Newbie–don’t stress it. If you enjoy where you live and can continue to afford your mortgage payments, then you are fine.
Personally, I think a $400K loan would have been better spent on a house in City Heights. Yes, City Heights is a worse neighborhood, but a SFR is more of a sure thing. Plus, it is so MUCH better to have all your own walls, and no HOA fees, and a yard, however small. City Heights is certainly very diverse.
Gays are great in the neighborhood, so I think it is great you bought at La Boheme. I am NOT being sarcastic, gays have greatly improved North Park. I would much rather have some fags living next door rather than a large family with a thousand out-of-control children and extended family taking over the neighborhood. Been there, done that, and it ain’t pretty. Crack heads next door ain’t too much fun either if you aren’t into tweak.
I love North Park, and will continue to live here as long as I can. Its close to work, and centrally located. Most of my friends live here too, and have been here for years. It works for many of us.
North Park got too hip, too quick, and the investors snowed some folks with their condo conversions and developments.
In some ways, I love all the people that think this is the hip and cool neighborhood. It breathes some life into an area that has some bad years.
If you are interested, get the book “North Park: A San Diego Urban Village”, 1896-1946, by Donald Covington. It’s great! North Park was originally a suburb, basically. The tract homes of yesteryear, though not as corporate, cookie cutter and overwhelming as they are today. The book is sold at the North Park Community Association and Lost Your Marbles Too on Ray Street.
