VLOG – What are the Best Parks in San Diego? Civita Park – Mission Valley
Are you looking for a modern park to take your family and enjoy some time outdoors? Here is the complete guide to Civita Park in Mission Valley. Civita Park is located in the Civita community of San Diego. This is located right in Mission Valley between Mission Center Road and the 805 freeway. It’s also located right next to Serra Mesa which is a really family friendly neighborhood with affordable homes in the heart of San Diego. Check out all the homes for sale in Serra Mesa here. Civita Park was originally a quarry for sand and gravel to make concrete. That is was what it was for about 80 years. The children and cousins of the Grant family ultimately sold that to a developer, but they wanted to make sure that a park was included so that people would come and enjoy the beautiful weather we have in San Diego and keep a lot of open space not just for the residents of Civita but also for San Diego and anyone visiting as well. There’s basketball courts, huge grassy areas, playgrounds for kids, and public bathrooms. There’s concerts here and there are occasional food trucks as well. There are all kinds of things that you can do in Civita Park. There’s lots of trails you can walk around on it’s multi-leveled as it steps up the hill of Mission Valley -so you’ll find a lot of people working out – running the stairs. Check out all the homes available for sale in Civita Park here. This connects to the homes at the top, so if you live at the top, you can walk down very easily to the Civita Park to get your exercise in and take your kids to the playgrounds. The splash pad is a really cool feature when it’s open, but sometimes it’s not open due to drought. There’s also a military tribute here honoring the Grant family who served in the military in World War II. There’s a really cool feature about the history of the quarry and so there’s this huge feature with big huge bulldozer and a mining equipment for pulling sand and gravel out of the earth. There’s also this great big amphitheater and there’s music that gets played there and there’s also food trucks that typically come on Tuesday nights. Another great feature of Civita Park that’s open to anyone is that there are two dog parks located in here now. There’s also an entire recreation center facility that’s available to residents of Civita. You have to be a resident and it’s part of your HOA. It includes a recreation center, fitness center, pool for families, lap pool, and a large lounge area as well. It’s a really cool feature if you are part of the HOA association as a resident. If you’re looking to buy a home in the Civita community please reach out to me at 858-281-2568 or email me at info@sandiegohomes.io Curtis Chism, Realtor858-281-2568 | Mobilemailto:info@sandiegohomes.ioChism Team | DRE #02105113brokered by eXp Realty | DRE #01878277
Read MoreVLOG – Is Serra Mesa a safe place to live in San Diego?
This is the complete overview of the Serra Mesa neighborhood in San Diego, California and why it’s an amazing place to raise a family. Where is Serra Mesa Located Let’s describe Serra Mesa a little bit so you get an idea of what this place is all about. Serra Mesa is located in a very central part of San Diego it’s essentially just north of Mission Valley, so it’s on a bluff or a mesa right above Mission Valley. You’ve got Mission Valley to the south and it’s roughly bordered by the 8 freeway and then it’s bordered by the 805 freeway and 15 freeway. They kind of converge at the North side of Serra Mesa and then you’ve got Aero Drive at the top and that really is what creates Serra Mesa. Some of the notable features around there is the Aztec stadium. It used to be called Jack Murphy or the Qualcomm Stadium but that has been completely torn down and now it’s the Aztec Stadium and SDSU Mission Valley. That’s a new notable feature that is right next to Serra Mesa that you have easy access to when you’re living in Serra Mesa. Serra Mesa is really interesting because of the bluff or the mesa, there are a lot of canyons that cut through it. So it really cuts up Serra Mesa and there are some very large canyons that go through here, which is pretty neat because there’s some hiking you can do in there right in the middle of the city. Most people don’t know that there are little trails so you can walk around there to take your dogs out to play and ride bikes. Now with the canyons, something to keep in mind is that there is wildlife around here. The main thing to keep in mind is that there are coyotes that you’ll see occasionally in Serra Mesa. The coyotes aren’t going to harm people. They’re small and you don’t see them too often, but you will see them occasionally. What they do go after is cats! They definitely like to go after cats! If you’ve got cats, keep them inside and watch out for those coyotes! The other interesting thing about what these canyons do is because it cuts up Serra Mesa, it creates all these streets that kind of have dead ends. There are a lot of streets that kind of wind around and dead end which creates cul-de-sacs. So this is