Hillcrest

For about the same price you’d pay to live in La Jolla, you can gather some friends and shack up in Hillcrest — the hipster borough of San Diego. It’s home to the annual San Diego Pride Festival — due to its large LGBT community — and CityFest, one of San Diego’s largest street fairs.

Let’s not forget Hillcrest’s bumpin’ nightlife. You can try Small Bar on Park Avenue or venture into one of the many gay bars. 

Places like North Park and Mission Valley are also close by, ripe with even more nighttime activities.

Hillcrest’s tasty cuisine is another bonus. The bustling streets are lined with restaurants worthy of at least one or two Instagram photos with the hashtag #foodporn. 

Some dining highlights include Amarin Thai, The Deli Llama sandwich shop and, of course, Snooze, a delicious a.m. eatery serving up food that couldn’t be further from a snooze fest.

Though there’s currently a shuttle circulating every half hour at the UCSD Hillcrest Medical Center, it’s a shame that living in Hillcrest will no longer be a convenient option for students without cars due to the impending transportation cuts. But none of these cuts are set in stone yet — we won’t know for certain about any changes until July.

— Mozelle Armijo
Editorial Assistant

North Park

Snuggled between Hillcrest and Balboa Park, North Park is rockin’ away to its own hippy vibe. North Park garners its unique flair from an emphasis on local art, entertainment and food. Every Thursday, locals flock to the farmer’s market, indulging in fresh produce and delicious prepared foods.

The local restaurants in North Park are known for dishin’ up fresh takes on food classics. After a hard night of partying, head on over to dive bar URBN for a slice of mashed potato pizza or stop by Carnitas’ Snack Shack for a meaty fix.       Along with a vibrant nightlife, North Park’s art scene is also colorful. Slide into your best hipster outfit, and shuffle on down to the monthly art gallery, Ray at Night, which features the talents of local artists.

North Park’s only downfall is its campus accessibility. Although it’s only 20 minutes away from campus by car, using city transportation takes over an hour. That, and rent is expensive — ranging anywhere from $700 to over $1000 for a one-to-two-bedroom apartment.

— Mozelle Armijo
Editorial Assistant

Pacific Beach

Taking up residence in Pacific Beach (a two-bedroom apartment averages around $1850) may be worth the sacrificed convenience of living closer to campus. The beach community has given way to a young crowd of 20-somethings, leading some to instantly envision an epitomized scene of drunk college students upon mention of the town. 

But PB has more to offer than its abundance of bars and nightclubs. Packed along its streets, which are laid out on a grid in aid of the directionally challenged, are even more restaurants and eateries, with multiple taco shops and Mexican grills. A three-mile boardwalk awaits just a little ways down for you to walk off all that food. Biking or hopping on a beach cruiser (they’re everywhere), will also do the trick. 

Given the town’s accessibility, those without a car won’t need to worry about missing out on the many things there are to do. But they’ll have to deal with the 40-minute commute on the San Diego Bus Route 30 to and from campus.

 — Stacey Chien
Features Editor

Canyon Park

Lining Genesee Avenue, Canyon Park Apartments are a perfect fit for those without a car. UTC mall is only a 15-minute walk away, and if you’re ever in need of a double espresso shot, Starbucks is also within walking distance.

Their location also makes getting onto campus easy. The heart of the UCSD campus is only 1.7 miles away from Canyon Park — easily conquered with a skateboard or a bike. For those who prefer shuttling onto campus, the Regents Shuttle stop is stationed right across the street. But, because Genesee is a busy street, you can often hear the sounds of whizzing cars and sirens through the thin apartment walls.

Rent is pretty expensive even though the apartments are furnished with old appliances and boast a less-than-stellar workout facility. A one-bedroom apartment costs between $1070 and $1130, and a two-bedroom pad costs $1470 to $1585.

— Mozelle Armijo
Editorial Assistant

Costa Verde

If you’re anxious about leaving the dorms to live off campus, then Costa Verde is the perfect transition apartment. It’s one of the larger apartment complexes in La Jolla, with more pools than necessary in addition to a spa and gym comparable to 24 Hour Fitness. It’s also a short walk to the Arriba Shuttle Stop and the 201/202 Bus Stop.

But beware — it may feel like you never left campus when you realize that all your fellow UCSD peers also live in Costa Verde. This may be comforting for those of you seeking “your kind,” but others may grow tired of seeing the same faces from school while riding the elevator (which is always out of order at the worst times) up to their floor. You’ll have to sacrifice some peaceful quiet with so many students around, but at least this means you can throw a party every once in awhile without receiving noise complaints. 

