How has San Diego changed since 2000

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

Thank you for posting this, saved me the time. I remember some hot spells in the 80s followed by some years that the beach never saw the sun all summer and it rained quite a bit in the summer too.

I have very vivid memories of the heat waves in September 1988 and June 1990. I was nine months pregnant both times. In 1988, we were living in Chula Vista and had multiple days where it topped well over 100. We didn't have AC and had to put our newborn into the car and drive around with the AC on to cool off.

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

The homeless have increased but prices have driven out the hood/barrio folks so it's a trade off.

For me, this IS the biggest change in San Diego County. I worked in the East Village in the late 1980s, and there were homeless around that area then too. But, nothing like today.

Now, the problem is also county-wide. I am seeing more homeless people in places that you NEVER saw them back in the 90s. I was in Solana Beach last weekend and saw an obviously homeless guy pushing his cart up Cedros.

[RosieSD]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

Thank you for posting this, saved me the time. I remember some hot spells in the 80s followed by some years that the beach never saw the sun all summer and it rained quite a bit in the summer too.

I have very vivid memories of the heat waves in August/September 1988. I was nine months pregnant with my first child in August. We were living in Chula Vista and in September, we had multiple days where it topped well over 100. We didn't have AC and had to put our newborn into the car and drive around with the AC on to cool off.

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

The homeless have increased but prices have driven out the hood/barrio folks so it's a trade off.

For me, THIS is the biggest change I've seen in San Diego County over the last 30+ years. I worked in the East Village in the late 1980s, and believe me, there were homeless around there then too. But, nothing like the numbers camping on the streets today.

Now, I am seeing more homeless people in places that you NEVER saw them before (like back in the 90s.) I was in Solana Beach last weekend and saw an obviously homeless guy pushing his cart up Cedros.

And, the level of aggressiveness is a relatively new thing too. It's hard to escape, even in the suburbs. It's getting old seeing people begging at the entrances to nice suburban shopping centers.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

I have very vivid memories of the heat waves in August/September 1988. I was nine months pregnant with my first child in August. We were living in Chula Vista and in September, we had multiple days where it topped well over 100. We didn't have AC and had to put our newborn into the car and drive around with the AC on to cool off.




For me, THIS is the biggest change I've seen in San Diego County over the last 30+ years. I worked in the East Village in the late 1980s, and believe me, there were homeless around there then too. But, nothing like the numbers camping on the streets today.

Now, I am seeing more homeless people in places that you NEVER saw them before (like back in the 90s.) I was in Solana Beach last weekend and saw an obviously homeless guy pushing his cart up Cedros.

And, the level of aggressiveness is a relatively new thing too. It's hard to escape, even in the suburbs. It's getting old seeing people begging at the entrances to nice suburban shopping centers.

A few Mayors ago we were warned banning booze on the beach would spread the transients like a wild fire and, guess what, they were right. Now every park, every neighborhood has their own transients and it's much more difficult for the PD to monitor them.

[malcorub16]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

I have lived in east county for the last 28 years. During that time, the amount of time we use our air conditioning hasn't changed all that much overall. Most years, we use it for a combined total of about three weeks out of the year. In 2014 --- the hottest year on record -- we used it for 37 days out of the entire year.

I've only lived out here for 7 years in East County, I can say that our AC use is about the same. About 20-30 days max and usually not the entire day. Unless it is humid outside, the AC is usually turned off by 8 or 9 PM on those warm days.

[3goodmonths]

I have always missed San Diego since leaving in 2002 .

I did not come back because it seems so expensive I work in social services so I do not make a lit.

I am thinking if moving to Tampa FL not as nice as San Diego but similar in some ways . San Diego was heaven to me been living in Chicago since 2002. Every winter driving in the snow I remember San Diego.

[Desert Digger]

Bums, bums, and more bums.

[snpdragr]

Originally Posted by eastcoastbias

Its better than LA by a mile, DC Beltway too. When you play the comparison it would appear many of us are just whining for no reason.

When you say "I don't commute for work"- you don't get a full idea of the problem. There are trouble spots- 805 is bad, 5 can be bad. 78 and 15 have undergone changes but still aren't the greatest. 15 has actually improved a lot. If you live here long enough you can schedule things around the traffic, many folks in LA do it and with any personal undertaking I typically consider it. From my personal experience, Whenever I suggest places to live to folks on here I constantly say live closely to your place of work. Why move to beautiful San Diego and spend an hour or two on the road each day, which can be easily done living anywhere within in the county.

Some of my appreciation for san diego traffic is just expectations and what i'm used to from prior experience. I lived in Bay Area before moving to SD and LA before that. Both terrible and in my opinion on a different scale.

But I am driving in rush hour. When I first moved here, I tried to avoid it religiously but I don't find the need anymore. I live downtown so I'm heading north on I-5 or east on 94 / I-8. It definitely seems like my direction is lighter than the other. But it's fantastic that there is even a "light direction" here. Rush hour seems to be much shorter in duration too.

Are there any cities of similar size to san diego that are much better on the traffic? I think this is just unavoidable consequence of population.

[snpdragr]

Originally Posted by RosieSD

As for San Diego getting hotter, well that's true if you look at mean temperatures over the years since 1875. But, actually that trend started in the 1950s, not in the 2000's, and the trend hasn't been constantly upwards. Here's a chart that shows this clearly:

This is an awesome chart. Thanks for posting this.

[mir86]

Originally Posted by snpdragr

Some of my appreciation for san diego traffic is just expectations and what i'm used to from prior experience. I lived in Bay Area before moving to SD and LA before that. Both terrible and in my opinion on a different scale.

But I am driving in rush hour. When I first moved here, I tried to avoid it religiously but I don't find the need anymore. I live downtown so I'm heading north on I-5 or east on 94 / I-8. It definitely seems like my direction is lighter than the other. But it's fantastic that there is even a "light direction" here. Rush hour seems to be much shorter in duration too.

Are there any cities of similar size to san diego that are much better on the traffic? I think this is just unavoidable consequence of population.

Pheonix is very similar to this. Our midtown and downtown areas see the highest level of traffic congestion but rush hour is only certain times of the day. I laugh when people call it high traffic here. Its nothing like LA. that was the worst.

[kettlepot]

I'm not surprised that San Diego has gotten significantly hotter. The Urban Heat Island Effect is well known, and with San Diego's population explosion, the urban heat Island has gotten bigger and denser. More roofs, cement, asphalt, and buildings. Less Farmland, Open Space, and back yards. It's only going to get worse.