Santa Ana is a Hot Mess (Anaheim, Orange: apartment, lease, violent crime)

[Ryback]

Sorry to be so negative, but SA is a hot mess. I live here for family reasons. However if I could leave, I would be out of here in a gangbanger minute.

People don't like to face the facts, but they provide an accurate picture of this community.

From within the context of OC,

SA is most densely populated city and the 4th densest nationwide in terms of population per sq. mile. It is number one in terms of persons per dwelling. Families and strangers must double and triple up to afford the market rate rent

We have OC's highest poverty rate and highest percentage of families receiving public assistance

We have OC's highest unemployment rate

We have OC's highest percentage of substandard housing

We have OC's lowest median household income

We have OC's lowest resident language skills

We have OC's lowest levels of academic achievement and lowest percentage of students proficient in math and language arts skills

We have OC's highest drop out rate and conversely the lowest percentage of residents with high school or college diplomas

We have OC's highest per-capita rate of violent crimes

We have OC's highest per-capita rate of domestic violence activity

We have OC's highest per-capita rate of juvenile probationers

We have OC's largest and most violent number of street gangs (F-troop, Lopers, Brown Nation, Boyz From the Hood, Los Wickeds, Water Gate Crips, Baby Shelly Street Bloods, Natoma Boys, Tiny Rascals,Townsend, West Myrtle, Westside Santa Ana, etc.) and concentration of gang activity

We have OC's oldest, largest, and certainly most infamous barrios (Logan, Delhi, Santa Nita, Artesia)

We have OC's highest concentration of homeless

We have OC's most notable area for prostitution

We have the most medical marijuana dispensaries and we will be the first OC municipality to legalize
marijuana for recreational use

We have OC's highest per-capita rate of teen pregnancies

We have OC's highest rate of teenage alcohol use

We have OC's highest electricity, water, and trash rates.

We have OC's highest property tax rates for a non-Mello Roos community

We are OC's most transportation challenged city

We are OC's most park and open space challenged city and therefore have they highest obesity rate

We are OC's most quality healthcare challenged city

We are OC's most library facility challenged city

And even if from the above list you have not become a crime victim, or have to deal with deteriorating properties from absenty landlords, or trash and dirty diapers in the neighborhood, or 9 people living in 2 bedroom apartment, you still are impacted. All these things place a tremendous burden on the city's finances and hinder it's ability to provide quality services. They also dissuade private marketplace investment, particularly at an equivalent level to the rest of OC for offering quality goods and services.

Are problems are so extensive, we have our own website [URL]https://www.facebook.com/SantaAnaProblems[/URL] .

Our most highly valued new downtown buildings built over last few decades have been two jails, a police headquarters, and a courthouse, which just about says it all. This probably explains why our bureaucrats would be the only OC city desperate enough to support a 37 story building adjacent to a residential neighborhood and our city's best school OCHSA. Fortunately, the developer of that ridiculous scheme will never find anyone dumb enough to lease space in this incredibly ugly,
poorly conceived monstrosity.

And even though we have one of OC's most homogeneous (or least diverse) citizenry from an ethnic, economic, and political party standpoint, we are also the most polarized. There have been voracious protest over the police department, or gang injunctions, or the support of the downtown arts movement, or the support of a business tax, or regulation of catering trucks, or the right to keep chickens in your backyard, or the location of a homeless multi-service, etc., etc.

To top it off, OC's only all democrat city council is also arguably it's most dysfunctional and ill equipped - including a mayor who continuous has to fight corruption charges, a council member who is an ex gang banger and drug dealer, another one who continues to associate with them, another whose dad was killed when caught stealing his neighbors chickens, and former member who is awaiting trial for sexual related felony charges. The council's convictions on various topics often sway like a palm tree in a good Santa Ana wind. This group is seriously considering a measure to create a "Wellness District" that
is nothing more than a rouse by several special interest groups to maintain the downtown as an area exclusive only to immigrants.

Yes there also are a few positive developments such as an improving crime rate, proliferation of hipster restaurants, and expansion of the Discovery Science Center and OCHSA. However,
do these improvements truly offset all these other negative conditions? Similarly several SA neighborhoods (i.e Floral Park, Santiago Park, South Coast Metro, Sandpointe) are comparable to many OC middle class neighborhoods. However as a whole, the quality of life is significantly below what much of the rest of OC enjoys. One has to serious weigh these tremendous costs against any perceived benefits they may obtain if they are considering relocating here.

[HyperionGap]

K.

What are you going to do about it?

[Ryback]

Originally Posted by HyperionGap

K.

What are you going to do about it?

I honestly do not know. It is a tough deal and a extremely difficult situation to rectify.

[Fast Cat]

Boy, I thought I was long winded. Ryback, you must have had that pent up for sometime.

[dober1]

Good post Ryback, I've always said Santa Ana was a toilet.

[Missbitty12]

but there's a legit Mexican food place right down by south coast!

Oh, and I heard Santa ana is no longer the #1 drug dealing city, it's now the #1 sex trafficking city! Anaheim has been awarded #1 in drug deals.

Oh orange county, I cant wait to move away from you.
I pay over $700 to sleep in a living room.

[Urban Planner]

Get out. We don't need peeps like you here complaining and doing nothing.

*This is the first post ever from you. It would not surprise me if you are Mbell (Santa Ana basher) just making up a profile to talk smack!*

[Urban Planner]

Originally Posted by Ryback

Are problems are so extensive, we have our own website https://www.facebook.com/SantaAnaProblems .

Our most highly valued new downtown buildings built over last few decades have been two jails, a police headquarters, and a courthouse, which just about says it all. This probably explains why our bureaucrats would be the only OC city desperate enough to support a 37 story building adjacent to a residential neighborhood and our city's best school OCHSA. Fortunately, the developer of that ridiculous scheme will never find anyone dumb enough to lease space in this incredibly ugly,
poorly conceived monstrosity.

LOL. The facebook page is a freaking parody dude. You take yourself way too damn serious. In addition, have you ever heard of County Seats? Yes, that's were all the government buildings are located. This city has been the county seat since the county was created. Calm down there.

You oppose the 500 foot tall skyscraper? Ahhh that says so damn much about you. NIMBY. Anyways, it's still going to happen! Whoop!

I feel bad for people like you that drink the kool-aid and only look at the challenges this city has. Of course there are problems but when you compare it to the rest of OC, it just goes to show how damn rich this county is. When you get out of Orange County and live in areas with REAL problems, then you will understand SNA is nothing on the level of other cities across the state or country.

I was just in Seattle and even in their "hippest" neighborhood you had homeless camping on the sidewalks, graffiti, and just that grime that REAL cities have. Again, that was in the "coolest" and most active neighborhood in the city.

This city is only improving, but it's up to you to see all the cool stuff going on.

You need to get out more by the way.

[payutenyodagimas]

Originally Posted by Fast Cat

Boy, I thought I was long winded. Ryback, you must have had that pent up for sometime.

Ryback? of Steven Seagal fame? I like the alias..ryback, under siege

[majoun]

Watergate Crips?

Only in OC would there be a Crip set with a Nixon inspired name.

Crips in Santa Ana is as surprising as Crips in Newport would be. There isn't any concentration of African Americans in either