[orbisviator]

Daytona Beach still dealing with crime. This time the bad guy stabbed himself after attacking a tourist in the Boardwalk area.

Battery suspect accidentally stabs himself in Daytona Beach | Local News - WESH Home

[smarino]

The op's post reads like a reverse travelog.

We lived there 4 years (South Daytona). and agree, it's a good place to be out of, but the natural beauty was pretty incredible on the beach side. Mainland side, you may as well have been in Mississippi.

Our main issue was, as liberals, we had no business being there. It's an extremely right wing place. If you're a Trump supporter, you'll feel right at home. And even though we now live in St Pete, a much bigger city, we feel a lot safer here than we did in the Daytona area. There really is a lot of crime there, and it's a crazy, violent sort of crime. There's some strange folks that live over there.

Developers and the France family basically have a stranglehold on what happens with Daytona, and everything is about that ^*!@ racetrack. Every new mega hotel is advertised as being the one that will "put Daytona on the map". I once asked someone that had lived in Daytona a long time (the guy who owns the Abraxas bookstore downtown) how many hotels had been advertised as being the one that would save the city, and he answered "every one of them!". Very weird vibe to the place. Hard to put it into words.

[expatCA]

Originally Posted by smarino

The op's post reads like a reverse travelog.

We lived there 4 years (South Daytona). and agree, it's a good place to be out of, but the natural beauty was pretty incredible on the beach side. Mainland side, you may as well have been in Mississippi.

Our main issue was, as liberals, we had no business being there. It's an extremely right wing place. If you're a Trump supporter, you'll feel right at home. And even though we now live in St Pete, a much bigger city, we feel a lot safer here than we did in the Daytona area. There really is a lot of crime there, and it's a crazy, violent sort of crime. There's some strange folks that live over there.

Developers and the France family basically have a stranglehold on what happens with Daytona, and everything is about that ^*!@ racetrack. Every new mega hotel is advertised as being the one that will "put Daytona on the map". I once asked someone that had lived in Daytona a long time (the guy who owns the Abraxas bookstore downtown) how many hotels had been advertised as being the one that would save the city, and he answered "every one of them!". Very weird vibe to the place. Hard to put it into words.

Look at it this way. Daytona attracts most of the type to avoid, so other cities get less of them.

[snowchaser2002]

Originally Posted by orbisviator

Orlando may be the "City Beautiful" but Daytona Beach is the "City Ugly."

"I have swampland in Florida to sell you." Unfortunately, the practice of misleading people unfamiliar with Florida continues. Anyone who lives in Florida is familiar with Daytona Beach's notoriety and it's long history of attracting outlaws, hooligans, and transients.

With a huge coastline and some of the world's best beaches, Florida has many beautiful and peaceful places to enjoy the sun, sand, and ocean. Unless you are coming to the International Speedway, or are enrolled in a local college, you should avoid Daytona Beach completely.

Daytona Beach has an incredibly high crime rate that seems to get worse. Armed robberies, property crimes, and other criminal activity pervade the area. After dark it seems the Beachside area is controlled by the bad guys. It is simply not safe from about 9PM onward. There are chronic problems in the early morning after the bars close at 3AM. There is nothing peaceful or relaxing about the Beachside district at night. Unlike many tourist destinations in the world, there is simply not enough police presence to ensure the safety of tourists. Hotels don't do enough to warn visitors of the dangers outside their doors. One gets the sense that there is a coordinated effort to downplay the dangers and crime problems.

There are no noise nuisance laws. Extremely loud motorcycles and extremely loud automobile sound systems disturb the peace all day and all night. The sound is often loud enough to rattle windows and vibrate buildings. On top of the crime, the loud noise makes Daytona Beach unpleasant and not very relaxing.

The Beachside area is quite ugly. Upon arriving at the Beachside area from the mainland on International Speedway Boulevard, the visitor is greeted by what is perhaps the ugliest welcome in all of Florida. There are empty lots, vacant and unkempt buildings, and trash everywhere. There are no trees, flowering bushes, or attractive vegetation of any kind. The area has a conspicuous absence of the lush green vegetation that Florida is known for. It looks barren and depressing. The beach itself is littered with trash by day's end seemingly every day.

It doesn't take long to be introduced to the palmetto bugs that infest the area. Palmetto bugs are huge, flying cockroaches. The Beachside area suffers from a huge pest problem that includes palmetto bugs, German cockroaches, American cockroaches, mice, rats, and many stray cats. It's common to see buildings and houses covered in tents that fumigate a property with pesticide. The trash everywhere and insecure dumpsters filled with food waste make the problem worse. There seems to be a complete lack of common sense hygiene.

The ugliness of the area is further ruined by the huge presence of transients and troublemakers that are virtually everywhere. It's almost impossible not to see groups of homeless people in all areas of the Beachside tourist area. Some of the transients are aggressive panhandlers, some have dogs without a leash that run towards people, and some annoy passersby by yelling or saying something nasty.

