Any bad things about San Diego other than living cost? (Santa Barbara: apartment, travel)

[SouthCali4LifeSD]

Originally Posted by kimmer

graffiti, gangs, traffic, bad drivers, lots of people in this county illegally, urban and suburban sprawl, relatively little open space, santa ana winds sometimes along with HUGE, unstoppable fires, high cost of housing (rental and owner), no seasons, soon-to-be big lack of water for our region, major earthquake(s) which will happen at some point, some of the old-timers hate people from "back east" moving here and driving up the cost of our real estate - oh wait, that was in the 70's...the natives have given up on trashing people from the east coast, but frequently wince at the accent. Not that "valley girl" speak is any better mind you...in fact, I think that's a negative, too!

you're trying too hard thinking of what's wrong about san diego. really, all the things you mentioned are not a big deal at all!

except for the fires!

also, the san andreas fault doesnt run through san diego county. the region can shake a little, which is extremely rare, but it won't fall! i don't care what geologists say, or any of this crap with liquefaction. all major faults are miles and miles and miles and miles from danger zones in sd

IF THERE'S ONE DOWNER ABOUT SAN DIEGO, it would be that it's a big city with a small town feel. I HATE THE SMALL TOWN FEEL! and everything outside the city core is too spread out!! argh!

[Nick682]

Today I was out and jumping in the sunshine, jjjjust jumping in the sunshine!

Then some other people saw me jumping and they came over and grabbed my hand and we were all jumping and singing ring around the rosy! Some people gave me a kiss even.

Some of them told me that they loved me. They actually said "I love you", it is so majestic, it's like a sweet caring dream party out here.

[GratefulDeb]

Are u smokin crack?

[Nick682]

Originally Posted by GratefulDeb

Are u smokin crack?

You must be psychic?


Ooops, think your a girl/women? Cannot edit title!

[detshen]

Originally Posted by SouthCali4LifeSD

you're trying too hard thinking of what's wrong about san diego. really, all the things you mentioned are not a big deal at all!

except for the fires!

also, the san andreas fault doesnt run through san diego county. the region can shake a little, which is extremely rare, but it won't fall! i don't care what geologists say, or any of this crap with liquefaction. all major faults are miles and miles and miles and miles from danger zones in sd

IF THERE'S ONE DOWNER ABOUT SAN DIEGO, it would be that it's a big city with a small town feel. I HATE THE SMALL TOWN FEEL! and everything outside the city core is too spread out!! argh!

San Andreas isn't the only fault in CA. The Rose Canyon fault zone cuts across the heart of San Diego, I'm not saying it's something to spend your life worrying about, but it isn't correct to discount the possibility of a damaging earthquake in San Diego.

I lived in SD for 12 years and I found the weather a negative, it's the same day after day. There is barely any rain so a ton of water is wasted trying to pretend it isn't desert.

[detshen]

Originally Posted by leighland

Give up on finding real good pizza. Instead, enjoy Fish Tacos.

OMG, I miss those! I moved to the midwest a year ago, no one here has even heard of them.

We do have great pizza though

[FunkyMonk]

Overall I must say I do not like SD. Aside from the cost of living, here is why.

The people: In general, I find that people around here lack depth and substance. Most of them seem to live life from a purely materialistic mindset and very much so lack spiritually and soul. It's very hard to meet people who are philosophical and intellectual. Instead it's more of a sort of "bonehead" mentality for lack of a better word. Or as someone else called it, the "Valley girl" thing. Sort of a one-dimensional, airhead personality.

The gangs: The gangs really are terrible here. If you live in lots of the good neighborhoods in SD you won't see any gangs at all. But overall, most of East County and south of the I-8 is full of gangs and macho, violent aggressive people. And I would say that most of the city is like this and it's only getting worse. It's almost as bad as LA for sure.

