I live in Ocean Beach and quite like it. The only 3 problems I see, and they are not huge are:
1. Lots of traffic coming in/out of OB, especially in summer. I think if we could convince the Arizona tourists that OB is horrible and they should go to La Jolla or Del Mar it would help a lot.
2. A few bad apples that don’t clean up after their dogs. Not sure how to handle this one. Perhaps filming them in the act with cell phone? Other suggestions welcome!
3. I have hesitation to let the kids go exploring on their own, especially down on Newport. While I might find the whole scene amusing and not be bothered if I’m offered drugs, I’m not sure I want my kids exposed to that. Of course, that’s in all neighborhoods and perhaps an argument could be made that it’s better that it’s so obvious.
Other than that it’s quite nice. You can surf, run by the cliffs, close to downtown, PB etc. And the folks are colorful and nice.
Now if someone could just tell me the next up and coming place so I can invest in a small (tiny) house, condo or apt., I’d be much obliged.