Thoughts on La Mesa

[Anonymous]

I mostly like La Mesa north of the 8 because of the hills. We are looking at Mt Helix as a possible area to buy when the right thing comes up but not dead set on it. You get a reasonable amount of land with most of those homes, schools are actually decent when you look at the recent scores. The main drawback for us is the traffic on the 8 freeway going east at rush hour.

I also agree that the area is getting more hip. downtown La Mesa is still funky but getting better slowly. Also more young families are moving to the area, drawn by schools from what I’ve heard from people.

I’d also agree with the guy writing about walk ability – it looks treacherous out there but when I drive around looking at houses there are always people out and neighbors seem friendly.

[evolusd]

My wife and I (early 30’s – two young kids) have set our sights on the Mt. Helix area in recent months for the same reasons you’ve been looking; bigger lots, more house, CHARACTER!!!!

We rent in a master planned community now (Escala in Mission Valley) and I can’t wait to get into a real ‘neighborhood’, which I feel La Mesa/Mt. Helix really is. The new communities are nice, but I want some charm and a parcel bigger than a postage stamp. I’ve found some nice fixers on Mt. Helix, but the prices have been pretty sticky as you noted. I’m waiting as I feel prices will continue to fall for at least another 6-9 mos.

[evolusd]

My wife and I (early 30’s – two young kids) have set our sights on the Mt. Helix area in recent months for the same reasons you’ve been looking; bigger lots, more house, CHARACTER!!!!

We rent in a master planned community now (Escala in Mission Valley) and I can’t wait to get into a real ‘neighborhood’, which I feel La Mesa/Mt. Helix really is. The new communities are nice, but I want some charm and a parcel bigger than a postage stamp. I’ve found some nice fixers on Mt. Helix, but the prices have been pretty sticky as you noted. I’m waiting as I feel prices will continue to fall for at least another 6-9 mos.

[evolusd]

My wife and I (early 30’s – two young kids) have set our sights on the Mt. Helix area in recent months for the same reasons you’ve been looking; bigger lots, more house, CHARACTER!!!!

We rent in a master planned community now (Escala in Mission Valley) and I can’t wait to get into a real ‘neighborhood’, which I feel La Mesa/Mt. Helix really is. The new communities are nice, but I want some charm and a parcel bigger than a postage stamp. I’ve found some nice fixers on Mt. Helix, but the prices have been pretty sticky as you noted. I’m waiting as I feel prices will continue to fall for at least another 6-9 mos.

[evolusd]

My wife and I (early 30’s – two young kids) have set our sights on the Mt. Helix area in recent months for the same reasons you’ve been looking; bigger lots, more house, CHARACTER!!!!

We rent in a master planned community now (Escala in Mission Valley) and I can’t wait to get into a real ‘neighborhood’, which I feel La Mesa/Mt. Helix really is. The new communities are nice, but I want some charm and a parcel bigger than a postage stamp. I’ve found some nice fixers on Mt. Helix, but the prices have been pretty sticky as you noted. I’m waiting as I feel prices will continue to fall for at least another 6-9 mos.

[evolusd]

My wife and I (early 30’s – two young kids) have set our sights on the Mt. Helix area in recent months for the same reasons you’ve been looking; bigger lots, more house, CHARACTER!!!!

We rent in a master planned community now (Escala in Mission Valley) and I can’t wait to get into a real ‘neighborhood’, which I feel La Mesa/Mt. Helix really is. The new communities are nice, but I want some charm and a parcel bigger than a postage stamp. I’ve found some nice fixers on Mt. Helix, but the prices have been pretty sticky as you noted. I’m waiting as I feel prices will continue to fall for at least another 6-9 mos.

[poorgradstudent]

Figured I’d revive this thread, since my wife and I have been looking at places in “north” La Mesa (North of the 8). We’ve seen a few places we like in the 300K range, although nothing we felt comfortable putting an offer in on yet. The feel of the neighborhoods definitely seems to vary on a street-by-street basis. Prices are definitely all over the place, but maybe that’s true everywhere?

