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There are two good places to eat on Kearny Mesa Road, and a few decent hotels. This is located a block from the Miramar Marine Corps Air School. This street runs parallel to I-15, and is easy to miss. If you stay in a hotel here ask for a room on the upper floor facing the air base and you may be treated to the sight of jet fighters practicing landings and takeoffs at the adjacent base.

Del Mar Heights is a feeder road that links the 5 freeway to Del Mar Race Track and Torrey Pines State Reserve to the West, and to Solano Highlands and Torrey Highlands to the east. This is a heavily used road. Most homes and businesses are on side streets that connect to Del Mar Heights. Traffic generally moves pretty well through here, although during the San Diego Fair which is held at the racetrack, all bets on traffic are off.

This is the best way to get to Friars Road from Hotel Circle. It takes you past the trolley station and the Fashion Valley Mall. There are places to eat at the mall and in the parking lot surrounding the mall. Don't walk here from Hotel Circle though, the sidewalks are minimal and the area is not well lit at night. The lines on the road needed a coat of paint last time I drove here, it was very hard to tell where the lanes were at night.

The northern side of hotel Circle is home to a convention center and larger style hotels than you get on the southern side of the freeway. There are plenty of places to eat, some have decent food for hotel restaurants. The area is not very pedestrian friendly, there are whole sections of the street without sidewalks. I would recommend this area for frequent travelers to San Diego who don't want to stay downtown but want to stay somewhere accessible.

Moore Street is a mere three blocks long and is primarily commercial, although it leads into a residential area to the west. There isn't much on Moore Street other than a couple of gas stations, the rest of the businesses face the intersecting side streets. Traffic is generally light, and it is best to bypass Moore Street for Jefferson or San Diego Ave if you are headed to Old Town.

Hotel Circle offers a wide variety of hotel accommodations from budget motels to higher end hotels. I have made this my second home. You are close to Old Town, Downtown, Mission Valley and can get anywhere in the city in about 30 minutes. The circle offers a lot of options for dining but is not very pedestrian friendly, the sidewalk just kind of ends in the middle of the street.

Congress Street is kind of a tourist trap, but many of the Mexican food places here are tasty and have patios with good happy hour specials. This is where I like to take out of town guests for dinner. there are just a few blocks in the Old Town area, but there are plenty of knick nack shops and the State Historic Park is a must see for the out of town set.

Old Town Avenue is a high traffic street that serves as one of the entrances to the Old Town area of San Diego. The street is only three blocks long, and is mostly commercial with office buildings on both sides. There are not a lot of touristy places on Old Town Avenue, for that head over a few blocks to the west to Congress Street.

This area has plenty of affordable housing near the Naval Base. In fact you can hear the National Anthem played over the Naval Base public address system every morning at 8 am. There are a lot of large trucks that come through the area, and the businesses lean towards the industrial. Not such a great place if you don't have a car or mode of transportation. Also, while you are close to the beach, you can't get to it on foot because of the Naval base.

University Ave in Hillcrest is home to some of the best happy hour specials and amazing food in San Diego. You can find just about any kind of food you can imagine within a few blocks. Parking is a pain, but the pedestrian nature and sidewalk cafes make it worth the walk. I usually wind up parking in the residential neighborhoods nearby and walking in. Once I've ditched the car I like to walk around and enjoy the atmosphere. Defiantly not for the uber-conservative crowd though.

Washington Street is a major conduit into the pedestrian areas of Hillcrest. From the 163 the lights are poorly timed and it is not uncommon to sit through several rounds at some of the traffic lights while waiting to make a left. There isn't much going on on Washington between the 163 and the Hospital and the signage to get into Hillcrest is confusing. However, as long as you don't have someone in an emergency situation trying to get to the hospital in your car it is the best way to get to Hillcrest from the 163.

10th Ave in the East Village area is super nice. There are a lot of great apartments and condos. Plenty of good restaurants, from fine dining to burritos to gelato. This is a pedestrian friendly area. 10th Ave is also a major route from the 5 and 163 freeways to the ball park. Traffic on game days is miserable, and parking is extremely expensive. There is plenty in the area to keep you busy, and many of the local shops are dog friendly.

11 Ave is the fastest route from Petco Park to the 163. The best bits of 11 Ave are closest to the ballpark, where you have a lot of apartments and condos, restaurants, nightclubs, and pedestrian friendly areas. The closer to the 163 you get the less pedestrian friendly it is. There are a lot of run down areas along 11 Ave close to the freeway. There is one hotel in particular that advertises it's selling points as every room is equipped with a phone. While I wouldn't want to live north of Broadway yet, there is a lot of redevelopment going on in the area, and it will be a nice area in a few years.

This street has a ton of new apartments and condos on it with views of Petco Park. A huge plus if you are a Padres fan! There is plenty to do in the area, from food, to shopping, and beyond. There are plenty of young people who live and work in this area. It is very accessible even without a car.
The major downside of living here is getting in and out by car on game days. Talk about traffic! Also parking down here is extremely limited and expensive. If the ballpark views don't intrigue you, try somewhere closer to the Gaslamp, like 3rd or 4th Ave.

This area is really fun for the young professional crowd. Plenty of great food and bars in the area, and new things seem to be springing up all the time! The building boom that came with the ballpark has totally transformed this area and there is plenty of housing. This section of town is very pedestrian, and you even see a lot of people out with their dogs in the mornings and evenings.