Is Southern CA really so bad?

[motoman]

Originally Posted by Mr Floyd

If you live in a city in the US, you must except it all. Gangs, crime, pollution...etc. I don't know of a city that does not have these. Some cities are better than others, statistically speaking, but how safe are you really? Remember...Columbine was once considered a model school until a couple of knucleheads shot it up.

You may live up on the hill out of the element so to speak but you'll have to drive through it and occasionally, it comes to you. The only way to avoid it is to buy a large ranch, have supplies shipped in and home school your kids. But is that really a good idea? Hmmmm...

Indeed. People hear about LA gang violence and all that jazz, but Dallas, Texas, where I am originally from, has a higher per capita murder rate than LA. And I've never heard anyone talk about not moving to Dallas because of it being unsafe.

Also, I took a trip to Manhattan last year. My co-workers kept warning me about how unsafe it is, to be on the look-out, blah, blah, blah. I never felt safer in my life, even walking around at 3 am by myself.

I've been in LA for a little over 4 years now and have NEVER run into a situation where I felt unsafe. No, I haven't hung out in every neighborhood in LA, but I've seen a lot of it.

The thing to keep in mind is that you'll always find someone that may have been impacted by a crime, and that will likely forever shape their thinking about a particular city or area of a city. Also, the median has an incredible ability to distort the truth, dramatizing things to drive ratings. You'll hear about a murder or robbery in LA or some city, and the media will spin it as World War III is breaking out.

[accordingtoome]

Ya i did say cali sucks... it does. It has its nice parts if you can afford to live in them. but after spending a year in houston i would not move back. ever! I lived in a semi ****ty area but i also went to San Pedro High school and spent many days on the beach in hermosa, huntington beach. i stayed mostly in torrace ca (middle class area) when i went out and had a great time with good friends all the time.... AND i would still not move back. California is going to ****. Texas will be the last free state.

[TXperson]

Originally Posted by accordingtoome

California is going to ****. Texas will be the last free state.

And is also on the road to becoming California Jr.

[sarahkate_m]

Originally Posted by Sunny225

...it seems that the people and neighborhoods are segregated into 2 sections - very rich or very poor. Is this really so?

Emphatically: YES.

Originally Posted by Sunny225

Where in the LA area would a middle-class family fit? (Decent high schools, safe neighborhood).

There are plenty of posts in other threads which address this issue. The county of LA is huge. So if you mean just the city of LA, that narrows it down.

Originally Posted by Sunny225

Reading about "infamous Latino gangs" has kind of terrified me.

Gangs come in more than one ethnicity. You can find out which neighborhoods are affected by bangs through google searches. Maybe there's a way to search the LA forum here, too. So then you avoid those neighborhoods. Those neighborhoods probably have specific area codes.

While living in California for over 40 years, I noticed area codes change & increase in number dramatically. Because I lived in many of those area codes, I noticed they were broken up by very interesting demographics. Those demographics further support my claim that neighborhoods are not just segregated but stratified by economic factors.

Originally Posted by Sunny225

Please tell me that all of this negativity about SoCal isn't true... someone give me some hope that CA is as great as I think it is.

The negativity is true in relation to the demographics. California as a state isn't defined by one city nor one county. The negativity is basically, for schools/gangs/house values - a neighborhood perspective.

[Infamous92]

I'm enjoying myself here, just stick to the right areas, a LA native would know more than me about the good areas, there are a lot of good areas too .