Is Santa Ana dangerous for an European exchange student? PLEASE HELP!! I'm freaking out... (Anaheim: safe area, living)

[EscapeFromOK]

YES! where are you going to live? In an expensive neighborhood? Well, it is what you have to drive through to get to your neighborhood, ooops HOOD. And you better be wearing the right color, wrong color and you will be taken as a rival gang member. Bang! Or maybe you will be the unfortunate victim at the end of a gun that is held by some young member initiation quest-BANG ! It isn't pretty.

[jordanrbennett]

Sugarr,
I have spent a lot of time looking at real estate in Santa Ana and it is definitely not the "nicest" place. However, just because the Mexican culture is associated with a lower socio-economic status, it does not mean that these people are "bad" or that they are any more dangerous than another people group. There is a definite correlation between socio-economic status and crime, but if you are careful, respectful, and smart (don't be out alone at night, avoid certain areas, etc.) you should be fine. Like someone else mentioned, it depends on where you are living. South Santa Ana (closer to Costa Mesa) tends to be safer than North Santa Ana. Feel free to contact me if you need any help or have any more questions. By the way, what country are you from? I have studied abroad for a year and found it to be one of the most rewarding experiences of my life.

[Coldjensens]

Originally Posted by EscapeFromOK

YES! where are you going to live? In an expensive neighborhood? Well, it is what you have to drive through to get to your neighborhood, ooops HOOD. And you better be wearing the right color, wrong color and you will be taken as a rival gang member. Bang! Or maybe you will be the unfortunate victim at the end of a gun that is held by some young member initiation quest-BANG ! It isn't pretty.

To the op:

you will have to just ignore certain posts like this. A lot of people are just going to play games with you and try to scare you becasue they are mean people and they like to scare people. They think it is funny. Others have no udea what they are talking about and like to just spoout off based on rumours or things that they heard. There are a lot of rumous about Santa Ana going around because a lot of people are prejudiced and their hatred blinds them and makes them make up things that are not true, and/or becasue they ahve never been to Santa Ana or have only driven through it a time or two but they hear all of the rumours (that have been passed down since the 1980s when Sata Ana was really really bad. )

YOu are going to have to sort out the rational posts from the silly one and the ones that are just mean people trying to scare you.

[EscapeCalifornia]

The violent crime reports about Santa Ana are not rumors from the 1980's. I browse the OC Register web site daily and about 8 times out of 10, when there's a story about a shooting, it's in Santa Ana. The other two are usually in Anaheim. Do you really want me to start a thread linking to each story of someone getting shot in Santa Ana? I could do that if you like and it would get real repetitive real fast.

[Coldjensens]

Heard it all before. Lots of hype lots of prejudice not a lot of facts. The bottom line is Santa Ana is a city. People who are afraid of Santa Ana are just afraid of cities period. As cities go, Santa Ana is safer than average. Look at the statistics. Yes you will occaisionally have a shooting reported, not at the level that you are claiming, but there are some. There are also around 350,000 people in Santa Ana. However there is absoutelty no reason to try to scare this poor gal with your diatribe. You will not get shot for wearing the wrong color, not is it likley that you will get hit by a strya bullet in some kind of gunfight. First of all. Most people do not go into the areas where that occurs, secondly, it is simply very very rare. If bangers in any city shoot at something, they usually shoot each other.

How many years have you lived in Santa Ana? On what do you base you "knowlege" that anyone who wears the wrong colors will get shot? Your stateent is patently absurd.

I wear whatever I want when I wlak around Santa Ana. The same is true of my waife, daughters, friends, neighbors. No one gets shot at. No one even gets a dirty look.

I know over 100 people who live in Santa Ana very well. I have around 1000 firendly acquantiances in the City. Not one of them has ever been shot at. Not one person I know would do anything but scoff at those comments. Shootings happen in parts of the City, once in a while you might even hear them (hard to tell from fireworks). However to tell someone that they will get shot for wearing the wrong color clothing is beyond absurd. Ther is no way to maintain any sort of credibility making statements like that, especially when it is based on not one lick of personal knowlege.

[Raelyn28]

You should start that thread EscapeCalifornia because people are obviously either in denial or they just don't want to face facts. Like I have said elsewhere a close relative of mine works for the SAPD. Somebody on either this thread or another thread denied that the Police Department knows what they are talking about. How ridiculous.. Why would they make up stuff when it is their job? LOL, this OC forum cracks me up..

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

The violent crime reports about Santa Ana are not rumors from the 1980's. I browse the OC Register web site daily and about 8 times out of 10, when there's a story about a shooting, it's in Santa Ana. The other two are usually in Anaheim. Do you really want me to start a thread linking to each story of someone getting shot in Santa Ana? I could do that if you like and it would get real repetitive real fast.

[Raelyn28]

If ExcapefromCalifornia can provide the proof that you are calling absurdity what are you going to do then?? And what do I have to do, get you a copy of the 911 dispatch log or police report? What is up with you? Maybe your Santa Ana associations have been very lucky but to say that SA is safe is kind of ridiculous.

