re: city heights (rental, neighborhoods, school)

[birdnboy]

Not only do all of the neighbors in our 6 block area at least recognize each other
I know and recognize people from all over city heights as there are so many citizens
of the area involved in multiple community outreach programs and activities .
The police have regular community outreach meetings , so if there are problems
in your area there are options to deal with them ! We are home to several of the largest Immigrant populations in the city . One of the things that comes with these populations is a strong sense of community .

[kettlepot]

Glad to see some of the positives about City Heights get some play on this board. However, in my experience there is still too many unattractively designed, or maintained buildings in that area. Plus I still see far too much street litter. I suppose that could be a function of the particular areas I'm in. Given that you live in the area, Birdnboy, could you possibly break down your opinions about City Heights into its constituent parts. For example Azalea Park is different from Fox Canyon which is different from Teralta East and West. Perhaps it's time we start thinking of City Heights more in terms of its constituent parts than as a whole.

[CityHeightsWoody]

Originally Posted by birdnboy

I have been hearing for quite some time how bad city heights is .
I moved to city heights 18 months ago when my wife and I were looking for
a diverse area with a lot of community involvement . It turns out city heights
is perfect . Our neighborhood has the most involved Project Area committee
in the city , The Face lift committee does painting and landscaping for 10 to 20 low to middle income owners twice a year , and has been the example for the entire city. The one shooting incident last year was a domestic , which
can happen any where . City heights has been Improving for several years our largest problems are tagging and neglect by the majority of the city leaders ( excepting Toni Attkins ) .
By the way we decided to move out of Mission Hills after a drive by in front
of our complex .

Thanks, BirdnBoy, for your comments. You are correct that the PAC and FaceLift committees are some of the best in the city. We purchased a former "crack house" in the Castle neighborhood back in '04, and though it was touch and go for a while, we have really found a great community here in City Heights.

When people talk about litter and graffiti in an area, perhaps they should consider that it takes a community to make positive changes. Involvement makes all the difference.

One thing that most people do not understand is that City Heights has always been the forgotten "step-child" of the county. For years it was simply considered "East San Diego", and never got funding for improvements and infrastructure when it was available. We've had to fight for EVERY dollar and every benefit brought into the community. When times are good, the money comes to CH last, when times get bad, the money is pulled in the blink of an eye.

While we live with never-completed sidewalks in our neighborhoods, communities such as Hillcrest and Mission Hills are ripping out perfectly good sidewalks to make new ones. Unfair, yes! Is that why we fight the good fight, YES!

If you want pretty streets and no effort, stay away from City Heights, but prepare to pay the price. If you want a community of nice people who are willing to put in some effort, you will likely be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

Good luck sifting through all the data. Personally, we've lived in Encinitas, North Park, Clairemont. Murrieta, and "The OC", and City Heights has a lot of life and living to be had.

[sdurbanite]

Originally Posted by CityHeightsWoody

Thanks, BirdnBoy, for your comments. You are correct that the PAC and FaceLift committees are some of the best in the city. We purchased a former "crack house" in the Castle neighborhood back in '04, and though it was touch and go for a while, we have really found a great community here in City Heights.

When people talk about litter and graffiti in an area, perhaps they should consider that it takes a community to make positive changes. Involvement makes all the difference.

One thing that most people do not understand is that City Heights has always been the forgotten "step-child" of the county. For years it was simply considered "East San Diego", and never got funding for improvements and infrastructure when it was available. We've had to fight for EVERY dollar and every benefit brought into the community. When times are good, the money comes to CH last, when times get bad, the money is pulled in the blink of an eye.

While we live with never-completed sidewalks in our neighborhoods, communities such as Hillcrest and Mission Hills are ripping out perfectly good sidewalks to make new ones. Unfair, yes! Is that why we fight the good fight, YES!

If you want pretty streets and no effort, stay away from City Heights, but prepare to pay the price. If you want a community of nice people who are willing to put in some effort, you will likely be pleasantly surprised at what you find.

Good luck sifting through all the data. Personally, we've lived in Encinitas, North Park, Clairemont. Murrieta, and "The OC", and City Heights has a lot of life and living to be had.

Great post! You seem to have as much neighborhood pride for City Heights, as I do for Kensington (your neighbor to the north)

[shannon94]

Originally Posted by ttt9

Have you even lived in city heights? I Live in city heights and never heard a gunshot ever in my life!!!!!

No I would never live there!! I did however have to go to a house there frequently for rehearsals.....heard gunshots all the time!! lol ever hear of Van Dyke street?

[sandiegoan]

I'm moving from the East Village to the North Park/City Heights area. I just rented a house on Wilson Avenue between El Cajon and Orange Avenue. It seems to be fairly quiet, and most people keep up their properties. The zip is 92104, which is the zip for North Park. I'm looking forward to moving.

Does anyone have any comments on the area?

[Pigheart]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

I had an aunt in Philly and used to go there all the time.. Philly is a great city but the ghettos there are really bad.

