Elk Grove as "ghetto"...I don't get it. (Burbank: high schools, live)

[Fearless Kid]

The apartments on Bruceville and Whitelock cater to low-income folks (section 8). I lived there for 1.5 years and thought I was living in the Bronx ghetto (although one with nice apartments, but that's because they are fairly new).

Always garbage all over the place (too lazy to place garbage in the dumpster), inconsiderate people blasting music at all times of the night, mj smell all over the place, drunk people, clothes drying over the balcony rails, cars/trucks taking up two spaces.

I'm sure I'm missing other details, but it's been 3 years since I've lived there. There are other apartments like these, as well. I think the other is on Bruceville and EG Blvd. There's also one on West Stockton Blvd. Are these people coming from South Sac to the EG apartments because of the affordability? I was qualified for a 2 bed/2 bath for $799/month, and that was in the middle range. If my income was lower, I would have only paid $599.

[FlowerPower1234]

Just so "webdev" knows, people are referring to Elk Grove as being "Close to" the ghetto, not that Elk Grove itself is a ghetto (yet). I don't know the official definition of the word, but most of the time it's being used to describe a run-down, lower income, minority, high crime part of town where no one with standards wants to live. Elk Grove does have it's run-down neighborhoods, it does have a good mixture of races of people (I don't even think whites are the majority anymore), and it has it's share of crime like any town that packs it's residents in like sardines. I mean, what do you expect when you feel like you can't move or breathe anymore? BUT, the ghetto that people are referring to that Elk Grove is close to is South Sacramento, 95823. Residents of the area love to call it "North Laguna" because they're ashamed to tell people they live in South Sac. It's not North Laguna, nothing about it is Laguna-like, it's South Sacramento where there is a lot of crime, there are more Asians, Hispanics, and Blacks that there are any other races, and you can tell when you drive through there (remember to duck from the gun fire), that many homes are run down, people live like pigs, they have aluminum foil on their windows, broken down cars on their dirt front yards, and paint is peeling from the walls of the homes. The problem is that there isn't any buffer between South Sac and Laguna soooo some of that is spilling over into Elk Grove and has been for awhile. Most of the time there are things that separate bad parts of town from good parts, like a freeway, a river, some railroad tracks... SOMETHING that distinguishes the boundaries. But there isn't anything that separates South Sac from Elk Grove. And the riff-raff who live in South Sac have started to commit crimes in Elk Grove so the higher end homes in Laguna are either sitting empty, or they're basically given away when sold which is turning Elk Grove into a lower income/lower quality of life area too. City Planners really messed up on this one. They should have redirected a creek to separate the two parts of the County, or installed a wall or something!!! Greenhaven is right next door to Meadowview, but I-5 separates the two. Land Park is right next door to Oak Park but railroad tracks do some of the work to keep the two separate. It's too late for Elk Grove at this point. Pretty soon you won't be able to tell the difference between South Sac and Laguna.

[enigma99a]

My perception of EG is that the area is generally nice but with thugs driving down from South Sac. Little too close for my comfort

[cbc2013]

Originally Posted by FlowerPower1234

Just so "webdev" knows, people are referring to Elk Grove as being "Close to" the ghetto, not that Elk Grove itself is a ghetto (yet). I don't know the official definition of the word, but most of the time it's being used to describe a run-down, lower income, minority, high crime part of town where no one with standards wants to live. Elk Grove does have it's run-down neighborhoods, it does have a good mixture of races of people (I don't even think whites are the majority anymore), and it has it's share of crime like any town that packs it's residents in like sardines. I mean, what do you expect when you feel like you can't move or breathe anymore? BUT, the ghetto that people are referring to that Elk Grove is close to is South Sacramento, 95823. Residents of the area love to call it "North Laguna" because they're ashamed to tell people they live in South Sac. It's not North Laguna, nothing about it is Laguna-like, it's South Sacramento where there is a lot of crime, there are more Asians, Hispanics, and Blacks that there are any other races, and you can tell when you drive through there (remember to duck from the gun fire), that many homes are run down, people live like pigs, they have aluminum foil on their windows, broken down cars on their dirt front yards, and paint is peeling from the walls of the homes. The problem is that there isn't any buffer between South Sac and Laguna soooo some of that is spilling over into Elk Grove and has been for awhile. Most of the time there are things that separate bad parts of town from good parts, like a freeway, a river, some railroad tracks... SOMETHING that distinguishes the boundaries. But there isn't anything that separates South Sac from Elk Grove. And the riff-raff who live in South Sac have started to commit crimes in Elk Grove so the higher end homes in Laguna are either sitting empty, or they're basically given away when sold which is turning Elk Grove into a lower income/lower quality of life area too. City Planners really messed up on this one. They should have redirected a creek to separate the two parts of the County, or installed a wall or something!!! Greenhaven is right next door to Meadowview, but I-5 separates the two. Land Park is right next door to Oak Park but railroad tracks do some of the work to keep the two separate. It's too late for Elk Grove at this point. Pretty soon you won't be able to tell the difference between South Sac and Laguna.