Unless you like dwelling on a war that ended roughly 150 years ago, you won't be able to avoid the huge presence of Confederate or "Dixie" flags. You may see pickup trucks with full size Confederate flags mounted in the back of the truck with "redneck" music blaring. The "rebels" have a very aggressive way of displaying their "Southern" culture. The traditional targets of the Dixie culture like African Americans, Yankees (especially from New England), Jews, Catholics, and generally any "outsiders" should consider how comfortable they will be in this environment. Daytona Beach has earned the nickname, the "Redneck Riviera."

About the only good thing about Daytona Beach is the ocean and the beach itself. However, visitors aren't given sufficient warnings about the deadly rip tides, sharks, and various marine life that one must be aware of to keep safe. The ocean dangers that are also present along other parts of the Florida coast, are compounded by the presence of cars on the beach. Families with small children need to be vigilant about the presence of motor vehicles on the beach. Locals are quite vocal and vociferous about their "rights" to drive on the beach.

People used to fall for the swampland real estate swindle easily. People should be well-informed about the "real" Daytona Beach before they decide to move there. To be blunt, Daytona Beach sucks. There are so many beautiful places in Florida that are as affordable, or even more affordable, as Daytona Beach. Don't pick the "City Ugly."

Where to start..where to start. I will agree when I visited Daytona beach a few years ago on business I was less than impressed. I went out to the one gay bar and it was abysmal to say the least. I did in no way see rebel flags or confederate flags though, but then again I don't have a chip on my shoulder and look at things to cry and whine about like you seem to. You seem to be very much into labeling people which is so sad but there are tons of people out there just like you and that is why the world sucks so much right now...just live and let live...be glad your alive and if you don't like this place then move to a place that fits what you like.

[EscAlaMike]

Originally Posted by smarino

Our main issue was, as liberals, we had no business being there. It's an extremely right wing place. If you're a Trump supporter, you'll feel right at home. And even though we now live in St Pete, a much bigger city, we feel a lot safer here than we did in the Daytona area. There really is a lot of crime there, and it's a crazy, violent sort of crime. There's some strange folks that live over there.

I grew up in Daytona, and yeah it's a dump. But, your political observation is just not true. Daytona and Volusia county have consistently voted Democrat for years. It's one of the most reliably blue counties in Central Florida.

[OptimusPrime69]

Hopefully, one day the city will be burn to the ground. It's truly one of Florida's most embarrassing cities.

[gypsychic]

I have never understood how and why this city is the way it is. It is a coastal city and as all coastal cities, has natural beauty. But for as long as I can remember; it has attracted a strange type of people. There is definitely a "vibe" to the whole place. I would have thought by now it would have improved a bit more, I haven't been in awhile, but reading these posts tells me it is pretty much the same. Sad, really.

[Arcenal813]

Originally Posted by gypsychic

I have never understood how and why this city is the way it is. It is a coastal city and as all coastal cities, has natural beauty. But for as long as I can remember; it has attracted a strange type of people. There is definitely a "vibe" to the whole place. I would have thought by now it would have improved a bit more, I haven't been in awhile, but reading these posts tells me it is pretty much the same. Sad, really.

This.
It's in a prime location (intersection of I-4 and I-95), has incredible natural beauty, what with the Halifax River and the Ocean, has everything it needs to be a successful, and important city, but it's such a wasteland. I'll never forget going there for a quick weekend getaway with my wife (we stayed somewhere in Daytona Beach Shores) when we ventured out at night looking for some form of vibrant nightlife, as most tourist towns have. When we couldn't find anything, we asked locals, and they steered us to one VERY small block that had rather empty "nightclubs." Their suggested alternative was to go to Orlando. LOL. Who runs this city???

[chopchop0]

Originally Posted by Arcenal352

This.
It's in a prime location (intersection of I-4 and I-95), has incredible natural beauty, what with the Halifax River and the Ocean, has everything it needs to be a successful, and important city, but it's such a wasteland. I'll never forget going there for a quick weekend getaway with my wife (we stayed somewhere in Daytona Beach Shores) when we ventured out at night looking for some form of vibrant nightlife, as most tourist towns have. When we couldn't find anything, we asked locals, and they steered us to one VERY small block that had rather empty "nightclubs." Their suggested alternative was to go to Orlando. LOL. Who runs this city???

Yeah. Melbourne is very comparable in size and has a much better developed economy and downtown

[LordHomunculus]

Daytona Beach tends to be one of the less desirable towns in Florida:

Domestic violence suspect flees police, jumps off Daytona Beach bridge | Local News - WESH Home

Reward offered for info on jet ski business fire in Daytona Beach | Local News - WESH Home

Daytona Beach police car set on fire | WTSP.com

I remember watching the news covering the bridge jumping incident and the jet ski business was burning to the ground in the background. Both are separate and unrelated events that happened at the same time in the same area in Daytona Beach.