Neighborhoods, City of San Diego
© McCormack's Guides
Zip Codes: 92173, 92154
Includes
Nestor and Palm City. Good place to shop for new homes. Popular with young families. One of the
more confused locations of San Diego County but with some background easy to understand. www.mccormacks.com
San Ysidro
is the first California town over the Mexican border and many news reports
give it a dateline: events happen in San Ysidro, which implies that it's an
independent community.
It isn't.
It is a neighborhood of the City of San Diego, governed and policed by that
city.
San Ysidro
has 7,148 housing units 2,373 single homes, 4,297 apartments, 403
mobiles. Population 27,330.
Also in
the City of San Diego and just north of San Ysidro are the Otay-Nestor
neighborhoods. They field 17,232 units 9,683 single homes, 5,628
apartments or condos, 1,921 mobiles. Estimated population 62,878.
If San
Ysidro-Otay Mesa tied directly into the City of San Diego, their connection to
the city would be clear. But they don't. National City and Chula Vista stand
between the main part of San Diego and its south neighborhoods. www.mccormacks.com
For a long
time people called much of the region Otay Mesa. As it had few people and
houses, little attention was paid it. When it moved toward development, the
cities of San Diego and Chula Vista annexed large sections of the mesa and the
county government held on to a large chunk.
Each has
its own development plans for the sector it controls. And each supplies
services police, planning to its sector. In everyday
conversation, many people do not recognize the new jurisdictional boundaries of
Otay Mesa. They often will label everything simply, Otay Mesa.
Finally,
these neighborhoods, isolated so long from San Diego proper, created their own
school districts, San Ysidro Elementary, South Bay Elementary, Chula Vista
Elementary, Sweetwater High.
The
southside housing consists mainly of tract homes and apartments. Much of the
construction took place after 1970 and the building continues. To serve the new
residents many stores have opened and services and amusements started
Wal-Mart, Kaiser Medical offices and a 24-screen movie theater.
Also new
schools, including San Ysidro High. www.mccormacks.com
If the neighborhoods are old, the
housing in some sections will look run down and dated. For example, the utility
lines might be strung overhead.
The new
housing is coming in as master planned and in a middle class way looks very
much like new tracts throughout the county. The utility lines are buried, the
lots small, the homes often big, two story, four to six bedrooms, the closets
walk in, kitchens open to the living room, and so on. In a modern way, nice.
If your
wallet is thin, shop the older neighborhoods. If new is what you want, the
choices are many and some are moving into the realm of affluent. One
attraction: proximity to the Pacific; some neighborhoods will have views of the
ocean.
All the
school districts have passed bonds to renovate and build schools but complaints
are surfacing that a few of the oldest schools are in sore need of renovation.
Some of the construction money, through
fees, is coming out of the pockets of homebuyers. www.mccormacks.com
As the
neighborhoods go up, the schools follow, often coupled with new parks. The
schools, modern and well equipped, help sell the homes and attract the young
families, an old pattern in real estate.
When
schools open, attendance boundaries often change. Parents should check school
assignments directly with the school districts and find out what's in planning.
An elementary school that advances its students to a certain middle school may
in a few years be sending them to a different middle school (or later, a
different high school).
Academic
rankings bounce all over in these neighborhoods, from low to fairly high.
Scores follow demographics and the new housing is bringing in more middle-class
parents. This usually means scores will go up. See Schools.
About 15
to 20 miles to downtown San Diego. Trolleys. Two freeways. Many local jobs,
which makes for a short commute.
YMCA is
building center at Montgomery Middle School. Gym, pool, indoor soccer. For students and, after school, for
public. To open in 2008. www.mccormacks.com
Large
airport, Brown Field, located on Otay Mesa. Many civic leaders wanted to use
Brown Field for cargo flights but neighbors and developers killed the plan. If
buying a home, you might get warned about possible noise.
Crime.
San Ysidro, zero homicides in 2005, one in 2004, four in 2003, zero in 2002,
2001 and 2000. Nestor, zero in 2005, one in 2004, zero in 2003 and 2002, one
each in 2001 and 2000. Zero for the other neighborhoods, except Palm City, one
homicide each in 2003 and 2002, zero in 2004 and 2005. See Crime.
Tijuana-San Ysidro is supposedly the busiest border crossing in the world,
about 166,000 crossings daily. Numerous complaints about the time it takes to
cross the border; down the road another point of entry may be built.
Many banks have opened branches to take
cash deposits from Mexico. Many large warehouse stores, a good source of local
jobs. Some firms are running employee buses to border.
Improvements are being made to local roads and highways, including extension of
Highway 125. www.mccormacks.com
San Ysidro
has own chamber of commerce (619) 428-1281. See profile on San Diego in this
chapter.
