For Cookie Sayyadeth, 35, and her partner, Daveed Rangel, 44, the move to Normal Heights was not so much a chance to join a community as to build one. Ms. Sayyadeth was born in Thailand and raised in San Diego, and Mr. Rangel grew up in El Paso. The couple, who work together as realtors with Big Block Realty, were living in a two-story loft apartment in the heart of downtown San Diego when a friend invited them to brunch in Normal Heights. “There are a lot of people buying up properties in San Diego and turning them into Airbnbs, but what we wanted to do was create a community,” Mr. Rangel said. “I always say she’s a 93-year-old lady and we got her new shoes and a new hat,” said Ms. Sayyadeth.

Source: New York Times March 17, 2020 12:56 UTC