Originally Posted by Coldjensens

Heard it all before. Lots of hype lots of prejudice not a lot of facts. The bottom line is Santa Ana is a city. People who are afraid of Santa Ana are just afraid of cities period. As cities go, Santa Ana is safer than average. Look at the statistics. Yes you will occaisionally have a shooting reported, not at the level that you are claiming, but there are some. There are also around 350,000 people in Santa Ana. However there is absoutelty no reason to try to scare this poor gal with your diatribe. You will not get shot for wearing the wrong color, not is it likley that you will get hit by a strya bullet in some kind of gunfight. First of all. Most people do not go into the areas where that occurs, secondly, it is simply very very rare. If bangers in any city shoot at something, they usually shoot each other.

How many years have you lived in Santa Ana? On what do you base you "knowlege" that anyone who wears the wrong colors will get shot? Your stateent is patently absurd.

I wear whatever I want when I wlak around Santa Ana. The same is true of my waife, daughters, friends, neighbors. No one gets shot at. No one even gets a dirty look.

I know over 100 people who live in Santa Ana very well. I have around 1000 firendly acquantiances in the City. Not one of them has ever been shot at. Not one person I know would do anything but scoff at those comments. Shootings happen in parts of the City, once in a while you might even hear them (hard to tell from fireworks). However to tell someone that they will get shot for wearing the wrong color clothing is beyond absurd. Ther is no way to maintain any sort of credibility making statements like that, especially when it is based on not one lick of personal knowlege.

[LivinginOC]

Originally Posted by Raelyn28

You should start that thread EscapeCalifornia because people are obviously either in denial or they just don't want to face facts. Like I have said elsewhere a close relative of mine works for the SAPD. Somebody on either this thread or another thread denied that the Police Department knows what they are talking about. How ridiculous.. Why would they make up stuff when it is their job? LOL, this OC forum cracks me up..

Sigh...

There are sections of Santa Ana that are "bad." The city, as a whole, is not. My dad lives in Santa Ana. He lives in an older section near the border of Fountain Valley and Garden Grove. Never once have I felt unsafe. Not once have I witnessed any sort of crime in the area.

I take my kids to the Santa Ana Zoo all the time. It's perfectly safe!

There are also very nice areas of Santa Ana. In fact, we recently attended an event for a club my kids (age 16 and 13) are in. We met at another of the family's homes. It is in a gorgeous, tree lined, perfectly manicured neighborhood and their house is unbelievable on an incredibly large lot with an amazing yard.

To the OP on this thread, it depends on where you are in Santa Ana. Raelyn, maybe you can ask your close relative on the SAPD if the crimes they are reporting are fairly contained to certain areas of the city.

[esmith143]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

The violent crime reports about Santa Ana are not rumors from the 1980's. I browse the OC Register web site daily and about 8 times out of 10, when there's a story about a shooting, it's in Santa Ana. The other two are usually in Anaheim. Do you really want me to start a thread linking to each story of someone getting shot in Santa Ana? I could do that if you like and it would get real repetitive real fast.

Perhaps OC register has an unnatural interest in Santa Ana?

Santa Ana accounted for 30% of all murders and 26% of all robberies in OC in 2007. It is above average for Orange County, but the average for OC is "quite safe" by national standards.

Out of 76 murders, 23 were in Santa Ana, 17 were in Anaheim, 8 were in Garden Grove, 5 were in Fullerton, 4 were in Irvine, 19 were elsewhere.

Recall that Santa Ana is the biggest city in OC, it is 2 times bigger than Garden Grove and 2.5 times bigger than Fullerton.

It's possible that crimes in Santa Ana get underreported, of course.

[Raelyn28]

I am not saying nor have I ever indicated that ALL areas, ALL neighborhoods and ALL people are bad in Santa Ana. But you have said along with others that it is a safe city with almost no crime and another person said the the SAPD made up stories. Please do not twist and exaggerate the things I am saying. All I am asking is for a balanced perspective. With all the cities in OC why pick Santa Ana? There are other cities that are better and safer. This is the only point that I am trying to make. I am only responding to people who post ignorant posts and don't have a clue as to what they are talking about. Just because someone lives in Compton and has never winessed a drive by or a crime doesn't mean it is a safe city... Wake up!!!...PLease

Originally Posted by LivinginOC

Sigh...

There are sections of Santa Ana that are "bad." The city, as a whole, is not. My dad lives in Santa Ana. He lives in an older section near the border of Fountain Valley and Garden Grove. Never once have I felt unsafe. Not once have I witnessed any sort of crime in the area.

I take my kids to the Santa Ana Zoo all the time. It's perfectly safe!

There are also very nice areas of Santa Ana. In fact, we recently attended an event for a club my kids (age 16 and 13) are in. We met at another of the family's homes. It is in a gorgeous, tree lined, perfectly manicured neighborhood and their house is unbelievable on an incredibly large lot with an amazing yard.

To the OP on this thread, it depends on where you are in Santa Ana. Raelyn, maybe you can ask your close relative on the SAPD if the crimes they are reporting are fairly contained to certain areas of the city.