How they met:

Through Harbor City Church and mutual friends

Living here since:

All three since October 2019, when Katie moved in. Madison since February 2019, and Mackenzie since 2015, when she moved to San Diego on a whim with her two best friends—they both got married and moved out, and Mackenzie rotated through three other roommates before Madison and Katie.

How they divvy up bills:

Mackenzie pays electricity. Madison handles internet. They split the cost three ways and settle the balance via Venmo. They pay rent individually to Mercer Properties through an online portal.

“Family” dynamics:

MK: “I’m in a new season where I just got a boyfriend. I’m like the elusive dad that comes home just for dinner or maybe just the night.”

ME: “I’m the little sister who’s like, ‘Let’s go do this. Let’s go do that!’”

KM: “I’m definitely the mom.”

Who cleans:

KM: “I’m the most anal, so I’m in charge of the plants and cleaning. I just do it, because I like to clean.”

MK: “She loves to clean…”

ME: “… and we hate cleaning.”

Conflict resolution:

They call house meetings when necessary. A few outcomes from those: A 72-hour rule for doing dishes; a midnight curfew for boyfriends; all three roommates have to approve new decor in the common spaces.

Best parts of the bungalow:

The living and dining rooms for entertaining. Here, they host Bible studies, Bachelor watch parties, and other celebrations. Also, its central location—they can walk to Normal Heights and University Heights in 10–15 minutes. And the neighbors. “There are families and a lot of protective dads,” Mackenzie says.

Quirks of a 1929 home:

KM: “If there’s a sinkhole, I’m going in first. My room’s slanted.”

MK: “All the door frames are off. They just keep shaving them down. And we have plant roots that have come into our pipes. Every time that drain clogs, the plumber is like, ‘Oh, you’re the house with the roots.’”

Homeowning goals:

ME: “I would love to own. My dream house is two blocks away, and it’s $1.3 million.”

MK: “I don’t think I’d ever buy here. It’s so expensive and all of the houses are falling apart. I’m fine with renting. I know everybody says it’s throwing away money.”

KM: “I want to work on something old. I would buy this house and redo it. I mean, how cool would that be?”

Left to right: Katie McDonald, Madison Elick, Mackenzie Kuehn

Sydney Prather

The post How Much It Costs to Rent in North Park appeared first on San Diego Magazine.

Jamie Allender

31, Cinematographer

Cody Brown

30, User Interface Designer

Details

Layout: Two bedrooms, one bath; second-story unit

Square Footage: 750

Each Pays: $997.50

Amenities: Washer, dryer, dishwasher, a/c, heat in unit; one parking spot; remodeled in 2018

Living together since:

May 2018

How they met:

Playing pool in Ocean Beach in 2017, when Jamie first moved to San Diego from Ohio.

Best thing about this apartment:

CB: “The fact that we’re upstairs and we have a nice view of the neighborhood. You can catch the sunset through this kitchen window. And we have a great breeze that rolls through.”

JA: “We can walk two blocks and we’re on Adams.”

The owners:

JA: “We’ve never met the landlord; we go through a property manager. They didn’t raise the rent after a year.”

Why Normal Heights:

CB: “I’ve lived in Normal Heights for eight years, on and off. I knew Jamie would probably like it because it’s very walkable. He said, ‘I don’t care, just pick somewhere.’ I found this place on Zillow.”

JA: “I like Normal Heights a million times better than UTC,” where he lived previously. “My apartment was way bigger but it was outdated. There’s no community in UTC; it’s just apartments for college students.”

How they divvy up chores:

JA: “It’s unspoken.”

CB: “If you see something that’s weird, clean it. Earlier I was sweeping and Jamie just took the trash out. I think we mirror each other, like, if I’m a little dirty, he gets a little dirty.”

Decor:

JA: “I have plants all around my computer. Cody has some in his room.”

CB: “I want to get some big Monstera leaves.”

Neighborhood recs:

Triple Crown Pub, Sycamore Den, The Rabbit Hole, Cantina Mayahuel

Long-term housing goals:

CB: “I’m saving to buy a house in the next five years. Because of San Diego prices, I’ve thrown out the idea with a friend like, dude, we should buy a house together. We could co-live in it or rent it out. Jamie and I make pretty good money, but it’s still impossible out here.”

JA: “It’s just scary, yeah. In Cincinnati, $500,000 will get you a mansion, probably a giant yard too. But I’d like to live in this neighborhood—I don’t want something big.”

On real estate envy:

CB: “It’d be nice to put your money into something you can own, but I try not to get too hung up on that because I’m saving money and I’m doing the type of work I want to do. A house will come someday.”

JA: “I’m in no rush. It’s not bad to rent. It’s just something I have to pay for. And repairs are free.”

A Snapshot of Normal Heights

How Much It Costs to Rent in Normal Heights

Households: 16,681

Households without kids: 84%

Median age of pop.: 35

Pop. never married: 49%

Homes built in 1939 or earlier: 28%

Median sale price of a house: $404,000

Walk Score (out of 100): 86

Greatschools.org rating (out of 10): Adams Elementary, 4; Normal Heights Elementary, 6; Wilson Middle School, 3; Hoover High, 3

Demographics statistics from point2homes.com; housing price from Trulia.com; Walk score from walkscore.com

How Much It Costs to Rent in Normal Heights

From left: Jamie and Cody | Photo by Dewey Keithly

The post How Much It Costs to Rent in Normal Heights appeared first on San Diego Magazine.