As a recent buyer on the border of North Park/South Park, and as a recent father, we couldn’t be happier. Though we’re not yet at the point where we are considering schools (that’s 4 years away), everything else about this hood has been amazing. I can walk one mile north to hit the vibrant North Park restaurant/bar/craft beer/boutique scene, or I can walk one mile south to hit the same in South Park. We’ve got gourmet burgers (Station Tavern), sushi (Zensei), Mexican (El Take It Easy, Ranchos, Sombreros, Saguaros), French (Madeline’s), Chinese (Wangs), sausage factory (Linkery, not Congress), seafood (Sea Rocket), breakfast joints (Big Kitchen), fine dining (Urban Solace is UH-MAY-ZING), coffee shops (Santos, Rebeccas), ice cream shops, boutique shops, book stores, toy stores, wine bars (Rose), beer bars (Hamiltons, Stone, Toronado), dive bars (Bar Pink, Whistlestop), night clubs, etc all within walking distance. Many of these said establishments (Linkery, Station Tavern, Toronado, Sea Rocket) are family/baby friendly. A surprising amount are dog friendly (I’ve seen dogs literally belly up to the bar at the Whistlestop). If craft beer is your thing, 30th Street is the epicenter of the craft beer explosion in San Diego. All of this is within a 10-20 minute walk.
I see lots of families on bikes, lots of kids, lots of strollers, lots of joggers, and lots of dog owners at all hours of the day and night. I see lots of people tending their gardens. Everyone is friendly. Lots of old homeowners who have been in their houses for 50+ years, but also lots of young hipsters. A Friday night in South Park looks like San Diego’s version of Portlandia. And I’m seeing lots of 3/2s and 2/2s recently hovering around the high 400s. So it’s definitely in your price range if you look hard enough.
We’re 5 minutes from Balboa Park and the Zoo, and 10 minutes from Downtown/Airport. I work from home, and take the little one to her grandma’s house down in Chula Vista two days a week, and it takes me about 40 minutes to drive down there and back in both the mornings and evenings. Not bad. The only thing we lack that I wish we had was a trolley line going down 30th/University/Park. If I had that I’d probably ditch my car.
Hit up urbanrealtor, he knows his stuff about these areas. He did us good. But renting in any area for a while before you purchase is always a good idea.