Lemon Grove, Lemon Grove, CA

Most of Lemon Grove is single-family streets that filled in fast during the 1950s, after the citrus orchards that gave the city its name gave way to postwar building. Roughly half the homes in Lemon Grove predate 1960, a far higher share than across San Diego County, so the typical house is a modest one-story ranch on a flat or gently sloping lot, with newer apartments and townhomes clustered closer to the trolley. Broadway is the spine of everyday life. Strip centers, taco shops, a Mexican meat market and a Thai grocery line it from the San Diego edge to the east side, and the side streets behind it go quiet within a block or two. Coffee comes with a view of the tracks. Lemon Grove Coffee, at 7801 Broadway across from the trolley stop, is a big, cheap, friendly room with bleacher seating where laptops settle in for the morning. Farther east on Broadway, Elevated Coffee & Confections is a tiny counter known for its sweet potato biscuits. For dinner, Giardino Neighborhood Cucina at 8131 Broadway serves housemade lasagna and pasta finished in a giant wheel of cheese, and El Pollo Grill at 7836 has been flame-broiling chicken with charro beans and fresh tortillas since 1987. Parks are small and close to home. Berry Street Park and Washington Street Park handle the playground and picnic needs, and the recreation center on School Lane has the city skate park beside it. For a real hike with a view, the Dictionary Hill preserve sits east of the city line in Spring Valley. Errands rarely take long. Food 4 Less and Albertsons are both on Broadway, and Sprouts and Peet's share a center on Lemon Grove Avenue. The Orange Line stops at the Lemon Grove Depot and at Massachusetts Avenue, and State Routes 94 and 125 frame the city for the drive downtown or out to East County. Older housing cuts both ways. Midcentury ranch houses tend to have simple layouts and usable yards, but with so much of the stock past its 65th birthday, buying here often comes with a project list. From much of the city you can grab a coffee by the tracks, ride the trolley downtown and be back on a quiet ranch-house street by evening without touching the car.