Laughing at stuck up fools: The "Sorrento Mesa" myth. (San Diego: renting, home)

[sdjimbob]

I've worked off Flanders and Mira Mesa for quite some time. I think there is a difference only because Sorrento Mesa is purely commercial. Camino Santa Fe divides Sorrento Mesa and Mira Mesa.

Up where you live is where Sorrento Valley homes expanded east and Mira Mesa homes expanded west. Camino Santa Fe divides these two neighborhoods too.

I'd probably point to the neighbor that you really live close to the Sorrento Valley border, noting the higher home prices there!

[earlyretirement]

Originally Posted by malcorub16

Think4yourself, I get what you are saying, but I don't think it's necessarily racism or that they don't like Asians, I think its more "classicism" if anything. These same "white people" in "Sorrento whatever they think it is" would be against living against many of the "white people" that live around this Mexican boy's (me) home in Lakeside .

ER has stated he has lived in many places around the world, he can probably attest to "classism" in different part of the world, I know I have seen plenty of it South of the border.

EXACTLY. I don't think it's "racism" either. Actually San Diego is EXCELLENT in that regard. People are very open here. Even in affluent areas here there are many Asians or multi-cultural families and I haven't seen any racism at all in that regard.

I agree there is plenty of "classism" here. You totally nailed it malcorub! Yes, you see that quite a bit in Latin America and South America.

As well, many cities there is a bias to try to say you live in a nicer bordering area. Look at cities like Buenos Aires where there are many people that try to say they are in "Recoleta" when it might be a bordering neighborhood like Barrio Norte. Or neighborhoods like Palermo get divided up and people start breaking it up and making subsections that have the main neighborhood in it. One example is the largest neighborhood called Palermo. Now you have Palermo Chico, Palermo Hollywood, Palermo Soho, Palermo Viejo, Palermo Queens. Each passing year there is a need by the locals to further define or classify themselves.

In Rio de Janeiro where I own an apartment, you get people that try to say they live in Ipanema or other more affluent areas that are NOT the area they say it is. Or in Lima you have people that say they are in Miraflores when they are NOT in Miraflores. It happens the world over.

In cities like Dallas you have more and more people close to affluent areas like Highland Park try to say they are in University Park or Highland Park even though they really aren't. Some are even in zip codes like 75205 which share the Highland Park zip code but they clearly are NOT Highland Park nor is the school district Highland Park.

This isn't so uncommon and I see it in many areas and many parts of the world.

[icecoldlemonade]

Um, classism has always intersected with racism in the US. There is no way to cleanly separate the two when non-whites are associated with lower socio-economic brackets.

Part of this is historic -- prior to legal protections back when the US operated under fairly vulgar racist social norms, it was not uncommon to relegate non-whites to terrible jobs and neighborhood slums. And since poverty is cyclical and discrimination long-reaching, there is still some overlap between race and class brackets even in our current age.

The other part of this is just lingering stereotypes. The blurring of race/class is implicated in the language of what is "ghetto" or not and is the backbone of the trope of "white trash." Asians are always assumed to be recent immigrants, working in service jobs or whatever. So even if that Indian guy is a dermatologist, the stereotype is that he runs a 7/11 and thus his white neighbors are wary.

SD is pretty great in terms of race relations --better than many parts of the entire US -- but lets call a spade a spade. It isn't like SD is free of racism (even if that racism is latent and unconscious).

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Classism != racism

[malcorub16]

Originally Posted by icecoldlemonade

So even if that Indian guy is a dermatologist, the stereotype is that he runs a 7/11 and thus his white neighbors are wary.

This might be more an East Coast stereo type, West Coast Indians-Hindu generally tend to be educated and hold good jobs. I have never actually seen one work in a convenience store here in SD.

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

Classism != racism

Both are forms of discrimination but not the same. The first is more socially accepted than the second. People discriminate all the time against overweight folks and smokers, but these are acceptable in our society.

[Think4Yourself]

Originally Posted by malcorub16

This might be more an East Coast stereo type, West Coast Indians-Hindu generally tend to be educated and hold good jobs. I have never actually scene one work in a convenience store here in SD.

Because of the H1B visa system you do get a heck of a lot more educated Indians here. That said, the 7-11 near Genesee and Balboa Ave (across the street from the O'Reilly Auto Parts store) is indeed owned and run by Indians.

[djxpress]

I've lived in SD since 1985, back when there was no Del Mar Highlands, Torrey Highlands, 56 Freeway, and just when Sorrento Valley was blossoming. Back then Sorrento Valley was just the business end of Mira Mesa, still is.

There is no such thing as Sorrento Mesa, just like there is no such thing as Torrey Highlands, 4S Ranch, Santaluz, etc. These just happen to be what the residence call the neighborhoods they live in, nothing more.

The only reason I can see for people wanting to fight to call their area Sorrento Valley is because of real estate values, obviously saying your home is in Sorrento Valley will carry a premium over owning in Mira Mesa.

I've seen the North County area go from having 8 or so naming boundaries (Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Escondido, Carlsbad, Del Mar, RB, and PQ), to having upwards of 50 or more (including Sorrento Mesa, Torrey Highlands, 4S, etc..) it's ridiculous really...but the same thing happened where I grew up...people insisted on calling my hometown La Costa, not Carlsbad.

[GuyInSD]

Sorrento Mesa?!!?? When did they invent that name?

Like it or not, that's Mira Mesa. Or - they could move into a warehouse in Sorrento Valley and tell everyone they live in "Torrey Pines"

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by malcorub16

This might be more an East Coast stereo type, West Coast Indians-Hindu generally tend to be educated and hold good jobs. I have never actually seen one work in a convenience store here in SD.



Both are forms of discrimination but not the same. The first is more socially accepted than the second. People discriminate all the time against overweight folks and smokers, but these are acceptable in our society.

Why would living where you can afford be discrimination. I know many cities that are all anglo with poor and rich subdivisions yet no one is being discriminated. I think those terms are way over used.

[MattNguyen]

I live in North West Mira Mesa along Callecristobal Blvd and so is my friend. This is one of the newer and nicer neighborhood of Mira Mesa. One time at a party, I overheard my friend's wife told another person that she lives in Sorrento Valley. I rolled my eyes. Sorrento Valley shares the same schools as Mira Mesa but I do think that it is a different neighborhood with its own zip code. The houses there are newer and higher in quality and closer to Qualcomm and Torrey Pines.

They are building two clusters of houses and condos in Mira Mesa but right at the border of Mira Mesa and and Sorrento Valley. Guess what the two groups of houses and condos are called. Yup, Sorrento Heights and Sorrento Ridge. It is a clear attempt to fool people and try to increase the value of these homes/condos. The same thing happens in Carmel Valley. Many of the apartment complexes has "Del Mar" in their names.