why it’s such an amazing area to live in San Diego especially if you’ve got kids because of these cul-de-sacs – traffic really slows down through these neighborhoods. People tend not to speed through and because they’re dead ends. These create places for your kids to play without having to worry about cars zipping through. That’s a pretty awesome feature of Serra Mesa. Check out all the homes for sale in Serra Mesa here Restaurants and Shopping in Serra Mesa Serra Mesa is mostly homes and it’s kind of a bedroom community, so although there are some shops and restaurants in Serra Mesa, there are not a whole lot. But there are a few. There’s a fitness center, coffee shops honestly it has one of the best Mexican restaurants in San Diego to find probably the best carne asada burrito you can possibly get. There’s also a really great community Park located right in Serra Mesa and that’s called Murray Ridge Park. It was built back in the 90s and it has playgrounds for kids and has this huge grassy field that’s great for playing soccer, football, or ultimate frisbee. It also has a couple of basketball courts and tennis courts. Schools in Serra Mesa The schools in Serra Mesa are very good according to niche.com. Most of them are rated A-to A+. There’s a mix of public schools and private schools. In fact, there’s a school called Elevate which is a public charter school that’s based out of a church at Faith Community and that’s ranked one of the highest in the state. Children that go to school there of course have a very wide choice of elementary schools, there’s a junior high school as well which is Taft Junior High. And then you’ve got Kearny High School which is actually like a high tech campus so there’s four different programs. There are four different main schools within kearny and you can choose what your direction you would like to pursue. If the primary field you want to pursue is engineering or digital design so you can really dial in what you’re looking for as a high schooler and help prepare you better for college Serra Mesa is Centrally Located The other great thing about Serra Mesa is that it is so centrally located. It really is within five to 15 minutes of most places within the city of San Diego. Now of course to get to the rest of the county, it can take longer. You can be in the beach, downtown, or airport within 12 minutes. Very quickly you can get virtually anywhere and get to east county very quick in 10 to 15 minutes to go ride your bike at Mission Trails. Some of the places that it is nearby are places like Mission Valley. You’ve got Civita Park which is a brand new park that was built in Mission Valley in an old quarry. I’ve got a whole video and blog post about that. It’s also very close to the San Diego Zoo and Balboa Park. These are really awesome places that you can go and visit with your kids or with friends that are visiting and really have a fantastic time seeing all the animals. You can really learn a lot at Balboa Park as there are so many museums you can check out. It’s super cool and really walkable. Of course you’re very close to the beach as well. There are multiple beaches around that you can get to really conveniently. You can get to Mission Beach and Pacific Beach and Mission Bay. Those are just right down the 8 freeway – those are the closest beaches you can get to from Serra Mesa. In a really short amount of time but even then you can just shoot up into La Jolla and you’re there within 15 to 20 minutes. Then from there, there are lots of beaches nearby. As you’re heading north then you’re very conveniently located to places like Legoland. Legoland is about 30 minutes away from Serra Mesa. When people come from out of town and want to go check it out you can hit Legoland pretty easily. There’s also the Safari Park that’s a little bit further drive that’s about 45 minutes away from Serra Mesa. As you head to the east – you get o East County. Again there’s Mission Trails which is a fantastic area to hike and do mountain biking in. From there you can go a little further into the mountains. There’s beautiful hiking out in the mountains that’s going to be a further drive – about an one hour 1 ½ hours. Types of Homes and Prices in Serra Mesa Serra Mesa Has been pretty affordable for quite a while now it is becoming more and more discovered so what’s happening is prices are starting to get higher, but it’s still fairly affordable for what you’re going to get. A lot of the homes here are mid-century homes, so a lot of these are now being renovated oftentimes by house flippers to create that mid-century modern that a lot of people are really interested in. The homes were mostly built in the 1950s to 1960s. That’s predominantly when they were built so some of them have been excellently maintained by their owners. Others are needing repairs so sometimes there’s some opportunity and then others are being flipped as well. So there’s kind of a mix of homes as you’ll see as you drive around Serra Mesa. Is Serra Mesa Safe? It’s also a very safe area of San Diego you can take a look at public records and see exactly what those crime statistics are today. It changes of course every so often but it’s very low. So it’s a very safe neighborhood to enjoy with your family to walk your dog. You’re going to feel safe at night. That is the complete guide to Serra Mesa – everything you need to know about living in Serra Mesa. If you have any questions at all about it please reach out to me at 858-2841-2568 or info@sandiegohomes.io – I’m happy to answer any questions for you. Curtis Chism, Realtor858-281-2568 | Mobilemailto:info@sandiegohomes.ioChism Team | DRE #02105113brokered by eXp Realty | DRE #01878277
