Salinas? Monterey? Help pls

[Orlando1]

I have been living in East Salinas for 15 years and I have never had a problem. I live in the Monte Bella neighborhood now and I go for a jog every night and heck no I'm not afraid to go out. Personally I think Salinas is a great city, yes there are some bad parts to it but there are also good ones. It pisses me off when people talk about Salinas in a bad way. Have you lived in Salinas? Have you even been to Salinas? People with their stupid stereotypes. There's nothing wrong with this city other than the gang problem which I don't really have to worry about because I'm not in a gang.

[Franklyn]

Well said.

[thirdgenerationcali]

Smart...very smart.

[thirdgenerationcali]

Originally Posted by Wisteria

Boy, choosing Salinas for a job? Wow, I hope it's a super, duper job to live in Salinas!! Seriously, you must consider the extremely high crime factor! Maybe go online and check out the Monterey, or Salinas newspapers.

Prunedale is nice (I am a therapist and once worked in a group home out there), but it IS country. If you're looking more for a town with amenities, then you'd be wiser to check out Monterey -- maybe Carmel Valley.

I don't know -- I hope that job package is really, really good!! Personally, I'd never live there; I wish these travel/tourist ads would be more honest. It is Gangland there. Really, it is. It's no joke. And you have to be careful of colors you wear because they are gang related (like blue or red), and hand gestures, and all sorts of things. Kids get misidentified as gang members and shot...oh the list goes on. It's very depressing. If we haven't turned you off by now, then maybe you are meant to go there. Let us know if you do!

Good Luck!

You live in Santa Cruz. I guess they have no gangs there? I am surprised that any one from Santa Cruz knows how to get to Salinas. Lady, you know nothing of which you speak.

[coyoteskye]

Originally Posted by thirdgenerationcali

You live in Santa Cruz. I guess they have no gangs there? I am surprised that any one from Santa Cruz knows how to get to Salinas. Lady, you know nothing of which you speak.

I know how to get to Salinas.

[Hawk J]

Originally Posted by Orlando1

I have been living in East Salinas for 15 years and I have never had a problem. I live in the Monte Bella neighborhood now and I go for a jog every night and heck no I'm not afraid to go out. Personally I think Salinas is a great city, yes there are some bad parts to it but there are also good ones. It pisses me off when people talk about Salinas in a bad way. Have you lived in Salinas? Have you even been to Salinas? People with their stupid stereotypes. There's nothing wrong with this city other than the gang problem which I don't really have to worry about because I'm not in a gang.

Howdy Orlando...

Is 'The Place' still on east Alisal st? Lustrums ago we played shuffleboard & pool there. Had some good times.... Larry owned it.

Used to go to the DAV & VFW off Alisal. Also the American Legion on Market street.

[WayOutYonder]

Originally Posted by Orlando1

I have been living in East Salinas for 15 years and I have never had a problem. I live in the Monte Bella neighborhood now and I go for a jog every night and heck no I'm not afraid to go out. Personally I think Salinas is a great city, yes there are some bad parts to it but there are also good ones. It pisses me off when people talk about Salinas in a bad way. Have you lived in Salinas? Have you even been to Salinas? People with their stupid stereotypes. There's nothing wrong with this city other than the gang problem which I don't really have to worry about because I'm not in a gang.

I work in Salinas, but live on the peninsula. I was concerned about taking the position I have, because of Salinas' bad reputation. My employer has several locations in different spots in Salinas-- and East Salinas is the most challenging. There are gang problems there, and, unfortunately, gang members (and, gangster wannabes) come into my work-- they have to eat, drink and shop, like everyone else, I guess. They are often rude, and sometimes they threaten the employees (I'm speaking of the times they have said threatening things in English-- if they were doing so in Spanish, it completely went over my two-years-of-Spanish-30-years-ago head. We lose valuable work time contacting the police and filing reports about various incidents of one kind or another.

There are some lovely looking neighborhoods in Salinas. I really like the older homes in downtown Salinas. But downtown Salinas has a significant homeless problem-- and the homeless are in my place of business from opening until closing each day. I have lived in other places with a lot of homeless-- but Salinas homeless... are a different breed. There seems to be more mentally unstable and/or substance abuser homeless in Salinas, than I have encountered in much bigger cities, with larger homeless populations. I would venture to guess that Salinas doesn't provide the level of social services that other communities do-- and therefore there are more problematic homeless there. Though the new 211 service should go a long way to helping that situation. I know that there are many newly homeless (including families) in the area, because of the economy-- but the ones that hang out at my place of work seem to be more of the crazy, drunk, throwing feces type.


