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Is the East Village a dump? No. Is the east village safe? Certain parts are and certain parts are not. But it sure as hell isn't worth 2K+ per month that's for sure.
So all the people living at Strata are idiots. Nice to know. But hey, wait a minute. If they have jobs where they can afford enough to pay $2K a month, they probably have decent jobs.
Decent jobs are usually correlated with intelligence.
As for the East Village not being safe, tell you what. If the SDPD index of crimes for the East Village of 288 is sketchy, what other areas are "dangerous" in Pedro's mind?
Oh, better avoid La Jolla. It's got a crime index of 467. All those rich people are fools, man! Living in such a dangerous neighborhood!
if you guys are going to argue about these areas can you at least post me some links to the apartment buildings so I can continue my research on where to live? otherwise its not very helpful thanks.
if you guys are going to argue about these areas can you at least post me some links to the apartment buildings so I can continue my research on where to live? otherwise its not very helpful thanks.
I'm not arguing. No need to name call like the other poster. East Village is what it is and anybody that denies that isn't telling the truth. The majority of the places down there are overpriced. Just as many of the places in Mission Valley are overpriced. I like Little Italy but think many of those places are overpriced for what they are. If you like the 'big building concrete look' that seems to frequent any city, thats what you get. If you want to pay $2K+ per month for it, go ahead. I would rather spend my money elsewhere.
As far as links and east village, google Strata san diego, google vantage point, east village lofts/condos, alta, park west, etc.
I live in San Diego and I really explored all the areas before deciding where I would live. So hopefully my opinion has the same validity as the anecdotes that TonyinSD's lady friends have. They may feel safer, i do not.
People can decide what is safe and what is not safe, but its a personal opinion. As a woman, wherever city I live in, I had to watch out for what may be safer and what is not. Because at the end of the day I have to watch out for myself.
I was at a friend's place in Bankers Hill where the planes went across every 15 min. did that bother me? Yes. Were you at a place that maybe it was quieter and did it not bother you? Maybe. But the planes in the flight path bothered me alot.
I saw the luxury buildings downtown and the many homeless people. Did it make me feel less unsafe? Should I trust whether these people may be not aggressive? Maybe? But why will I do that if I want to walk around at night openly and if I want to run errands at night? Why take the chance when I can live in a place with less homeless people such as little italy or bankers hill?
Contrast to your friends that walk around openly at night, I know friends that take their pepper spray around. Its not that we are paranoid, its just being safe and looking out for ourselves. I would do it ANYWHERE I go.
TonyinSD just seems to be attacking anyone that may raise valid concerns of their impressions of downtown/east village. You can do it in a less belligerent manner. Two law school friends does not a total blanket statement on the safety of an area vs. another area make?
I live in San Diego and I really explored all the areas before deciding where I would live. So hopefully my opinion has the same validity as the anecdotes that TonyinSD's lady friends have. They may feel safer, i do not.
People can decide what is safe and what is not safe, but its a personal opinion. As a woman, wherever city I live in, I had to watch out for what may be safer and what is not. Because at the end of the day I have to watch out for myself.
I was at a friend's place in Bankers Hill where the planes went across every 15 min. did that bother me? Yes. Were you at a place that maybe it was quieter and did it not bother you? Maybe. But the planes in the flight path bothered me alot.
I saw the luxury buildings downtown and the many homeless people. Did it make me feel less unsafe? Should I trust whether these people may be not aggressive? Maybe? But why will I do that if I want to walk around at night openly and if I want to run errands at night? Why take the chance when I can live in a place with less homeless people such as little italy or bankers hill?
Contrast to your friends that walk around openly at night, I know friends that take their pepper spray around. Its not that we are paranoid, its just being safe and looking out for ourselves. I would do it ANYWHERE I go.
TonyinSD just seems to be attacking anyone that may raise valid concerns of their impressions of downtown/east village. You can do it in a less belligerent manner. Two law school friends does not a total blanket statement on the safety of an area vs. another area make?
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It brings up a great point about subjectivity. Absolutely true. Hot buttons like affordability, pricing, safety, noise, convenience, dangerous, etc. are all totally subjective.
I think it's good that people all offer their own opinions on it. Like I always say..we can agree to disagree on just about any number of topics.
Absolutely that area won't make sense for MANY people. Not even a matter if they have a good job, what their profession is, what their lifestyle is like, if they have $$$$. That area will be a turn off for huge numbers of people for the reasons Ms. Intrepid mentioned.
People that say that the homeless are harmless and don't bother anyone aren't always true as I've seen them flare up before. On several occasions. Many people wouldn't want to hassle with that. And you can't always go by official statistics or crime index.
I'm sure things like a mentally unstable homeless person coming up to your kids and putting their hands all over them, going around and spilling/knocking over your drink while you are eating (or even taking your drink), having them spit at your car window because you didn't give them any money are all examples where the people aren't reporting it to the police so no statistic is generated but annoying nonetheless.
your points actually remind me of something I was considering this weekend.
For the most part, any time people recommend a place to live for a single 30's woman like me, I'm usually pointed to an urban area.
I've lived in a lot of places during my career and this comes up a lot. I've lived in urban cores and suburbs.
Sometimes, the suburbs make a much more comfortable choice for a single woman for reasons such as this.
And the thing is, being single -- being in close proximity to other singles and nightlife doesn't always mean that much. It doesn't mean you will meet those people or that being on top of the night spots means you will enjoy your life more. If you live in the suburbs you are just as likely to meet men to date via the internet.
