I live in one of rental complexes on Regents Rd. I generally dislike the area because, but the picture is mixed. So, starting with the good, the area is clean, safe, and has good access to open space (Rose Canyon). There is very good shopping nearby (Trader’s Joe, Whole Foods, Bristol Farms, plus Vons and Ralphs) and the UTC mall. Also, the proximity to UCSD and other tech/sciency employment centers gives it a certain “educated feel’. More generally, lots of smart people live in this area. On the other hand, I’ve never lived in a more boring place with less of a neighborhood feel. First, it’s all new and corporate. In the area around Regents, Nobel, or Lebon there are NO private houses, only large pre-fabricated apartment complexes. There is very little visual variety, no “street” level retail, except for the mall. Second, given its ‘educated feel’ there are no decent coffee shops, bookstores, interesting art, etc. For all these things, you have to drive to LJ Village or downtown/hillcrest. Third, NOBODY walks, so the area feels dead. One reason is that there is not much to walk to, unless your idea of fun includes hanging out at the mall. The other reason is that all the roads are those big 4 lane thoroughfares with tiny “sidewalks” — more like glorified curbs. So, walking is actually unpleasant and dangerous (I was nearly killed yesterday by someone making a right turn on red, and not expecting a pedestrian).
In short, if you rich, try to live in Del Mar, La Jolla village or nearby (La Jolla shores). If you’re middle-income (i.e., 100K or less), try Hillcrest, affordable parts of Mission Hills, or downtown. If you’re poor, move back to the Midwest – you’ll have higher quality of life there then being yet another sad commuter from the “inland Empire” 😉
