Does San Diego care too much about itself?

[tstieber]

If you do include Tijuana in the metro area (which I don't, because most people don't really go there that much, especially since the surge in decapitations the last year), then your problem of dumpiness is solved. If you want gritty, then head south of the border. They have worse problems than planting trees in medians. Their buildings are in disrepair.

The one thing I do notice here is that San Diegans are positively obsessed with San Diego and how great it is. I mean, it's a really nice place, but people go on and on about it all the time. The irritating thing is that they think it's a bigger city than it is, and they try to portray the city as very cosmopolitan. That's kind of silly. On the other hand, it's nice to have a glass-is-half-full mentality: when the weather here is rainy and 55 degrees, nobody complains; they'll wear shorts and flip flops anyway and remind everyone that it's snowing in Chicago. By comparison, when I'm in the Bay Area, people will wear scarves and parkas on a sunny, 65 degree day, complaining that it's much warmer in Phoenix. So I do like the perpetually positive attitude.

[sdlife619]

Kettlepot, your statements about housing ladder is not completely true. Especially if the area has gentrifiyed. I remember when anybody could go to North Park and pick up a 30's style bungalow home for like 80K or under 120K. Today and in the last couple of years, these same homes have sky rocketed to ridiculous levels.

The who point of gentrification is to promote this kind of stuff, city leaders love it, artsy people love it, developers love it because they now see an area being redeveloped and changing. So investment follows. The poor Hispanics, Blacks, and other non white residents are moved out, and replaced with upper middle class whites. Some here have no problem that this is going on, but it angers the hell outta me! Not necessarily because it makes the area that more expensive to live in, but the fact that the neighborhood because more uppity. The snobbish "I'm better than you" attitude slowy starts to show up, these people become less tolarent of the homeless, graffiti, and slightest hint of trash on the street. Older buildings and homes get modernized, which is the worst thing anybody could do to a classic neighborhood. Old windows are replaced with modern looking ones, etc.. this kills the character of the neighborhood. Why not just redo part of the building, but not to the point where stucco covers the whole damn exterior! It's like once that one person remodels there property, the next one follows. I'm very against coporate businesses, and when the Walgreens/Starbucks popped up, that was the end of "Old" North Park for me. The place is still kinda cool and all, but it's not as cool like in years past. I'm now loving Normal Heights the developers haven't hit up the area as of yet, lets hope they don't.

The people that suffer the most here, are the poorer minorities or general struggling young people. The ones that used to live in these tiny little craftsman homes, are now forced out because of people like you. The whole moving on up thing is not true for the people that live in formerly low income North Park. Low income or even some moderately income people cannot afford NP now days. Because hipsters, artsy type with money have moved in, fixed up these older homes stay awhile, sell it for twice as much to another hipster, then like you said, they move up into purchasing a condo. The affordibility will never return to NP or it's surrounding communities as long as these places are still desirable. Then all of a suddend they start to form community council meetings, and gatherings almost like HOA people. They start talking about how they can change the neighborhood, and start to implement changes to the area. The main urge of these new residents, is that they usually want more of a "luxury" lifestyle fit. So that liquor store owner on the corner is now looked down upon and these "new" types desperately pray everyday for that liquor store to shut down, burn down, so maybe a another lame cafe, bakery, or some other hipster crap business moves on in.

Yes many San Diegans act like this is place is perfect and it's the greatest city in the world....shut up. I believe it's also because of the weather. If it rained or was cloudy here all the time like up in Seattle, people wouldn't really give a damn about SD. I understand we have a lot to offer as a County, but specifically as a city, SD has been way underdeveloped, and we just can't compare the energy and the feel to other big cities like NY, Miami, LA, Chi-Town, Atlanta, Philly, Boston, DC, SF Whole Bay Area, you get what I mean. SD really does feel like a vaction city where nobody is working hard. Just kinda going with the flow which equals slow.

[sav858]

Sdlife619:
You do realize that in those gentrifying neighborhoods that poor minorities were NOT the original residents right? But instead it was middle class white people who built those neighborhoods then left after they went downhill b/c of the influx of poor immigrants, minorities, and crime. Look up and educate yourself with the term "white flight". So don't act like they were there first b/c they weren't. And if these people didn't let their neighborhood deteriorate in the first place then there wouldn't be a wave of gentrification trying to fix the problems some of the poor people in those neighborhoods have caused and/or let happen.

Who the hell wants homeless people and graffiti in their neighborhood besides the type of trash that contributes to that problem?

And just in case you try to pull some white vs minority thing on me, I am a minority.

Yes many San Diegans act like this is place is perfect and it's the greatest city in the world.

Because to many people IT IS to them. What about that do you not understand? To each their own. If you don't like it fine, but don't try to knock people who do and belittle their opinions b/c they are just as valid as yours, maybe even more so since many of them have lived elsewhere and have a better grasp of what its like outside SD than you.

