Is L.A. really that bad? (Los Angeles, Huntington Beach: low income, best cities, rent)

[tanster]

Guys lets look at the facts
Downtown Crime Rate Plummets

Officials Say Activity Drops 18% From 2005 to Lowest Level in Six Decades

by Kathleen Nye Flynn

Downtown Crime Statistics Chart
The Downtown crime rate has dropped to its lowest level in more than 60 years, Los Angeles Police Department officials said last week. The decrease is highlighted by a 28% fall in crime in the area since 2004. Moderator cut: copyright

[dusesean1986]

Police have done a major crackdown in Downtown Los Angeles. There are a million officers, and they are always on high alert of any and all criminal activity.

[OCCASparky]

Originally Posted by Perdu

Soooo you think it's "normal" in America to have to pay way over a million dollars to reside safely in a city just to not be in a gang-infested slum? I wonder what people on this forum from the other 49states would say about that?

I dunno--ask the people in Manhattan. Average apartment price there is something like $1.2 million. And there are some pretty scary areas of NYC (including parts of Manhattan).

[OCCASparky]

Originally Posted by LivingLikeAGradStudent

Continuing on the oversimplification of the issue: There are not many "gang-infested slums" in Southern California. Some areas look older or more rundown, but to paint with that stereotypical bursh is ridiculous. Yes, houses are quite expensive. No, you don't have to own one to live a nice life.

You're quite right--there are lots of gang-infested suburbs and bedroom communities too (Torrance, Redondo, Huntington Beach, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Westchester, Carson, shall I go on?).

[OCCASparky]

Originally Posted by tanster

Guys lets look at the facts
Downtown Crime Rate Plummets

Officials Say Activity Drops 18% From 2005 to Lowest Level in Six Decades

by Kathleen Nye Flynn

Seems like kind of a misleading story--got a link? BTW--does that cover ALL of Los Angeles proper, or just the downtown/Skid Row area? The city-data.com crime files covers ALL of Los Angeles, not just certain zip codes. I think you'll find some parts of LA have relatively low crime, but others are through the roof.

Ah--saw your story--Central Division. Says nothing about 77th Street, etc.

[dusesean1986]

Originally Posted by OCCASparky

You're quite right--there are lots of gang-infested suburbs and bedroom communities too (Torrance, Redondo, Huntington Beach, Westminster, Costa Mesa, Westchester, Carson, shall I go on?).

Where exactly do you live? 90% of Torrance is perfectly fine, Redondo Beach is 98% fine, Huntington Beach is a perfectly nice city, you've got to be joking?! You are correct about Carson and parts of Westchester. I'm not sure about Westminster. Are you sure you've been to these other places? I apologize if I'm becoming aggresive, that's not my intention, but I believe your information is terribly off.

[OCCASparky]

Originally Posted by dusesean1986

Where exactly do you live? 90% of Torrance is perfectly fine, Redondo Beach is 98% fine, Huntington Beach is a perfectly nice city, you've got to be joking?! You are correct about Carson and parts of Westchester. I'm not sure about Westminster. Are you sure you've been to these other places? I apologize if I'm becoming aggresive, that's not my intention, but I believe your information is terribly off.

I used to live in Huntington, Hermosa, and Fountain Valley. As a kid I lived in Hawthorne and Inglewood.

White gangs in HB. Hispanic gangs in North Redondo (above Artesia). Latino/White gangs in east Torrance. Westminster has several Vietnamese gangs.

Let's face it--with over 350 KNOWN gangs in LA County, they're going to exist pretty much everywhere, even in a lot of the "nice" areas.

Yes, they exist there too.

[dusesean1986]

To further explain my point:
An Average Median Household Income in Huntington Beach in the 2000 Census was $27,000 higher than the National Income.
Torrance was $18,000 higher than the National Income.
Redondo was $34,000 higher than the National Income.
muninetguide.com
Maybe, you were referring to another state.

[OCCASparky]

Originally Posted by dusesean1986

To further explain my point:
An Average Median Household Income in Huntington Beach in the 2000 Census was $27,000 higher than the National Income.
Torrance was $18,000 higher than the National Income.
Redondo was $34,000 higher than the National Income.
muninetguide.com
Maybe, you were referring to another state.

I don't discount that. But there are instances in which money doesn't guarantee safety or insulation from crime.

[dusesean1986]

Originally Posted by OCCASparky

I used to live in Huntington, Hermosa, and Fountain Valley. As a kid I lived in Hawthorne and Inglewood.
White gangs in HB. Hispanic gangs in North Redondo (above Artesia). Latino/White gangs in east Torrance. Westminster has several Vietnamese gangs.
Let's face it--with over 350 KNOWN gangs in LA County, they're going to exist pretty much everywhere, even in a lot of the "nice" areas.
Yes, they exist there too.

There's one white gang in Hermosa Beach and they don't threaten anybody or deface the community. They are a bunch of tweakers, I met many of them in high school. Huntington Beach only has a few white gangs. They are a bunch of white kids who are bored and having nothing else to do. Did you mean the wannabe Biker Gangstars who try to act hard in the bars? I'm not sure what HB you were referring to, but there is nothing to be worried about in both these cities. There's only one hispanic gang in Redondo Beach, Northside Redondo 13. They don't bother anyone either, except for rival citiy gangmembers. If you asked every Redondo Beach resident if they knew of this gang, 98% would have no one what you were talking about. There's a couple gangs in east torrance, way way east torrance. That's why I said 90%, Torrance has 139,000 people. This is only near Harbor City, everyone and their grandmother knows about this part. There are more Asian Gangs in East East Torrance than anything else i.e. Wah Ching. Yes, there's 350 known gangs in L.A. County, but there's also a heck of a lot of cities in Los Angeles County.