top 10 "bad" areas of SD?

[quazmar]

Originally Posted by shmoov_groovzsd

You will be fine.

Basically the characters any transit rider tunes out on a subway in NYC are seen as unsafe here because they really do stick out against the backdrop.
In terms of safety, we have lived here for almost 10 years and ride the trolley quite frequently through the 'hood' sections of town. Run down? Hard times? Yes, but we have never been approached or threatened in any, way shape or form.
Yes be street smart mind your business and just dont stare or act like some dimwit and you will be ok.

We are far more concerned with getting hit by an SUV in a Costco parking lot than taking the trolley through the 'hood'. lol
Keep in mind out here 'looking' unsafe and being unsafe are two different animals in my experience. Its actually kind of funny in a really warped way how its gauged here.

This guy gets it

[NYSD1995]

Primary diff between NY metro and SD is that many areas in SD are deserted at night. As long as you walk with purpose will be fine anywhere and time in SD. If you hang out on El Cajon and 35th st at 2AM you are going to get robbed or at least propositioned like mad.

[moved]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Primary diff between NY metro and SD is that many areas in SD are deserted at night. As long as you walk with purpose will be fine anywhere and time in SD. If you hang out on El Cajon and 35th st at 2AM you are going to get robbed or at least propositioned like mad.

That's my old neighborhood. There were times that I came home from work at all hours of the night, and was never robbed or propositioned. Sometimes I would walk down the alley behind North Park Produce at all hours of the night to get home, and also never had a problem.

[davdaven]

Originally Posted by funcrusher3000

I went to Tacos El Gordo in Chula Vista just east of the 5 and I was told that was one of 'hood' areas. But being from Brooklyn...I wasn't able to grasp it. It seemed to be your typical mixed population there, with regular looking detached homes. Perspective is a crazy thing.

I grew up a quarter mile from Tacos El Gordo and the area is not 'hood. Sure it used to be nicer 20 years ago, but it's still fine to walk around in at night. It's a mixed population, both in terms of ethnicity and income, and some San Diegans equate that with being dangerous. The neighborhood itself is pretty average in terms of appearance, safety, etc.

There are several neighborhoods that are worse, such as parts of National City, Logan Heights, stretches between downtown and Encanto along Imperial Avenue, etc. Most of what passes for bad in San Diego just looks bad and isn't particularly dangerous. Even the nastiest parts of Encanto are far nicer than what I've seen in the Hunters Point neighborhood in San Francisco or in deep East Oakland, for example. Indeed, perspective is a crazy thing.

[googiespage]

Sigsbee Row, Logan Heights. I think the Tijuana River park has crime, even though the population is low. Downtown is nice, don't go south of PETCO Park. Sherman Heights and Grant Hill are a bit dangerous. San Ysidro is alright, but is where a lot of the drugs being smuggled from Mexico enter the country.

[Gentoo]

After living in East Oakland and Richmond the last two years, all the places I thought were bad in SD no longer phase me. SD is fortunate in that way.

[lrmsd]

Yes, but the OP was looking to buy a condo and I think had children. Obviously, just b/c an area is 'not really dangerous compared to oakland or richmond or NYC', does not mean that it's a desirable place to live. Also, it's a real PITA to live in a hood where car breakins are a constant concern. Had our cars stolen twice over a two year period in normal heights. One time, they returned it a week later, parked it in the local police station parking lot...No joke; the police phoned us at 6 am a few days before christmas and asked if we wanted to get it or have it towed...lol My spouse's car was recovered a couple of months later, but was impounded for two months more due to its apparent involvement in a 'crime'....Eventually, we got it back. Sold it a few years later; still driving mine. (: No longer live in that area.

Also, Mission Valley is notorious for car theft, radio theft, etc. My radio was stolen while parked at Target, mid morning, with my children...[we are obv. inside the store---for about 30 minutes.] When I reported it to Target, who has a parking lot security guard, btw, the worker said 'hey, at least you only had your radio stolen. My car was stolen last month'. They said it's due to location, with several freeways surrounding the area. Normal Heights, just up the hill, has a zip code that ranks top for auto theft in SD.

