I’m glad I’m not the only one who beats up on NP, from the experience of living here. I will say that not all of it is created equal. While my advice to wait would be the same regardless of where you are looking, certain limited parts of NP are quite nice. They usually border Morley field, Hillcrest and University Heights (where the hell is the uni). I’m starting to pay a lot of attention to the area across the foot bridge from the Ralphs as a compromise to Mission Hills. Its University Heights, but there are some nice areas in there and the foot bridge gives me pedestrian access to “stuff.”
Josh