Drugs: It gos hand in hand with the gangs. But hard drugs are a big problem. I don't have a big problem with weed and other more benign drugs. But SD is full of Crack, Meth, Heroin....you name it. And you can see it on people. There are soooooo many people who's vibe is just way off from too much heavy drug use.

Lack of good paying jobs: For a place with such a high cost of living, the jobs out here don't pay enough. Not just minimum wage jobs, but also professional jobs which require a college education generally don't pay well enough to save money at all, and not even enough to have much extra money for enjoyment beyond the bare minimum living. Which is why SD people have such high credit card debts.

Cliqueiness: Among the young people, theres a huge sense of group identity. Such as "gangster", "punk", "Preppy", "emo", "surfer" etc. And most young people fall into these stereotypes way too much to the point that it's just a total joke. Among the adults, this takes the form of socio-economic status. Admittedly this takes place in just about every single city. But it's much more widespread and intense here in SD. Wealth gets flaunted much, much, much more here than most other U.S. cities and people form thier social circles based on wealth status, or lack therof. And the neighborhoods here are divided up in this way to a large extent. It seems very childish and shallow to me.

There is a lot more I could mention, I could probobly list about ten more points. But I gotta go take care of some other things. Peace

[amc760]

Gangs are not a huge problem in San Diego. They do exist, but nowhere near the level of LA or more suburban places like San Bernardino.

Crime is very low for a city of San Diego's size. And I lived in of the few "bad" neighborhoods, where most of the crime takes place.

Crime isn't an issue unless you go looking for trouble.


San Diego is a great city. As close to the whole idea of California as you can get these days. Its not a big trendy cosmopolitan city, but it has a little bit of everything and has a lot to offer as far as quality of life.

If you want a laid back place, that is still a big city San Diego is it. Not very hectic.

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by FunkyMonk

The gangs: The gangs really are terrible here. If you live in lots of the good neighborhoods in SD you won't see any gangs at all. But overall, most of East County and south of the I-8 is full of gangs and macho, violent aggressive people. And I would say that most of the city is like this and it's only getting worse. It's almost as bad as LA for sure.

I totally disagree with this. The gang problem (in numbers, but also in influence) in San Diego is not even close to LA and isn't even close to smaller cities like San Bernardino, Fontana, Santa Ana, etc.. Yes we have barrios and all Southern California cities do. Yes we have urbanized ethnic enclaves where crime happens on a daily basis. Yes we have bikers, tweakers, bums, and bros.

Santa Barbara, Oxnard/Ventura, LA, San Diego, San Francisco, and almost every central valley city: Fresno, Sacramento, Stockton, etc. All the rural counties especially have barrios. Tulare county has a well-documented gang problem. You either accept the culture and history of Calfornia (and much of West) or you don't.

If you don't like it, don't live in the city. Don't live in the West. Don't live in the USA. I am not sure where you can go anymore to avoid this stuff except maybe on rural acreage.

City Heights, Barrio Logan are rough areas, but are a relatively small, unlike places like the South Bronx, Brooklyn, East LA or South LA which go on for miles and miles. And the worst of SD's gang problems are really in a part of the city that is mostly post-war and suburban, a place where you really won't run into much trouble if you aren't looking for it.

Even the much-maligned Southeast San Diego has neighborhoods like Emerald Hills and Valencia Park, North Encanto, Paradise Hills, the areas are generally nice, and contrary to popular belief there are longtime homeowners, military familes, and yes, even white people living there.

When I retire, I am going to move someplace where there are no loud stereos, nobody with a shaved head, and no pit bulls. 10 acres, outside of town. No neighbors, no cars parked on the street, total silence at night. Most likely Northern California. But that's in 20 years. For now, I deal with the City's flaws because I want to take advantage of all the city's economic opportuniries.

[kcda]

San Diego feels much more safe than other big cities I've been to like downtown Seattle, Portland, New Orleans, Phoenix, Las Vegas and Houston. I've read over and over how the crime is actually very low here for a city of this size. Gangs are generally in "bad areas" that you have no reason to travel through.