The rent isn’t impossible for a group of four roommates or more, averaging at about $1950. Some rooms even have an added loft to fit that extra fifth roommate.

Overall, though, you’ll be grateful for the short walk to McDonald’s, Chipotle and Five Guys. It’ll also be nice to not have to drive to late night happy hour at Sushi Ki.

— Emily Polachek
Staff Writer

Trieste

If surrealist artist M.C. Escher were to design an apartment complex, it would probably look like Trieste Apartment Villas. The complex is infamous among past UCSD residents for its confusing layout, poor management and small, oddly shaped bedrooms — hence its nickname, “Triste.” Located on Nobel Drive, Trieste is built on a steep hill, so its narrow hallways are broken by short flights of steps roughly every 15 feet. 

Within its rooms, you may find arranging your furniture in a sensible manner to be nearly impossible, especially if you’ve decided to double up. But sharing is recommended to help save your wallet pain — a 929-square-foot, two-bedroom apartment at Trieste goes for $1700 to $2100, comparable to a two-bedroom at Costa Verde, which has bigger rooms and better amenities included. 

On the positive side, Trieste is only a two-minute walk away from bus stops that service the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System 201/202 SuperLoop route as well as both the Nobel and Arriba Shuttles. It’s also walking distance from both La Jolla Village Square and the Westfield UTC mall. The complex also welcomes tenants with pets. So if you can’t bear leaving little Marley behind, Trieste may be the right place for you.

— Mindy Lam
Staff Writer

La Jolla Vista Townhouses

La Jolla Vista Townhouses is the closest place you can live to campus without dealing with RSOs and dining food, with a six-minute shuttle ride to campus. The neighborhood of townhouses is dubbed “Regents” in reference to the quick jaywalk it takes to get to the Regents Shuttle. Regents has grown to house almost exclusively students in Greek chapters (among randomly placed families). The townhouses all have the kitchen awkwardly placed at the entryway, a spacious living room and three to four bedrooms upstairs. Each townhouse comes with a backyard area, which varies from a small slab of concrete to a garden overlooking the canyon. 

The rent is in the $700 range for a single and around $500 if you want to split a master. Students congregate there for events like Spirit Night and Sun God Festival, so it may not be the best choice for those who’d prefer some peace and quiet.

— Madeline Mann
Senior Staff Writer

La Scala

On the corner of Lebon and Nobel Drive — less than a five-minute walk to the Nobel Shuttle Stop — resides the picturesque La Scala apartments. The rent includes the water bill, pool, gym amenities and two free parking spaces, justifying the $1600 to $1900 rent for a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment.

The ideal location will satisfy all your grocery shopping needs. A short walk can take you to Vons, Ralphs, Trader Joes or Whole Foods. And more often than not, you’re going to opt to walk, because maneuvering your car in La Scala’s tightly spaced parking garage can easily lead to accidents.

La Scala houses a variety of people — from the weird, yet friendly cat lady down the hall, to the 80-year old couple across the way, to the frat boys below whose raging dub beats and bass vibrations continually  reverberate through your floor.

Though some may detect a “funky” smell lingering in the hallways, the La Scala maintenance staff is fairly helpful and will remove that mold growing in your bathroom for free. They’ll also leave polite memos on your door to remind you of fire alarm checks or water shut offs. Don’t worry, though — they don’t occur too often.

The managers of La Scala also own the La Jolla International Gardens, which is right next door.

 — Emily Polachek
Staff Writer

Regents Court

When it comes to the convenience of location, Regents Court clearly delivers. The neatly arranged, coffee-and-cream-colored apartment complex stands directly across the street from the Arriba Shuttle Stop and 201 Bus Stop. The complex is also in close proximity to Ralphs, Vons and UTC, giving those without a car the luxury of reaching these centers with a leisurely stroll.

Each unit within the complex is relatively new. The cheapest of units is $1480, but for a higher cost (tentatively between $1950 and $2200), you can get a particularly well-arranged and spacious unit among the “Santa Barbara” units. These are well-lit and nicely ventilated with two sizable bedrooms, each with its own walk-in closet. 

Below the living units, the decorated common area is complete with a cozy home theater, a study area and a pool table. 

Additionally, parking spaces are copious. So don’t worry — you won’t need to fight for a parking spot if you take your car out for an evening spin.  

— Katheryn Wang
Staff Writer