Valencia Park, San Diego, CA

Valencia Park, known locally as V.P., covers the hilly stretch of southeastern San Diego between Euclid Avenue and Valencia Parkway, running from Market Street south to Division Street and the National City line. Steep slopes, plateaus, small canyons and a section of Chollas Creek break the streets into pockets rather than a tidy grid. Houses sit along streets that bend with the terrain. One subdivision, Astor Heights, was built by Astor Basmajian, a jeweler turned real estate developer who also gave part of his land for the Valencia Park Elementary playground. Imperial Avenue, Churchward Street and Valencia Parkway are the roads most people use to get in and out. For parks, MLK Community Park on Skyline Drive in Encanto is the nearest large one, with its recreation center. Radio Canyon Open Space in Emerald Hills offers rougher ground for a walk, and the creek corridor adds green space within the neighborhood. Eating and errands cluster at the edges. A few quick counters sit on Euclid Avenue near Imperial, Division Market covers quick needs on Division Street, and Market Creek Plaza, which Valencia Park shares with Lincoln Park, has the Food 4 Less for full grocery runs. The Valencia Park/Malcolm X Library, just across Market Street in Emerald Hills, opened in 1996 and includes a performing arts center and a teen tech lab. Orange Line trains stop at Euclid Avenue, just off the northwest corner, where several bus routes also meet. I-805 is a few minutes west. Hills and canyons are the price of the setting. Walking from one side of the neighborhood to the other can mean steep climbs, and restaurants are scarce once you leave Euclid and Imperial. In exchange, Valencia Park offers houses on irregular hillside lots, with a trolley station, a major library and a full supermarket all at its edges.