My point for this rambling anecdote, is that quality of life will differ for each person. And while violent crime may not be a threat, and car break ins can and do happen anywhere, the frequency with which they happen in certain parts of the city, is something to consider for would be property owners or renters. Again, someone walking home in north park at 2 am, say a dude in his late 20's... is very different than day to day life as a family, for example. My two cents. Anyway, it's like when they say 'but it's a dry heat'...Um, 100 degrees F is still freakin' hot!!! Being robbed/burglarized still sucks; just b/c it's 'better than being killed' is not a consolation. It can happen anywhere, but is def. more common in certain zip codes.

[Pedro2000]

These arguments never make any sense to me. "it's not as bad as..." really doesn't mean much to anyone. I spent a lot of time years ago in places like Camden, NJ, Chester, PA, Newark, NJ, North Philly, and so on and I could easily say "well Seattle wasn't as bad as camden or Downtown San diego isn't as bad as Chester. I spent a few months in Wilmington, DE for a project a few years back and honestly after 5pm there was nobody around and they had drive by liquor stores with cages on the windows. It was a bad scene in most areas, but it wasn't as bad as camden and so on.

Hell i had an ex from New Orleans who loved the place as do many people. But a lot of people can say New Orleans is not so nice before Katrina.

There are nice areas and there are not so nice areas. There are ghettos, there are middle of nowhere trashy areas and so on. I guess people get offended or something but to me, it's stupid to try and make a place to be something it's not to most people. Hell South Beach in Miami is cool, most of the surrounding areas are not so nice. I was never mugged or shot down there or robbed and never really had any issues, but plenty of people do. I never had any bad things happen to me in New Orleans or Camden. I did get mugged in Harlem as a teenager.

It's all perspective. I mean my car was keyed on both sides from front to back in some sort of stupid up and down motion to make it even worse and had crap put in the gas tank up in Seattle. And this happened in a gated condo complex where the rent started at $2K per month and up. So i could say "Hey my car was vandalized in a rich seattle area but nothing ever happened to me in Camden, NJ." That sure as hell doesn't make Camden a better place.

A person who wants to live in La Jolla or Del Mar is probably not going to want to live in Chula Vista or National City or Oceanside. Nothing wrong with that, but it's funny how people equate "nothing ever happened to me" with it being a nicer place than it actually is.

[funcrusher3000]

Originally Posted by shmoov_groovzsd

Glad I could help. I am not trying to make light of the urbanized areas because its not Disneyland, but its also not a demilitarized zone. I used to have take the bus to Jersey by myself as a kid at the Port Authority back in the 80s. Its worlds apart.

Ok as far as the run down parts. If you take the trolley on the orange line east of 12th and Imperial towards El Cajon (goes along Imperial Ave) this is SD's hood. The reputation for gangs (yes they exist here) lies at Euclid Ave and Imperial Ave (aka the 4 corners of death.) SDMTS - Trolley Information
There still is gang related violence in these areas but mainly isolated to specific sections or people. If you know anything about gangs, they just dont go busting out uzis on Imperial spray firing pedestrians.
You hear about it on the news every now and then, but its NOTHING like NYC news. NOTHING. The news there, its every single day something going down, shootings etc happening in the same hoods. For a city our size and population, SD is VERY safe.

You will see houses that should be torn down, lots of bars on windows etc. Its definitely a different vibe than the majority of SD. Its not a place to hang out unless you have a specific reason for being around there like getting tacos at a shop etc.
Its also not necessarily a place to take a first date to impress if you know what I mean. But if you cruise through on the trolley its totally fine.

To sum it up, being tagged 'ghetto' area runs about as skin deep as the clown hispters that are not from NYC but think they are 'in the know' getting twig in Washington Sq Park from the dudes disguised as Rastafarians.
Its like dude, you just bought basil.

So, a year later I'm finally set to make the move. Looking at places around PB, Clairemont and Loma.

Thanks for your input, much appreciated.