Many ppl in CA are midwestern transplants and have never seen an East-coast ghetto, so they think a place like City Heights is hardcore. It's pretty bad, but it's not like Philly, or god-forbid... Baltimore! Compton and Watts... Oakland, that's Ghetto. San Diego is a cakewalk.

I'm from Philly and I've lived in the ghetto (Kensington, West Girard, south South Philly). I'm planning a move to SD. Trying to get an idea of what people mean by bad when referring to 'bad areas' in SD. Which ghetto in Philly would you compare City Heights to?

[sandiegoan]

Originally Posted by Pigheart

I'm from Philly and I've lived in the ghetto (Kensington, West Girard, south South Philly). I'm planning a move to SD. Trying to get an idea of what people mean by bad when referring to 'bad areas' in SD. Which ghetto in Philly would you compare City Heights to?

In City Heights, University Avenue tends to be worse. When you get up into the higher numbered streets, it can be pretty bad. For example, for the same rent that I'm going to be paying, I could have gotten a two bedroom house with a garage at 49th & University, but I wouldn't live there. That part of town is bad! I've never lived in Philly, but I grew up in the DC area, and know the ghetto areas there.

[eastsandiegobornandraised]

most of city heights is borderline quiet compared to what it used to be, but I see people still hanging on to the past

[SD Observer]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

I want to expand on my earlier post to give you a better idea of the area. City Heights is kind of a catch-all name for everything from the 805 to SDSU, but really, it's not all bad and it's not all City Heights either.

City Heights can be defined by the area east of I-805, South of El Cajon Boulevard and north of the 94 fwy, extending to roughly 54th street.

Within that area are three neighborhoods - Teralta East, Teralta West, and Colina Del Sol. 'Downtown City Heights' is centered around 43rd-Fairmount & El Cajon Boulevard.

North of El Cajon Blvd are the neigborhoods of Kensington and Talmadge. East of 54th is the El Cerrito neighborhood. These neighborhoods range from amongst the most prime in the city (the mayor lives in Kensington) to very middle class (El Cerrito). It's important to realize that you can go a few blocks past one of the major streets and be in a perfectly safe area, but go a few blocks in the other direction, and you have a bad neighborhood.

The thing that makes City Heights so bad is that crime has seeped into the interior of the neighborhoods. In all of metro SD you have crime on the major streets - University and El Cajon Blvd are scuzzy from University Heights all the way to La Mesa - but in City Heights, crime exists on the residential streets.

The worst areas of City Heights are bounded roughly by Marlborough Ave to the west and Euclid Ave to the East, between El Cajon Blvd and about Wightman Street. This is the large, flat grid that makes up the 'Heights'. Before the mid-city urban village was put in, this area was absolutely scary! This is where 90% of the crime occurs, mostly drug related.

City Heights differs from other 'bad neighborhoods' because it is a transitory area. Whereas Logan Heights and Skyline are bad because of gangbangers who live at their mom's house in an established residential area, City Heights has a rotating population of ex-cons, parolees, and wanabee gangsters trying to build a rep. In Logan, you will most likely be left alone if you're not affiliated - in City Heights, everyone's a mark.

To the east of Euclid, there is a large hill down into Colina Del Sol which sits like a bowl before climbing up a steep hill to 54th. This area is dominated by immigrants, many of them Somali refugees, as well as Southeast Asians. Overall this area has less crime than City Heights proper, and has some decent amenities like a brand-new school and a golf course and park. This area has more density than City Heights with fewer established homeowners. Unfortunately many of the young Somali and Asian males are adopting the 'thug' mentality, but they are relatively tame in terms of violent crime. The physical barriers keep this area somewhat insulated from the rest of City Heights.

There is a gay enclave centered around the canyon neighborhoods west of Euclid in the Azalea Park neighborhood. It's a bit of an island, as you will have to go through the bad to get to the good, but overall it's a nice area with fairly well-kept homes. The neighborhood dubbed 'Cherokee Point' is South of university between 805 & 15, and is decent as well. It's got a brand-new elementary school and is actually part of 92104.

To sum up - 47th and Meade is not necessarily a bad area. 2 blocks north and it's a great area. 2 blocks south, a bad area. That's a little close for my taste, but don't get the impression it's a warzone.

Great detailed informational post on City Heights !

What is particularly disturbing is that you mentioned the fact that anyone - including unsuspecting visitors as well as lost tourists can be targeted by the thugs in the neighborhood. I guess its because of the gangsters, ex-cons, drug addicts and mentally disturbed people being a volatile mix for potential violence.

Another neighborhood that resembles that mix of anti-social volatility that comes to mind is the Tenderloin in SF. We went up to SF to visit relatives and they drove us around the city. Seeing the Tenderloin was depressing and scary at night - corner boys looking to intimidate throwing up gang signs, lots of homeless, lots of hookers, people talking out loud.

Sassberto, would you say that City Heights is on par with Tenderloin in respect to crime and misery ?