Is Imperial Beach a good place to move to? (San Diego: oceanfront, condos) - City-Data Forum

gnatbugg · 01-09-2007, 11:46 AM

I will be relocating to SD in March and saw Imperial Beach on the map. Can anyone help me about information about the neighborhood? Your help is appreciated.

Sassberto · 01-09-2007, 12:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnatbugg

I will be relocating to SD in March and saw Imperial Beach on the map. Can anyone help me about information about the neighborhood? Your help is appreciated.

IB is an interesting place. It's the only beach city in San Diego that is still funky. IB's proximity to the Tijuana river means that the beach is subject to fouling from TJ's runoff after a rain. There is a plan afoot to get sewage treatment in place on the all-american river and TJ river with help from the US, but this is potentially years away.

IB itself is a mix of nice areas, funky beach town areas, and downright sketchy areas. It is somewhat isolated from the rest of San Diego. San Ysidro to the east has a lot of undesirable areas and some chronic crime problems.

Without knowing your comfort level of sketchiness it's hard for me to comment on IB, but in the long run, I think IB will upscale a bit, albeit slowly. As beach cities go it is a relative bargain, but there is a reason.

gnatbugg · 01-09-2007, 01:56 PM

Well as far as my comfort level of sketchiness it would have to depend. My husband hours of work vary so at times I'll be home alone overnight. Will I be safe? I guess all I can do is take a drive out there and check it out.

Thanks

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sassberto

IB is an interesting place. It's the only beach city in San Diego that is still funky. IB's proximity to the Tijuana river means that the beach is subject to fouling from TJ's runoff after a rain. There is a plan afoot to get sewage treatment in place on the all-american river and TJ river with help from the US, but this is potentially years away.

IB itself is a mix of nice areas, funky beach town areas, and downright sketchy areas. It is somewhat isolated from the rest of San Diego. San Ysidro to the east has a lot of undesirable areas and some chronic crime problems.

Without knowing your comfort level of sketchiness it's hard for me to comment on IB, but in the long run, I think IB will upscale a bit, albeit slowly. As beach cities go it is a relative bargain, but there is a reason.

Sassberto · 01-09-2007, 02:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gnatbugg

Well as far as my comfort level of sketchiness it would have to depend. My husband hours of work vary so at times I'll be home alone overnight. Will I be safe? I guess all I can do is take a drive out there and check it out.

Thanks

Just take a drive. It's not what I would consider a dangerous area overall, a little dumpy and funky, but I've been to some nice houses in some nice neighborhoods down there too.

amvel10 · 05-11-2007, 11:37 AM

I lived in IB and my husband had to work nights but I was safe. There are sketchy areas though but you can just avoid them. Before moving there I was told by several people to not live on 13th Street. It's not horrible.. just a little run down and more traffic. But there's a lot of nice areas too. There's the beach and pier and at the end of the pier the "Tin Fish"...one of the best fish tacos. If you can afford to live in the nice area by the beach they have some really awesome apts/condos/houses. The prices are high due to it being so close to the beach though.

There's local surf shops, coffee shop, and parks. There's shops you can go to and you can get to the malls in the area in about 20 mins or so. They fixed up the pier area (it used to be run down) so it is very nice now and a family environment during the day.. wouldn't suggest going too late at night though. And Coronado is 5 mins away and they have a beautiful beach and bonfire pits and lots of "tourist" shops. Overall IB definitely does have it's charm. It's very laid back and definitely has that funky beach town vibe.

As long as you take your usual precautions I don't see why you won't be safe.

sarahd24 · 12-26-2007, 01:18 AM

Lived there for a year! HATED IT...a Major DUMP!!! Just my Opinion. I wouldnt go walking after dark even with a group...let alone by myself and *BLECH* just thinking about it!

dynomite1 · 12-26-2007, 11:58 PM

Short answer. Not really. Look further north.

noneya_b · 01-06-2008, 01:54 PM

Imperial Beach (IB) has a bad reputation, but it's in no way warranted. In the last 10-20 years, it has undergone some serious changes which have made it the safest area to live. If you need proof, go to the link below and compare any zipcode in San Diego (or national for that matter!) and compare the crime rate.

IB's zipcode is 91932.

[url=http://www.moving.com/Find_a_Place/Compare2Cities]Compare Two Cities, City Profile Report, City Comparison Tool[/url]

IB is 5 times as safe as the elite Coronado zipcode, where you have to have make $300K+/yr to afford anything with a small view of the ocean. I suggest you visit IB for longer than a few hours and meet some of the locals. Yes, many of them are older and a lot of them surf, but that's what makes this such a great place to live! Stay close to Seacoast Dr. and you'll never be happier. It's a VERY safe place that everyone thinks is still stuck in it's old surf/biker town days of 20-30 years ago. Most people don't realize it's a diamond in the rough.

But saying this, it's actually cool that the prices have stayed so low. My bedroom opens to the sand/ocean, and I pay less than $1000/month for my condo. AND I actually know all of my neighbors, have everything within walking distance, and have made some great friends. Plus I don't have to deal with tourists and lousy parking! I get the same parking spot every day and only see aout 50 people walk the beaches during this time of the year. Best bang for the buck in the country. No question...

I'm watching waves as I type this on my oceanfront patio. This is the life!