Any Piggs currently live in La Mesa? Like the original poster from 2009 we like it because it provides some of the charm and easy access to “the city” of neighborhoods like North Park and University Heights but at a better value and with better schools.

[poorgradstudent]

Figured I’d revive this thread, since my wife and I have been looking at places in “north” La Mesa (North of the 8). We’ve seen a few places we like in the 300K range, although nothing we felt comfortable putting an offer in on yet. The feel of the neighborhoods definitely seems to vary on a street-by-street basis. Prices are definitely all over the place, but maybe that’s true everywhere?

Any Piggs currently live in La Mesa? Like the original poster from 2009 we like it because it provides some of the charm and easy access to “the city” of neighborhoods like North Park and University Heights but at a better value and with better schools.

[poorgradstudent]

Figured I’d revive this thread, since my wife and I have been looking at places in “north” La Mesa (North of the 8). We’ve seen a few places we like in the 300K range, although nothing we felt comfortable putting an offer in on yet. The feel of the neighborhoods definitely seems to vary on a street-by-street basis. Prices are definitely all over the place, but maybe that’s true everywhere?

Any Piggs currently live in La Mesa? Like the original poster from 2009 we like it because it provides some of the charm and easy access to “the city” of neighborhoods like North Park and University Heights but at a better value and with better schools.

[poorgradstudent]

Figured I’d revive this thread, since my wife and I have been looking at places in “north” La Mesa (North of the 8). We’ve seen a few places we like in the 300K range, although nothing we felt comfortable putting an offer in on yet. The feel of the neighborhoods definitely seems to vary on a street-by-street basis. Prices are definitely all over the place, but maybe that’s true everywhere?

Any Piggs currently live in La Mesa? Like the original poster from 2009 we like it because it provides some of the charm and easy access to “the city” of neighborhoods like North Park and University Heights but at a better value and with better schools.

[poorgradstudent]

Figured I’d revive this thread, since my wife and I have been looking at places in “north” La Mesa (North of the 8). We’ve seen a few places we like in the 300K range, although nothing we felt comfortable putting an offer in on yet. The feel of the neighborhoods definitely seems to vary on a street-by-street basis. Prices are definitely all over the place, but maybe that’s true everywhere?

Any Piggs currently live in La Mesa? Like the original poster from 2009 we like it because it provides some of the charm and easy access to “the city” of neighborhoods like North Park and University Heights but at a better value and with better schools.

[protorio]

Interesting this came up again, as I read this thread a few times as I was finally house shopping about a year ago. And we ended up in La Mesa. Near the village (on the south side of 8).

I won’t go much into it but its a long story, like most here: Years of bubble-watching, frustration at how my hometown seemed to change, friends thinking we were crazy for not getting in. We always liked uptown, but the prices remained out of our reach for anything but a teardown or an 800-sq. ft. 2br. We have two small children and I wasn’t going to get in a situation where I would grow out of a house in a few years.

So, we found La Mesa, or at least returned to it in our heads. With a home in the 300s in San Diego, there’s always give-and-take. Here’s what we love about it: quite, very few tracts, walkable downtown with independent businesses, large lots and relatively large houses, lots of craftsman and mid-century modern custom houses, trolley line to work, close to Downtown SD, great views in the hills, walking the hills in the morning, lots of life-long San Diegans, proximity to uptown and mid-city diversity (important to us).

Downsides is that it is really quiet – sleepy even. About 3 out of 10 houses are not kept up nice. University and El Cajon are not pretty streets, but if you like the hubub of urban life, they can be your lifeblood. Its quite warmer than OB, but not as hot as the rest of East County.

Schools are great. Cosmo’s rules. Riviera is a world-class hipster joint. 20-minute bike ride to Kensington. Terra moved from Hillcrest and is doing great. If you don’t think about housing costs, its easy to find fault with the town… but for us, considering bang-for-the-buck, it became hard to beat.

[protorio]

Interesting this came up again, as I read this thread a few times as I was finally house shopping about a year ago. And we ended up in La Mesa. Near the village (on the south side of 8).

