5 reason why not to move san diego, ca. (Orange, Corona: preschool, stores)

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by earlyretirement

Gentoo and queenvic. Again, I'm terribly sorry to hear that you both had to deal with racism issues. I just think in today's day and age that is horrible. I'd really appreciate it if you'd share details of the type of things you went through.

Would you mind doing that just so we can get a better understanding of what you went through? Would you admit those things are clearly not happening in San Diego today? Or would you say they are still going on?

I always tried to avoid certain areas. The obvious ones like Lakeside; Mad dogging was the most common there. Both there and a couple of times in Santee I'd walk by a group of guys and just as I get in front of them, they would spit at my feet barely missing me. One time I was told that "my part of town" was about 10 miles that way. He pointed in a general westward direction. This was years ago, not within the last 4 that I lived there. As strange as this may sound to some, Ocean Beach has been downright hostile toward me. When I worked at Sea World, bonfires were our thing. We had a few at OB. I've actually had people say things like "what the hell is this damn spade doing on our beach?" Then there were monkey imitations. Two different types of racists in those areas; East County seemed more KKK while within SD poper it seemed more skinhead which IMO are actually worse as they tend to be more aggressive.

Then there was the more systematic type of racism. I was apartment hunting with a now ex girlfriend. She was white. She went by herself to get info and told them that she would be back with me so we can see the place. The deposit she was given was equal to one months rent. When we got there, suddenly it became twice the rent plus an application fee which she said was not the case when she went there because she was trying to avoid extra costs as, like me, she doesn't like spending more than she has to on housing. She told me the lady's demeanor was also very different than when it was just her.

Then there are the numerous other, subtle racist incidents which are impossible to explain or prove to anyone but the person targeted definitely knows it's there. The type where everyone tries to convince you that you imagined it somehow which makes it even more frustrating. The only thing you can do is leave.

[earlyretirement]

Wow. That's horrible to hear Gentoo! Again, sorry that you had to experience this. What year did these things happen? You mentioned "not within the last 4 years of living here". But are we talking about 5 years ago or 15 years ago?

Unfortunately I don't know too many black people here in San Diego but the ones I have met are NOT having these types of problems.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by earlyretirement

Wow. That's horrible to hear Gentoo! Again, sorry that you had to experience this. What year did these things happen? You mentioned "not within the last 4 years of living here". But are we talking about 5 years ago or 15 years ago?

Unfortunately I don't know too many black people here in San Diego but the ones I have met are NOT having these types of problems.

It happened over the span of years. My last few years there I lived in Mission Valley and then Chula Vista, areas where you're very unlikely to encounter these sorts of things.

Let me tell you, I am sure many blacks may not experience it. However I can tell you only from personal experience that most will not talk about it to non blacks precisely for the reasons I stated earlier.

[Fran66]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

Then there are the numerous other, subtle racist incidents which are impossible to explain or prove to anyone but the person targeted definitely knows it's there. The type where everyone tries to convince you that you imagined it somehow which makes it even more frustrating. The only thing you can do is leave.

I know. I worked for a government office that did a lot of interfacing with the public. Oh, never mind, It was a CA court system. There were 125 judges. Over the 27+ years I worked there, we had a very few token women judges and a very few token Mexican judges. (Who, by the way, were very good judges, but that's not the point here.) Then we got a -- ONE -- Vietnamese judge. But not until I had worked there 20 years. And THEN, just as I was beginning to retire -- 2003 -- we got our first Black judge, a man. I may be wrong, but I think there isn't a Black woman judge there yet.

Racism is hardly a thing of the past. Especially for Blacks.

[earlyretirement]

Originally Posted by Gentoo

It happened over the span of years. My last few years there I lived in Mission Valley and then Chula Vista, areas where you're very unlikely to encounter these sorts of things.

Let me tell you, I am sure many blacks may not experience it. However I can tell you only from personal experience that most will not talk about it to non blacks precisely for the reasons I stated earlier.

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Absolutely I agree with people that say that racism still exists today in America. The unfortunate truth is there will always be ignorant, idiotic and mean-spirited people out there. But I really think the improvements across the USA over the past 2 decades has been quite amazing.

I have several black friends outside of San Diego and I've traveled on many trips with them so I do understand that there will always be ignorant people out there. But quite honestly, I think for the most part San Diego is an amazing city when it comes to people being open and tolerant of all races (including Blacks), sexual orientation, religions, etc. People here are very laid back for the most part compared to MANY other cities.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by earlyretirement

Thanks for sharing your experiences. Absolutely I agree with people that say that racism still exists today in America. The unfortunate truth is there will always be ignorant, idiotic and mean-spirited people out there. But I really think the improvements across the USA over the past 2 decades has been quite amazing.