Read MoreVLOG – What’s it like to live in North Park San Diego, California
Are you wondering what it’s like to live in North Park this is everything you need to know about the North Park neighborhood in San Diego? Watch this video or read the blog post find out everything you need to know about Living in North Park. Location of North Park and How to Get Around University Heights, Hillcrest, and Kensington it’s super centrally located just outside of downtown San Diego just south of Mission Valley. It’s bordered by the 805 and the 163 and then the 8 freeway to the north and then the main streets running through it are El Cajon Boulevard and University as well as 30th street. El Cajon Boulevard and University run east to west. 30th street runs north to south North Park actually was named the third most hipster neighborhood in America just a few years ago. So that either may turn you off or you may love that. The Iconic North Park Water Tower located in the center of North Park Either way, it’s a fantastic place to live whether you’re a single young couple or if you have kids as well. So it’s a great place for families. It’s super walkable and one reason for it being so walkable is because of how flat North Park is. Now there are a couple of hills in North Park but for the most part, it’s really flat. It’s located on top of a mesa or a table and that’s why it’s so flat and so walkable and also why you can bike around so much. You can also take birds but it’s super walkable very friendly to cyclists in fact the city is installing additional bike lanes actually it’s turning 30th street into kind of a thoroughfare for cycling. That’s been a love it or hate it type thing it certainly has impacted probably the local businesses because of parking issues a bit. But it’s created a bike lane for people to cycle right through North Park there’s also they’re adding bike lanes running east to west as well to make it a little bit safer for people to bike in North Park. Search all homes available for sale in North Park here! Restaurants, Bars, Breweries There are all kinds of local neighborhood restaurants and bars everything you can imagine very few chain restaurants there is a target in North Park but for the most part it’s going to be all locally-owned restaurants and bars. There are lots of breweries, wineries, cideries, and hard kombucha. Some of the great breweries here are like North Park Beer Company and Mike Hess Brewing. Modern Times has a tasting room here as well so lots of options. Negociant winery and Bivouac Cidery are located here and hard kombucha you have Juneshine as well. North Park has all kinds of amazing restaurants as well some of my favorites are Lefty’s Pizza for great Chicago style pizza or Luigi’s Pizza which has amazing New York style. I would definitely check out the Crime Scene pizza there. Underbelly has incredible ramen and Olympic Cafe has fantastic Greek food. Also, a really awesome place is Working Class which is a very affordable restaurant and bar that you can go to with your family and enjoy some fantastic fish and chips or a hamburger. Things to do in North Park As I mentioned it’s super centrally located. you can get anywhere within the city within 15 to 20 minutes. A little bit further of course out in the county maybe 30 minutes to the northern and eastern reaches of the county, but right here you’re right next to Balboa Park, a wonderful, huge huge park in San Diego with all kinds of museums and trails to walk around. There’s also Morley Field which is in North Park which is a really awesome gigantic park that’s part of Balboa Park. It has a tennis club, public pool, frisbee golf, course and it has a public golf course as well. 30th street was actually named one of the best beer neighborhoods in San Diego and there’s all kinds of bars and restaurants and breweries located on 30th street and surrounding there as well. In fact, there’s a local brewery called Green Flash, that actually named one of their beers 30th Street Pale Ale after that iconic 30th street. On Ray Street there is an Art Walk that occurs once a month as well so that’s a really great event and then you to check out once a month if you’re interested in art. Just off 30th street at North Parkway is the North Park Farmers Market. That’s every single week on Thursday so you can go and get your fresh produce and support local farmers. There are lots of parks here in North Park including dog parks to take your furry friends to play with. There’s Bird Park that has amazing music nights once a month it’s a fantastic