City, San Diego County
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 91941, 91942, 91943, 91944
Inland
bedroom city near Lake Murray and about two miles east of San Diego State University. Middle to upper middle class. Well kept.
Rental
units slightly outnumber owner occupied, 53 percent to 47 percent. Built out in
many sections but the city is filling in its empty parcels, creating a small
boom of about 1,000 units. Population 58,150. www.mccormacks.com
A town
that illustrates the quirky nature of housing quality. La Mesa on its south
side rises into terraced hills or mesas that catch the setting sun.
In San
Diego, the setting sun is often a glorious sight, blazing the sky with reds and
golds and pinks. This particular neighborhood is filled with small and
mid-sized homes, many of which were built just before and after World War II
old.
Click for regional or detailed map
If you
placed these homes in an ordinary setting, they might be allowed to limp along
with little maintenance. In the La Mesa setting, they get a lot of the old
tender loving and the neighborhood comes across as very attentive to
appearances.
Another
force at work: money. Because home values have shot up in recent years, many people
in older communities (like La Mesa and El Cajon) have borrowed against their
equity and renovated and remodeled their homes. For these and other factors,
much of La Mesa's housing, although old and suburban plain, comes across as
quite presentable.
School
rankings, with exceptions, above the 50th percentile, many in the 60th to 90th
percentile, an indication of good support for education. www.mccormacks.com
Children
attend schools in the La Mesa-Spring Valley elementary district and, in small
numbers, the El Cajon elementary district. Many teens attend Grossmont and
Helix High schools, academic rankings in the 70th and 80th
percentile. See Schools.
In 2002,
the elementary district passed a $44 million bond to add science labs and
expand libraries. The El Cajon district has also passed an improvement bond. In
2004, voters came through for the Grossmont district, $274 million bond for
renovation and upgrading (computer and science labs) of the high schools.
Crime rate
about suburban average on the low side. Zero homicides in 2007, three in 2006, two in 2005, zero in 2004,
two in 2003 and 2002, zero in 2001, two in 2000, one in 1999, five in 1998, two
in 1997 and 1996, one in 1995, three in 1994, FBI reports. The counts for the
previous years are one, two, two, one, zero, one. Seniors patrol: volunteers
who keep eyes and ears open, visit elderly ill and do vacation checks on homes. See Crime.
The state
in 2010 counted 25,594 housing units, of which 11,444 were single-family
detached, 1,955 single attached, 11,861 multiples and 334 mobile homes.
Median age
of residents is 37 years. Those under 18 make up 21 percent of the population,
those over 65 years 17 percent. These numbers suggest a mature town with many
singles and empty nesters. www.mccormacks.com
Incorporated
as a city in 1912, La Mesa ambled through the first half of the century, then was
swept up in the great suburban boom after World War II. Over half of the city's
residential units were built between 1940 and 1970. In the 1970s, La Mesa had a
final splurge of housing, about 6,500 units. Then units built fell to 2,400 in
the following decade and to about 1,200 in the 1990s.
La Mesa is
a town where you need a map. Interstate 5, Highway 125 and several parkways and
the mesas and arroyos and a giant mall fragment the town and make getting
around a challenge. Neighborhoods are distinctly divided from one another and
depending on date of construction, sometimes offer different housing styles.
Most of
the apartments are located north of Interstate 8 and near Lake Murray. Many are old but the neighborhood comes
across as clean and cohesive. It has its special shops and diners. Many elderly
live in this neighborhood, some of them in retirement complexes.
In the
northeast corner, single homes tending upscale are draped over gentle hills.
The
downtown is pinched between hills and divided by the trolley line. The city has
pumped a lot of money into this section in the hopes of creating a lively
center. The downtown does have a certain charm and offices and restaurants and
shops and foot traffic from the trolley stops. www.mccormacks.com
But the
effort may not amount to much. The Grossmont Mall, a giant, is located about a
mile away and attracts the shoppers that might have patronized the downtown.
A small
part of the city meanders toward Mt. Helix, which has large custom homes.
La Mesa is
located 15 to 20 miles from downtown San Diego. Besides Interstate 8 and
Highway 125, it also has, running along its south side, Highway 94. It has
trolleys and buses and park-and-ride lots around town.
It has a
giant university, San Diego State, that employs thousands and enrolls 29,000 a
few miles to the west. And La Mesa itself has a fair number of jobs, at the
mall and in the office-medical facilities. Sharp Grossmont Hospital, which has
upgraded its facilities, is situated next to the mall. Grossmont College, another big employer,
is located a few miles to the north.
If you
have to commute to downtown San Diego ... time consuming and irritating but
probably endurable. If you have a local job ... lucky you, short ride. www.mccormacks.com
Regional
mall, Grossmont Center, about 140 stores including two department stores,
movies, restaurants. The center includes a Barnes and Noble bookstore, a
Starbucks and a Trader Joe's. Opened in 2006, a Wal-Mart.
At least
14 parks, one public swimming pool, public golf course, fitness facility. Two
acres at Griffen Park set aside for dogs to run free. Seniors center.
Recreation center for children and adults. Roller-skating rink. Little League,
soccer, Pop Warner football, Bobby Sox softball for girls, tennis courts.
Little theater. Farmers' market. YMCA.
Mission Trails Regional Park at Lake Murray.
San Diego
State University, through its extension program, offers many classes and
activities to the general public.
Oktoberfest.
Christmas Village festival: streets closed, bonfires at corners, lights,
horse-drawn carriages.
Almost
every city in San Diego County boasts that it has the perfect climate. La
Mesa's argument has some substance. It avoids the coastal fogs yet gets enough
Pacific cooling to take the edge off of the desert heat. The result: sunny with
fewer great swings in temperatures. The lows are generally in the 50s; about
two dozen times a year temperatures soar above 90. www.mccormacks.com
East
county Chamber of Commerce (619) 440-6161.
One
sight that we find fascinating but may put others off. The spaghetti
interchange of Interstate 8 and Highway 125 near the mall. Tons upon tons of
soaring, graceful cement in a maze of over and under passes. If they gave
prizes for these things, the La Mesa interchange would be sporting a Nobel.
In 2004
voters approved a bond to build another fire station (finished in 2006) and a
police station (still to be done.) The county government has donated land for
the police station. In exchange, the city is to replace the county library with
something bigger and better.
In 2006,
agreement reached to build 527 apartments at trolley station near Grossmont
Mall.
University Avenue, on citys west side, is being overhauled
landscaping, crosswalks, sidewalks. The university crowd supports foreign movies, cultural
events and fine restaurants, all within a short drive. www.mccormacks.com
Smoke
Not The Foul Weed. No smoking in parks, ruled city council in 2006.
La
Mesa-Spring Valley school district runs an offbeat calendar. Two weeks off in
October. Some parents dislike.
New park
next to Parkway Middle School: football field, soccer field, three baseball
fields, walking track, snack bar. Money from government grants and community
donations.
In 2006,
two small planes collided, sending debris down on El Cajon and La Mesa. No one
on ground injured; three people in the two planes died.
City web
site: www.cityoflamesa.com