For me, being able to walk at night DOES matter. This did bother me in some of my urban locations in San Antonio and Chicago and is a consideration for me.
I also like space an green. This is also why I was considering Orange County. There is just so much that goes into these choices and I soemtimes don't understand why single professionals are pointed away from the quieter family areas. There is a certain stability to many of those areas that makes them attractive to single woman maybe more than single men, I'm not sure.
But sometimes I wonder if the advice (all over these boards) directing single people to the most lively urban centers is more off the cuff, than realisitcally thought out.
I Can tell you living in a livley area can just be depressing if you don't know anyone anyway to enjoy it with! I generally don't like to go to night spots by myself and if you are past college and roommates its hard to meet people to do things with anyway. Most of my social life comes about other ways at this age and a lot of it has nothing to do with my proximity to night clubs or other singles.
You bring up valid points and I agree and disagree with some of them.
The reality, is, like myself and others have said before on the boards, you wont know until you actually arrive and see for yourself. We only go by what you write and more of a general consensus as to more popular areas to look when ariving in the area.
The other half of that is, if you know what people are posting, then why not simply state that suburbs are ok right off the bat? I am not trying to beat you up here, but you are literally asking for advice on areas that have a certain degree of walkability and safety, which generally speaking have a more dynamic element to them than maybe a suburb in San Diego specifically which tends to be auto centric.
For all intents and purposes, San Diego has large swaths of auto centric suburbs, actually I would say most of it is with the exception of the downtown and core neighborhoods. IMHO, they are most unlike the majority of rural or suburban SD.
My suggestion is to look in some of the coastal cities. Just look on a map and research Carlsbad Village, Encinitas etc. Many of them have an old village/downtown area that is walkable. Heck even Escondido and La Mesa have a really well laid out downtown village where you can walk in the morning to get coffee etc. Just keep in mind, the communities are VERY spread out from these downtowns. So in terms of looking for a place to rent, that is a factor to consider.
Otherwise, you are looking at HOA communities between the 15 and 805 from the 56 up past the 78. Which for a single woman in her 30s looking to walk to places might not be a great fit.
Once you make a trip and get to know the lay out of the land and how divided many of the regions of the county are, it may make more sense as to why many of the replies to someone in your position might lean towards living closer to downtown.
I'm not beating anyone up. I'm speaking generally on this kind of question. I've been reading these boards for many years now and just speaking of a generalized thing I see.
I have said the suburbs are ok with me. Both are. It's just an observation and I appreciate everyones input. No one can figure this out for me I'm just asking for a description of areas I know nothing about, from there I can build on my research.
Its just interesting how most people say singles should be in a city without much further thought, most every place.
CA is also VERY different than other parts of the country in terms of renting...another factor. It's harder to find good rentals here in any city (small, big, etc, or suburb). It's hard to know how that will go.
your points actually remind me of something I was considering this weekend.
For the most part, any time people recommend a place to live for a single 30's woman like me, I'm usually pointed to an urban area.
I've lived in a lot of places during my career and this comes up a lot. I've lived in urban cores and suburbs.
Sometimes, the suburbs make a much more comfortable choice for a single woman for reasons such as this.
And the thing is, being single -- being in close proximity to other singles and nightlife doesn't always mean that much. It doesn't mean you will meet those people or that being on top of the night spots means you will enjoy your life more. If you live in the suburbs you are just as likely to meet men to date via the internet.
For me, being able to walk at night DOES matter. This did bother me in some of my urban locations in San Antonio and Chicago and is a consideration for me.
I also like space an green. This is also why I was considering Orange County. There is just so much that goes into these choices and I soemtimes don't understand why single professionals are pointed away from the quieter family areas. There is a certain stability to many of those areas that makes them attractive to single woman maybe more than single men, I'm not sure.
But sometimes I wonder if the advice (all over these boards) directing single people to the most lively urban centers is more off the cuff, than realisitcally thought out.
I Can tell you living in a livley area can just be depressing if you don't know anyone anyway to enjoy it with! I generally don't like to go to night spots by myself and if you are past college and roommates its hard to meet people to do things with anyway. Most of my social life comes about other ways at this age and a lot of it has nothing to do with my proximity to night clubs or other singles.
really just an observation.
So yeah, I didn't read all of the rest of this thread, but I thought I'd throw out there that as a single woman (a little older than you, but not much) with similar concerns, who is not a "hipster", I really enjoy living in North Park near 30th & Adams. I feel quite safe walking at night, where I wouldn't so much in the East village. There's shopping and food and bars for ALL KINDS of people, from the "hipster" to the professional that just likes good beer & food, to places where you can see punk bands every night of the week and drink $2 PBR tall cans, to places with a dress code and $20 cocktails. Hole in the wall ethnic food? Got that. Causal high-end dining? Got that too. Starbucks vs independant coffee-snob places? got both of those. North Park, University Heights, Kensington, South Park, Golden Hill... They're all areas I would live based on this criteria.
I'm close enough to stuff that when I do feel like going out, it's there, but it doesn't intrude on my life whatsoever otherwise. My street is quiet and my neighbors are nice. So I guess it's "livelier" than the 'burbs, but not exactly in the middle of things unless you live on one of the main streets, which is inadvisable anyhow. Plenty of nice residential areas that are close to the amenities in the central part of town.
Point is, it doesn't have to be all or nothiing, live-in-the-middle-of-everything downtown vs dull boring suburbs. There's plenty of middle ground to be had
Just my two cents.
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