hillcrest named top 10 great neighborhood

the american planning association has named hillcrest one of the 10 best neighborhoods in the country. it's got some esteemed company - north beach in sf, park slope in brooklyn, and old west austin - so this says a lot about the quality of the neighborhood. the apa cites hillcrest's walkability, residential architecture, and diversity among the reasons for its inclusion.

rather than re-hash the article, i'm going to list what i like about hillcrest:

- the gays: having lived in cities with little or no gay population, it's a welcome feeling to be able to go out to dinner with my partner and not feel like you're making other people uncomfortable. while it's not a big deal, it's certainly more welcoming in hillcrest than say, poway, to hang out in public. which leads to:

- the eats: hash house, tractor room, celadon, amarin thai, taste of thai, ono sushi, ranoosh, mama testa's, extraordinary deserts. and the ones we haven't tried yet, but have heard are good: chow, ortega's.

- balboa park: one of the best urban parks i've experienced, with interesting architecture, museums, and lots of room to bike and relax. the cactus and rose gardens are a real highlight, and apparently there's a famous zoo there too.

- the homes in banker's hill are pretty amazing, and they're in a neighborhood with some funky canyon pedestrian bridges.

like any neighborhood, there's always room for improvement though. like:

- university ave. east of 163: while there's some new businesses going in, like universal lounge/restaurant, there are still empty stretches that deter walking. hopefully that will improve, but i'd like to see the street narrowed and made more pedestrian friendly.

- 5th and 6th heading to/from downtown - do we really need three one-way lanes on each of these? they're usually empty, and way pedestrian-unfriendly.

- how about a cheap trolley route that circles the neighborhood to span some of the more unwalkable distances? one can dream, i guess.

anyway, i'm proud to live near a neighborhood that would make a list like this one. it's one of the many great things about living in san diego.