COMMENT BY
Leigh from La Mesa, CA
COMMENT ABOUT PLACE
La Mesa, CA
COMMENT
family and mall oriented with cute downtown
La Mesa is the first city located east of San Diego proper It is bisected by interstate 8 and State Routes 125 and 94 run close to the borders. There are 2 zip codes: 91941, which is south of Interstate 8, has lots of older homes including bungalows and has the downtown area; and 91942, north of the 8, which has more ranch homes, the hospital and the mall. Downtown La Mesa is a cute walkable antiques row with cafes and the main trolley stop with some condos. Downtown hosts the annual Octoberfest and the 50's classic car expo in the summer. 91942 is very family oriented with its many ranch homes and consists of the Mount Helix, Grossmont and Fletcher Hills area. Grossmont Center Mall, which has some large shopping areas adjacent is located next to Grossmont Hospital. There are lots of apartments and new condos here too. Because San Diego County does not have any county hospitals, Grossmont takes on a large share of the counties noninsured- especially in its large busy emergency room. La Mesa has a law stating that any apartment building built before 1980 cannot convert to condos unless an equal amount of apartments are built. This is because SD County is very expensive for families and many middle income families apartment in La Mesa. However, the city council is desparetley trying to find new tax sources, mainly through approving lots of new condo building.