Nestor, San Diego, CA

Nestor spreads across the flat land of far southern San Diego between Imperial Beach and San Ysidro, where suburban streets give way to the wide green floodplain of the Tijuana River Valley. It began as farm country and was annexed by the city in 1957. Most of the housing went up after annexation. The wider Otay Mesa-Nestor area held fewer than 1,000 homes in 1957, building took off in the late 1960s, and today the streets are filled with suburban houses and apartment complexes. The main roads are Coronado and Tocayo avenues, Saturn Boulevard and Hollister Street. The valley is the big outdoor asset. Tijuana River Valley Regional Park covers more than 1,800 acres. Its 22.5-mile trail network is shared by riders on horseback, cyclists and hikers, and birders have logged roughly 340 species there under the Pacific Flyway. Its Bird and Butterfly Garden on Hollister Street is an easy stroll, the community garden at Hollister and Sunset Avenue offers garden and small farm plots, and the sports complex on Sunset Avenue has five ball fields. Berry Park serves the neighborhood closer to home. The South Bay Drive-In on Coronado Avenue is the local landmark, the last drive-in theater left in the city, and it doubles as a swap meet. For food, Ed Fernandez Birrieria on Flower Avenue serves a slow-cooked beef birria in a steaming bowl with warm tortillas, from early morning Wednesday through Sunday. Baja Oyster and Sushi Bar on Coronado Avenue mixes Mexican seafood with sushi rolls and micheladas. Daily life in Nestor runs on the car. The Vons on Saturn Boulevard in neighboring Egger Highlands is the go-to supermarket, and the public library for the area sits farther east on Coronado Avenue. The Blue Line trolley stops at Palm Avenue station in neighboring Palm City, and I-5 is close for the trip north to downtown. The neighborhood is a long way from the city center, and downtown can take a while at rush hour. What it offers in return is open country at the end of the street, with trails, horses and farm plots in the valley a few minutes from home.