And what is it with some people being obsessed with San Diego "competing" with places like NYC, SF, LA, Boston, DC, etc.... few people pretend that SD is on the level of those cities and I don't feel many people even care to be, I sure as hell don't. If I wanted the SF Bay Area then I would have stayed there or moved back after college. But I love SD for what it is, which is NOT SF, LA, NYC, DC, Boston, etc.

[kettlepot]

Originally Posted by Oerdin

Uhhh, prop 13 just capped the assessed value of properties at their last purchase price which was stupid because it lets older people and corporations walk scot free and forces young people like myself to carry most of the property tax burden.

That's how it works on the tax paying side of Prop 13 which is the only area covered by the law. On the tax receiving end of property tax collections, all property tax money is now given to the state as you indicated, but didn't quite explicitly state.

Some large percentage of property tax (at least 50%) ends up in the general fund to pay for schools statewide, and that money is distributed per some formula that overly compensates the LA & SF area. Less than half of property tax money returns to the cities and counties in which it is collected. I believe the counties only receive 13 cents on the dollar. This wasn't done this way because of Prop 13 law, this was a decision taken by the state in response to the Serrano decision (I believe that was the case). So, don't blame Prop 13 for the effects of the Serrano decision just because they happened at nearly the same time. San Diego was politically weak in the late 70s has been subsidizing the rest of the state ever since.

[fishwiz]

You can get down and dirty- or gritty in South Florida!

[kettlepot]

Originally Posted by sdlife619

Kettlepot, your statements about housing ladder is not completely true. Especially if the area has gentrifiyed. I remember when anybody could go to North Park and pick up a 30's style bungalow home for like 80K or under 120K. Today and in the last couple of years, these same homes have sky rocketed to ridiculous levels.

Yes, housing has gone up. The days when lower income people can afford a single family detached home in San Diego city are gone. Oddly, no one seems to believe low income people should be able to afford a detached single family home in Manhattan.

Originally Posted by sdlife619

The snobbish "I'm better than you" attitude slowy starts to show up, these people become less tolarent of the homeless, graffiti, and slightest hint of trash on the street.

You are quite right. I am not tolerant of homeless, graffiti, and trash near where I live. I also don't like having whores, drug dealers, thieves, and sex offenders around either. And I would support the efforts of any people in San Diego who would like to move these people out of their area.

Originally Posted by sdlife619

Older buildings and homes get modernized, which is the worst thing anybody could do to a classic neighborhood. Old windows are replaced with modern looking ones, etc.. this kills the character of the neighborhood.

I agree with you completely. But it isn't wealth that determines or causes this. Often it's the people who have the least money who go cheap, and replace broken and expensive-to-replace wooden windows with cheap aluminum. And it's people who can't afford to regularly paint their house that cover over wood siding with a cheap ever-lasting stucco exterior. Then it takes someone who has a lot of money to undo all of this damage. But you are right, in that sometimes it's people with more money than taste who take a perfectly charming bungalow and turn it into a monstrosity. This issue isn't a function of wealth or race, it's a function of good taste and effective land use zoning.

Originally Posted by sdlife619

I'm now loving Normal Heights the developers haven't hit up the area as of yet, lets hope they don't.

The Huffman blight decimated the southern half of Normal Heights. And the Huffman blight was done to provide cheap housing for poor people.

Originally Posted by sdlife619

The whole moving on up thing is not true for the people that live in formerly low income North Park. Low income or even some moderately income people cannot afford NP now days. Because hipsters, artsy type with money have moved in, fixed up these older homes stay awhile, sell it for twice as much to another hipster,

It's these artsy/hispter types who often do most of the work undoing the bad, cheap renovations that were done by the former lower income residents or their landlords, and who restore older areas to something that approximates their original character.

Originally Posted by sdlife619

Yes many San Diegans act like this is place is perfect and it's the greatest city in the world....shut up. I believe it's also because of the weather. If it rained or was cloudy here all the time like up in Seattle, people wouldn't really give a damn about SD.

I don't understand why "not really giving a damn about SD" is a good thing. I give a damn and a whole lot more about this city. I care about preserving its historic neighborhoods, and I understand which areas have been so altered that historic neighborhood preservation is no longer a viable option. Large parts of North Park can be preserved, and that will be done when people with money move in, and preserve the housing stock. But there are parts of North Park that can't nor shouldn't be preserved. The Huffman damage has already been done. In those areas, redevelopment is the solution. Effective zoning will guide development to where it's needed, and keep it away from where it isn't.

[azadehbd]

I don't think San Diego is well maintained. The most frustrating thing is that people run around like it is so beautiful here, and it isn't. It isn't well maintained either. Average at best, and most people wouldn't know how to properly landscape their property if their life depended on it! Rancho Santa Fe is nice though. I do however agree that LA is much worse, but it isn't saying a whole lot.

[NYSD1995]

Originally Posted by azadehbd

I don't think San Diego is well maintained. The most frustrating thing is that people run around like it is so beautiful here, and it isn't.

I agree. I don't think it's just landscaping either. City has been broke 5 years+ and it's starting to show. The thing is, with this mild climate a building's exterior can go unmaintained for 20+ years because there is nothing to cause any damage to it. A lot of landlords and property owners take advantage of that.