white, one-third is Hispanic, and there are smaller distributions of Asians, African Americans, and others. The area hosts a variety of cultural events throughout the year, including April’s Adams Avenue Unplugged and June’s Taste of Adams Avenue. The media home price in Normal Heights is $455,900, and the average rent is $2,155.

If you’re looking for another culturally diverse neighborhood, you might try Encanto, where half the residents are Hispanic, one-quarter are African American, 15 percent are Asian, and less than seven percent are white.