San Diego Newbies...Opinion so far? (Bostonia: apartment complex, live in, shop)

[gentledental4u]

Originally Posted by SanAntoQT

I just wonder why anyone who hates where they live stick around for so long. If I hated San Diego, I would've left the minute I discovered it wasn't for me. Life is much too short to stay unhappy for so long! I can understand having to make arrangements, especially if you have kids, to make such a move, but when you're single, it's not that big of a deal. Get your sh*t together and go. It shouldn't take longer than a couple months...maybe!

When someone stays put in a place they don't like, they only stay to have something to b*tch about. An attitude like that is just draining to whoever is exposed to it.

Well, SanAnto, I think there things aren't always black and white, you know? I mean, sometimes there are circumstances where you can't leave the place, at least not right away.

For instance, I'm stuck in nasty, smelly, skanky Bronx, but I can't leave for a year because I'm doing my residency here.

And besides, Funkymonk is leaving for Seattle. I still want to punch him in the balls, though. Just once.....

[gentledental4u]

Originally Posted by LookingtoLeave

When you say this place is a race, do you mean it's fast-paced or just that there's too much competition?

He means, race, like ethnically, as in this place is all mexicans.

[gentledental4u]

Originally Posted by Judy P.

Yes there are materialistic people here and every other state of the U.S.A. but saying that they are the people you find mostly in San Diego is like saying everyone in Texas is a cowboy.
If you want to find down to earth people here it isn't that hard. You may be looking in the wrong circles. Sure I have met more than my share of the kind of people you are talking about but I don't have them as friends because that isn't me. As my mom use to say "look at your friends and you will see what kind of person you are." There are great people everywhere the others don't bother me because they have no effect on me or who I am, I spend my time with my family and friends and really don't dwell on the materialistic people . Life is to short, and I sure would never let them have an effect on where I live. Good luck to you in wherever you decide to go.

If they aren't in Texas, then where have all the cowboys gone???? Brokeback Mountain?

[gentledental4u]

Originally Posted by sav858

I didn't move here to get away from SF, that is absurd. I moved here to go to college and stayed after graduating b/c I liked it so much and didn't want to move back to the Bay Area.

I don't dislike SF, just SOME of the people there and the way the politicians there run that city. I love SF actually, it's an amazing city in so many ways. But I was born and raised in the Bay Area and am not looking to go back anytime soon.

There are types that annoy me in the Bay Area and types that annoy me in SD. The super leftist hippies, pretentious limousine liberals, and extremists up there annoy the hell out of me. And the super conservative war mongers, meatheads, and frat douchebags annoy me in SD. But overall most people in both places are pretty normal and down to earth. And a lot of people from Northern CA can't see that and get past their BS SoCal stereotypes.

I love both NorCal and SoCal equally but for different reasons but I can't stand the constant NorCal is better than SoCal/SD BS. Northern Ca has such an inferiority complex and always trash talk Southern CA and most of it is based off stupid, BS stereotypes.

can i punch you in the balls too? God I would love that. I would love to have you and Funkymonk line up and just go off on your little nuts.

[gentledental4u]

Originally Posted by kettlepot

About the MLK thing. Put yourself in the position of a small shopkeeper. If you change the street name, you have to redo all of your stationary, all of your business cards, all of your advertising, brochures and flyers; notify all of your suppliers, and possibly a large chunk of your customers too. And don't forget how LONG "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr Boulevard - Street - Avenue" would be on letterheads, street signs, and how it might exceed the amount of allotted space on innumerable business and accounting computer programs.

Plus, the street name to be changed was Market Street, one of the founding streets of Horton's Addition which was the genesis of downtown San Diego. The street had been named Market Street for 140 years. That's a lot of historical continuity to be thrown away.

And yes, nationally, MLK Drives have a reputation for being "ghetto". The MLK name could have stunted redevelopment of the entire East Village area. If the changing the name of a street on which you owned property was going to shave 10% off of its potential value, whether deserved or not, you too might object.

In the end he got a freeway named after him, not some hidden corner of the city.

And did MLK ever step foot in the city of San Diego?

I love this post. Thank you for keeping it real and telling us the E! True San Diego Story.

[gentledental4u]

Originally Posted by RandalR

It's not just San Diego - it's the whole state, and maybe the whole West Coast. People are financially strapped, it's true, so they become very obligation-averse. And a "friend" is an obligation - someone you might have to lend money or extend help to. You won't make any friends until you have consistently proven that you can be relied upon to handle your own problems - until then people assume that you are just being friendly to them because you have ulterior motives, financial or otherwise.

So true, sing it, my friend.... You should write for South Park because you tell it like it is.

[gentledental4u]

Originally Posted by T. Damon

Being from NorCa (the foothills) and indoctrinated to the "I hate everything SoCa" after living here for nearly 20 years I like to describe San Diego as south of Southern California. That is-the culture is really more from the mid-west and Mexico than the heart of hated L.A. (actually I like L.A. too) and therefore worth another look before lumping it together with L.A.
But a lot of the comments negative and positive have a ring of truth. San Diego does demand a little more involvement to find the culture, intellect and coolness than many other cities, but it is there-and interesting people, and places abound.
There certainly are many areas in San Diego-boring suburbs- that I would hate my life if I lived there but then I'm an urban snob so that would be true in any city. You can find great living in older neighborhoods ringing the city, enjoying the canyons and parks as easily as the culture and vibe of downtown. You just have to get off your ass and make some connections and not waste your time with negativeness.

So far, no one has commented on safety? Where are the safer areas of town and where are the more questionable areas???

[T. Damon]

On safety and crime I guess it is all relative. There still are people who live in the god-awful gated suburbs of North County who quiver at the very thought of being downtown with people who don't look exactly like themselves, (Let them stay out of my city I say) but if you are from any city of size in most of the country then you would laugh at the areas people would describe as dangerous in San Diego.
On purely statistics San Diego is probably the safest big city in the country. There are very few areas that I would totally avoid though I would pay a lot more attention to my surroundings in some. Areas a bit east and south of downtown are a bit rougher but if you look at actual crime rates at least for violent crime no area is really that bad unless you are a gang banger or wanna be.

I make it a point to take my dog and walk around just about all the neighborhoods within 12 miles or so of downtown just to discover them on my own terms and have found friendly folks that look nothing like me in very poor neighborhoods just about everywhere.

You can be a victim of crime just about anywhere but can learn to make yourself an unlikely target.

[upinflamezzz]

As John Lennon sang, "People are the same where ever you go. There are good and bad."

[gentledental4u]

Hey I'll see you guys in Gated North County!! You'll be able to recognize me...I'll be the dude waving with both hands straight up in the air!