There is Laguna Creek that separates South Sac and North Laguna. I don't think "border" like this means much though

You guys may be forgetting how big Elk Grove is. Elk Grove shouldn't be defined by that little area that borders South Sac/Valley Hi area.

[Rnaziz510]

So I just moved to Elk Grove,CA from the Bay Area because it was getting way to expensive and I’m not in the tech field and in the medical field so I can move anywhere.I moved up here to a brand new apartment community and discovered ELk Grove is beyond ghetto. Lots of low income whites, blacks, Hispanics. My neighborhood is brand new, but there are some sketch people living there. Also, about Indians, any area that is highly populated with Indians mean that the neighborhood is nice and will eventually become expensive because Indian Americans are highly educated people and make awesome neighbors.my Bay Area neighborhood was mostly Indian and everyone worked in either tech industry or medical field.

I’m a nurse practitioner that was recruited to Sacramento county because there are not enough providers out here and I feel so uncomfortable. It seems like majority of the population out here is not very educated and appear hostile. Just shipping at target and michaels feels uncomfortable, terrible employees and overall environment. I’m considering break my lease and moving to either Folsom or Roseville or possibly go back to the Bay Area. Sorry for the spelling or grammatical errors typing on my iPhone outside of michaels in a hurry.

[49erfan916]

i never got the sense that elk grove was ghetto. Meh...

[webdev]

Originally Posted by Rnaziz510

So I just moved to Elk Grove,CA from the Bay Area because it was getting way to expensive and I’m not in the tech field and in the medical field so I can move anywhere.I moved up here to a brand new apartment community and discovered ELk Grove is beyond ghetto. Lots of low income whites, blacks, Hispanics. My neighborhood is brand new, but there are some sketch people living there. Also, about Indians, any area that is highly populated with Indians mean that the neighborhood is nice and will eventually become expensive because Indian Americans are highly educated people and make awesome neighbors.my Bay Area neighborhood was mostly Indian and everyone worked in either tech industry or medical field.

I’m a nurse practitioner that was recruited to Sacramento county because there are not enough providers out here and I feel so uncomfortable. It seems like majority of the population out here is not very educated and appear hostile. Just shipping at target and michaels feels uncomfortable, terrible employees and overall environment. I’m considering break my lease and moving to either Folsom or Roseville or possibly go back to the Bay Area. Sorry for the spelling or grammatical errors typing on my iPhone outside of michaels in a hurry.

I think you would like Roseville or Folsom a lot more. They are nicer areas. More expensive, but nowhere near as pricey as the bay area.

[MrJester]

North Laguna seemed pretty darn run down to me. And to think it was a master planned neighborhood of the early 90s! How's the newer areas of Elk Grove? Will they eventually decay into North Laguna?

Or is Elk Grove heavily polarized into ghetto and upscale areas, like Chula Vista in San Diego? Chula Vista gets a bad rap from its older, ghetto side to the point that no one knows about the brand new, upscale, master planned area of it.

[WizardOfRadical]

Originally Posted by MrJester

North Laguna seemed pretty darn run down to me. And to think it was a master planned neighborhood of the early 90s! How's the newer areas of Elk Grove? Will they eventually decay into North Laguna?

Or is Elk Grove heavily polarized into ghetto and upscale areas, like Chula Vista in San Diego? Chula Vista gets a bad rap from its older, ghetto side to the point that no one knows about the brand new, upscale, master planned area of it.

North Laguna got hit real bad with the RE BUST in the early 1990's. Homeowners moved out and the area went belly up. Cheap prices allowed it to be swooped up by various slum lords catering to section 8 types. Cycle happenend again in the early 2000s.

[MrJester]

Originally Posted by WizardOfRadical

North Laguna got hit real bad with the RE BUST in the early 1990's. Homeowners moved out and the area went belly up. Cheap prices allowed it to be swooped up by various slum lords catering to section 8 types. Cycle happenend again in the early 2000s.

Whoops, I meant to say I visited West Laguna, the area with lakes, near the five freeway and Laguna Blvd. That area was shabby. If that is an average Elk Grove hood, I can see how Elk Grove is ghetto.

Please tell me that most of Elk Grove is better.