Is Santa Ana dangerous for an European exchange student? PLEASE HELP!! I'm freaking out... (Long Beach: sex offenders, crime)

[Sugarr]

Hi all!!
I'm from Europe and in a month I'll be an exchange student attending school and learning English and about the American culture in the Orange County for a month, staying with an OC host family. Recently I found out I'm staying in Santa Ana, which I knew nothing about. I started googling Santa Ana to find out how the place I was gonna stay at would be like, and I've gotten absolutely freaked out by what I've found and read. It seems like almost 80% of the population there are from Mexico and many not American and I am going there to learn about America and live with Americans, not Mexicans, but that's the thing that bothers me the least. It seems like a dangerous place, with lots of gangs and crime and I'm a quite good looking young girl, and when I'm there I'll probably have to walk alone to school. I'm absolutely scared, I don't wanna get raped or attacked or robbed or anything. I was absolutely excited about going to the Orange County, I thought it'd be something like Newport Beach or Long Beach or some nice place, but since I've found out about staying in Santa Ana I'm very scared about my trip and fearing for my own safety while being there. I've been other times to the USA, always to the East coast and Midwest and never had any kind of problems and I was always in safe and nice areas, always had amazing experiences and absolutely loved it, so much that the USA became my favorite country only besides my own (it's my home of course). But now, knowing about Santa Ana, I'm shaking.
Since many of you know it and/or live there, do you think it'd be a dangerous place for me? Is my safety at risk? should I be worried?
Any help would really be appreciated... I wanna find out as much as possible about Santa Ana before going there. BTW, the zip code I'm staying at I think would be 92704... is is bad?
Thank you so much to all!!!!!=)

[EscapeCalifornia]

What school? What are the nearest major cross streets of the house you'll be living in. Most of Santa Ana is Tijuana but there are some parts that are OK.

[MisterDuke]

Good/bad depends on the specific neighborhood. Santa Ana has a strong mexican and latin american influence, but it is most definitely NOT as bad as Tijuana. If you look on this page you will see more info on the Santa Ana crime statistics, and see that crime there is below the national average.

http://www.city-data.com/city/Santa-Ana-California.html

If you know the address where you will be staying, you can use California's Megan Law website to see if there are any registered sex offenders in the neighborhood. Person's convicted sex crimes in California must let the state know where they are living, and the site lets you keep track by zip code, city, etc.

California Megan's Law - California Department of Justice - Office of the Attorney General

[Mach50]

Just remember everything posted on internet forums has been exaggerated about 10x. There are so many places in California and US, that are far worse than Santa Ana. To OC standards, Santa Ana is the pits, but Santa Ana is nothing compared to major urban areas. People in OC think Santa Ana is the Bronx or Detroit (yawn).

Just mind your own business, don't stare at people or act like a snob and you will be fine. Santa Ana is one of the few places in OC with a rich history.

I would be more scared of all the boring snobs you are going to encounter once you leave Santa Ana.

[Raelyn28]

Hi, I am sorry you are so afraid of your trip. First of all, won't you be staying with a family if you are an exchange student? If you are.. then they will be there to help you and I am sure they wouldn't put you in danger. Secondly, you aren't going to be there very long, just a short time. I wouldn't want to live there because I don't personally like Santa Ana but you will probably be able to visit other cities won't you? Hang out in some of the cities south of Irvine, make sure to visit Disneyland. Go to the beach. I have a relative that works at the Santa Ana police department and I will ask her about the zip code that you mentioned.

I actually lived there for almost two decades and was asked to try out for the Rams cheerleading team.. I also consider myself an attractive female and I never was raped or violated in California. Parts of OC can be scarey at night but you don't have to be out alone.. Just have someone with you at night, the daytime should be fine. There is a lot to learn in OC and make your time there enjoyable. You are going at a pretty time of the year especially at some of the beaches.

I am sorry if I was one of the people who scared you by my comments for I have posted a lot on this forum. I just wouldn't want to live there (again) for several reasons but a brief visit is a good thing. Just enjoy... you will be fine. Check back and I will check on that zip code...

[flo2900]

Originally Posted by Sugarr

Hi all!!
I'm from Europe and in a month I'll be an exchange student attending school and learning English and about the American culture in the Orange County for a month, staying with an OC host family. Recently I found out I'm staying in Santa Ana, which I knew nothing about. I started googling Santa Ana to find out how the place I was gonna stay at would be like, and I've gotten absolutely freaked out by what I've found and read. It seems like almost 80% of the population there are from Mexico and many not American and I am going there to learn about America and live with Americans, not Mexicans, but that's the thing that bothers me the least. It seems like a dangerous place, with lots of gangs and crime and I'm a quite good looking young girl, and when I'm there I'll probably have to walk alone to school. I'm absolutely scared, I don't wanna get raped or attacked or robbed or anything. I was absolutely excited about going to the Orange County, I thought it'd be something like Newport Beach or Long Beach or some nice place, but since I've found out about staying in Santa Ana I'm very scared about my trip and fearing for my own safety while being there. I've been other times to the USA, always to the East coast and Midwest and never had any kind of problems and I was always in safe and nice areas, always had amazing experiences and absolutely loved it, so much that the USA became my favorite country only besides my own (it's my home of course). But now, knowing about Santa Ana, I'm shaking.
Since many of you know it and/or live there, do you think it'd be a dangerous place for me? Is my safety at risk? should I be worried?
Any help would really be appreciated... I wanna find out as much as possible about Santa Ana before going there. BTW, the zip code I'm staying at I think would be 92704... is is bad?
Thank you so much to all!!!!!=)

Good one!...hahahaha! coming to America to learn english yet your english is perfect! Looks like you`re a local that doesn`t like Santa Ana and...whats in it!

[mrwumpus]

You should go. Not only will it be a great study of cultural clashes, but also you will see some of what Southern California was and much of what it is becoming.

[Sugarr]

Thank you all so much for replying!!! I was a bit scared of what I read online because it seemed like an horrible place full of crime, kinda like the Bronx, but your comments have made me feel a little better, thank you all!!!=)
And to the person who said my English is perfect, well thank you so much!! I try... but my spoken English is a lot worse than my written English=P
Again thanks so much to everyone!! And please feel free to keep giving me advice or info about Santa Ana if you feel like it because I'd love to learn as much as possible about the place before going there.
Thank you!!!! xoxo

[OC Investor2]

Look at the bright side - If end up in the wrong part of Santa Ana you'll be able to work on your english AND learn spanish! A 2fer!

Seriously, SA is not a place I would reccomend as a whole, but there are areas that are OK and some that are not so OK. I seriously doubt that a family living in the barrio parts of SA signed up to host an exchange student. There are plenty of decent neighborhoods in the city.

Do you know which school you are going to? Check out great schools.net and look it up, it will tell you plenty about the school & the neighborhood it is in.

Another good thing is SA is centrally located in OC so you will have easy access to the entire county and the socal region as well.

Good Luck!

[BRinSM]

it is true that most of santa ana is very poor and almost completely latin, but there are also neighborhoods that are very nice and very wealthy. these areas are not big, but they do exist. I have family who live in an amazing house in santa ana that i'm sure is easily worth over one million dollars. i think it is pretty safe to assume that you are more than likely to end up in a wealthy neighborhood as opposed to a poor neighborhood.