Living in the war zone (OB) (San Diego, San Jose: rent, violent crime, houses)

[cjo]

My other half and I have been looking at houses in San Diego and recently found a house we love in the middle of the "war zone" in OB. I'd like to hear some opinions on how safe/unsafe this part of OB really is.

To put the question in context, we lived in a fairly "colorful" neighborhood in SF for years (plenty of sketchy looking characters around, fair bit of burglary/car theft, some violent crime), never had any real problems and generally enjoyed living there.


Thanks.

[san phlegmatico]

It's neither safe nor unsafe, per se. It all depends upon your personal habits, your due diligence to daily safety precautions, and frankly how ostentatiosly you wear your wealth/ posessions on your sleeve. Translation: If you have a tendency to flaunt your bling, strut around in shiny new threads, brag about your "Rolie," drive a 700 class Beamer -- or mix with any associates who do -- you'll likely be staked out for a robbery or mugging. But that goes for living in ANY large city, in any urban neighborhood.

Don't be fooled by the "Peace & Love" proclamations of the O.B.'ers; they're lovey-dovey and all, until they go broke because their daily dime bags and thousand dollar-a-month rent is overdrafting their paltry bank accounts. Or because the local drug dealers can't get their hook-ups and need quick cash. Or because the transient charlatans need an escape route out of a dried-up scene and decide to purloin your car for their getaway. Or because Little Johnny College Student got cut off by the 'rents and now he must scrape up enough for Ramen Noodles, a 6-Pack, and a bag-o-dopeweed-- 'cause he ain't got no time for no job! Or because the Second-Hand Hippie-Hooligan Clothier needs a new line of fallwear and hey, you're rich, so howz a little pilfering of your closet gonna hurt ya?! -- And to further the cause of Peace and Love and Surf! C'mon... you're down, right? No worries.

Ahh... "No Worries"...: that insipid and ubiquitous ethos/ mantra/ antiphon/ cop-out for all Beach Area resi-duuudes of SD, for SD-proper itself, even.

"No worries," Translations:

(1) "I have nothing to worry about because I'm about to get the upper hand on you, unbeknownst to you because you're lulled to sleep with my dude-istry.

(2) None of us should have any cause for worry: we live in "paradise" (or so we're told). There is no better existence (or so we're told).

(3) If I act worried or concerned, the other Dudes might take me for someone who actually gives a rat's azz about life and I might be excommunicated from my pack, forbidden to surf my break! Groupthink -- er, Dudethink -- is the only 'think'.

(4) He's not worried, so why should I be worried? (why should I have to think for myself??)

(5) You better take a submissive posture, dude. I said to you "no worries" so that you would properly prostrate yourself and allow me to have my way with you. Assume your place in the pecking order!

My advice, the preceding rant-a-agraphs notwithstanding: Hightail it back to San Francisco. Not necessarily for safety reasons; rather, for the gamut of reasons: quality of life, dignity of general population, intelligence-quotient of general population, real abundance in cultural activities, a greater genuineness of spirit and urban cohesion, a true array opportunities, bona fide diversity (if you're into that kinda thing) and/or homogeniety -- The only homogenous 'hoods you'll find in SD are, oddly enough, the beach areas themselves. And their homogeniety isn't the type to warmly insulate against the ill effects of surrounding inferiority; but rather to reinforce tired and dirty lifestyles of their own. To wit: the uber-wealthy cloisters as in La Jolla, run amuk with the worst in leisure-loafing and the most vile in white collar crime; and of course the rest of the beach areas: predominated by those likemindedly malodorous and cacophonous surf-hovels, including your targeted place of residence in the ever-so-ignominious 'O.B.' -- which is, not coincidentally, an anagram for 'B.O.' (Body Odor). Of all the Foul Philistinian beach towns, O.B. surely takes the cake for rancidness, criminality, and garbage-strewn streets and beaches. If you bathe and brush your teeth daily, you'll automatically qualify for the upper crust; but that's not sayin much -- kind of like being King of the Dip****s. Interesting choice of words in describing your future digs: "War Zone." I'd say that's quite apropos, though not in the ways which you are expecting. Your "wars" won't necessarily be fought with the criminally nefarious (though it is probable); but with the ("my last bath was in '69 and I partied with Jerry") Guitar-Strumming Panhandlers, the oh-so-annoying WOO-HOO!'ers, and the ubiquitous and ignoble Me!-Me!-Me!-Surf-Addicts.

If you're migrating south for reasons of the 'weather' and 'surfing', I would still beg of you to reconsider. Santa Cruz, Monterey, the peninsula of SF, the OB area of The City, and even areas due north of The City all provide moderate weather and top-flight experiences-in-surfing. Granted, the water is cold, and you'll be donning a heavy wetsuit year 'round; but 6 months out of the year you'll be wearing them here in SoCal too. And, yes, there are sharks; but c'mon man! -- If you're the real deal, it should merely add spice to your game. Lastly, one of the truly great myths about Southern California is that the climate is consistenly warm; this is simply not the case, like I said, at least half of the year. And many months down here are as cold as it gets in NorCal.

I BEG OF YOU: TURN OFF YOUR COMPUTER IMMEDIATELY and cancel your date with Mayflower! Don't turn in that notice! Unpack those bags! If you don't like your neighborhood, simply move. I've spent much time in the SF B.A. and I can say one thing unequivocally about it: these is a wide range of wonderful neighborhoods -- urban and suburban, beachy and mountainous, hippie and straight-laced, progressive and reactionary, woodsy and breezy, uptown and downtown, artsy and fartsy, nouveau and long in the tooth, sporty and dorky. It's all there: East Bay to San Jose, The City to the Wine Country.

Don't make the mistake of a lifetime! If you wanna wallow in the gritty, the grimy, the needle-littered, then live in The Haight. If you crave the subtle stank of mangy dogs poopin' on bum-ridden beaches, and the not-so-subtle psoriasis sustained by surfing in diseased-seepage stealthy excreted by hovels on the hill... a shack of No Tranquility at the epicenter of Reveler Central -- a would-be-a-crack-house in any other American city -- well... then I don't know what to tell ya. Welcome to O.B, I guess...??

[Imperial1904]

I bet it would be fun to have a conversation with you in person. LOL

[mewzikguy]

Don't listen to that idot san phlegmatico or whatever he is. . OB is fun, funky, and sounds pretty much like the neighborhood you lived in in SF. Enjoy

[schamber]

My favorite part of that rant is when he points out that O.B. is B.O. in reverse, and that B.O. stands for body odor. Pure gold. Pure, pathetic, comedy gold.

I've never even been to Ocean Beach, but now I kind of want to visit.