I have several black friends outside of San Diego and I've traveled on many trips with them so I do understand that there will always be ignorant people out there. But quite honestly, I think for the most part San Diego is an amazing city when it comes to people being open and tolerant of all races (including Blacks), sexual orientation, religions, etc. People here are very laid back for the most part compared to MANY other cities.

I understand what you're saying. the thing to remember is, in a city of over a million people, everyones experience will be different. Not like a small town where the vast majority will have the same impression. San Diego is definitely catching up and has in recent years quite a bit. Now remember, I've only lived on the west coast. yes I know that other parts of the country are worse but having never been there, that's not even relevant to me. Of the places I've lived, for me personally SD was the worse in this regard.

Now don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those many transplants who moved to SD, couldn't hack it then got bitter and left. I have always bounced back and forth between SD and the bay area. My dad and his family are in SD. I got my first job in SD. Got my first place of my own in SD. Got my first car in SD. Learned lots of important social skills in SD. Lived the SD lifestyle; bonfires, body boarding, clubbing (TJ, Gaslamp and PB), Camped on Mt Laguna more times then I can count. Know the back country thoroughly. Well pretty well let's say. I took advantage and made the absolute best of it when I was there and as you can see, it has a lot to offer. But again, this doesn't mean it's for everyone nor will everyone feel like they belong there. So yeah, I hacked it in SD and have roots there and will always be connected to it in some way. However what this means is my reasons for not liking it also run much deeper than the average disgruntled persons.

[Gentoo]

Originally Posted by Fran66

I know. I worked for a government office that did a lot of interfacing with the public. Oh, never mind, It was a CA court system. There were 125 judges. Over the 27+ years I worked there, we had a very few token women judges and a very few token Mexican judges. (Who, by the way, were very good judges, but that's not the point here.) Then we got a -- ONE -- Vietnamese judge. But not until I had worked there 20 years. And THEN, just as I was beginning to retire -- 2003 -- we got our first Black judge, a man. I may be wrong, but I think there isn't a Black woman judge there yet.

Racism is hardly a thing of the past. Especially for Blacks.

Very true but this isn't something fully understood on City-Data I've discovered but what can you do.

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by IceTeaDrinker2013

- San Diego is small. You could see and do everything the city has to offer in the span of a few weeks.

How is SD any different from other metros of the same size? Does it take months or years to see all of St. Louis, Tampa, Minneapolis or Baltimore?

San Diego is sterile. It has no culture. Small pockets of beach communities, small pockets of minorities, small pockets of military

Where do you live and define culture for me? I might be able to help you with this one.

San Diego is bland. Vast majority of the city is cookie cutter suburbia. Consider by the beach it is mostly large restaurants and corporations. That is not the case in Europe, where little mom and pop shops and food shacks exist giving the city an identity.

Can you name the beach communities that are full of chain restaurants and businesses for me, please? Shall we start from South to North? IB? Coronado? OB? MB? PB? La Jolla? Del Mar? Solana? Encinitas? Which commercial strips in each area are full of chains?

And to compare SD to anyplace is Europe is absurd, don't you think?

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by queenvic

I do not understand why people who disagree with the "sunshine, rainbows, and America's finest city" ideology of living in SD are constantly berated, ridiculed, and treated with cynicism on this forum. Doing that is exemplative of lower-level thinking. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, irrespective of whether it aligns with yours or not. The last two sentences are directed at everyone on this post, not just the person that I replied to.

I'd say lower level thinking is someone believing everyone in SD is racist and pretentious. Do you base that on meeting all of the 3.1 million people who live in the county?

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by Pedro2000

I hate when people use these numbers because statistics is a relatively fake way to do math when you just use the variables you want to describe something. Everybody knows the US unemployment and jobs are one of those fake reports. There are those who are underemployed, those who after 6-12 months aren't even counted, and then there are those who are forced into retirement. This isn't a San Diego thing, but in general, these numbers are such a crock it's ridiculous when people use them to back up their agenda.

So what do you think the real unemployment rate is here? 25%? 30%? Greece currently has a record high unemployment rate of over 27% and country is on the verge of collapse. Do you think their real number is over 50%? Maybe it's 50% here?