Neighborhoods, City of San Diego
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Code: 92114
Neighborhoods
east of Euclid Avenue and south of Highway 94 on the southeast side of the City of San Diego. www.mccormacks.com
Many homes
built over the last 50 years — old and new suburbia, white- and
blue-collar middle class.
Many steep
hills and deep arroyos, which gives some neighborhoods a strong sense of
identity. Some unusual housing patterns because of the terrain. These
neighborhoods all offer middle class housing but as the housing was built over
many decades sizes and styles vary considerably. Many schools score just below
and just above the 50th percentile.
• Emerald
Hills. Small neighborhood just east of Euclid Avenue and south of Highway 94.
Secluded. Access through two streets, mainly Roswell Street, which rises
abruptly into hills and mesas. Mostly single homes, many built in the 1960s.
Some earlier cottages remodeled and expanded. Large lots because of the
terrain. Views from many homes. Library at base of hill. One park. Shops and
stores along Euclid. Trolley-bus transit center nearby.
• Encanto.
Divided at Imperial Avenue into North Encanto and South Encanto. Imperial runs
along the bottom of a deep ravine. Steep hills on both sides.
North
Encanto is one of the surprises of the San Diego — country homes and
ranchettes and minifarms in the thick of suburbia. The land is too steep and
too full of ravines for tract housing. Custom homes are perched on hilltops or
mesas. Plain and fancy are mixed. Plenty of shrubs and greenery. Some streets
lack sidewalks, accentuating the country look. www.mccormacks.com
Down
toward Imperial Avenue, the housing picks up a bit and looks suburban.
Trolley
station and stores along Imperial. One park with rec center. School near park.
South
Encanto jumps up from Imperial Avenue. Steep mesa with mobile homes near the
base. Tract housing. Some view homes. Great views, all the way to Bay. Some
streets narrow to one lane. Secluded.
•
Jamacha-Lomita. Small neighborhoods stuck off in the southwest corner. Secluded
because of the usual divisive terrain but also because they end at the city
limits. A few streets extend into Lemon Grove and La Presa; many don't.
Close to
trolley stations in Lemon Grove and in Encanto (Imperial Avenue). Lomita has a
park next to an elementary school, Jamacha, a park next to a middle school.
Jamacha, built over a hill, favors homes from the 1960s and 1970s. Lomita about
the same. Well-kept neighborhoods. www.mccormacks.com
• North
Bay Terraces-South Bay Terraces. Single homes, standard tract models. Much of
the construction here started in the 1960s and continued over several decades,
blending old with new, and one-story with two-story. Some homes will have four
bedrooms. Steep terrain. Many of the homes have great views. One park in each
section.
• Paradise
Hills. Single tract homes built over steep hills and valleys. The older homes
are small and have one-car garages, the newer, four-bedrooms and two cars.
As you
move into the subdivisions, the homes get newer and bigger. High enough to get
breezes from the Pacific. The streets wind around the hills.
Three parks. On weekends the playing
fields are filled with kids. Family neighborhood.
Magnet
school: San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts. www.mccormacks.com
• Valencia
Park. Located just east of Euclid Avenue. Close to trolley-transit station.
Built over three or four decades. The
older housing near Euclid, the newer to the east. Small homes and fairly large
homes. Well-maintained neighborhood. Some custom homes, including one
reminiscent of an Indian palace.
Another
hill and mesa neighborhood that has a feel of being “up there.” Many homes will
have views.
Large
community park with rec center and pool. Palms and pines and many shrubs.
At least
two public schools and a Catholic school. www.mccormacks.com
All the
neighborhoods are patrolled by San Diego police. Paradise Hills, two homicides
in 2005, zero in 2004 and 2003, one each in 2002 and 2001. Jamacha-Lomita, two
homicides in 2005, two in 2004, zero in 2003, two in 2002, zero in 2001.
Valencia Park, four, one, one, zero, two, Bay Terraces, one, four, one, one and
zero. Encanto, three, two, three. See Crime.
Shopping
at Plaza Bonita and at neighborhood plazas. See profile on San Diego in this
chapter.