place to check out it’s free you just bring in your picnic blanket or sit in your chair or lay-out and listen to the music. There are lots of playgrounds around here as well fantastic for either having children to go and play outside or if you’ve got dogs to take them to run around and play as well. Types of Homes in North Park Let’s talk about the types of homes that are here in North Park. There are a few types of homes primarily there are craftsman-style homes and there are Spanish style homes. These are bungalow-style homes so oftentimes they can be on the smaller side, about one thousand square feet, sometimes smaller – even 800 square feet, two-bedroom, one bath, and then they range up from there. You can get into much larger homes as well those are certainly going to be on the pricier side when you get into the higher square footage. These will be closer to 2,000 square feet and the higher number of bedrooms: 4 bedroom, 5 bedrooms but there’s a lot of 3 bedrooms, 1 bath, and 3 bedroom 2 baths that can be had here in North Park. There are neighborhoods here in North Park that are not the craftsman or Spanish style homes where they’re kind of more of a mid-century type home to it but that’s not the norm in North Park. But there are some of those homes available as well now keep in mind that a lot of these lots are going to be on the smaller side so you’re probably not going to get much of a backyard the home is going to take up most of the property. However, sometimes you can find a home that has a little bit larger lot that also has a backyard so that might be in the 6,000 square foot property size but generally speaking, there’s going to be a lot of lots that are closer to 4,000 square feet. They’re not going to have too much of a backyard something that you really want to make sure you get when you buy a house here is to make sure that you get off-street parking. Off-street parking is certainly a premium here in North Park to have. There’s just not a lot of parking available because there are a high number of condos, townhomes, and apartments here in North Park intermixed with a lot of the homes. So street parking is not very available so you might have to park really far from your home instead of actually being a park at your house. So when you’re buying a house here in North Park you really want to make sure that you’re getting off-street parking whether that’s a driveway or a driveway and a garage now. Things to look out for when buying a house in North Park Something else to keep in mind with homes here in North Park a lot of them are going to be significantly older – about a hundred years old. Many of these homes were built in the 1920’s some before that, some after that. But it is very common to have these homes built in the 1920s, so keep that in mind because of the age of these homes you really have to be prepared for what you’re going to find when you’re buying these homes in terms of inspections. There’s oftentimes older wiring (old knob and tube wiring), in the homes, or there might be foundation issues there might be some plumbing issues, specifically around the sewers with cast iron piping. There can be a lot of cost, involved with purchasing these homes if those things haven’t been taken care of already by a prior owner. When we’re looking at homes you want to make sure that either you’re prepared to come include these costs in your budget to make these repairs after you’ve purchased the home or we want to make sure that those repairs have already been done by our prior owners so you’re not going to have those costs. Foundation problems are a very common issue in the homes here in North Park because they’re built on unreinforced foundations they’re 80 to 100 years old. Oftentimes they need to be upgraded so you definitely want to get a foundation inspection on pretty much any home you’re going to be buying here in North Park and find out what you’re going to be in for if that home needs a foundation repair. Wrapping it Up As I mentioned, North Park is part of the Uptown neighborhood, so again that’s Normal Heights, University Heights, Kensington, South Park. These neighborhoods are all right around here and they all have a fairly similar vibe. I have other videos and blog posts addressing each of those neighborhoods and what to expect in there. It’s really great because of the walkability and the cycling and the ease of transportation around North Park you can get to any of those neighborhoods very quickly. So a lot of people will live in North Park but they’ll go in shopping to go to a bar or restaurant in Normal Heights or Kensington. Keep that in mind, if you’re living in North Park you can get to the other neighborhoods really quickly. If I can help you buy a home in North Park, or any other neighborhood in San Diego, California please reach out to me. I love helping people buy and sell homes here in San Diego and I’d love to help you as well! Curtis Chism, Realtor858-281-2568 | Mobilemailto:info@sandiegohomes.ioChism Team | DRE #02105113brokered by eXp Realty | DRE #01878277
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