Best Places to Live – Little Italy
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A stable ethnic business and residential community, since the 1920′s; Little Italy today represents Downtown San Diego’s oldest continuous neighborhood business district. While it’s a little expensive to live here, the neighborhood boasts some of the larger and most pet-friendly condos and apartments in the downtown area. If you have little ones but aren’t cut out for the suburbs, Little Italy is perfect for you! With the soon-to-be-opened, Piazza Famiglia (they are permanently closing Date Street to make it a piazza (http://www.littleitalysd.com/…/12-041-Review-Board-Layout.p…), and new County Waterfront Park with free splash fountains and play equipment, makes it hard to resist not living here.
The majority of events held in Little Italy are related to Italian culture. Most of the events center on and around India Street.
Every Saturday, 9:00am – 1:30pm, on Date Street; Little Italy hosts the Little Italy Mercato (market in Italian). This Italian farmers' market, 1 of the largest in SD, features freshly caught fish, vegetables and fruit from local farmers, pastries from local bakeries, flowers and plants from local farms, and art from local artists.
The Saturday before Mardi Gras, there is the Little Italy Carnevale, a Venetian mask event with several vignettes of entertainment and an open house for retail shops and restaurants.
In April, there is Art Walk, the largest art event in the west coast with over 120,000 people coming to purchase various mediums of art - paintings, photography, jewelry, furniture and more. Also in April, there is Gran Fondo (Big Ride) Colnago San Diego, where over 3,000 bicycle riders from all over the world come to ride throughout "America's Finest City" in a 32, 53 or 100 mile ride that starts under the Little Italy landmark sign.
In May, the Sicilian American community of San Diego celebrates the Sicilian Festival, the first Italian festival held in Little Italy, launched in 1993. It features Italian and Sicilian entertainment, a cultural pavilion highlighting the contributions of the Italians of San Diego, vendors, and Sicilian cuisine.
In September, there is the Labor Day Stickball Tournament, where several stickball leagues come to play on the streets of Little Italy. This time honored east coast game is played like baseball, but with some minor tweaks. Every third year the San Diego leagues host a West Coast Invitational where they invite New York and Puerto Rico to play on the streets of San Diego's Little Italy.
In October, there is the Little Italy Festa, the largest Italian festival outside of New York City, with over 150 Italian food and crafter booths, three stages of entertainment, the Gesso Italiano Street Painting Festival, a stickball exhibition game, bocce ball tournament and beer & wine gardens. Also in October, there is the Bulls of St. Agata Charge Little Italy; this event showcases over 50 Lamborghinis from all over the United States.
In December, there is the Little Italy Christmas Village and Tree Lighting. This event has progressively gotten larger and larger, with Santa Claus riding in on Little Italy Fire Engine #3 kicking off the festivities of music, shopping and bubbly snow flakes for the kids.
Here is list of my favorite restaurants, bars, and coffee shops based on my exceptional palate. J For great coffee (Bird Rock or James Coffee Co.); go to restaurant with great cocktails (Prep Kitchen); fun speak easy bar (Craft and Commerce).
The Walk score, which is a number from 0-100 that helps you find a walkable place to live, is 97. It is the 2nd most walkable neighborhood in San Diego. The Bike Score is 66, making it somewhat bikeable.
The median home in Little Italy is about $411,000 and the average rent is around $3,400.
Sources: San Diego Magazine, Walk Score, Zillow, Wikipedia