I won’t go much into it but its a long story, like most here: Years of bubble-watching, frustration at how my hometown seemed to change, friends thinking we were crazy for not getting in. We always liked uptown, but the prices remained out of our reach for anything but a teardown or an 800-sq. ft. 2br. We have two small children and I wasn’t going to get in a situation where I would grow out of a house in a few years.

So, we found La Mesa, or at least returned to it in our heads. With a home in the 300s in San Diego, there’s always give-and-take. Here’s what we love about it: quite, very few tracts, walkable downtown with independent businesses, large lots and relatively large houses, lots of craftsman and mid-century modern custom houses, trolley line to work, close to Downtown SD, great views in the hills, walking the hills in the morning, lots of life-long San Diegans, proximity to uptown and mid-city diversity (important to us).

Downsides is that it is really quiet – sleepy even. About 3 out of 10 houses are not kept up nice. University and El Cajon are not pretty streets, but if you like the hubub of urban life, they can be your lifeblood. Its quite warmer than OB, but not as hot as the rest of East County.

Schools are great. Cosmo’s rules. Riviera is a world-class hipster joint. 20-minute bike ride to Kensington. Terra moved from Hillcrest and is doing great. If you don’t think about housing costs, its easy to find fault with the town… but for us, considering bang-for-the-buck, it became hard to beat.

[protorio]

Interesting this came up again, as I read this thread a few times as I was finally house shopping about a year ago. And we ended up in La Mesa. Near the village (on the south side of 8).

I won’t go much into it but its a long story, like most here: Years of bubble-watching, frustration at how my hometown seemed to change, friends thinking we were crazy for not getting in. We always liked uptown, but the prices remained out of our reach for anything but a teardown or an 800-sq. ft. 2br. We have two small children and I wasn’t going to get in a situation where I would grow out of a house in a few years.

So, we found La Mesa, or at least returned to it in our heads. With a home in the 300s in San Diego, there’s always give-and-take. Here’s what we love about it: quite, very few tracts, walkable downtown with independent businesses, large lots and relatively large houses, lots of craftsman and mid-century modern custom houses, trolley line to work, close to Downtown SD, great views in the hills, walking the hills in the morning, lots of life-long San Diegans, proximity to uptown and mid-city diversity (important to us).

Downsides is that it is really quiet – sleepy even. About 3 out of 10 houses are not kept up nice. University and El Cajon are not pretty streets, but if you like the hubub of urban life, they can be your lifeblood. Its quite warmer than OB, but not as hot as the rest of East County.

Schools are great. Cosmo’s rules. Riviera is a world-class hipster joint. 20-minute bike ride to Kensington. Terra moved from Hillcrest and is doing great. If you don’t think about housing costs, its easy to find fault with the town… but for us, considering bang-for-the-buck, it became hard to beat.

[protorio]

Interesting this came up again, as I read this thread a few times as I was finally house shopping about a year ago. And we ended up in La Mesa. Near the village (on the south side of 8).

I won’t go much into it but its a long story, like most here: Years of bubble-watching, frustration at how my hometown seemed to change, friends thinking we were crazy for not getting in. We always liked uptown, but the prices remained out of our reach for anything but a teardown or an 800-sq. ft. 2br. We have two small children and I wasn’t going to get in a situation where I would grow out of a house in a few years.

So, we found La Mesa, or at least returned to it in our heads. With a home in the 300s in San Diego, there’s always give-and-take. Here’s what we love about it: quite, very few tracts, walkable downtown with independent businesses, large lots and relatively large houses, lots of craftsman and mid-century modern custom houses, trolley line to work, close to Downtown SD, great views in the hills, walking the hills in the morning, lots of life-long San Diegans, proximity to uptown and mid-city diversity (important to us).

Downsides is that it is really quiet – sleepy even. About 3 out of 10 houses are not kept up nice. University and El Cajon are not pretty streets, but if you like the hubub of urban life, they can be your lifeblood. Its quite warmer than OB, but not as hot as the rest of East County.

Schools are great. Cosmo’s rules. Riviera is a world-class hipster joint. 20-minute bike ride to Kensington. Terra moved from Hillcrest and is doing great. If you don’t think about housing costs, its easy to find fault with the town… but for us, considering bang-for-the-buck, it became hard to beat.

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