I am happy that I have been able to get to and from work without encountering any problems. But as nice as Salinas looks in some parts, I couldn't fathom living there. I'm not made of tough-enough stock to not be discouraged by the consistently bad crime statistics, the news of innocent bystanders and mistaken identities shot in shopping center parking lots, or in front of schools. And I can't get past the abysmal performance of the local schools (I sometimes work with local children in my job, and you would be appalled at what the children don't know-- and it isn't a language issue-- there are so many things they don't know in their native tongues).

Anyhow, I can't recommend living in Salinas.

ps. I used to think things weren't too bad in the South part of town (love Star Market!) but then there were some back-to-back crimes in the Nob Hill shopping center (wasn't one of them a holdup of the Nob Hill?) South may be better-- but you have to go to other parts of town sometime...

[Everest209]

Originally Posted by Orlando1

I have been living in East Salinas for 15 years and I have never had a problem. I live in the Monte Bella neighborhood now and I go for a jog every night and heck no I'm not afraid to go out. Personally I think Salinas is a great city, yes there are some bad parts to it but there are also good ones. It pisses me off when people talk about Salinas in a bad way. Have you lived in Salinas? Have you even been to Salinas? People with their stupid stereotypes. There's nothing wrong with this city other than the gang problem which I don't really have to worry about because I'm not in a gang.

This could apply to 80 percent of the comments on this forum.

[Franklyn]

Originally Posted by WayOutYonder

I work in Salinas, but live on the peninsula. ........

And you mistakenly think the peninsula is crime free? You apparently live in a dream world. Had business in downtown Monterey and Marina today and was accosted by five "threatening" homeless fellows in 30 minutes within two blocks of the wharf and two other unsavory guys later near the shopping center on Reservation Road. Holdups, burglaries, murders, auto thefts, gangs exist in all of the peninsula cities - even quiet little Carmel. [Afterward stopped in at Nob Hill and Star Market and had no problems at all].

Oh, by the way, it was warmer in Salinas today than in the cities on the bay.

Your comment about the type of homeless in Salinas shows you have little experience with cities on major rail lines. San Luis Obispo, San Jose, Phoenix, Indio, San Bernardino, Bakersfield, Fresno and Sacramento all have problems with the same types of homeless persons. Its not a lack of "social services". You guessed badly, there.

You work in a crap area with rude and threatening customers. I'll buy that. But the rest of your anti-Salinas rant is warped and one-sided. Plus you spend way too much time crawling along on Hwy 68 stuck in commute traffic. That probably explains your bad mood. You need to get a job transfer to another part of the city or a new life.

[WayOutYonder]

Thanks for replying, Franklyn. You're off base on several counts. First, I never said the peninsula is crime free. I acknowledge that there is crime here, there just seems to be, statistically, less of it-- and not just because there's fewer people living in peninsula cities. When you make statistical adjustments that even the playing field, Salinas still comes out ahead in crime.

My employer has three locations in Salinas. There are serious problems in all three locations-- downtown, eastside and northside, the homeless problem is more prevalent in the downtown location, but there's an increasing amount of homeless frequenting the other two locations. I have lived, worked, gone to school and traveled in several communities that have serious problems with homeless including San Francisco, San Diego, Emeryville, Oakland, Berkeley, Vallejo, Sacramento, Fort Worth, Dallas, New York City. I have volunteered at homeless shelters. And I have worked as an eligibility worker in Salinas-- I have experience with the homeless. I can safely say that Salinas' homeless seem to be ruder and have more mental issues than those I have encountered in other places.

Lastly, I rarely travel on 68. My path is through Fort Ord and Blanco whenever I need to travel to Salinas.

One thing you imply about Salinas-- it's sunniness-- is certainly one of the good things about Salinas. I also like seeing the snow on the mountains, on my drive in to work.

Franklyn, you are an unapologetic fan of Salinas. May you continue to live long and carefree in that city.