Downtown San Diego vs. downtown LA: Homeless? (Los Angeles, Imperial: 2013, apartments)

[ProjectMersh]

I hear and read a lot of complaints about homelessness in downtown San Diego. But everytime I am there I don't see that many. Maybe that is because I am not looking for it and I am just there for a day or two as a visitor. Also, I am from LA and I used to live in downtown LA which has a very large homeless population.

My two part question:
1) Does downtown San Diego have more, less or the same amount of homeless as downtown Los Angeles?

2) How bad is the homeless issue in downtown San Diego esp. from the point of view of residents living in downtown? My friend's dad has a condo in downtown. He never complained about that but I also never asked him about it either.

Thanks.

[rcjhku]

There's so many homeless people in downtown San Diego, that I'm surprised anytime I'm down there and haven't stepped on HUMAN FECES before I leave.

[malcorub16]

My two part question:
1) Does downtown San Diego have more, less or the same amount of homeless as downtown Los Angeles?

Less, much less. Skid Row in LA might be the homeless capital of the USA.

2) How bad is the homeless issue in downtown San Diego esp. from the point of view of residents living in downtown? My friend's dad has a condo in downtown. He never complained about that but I also never asked him about it either.

There are homeless living downtown, as for how bad is it from the point of view of residents living in downtown...' homeless persons don't exactly sleep at the door step of any apartment building, so yes they are there but it does't really affect residents in their condos, apartments, studios. I lived on 12th on the trolley line where vagrants would hang out but not sleep, the most they ever bothered me was asking for cigarettes back when I smoked.

[ProjectMersh]

Thanks for the input.

[hitman619]

The situation in San Diego is not bad at all. The homeless mostly stay in around the south eastern part of Down Town, near ballpark ect...

[BRinSM]

i live in LA and my parents live in downtown SD, so here's my take: downtown SD has homeless people, but nothing like in LA. if you think the numbers are bad in SD, i'd recommend never getting anywhere near skid row in LA where entire streets are lined with tents and boxes. having said that, downtown SD and LA are similar in that if you avoid the central homeless areas, you'll likely rarely run into them, save the occasional panhandler. it seems that in both cities, the homeless folks generally know where they are and are not accepted.

[Think4Yourself]

The city keeps them mostly over on Imperial Ave near the homeless shelter and if they go outside of a certain area they get harassed by the cops until they go back into the area where they're allowed. Basically, the city doesn't want them bothering tourists or regular people who work downtown. The other area you used to see a lot of them congregating was in Balboa Park because they'd hideout in the bushes and use the public bathrooms there but lately the city has been rousting them from there due to complaints of public drunkness, homeless people going to the bathroom in public despite public restrooms being available, and the tourists don't like to see the bums shooting up & getting high.

This has caused them to move out into the city mostly following bus lines. I've seen a lot of them camping out in one section of Clairemont Mesa, by the O'Reilly Auto Parts on Balboa and Genesee, there was a section of grass behind tall bushes behind the building where they'd sleep, do drugs, rest in between panhandling, and also proposition people for prostitution. The mall's owner got smart and ripped out the bushes which shielded them from view, replaced that soft nice grass with sharp angular rocks, and like magic the homeless people moved on to bother someone else.

[ProjectMersh]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

i live in LA and my parents live in downtown SD, so here's my take: downtown SD has homeless people, but nothing like in LA. if you think the numbers are bad in SD, i'd recommend never getting anywhere near skid row in LA where entire streets are lined with tents and boxes. having said that, downtown SD and LA are similar in that if you avoid the central homeless areas, you'll likely rarely run into them, save the occasional panhandler. it seems that in both cities, the homeless folks generally know where they are and are not accepted.

Yes, I am very familiar with Skid Row in LA. It is perhaps the biggest civic embarassment that such a deplorable situation has festered there for years.

I figured DT San Diego was nothing compared to downtown LA on that front.

Thanks again for all the replies.

[malcorub16]

Originally Posted by ProjectMersh

Yes, I am very familiar with Skid Row in LA. It is perhaps the biggest civic embarassment that such a deplorable situation has festered there for years.

I figured DT San Diego was nothing compared to downtown LA on that front.

Thanks again for all the replies.

These fire fighters are certainly proud of the name Skid Row, they want their emergency vehicles to be labeled as such.

Fire Station 9 Skid Row


Skid Row, Los Angeles - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


Father Joe and East Village don't have anything on Skid Row.

[Bluefox]

Originally Posted by ProjectMersh

Yes, I am very familiar with Skid Row in LA. It is perhaps the biggest civic embarassment that such a deplorable situation has festered there for years.

I figured DT San Diego was nothing compared to downtown LA on that front.

Thanks again for all the replies.

Pretty much agree with everyone. Though it can be pretty bad in San Diego as well centered around the Civic Center, N-S from Broadway to around Cedar, and E-W from 2nd to roughly 9th. A lot of it has to do with the churches in the immediate area that provide free meals, the train, the transit center, and the public restrooms. It's definitely not skid row, but that area can be a little foul sometimes. I worked in that area for several years and seriously would be approached by homeless asking for change no less than 5 times a day, usually more. The rest of the downtown is not nearly as bad until you start heading further east. At least this was true as recently as mid-2013.