is Linda Vista dangerous? (San Diego, El Cajon: middle-class, apartments, lease)

[TheSeaward]

I live around USD on Linda Vista Rd and haven't noticed anything in the 6 months or so that I've been here. I'm guessing this side of Linda Vista is a little nicer, though I've never noticed anything bad during the daytime anywhere around Linda Vista (or San Diego for that matter). Moved here from Baltimore, so that may have something to do with it? Haven't been out walking at night here though. That might not be the safest.

[NYSD1995]

Linda Vista is a permanent gang injunction zone.

http://www.sdcda.org/protecting/gi_map_lindavista13.pdf (broken link)

[RD5050]

IMO ... the best way to learn about an area (more precisely, a street or condo/apt complex), is to go there yourself, and ask lots of current residents how they like living there, and what problems they've noticed.

Go multiple times during different times of the day (especially rush hour) to experience the different noise levels.

You can also check with the police dept, to get their opinion on crime there.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

I hate having to ride or drive through that stretch. Either everyone refuses to or cannot read the signage. You'll see a crazy amount of graffiti, jay walking, illegal turns etc from Genessee all the way down to about the 7/11 near USD. My ex was assigned that area as part of her beat and she hated it. As Sassberto pointed out it is the only gang area N of the 8 in the City.

There was also a shooting and an attempted abduction within 1 block of that jack in the box in just this last year alone.

[Whuzzaaap!]

I would strongly recommend reviewing all of the Gang Injunction areas of San Diego before moving anywhere. These links are from the San Diego District Attorney's website (Gang Injunctions - San Diego District Attorney (http://www.sdcda.org/protecting/gang.php - broken link)).

A Gang Injunction is a (relatively) new legal tactic by the SD govt to fight gangs/gang crime. You can even see the legal documents with the judges' decisions on the website, with maps of the bad areas.

Stay out of Linda Vista. So what if the place you're interested in is just "a block" or two away from an injunction area: do you think these gangbangers are referring to the website and say "Whoa! Guys! We better not drive/walk/shoot/rob two blocks east of here --- we were told to stay out of there!"

[traveler guy]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

I hate having to ride or drive through that stretch. Either everyone refuses to or cannot read the signage. You'll see a crazy amount of graffiti, jay walking, illegal turns etc from Genessee all the way down to about the 7/11 near USD. My ex was assigned that area as part of her beat and she hated it. As Sassberto pointed out it is the only gang area N of the 8 in the City.

There was also a shooting and an attempted abduction within 1 block of that jack in the box in just this last year alone.

Jay Walking man that's funny.

[WendallP]

Thanks, traveler guy--you made me smile.

I've lived in LV for about 15 years--the part people are talking about: near the park, near the elementary school. My family and I really like it here. We've never had a problem with crime (oh, once, about 10 years ago someone tried to steal my neighbor's truck in the middle of the night but car theft happens everywhere, including in our old neighborhood, Mission Hills). I understand LV 13 roams here, but it's never been an issue. And the park is lovely.

We like the immigrant culture, the mix of ethnicities and backgrounds, the interesting people you meet (including jaywalkers). It's a neighborhood with real character. Nobody complains about the color of our house or our barking dogs or talks about curb appeal. The way people have fixed up their houses (or churches, or Buddhist temples) is fascinating. No cookie-cutters here!

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Crime stats
http://www.sandiego.gov/police/pdf/2...umneighbor.pdf

Ya, Jay walkers are funny, especially after they end up on the hood of your car.

[jerzeepeach1953]

Hi! I live in El Cajon at the present, and my daughter, grandson and I plan on moving to Linda Vista right around March 1. The fact that we are from the phila/nj area leaves us unaware of which areas are safe to move to and which are not. In NJ,We were living in an area that had drug bags on the ground, and you could never leave your car unlocked. My daughter used to be in Camden, which had the distinction of being,literally, the worst city in the US. We moved here to get away from that kind of environment. In El Cajon, people said that is a bad place to live, but other than the fact that it is predominantly an arabic area, I think it's fine.
Now that we are moving to Linda Vista, I am just now finding out that there is a gang history here.
But honestly, I cant imagine it being any worse than what I came from a year ago. After I have lived there 6 months, I will give you a totally unbiased update. Wish me luck....

[Gentoo]

In Linda Vista there aren't just gangs, there are several types of gangs:

Linda Vista Crips one of SD's 3 major crip gangs. It has blacks, hispanics Filipinos and whites as members.

Linda Vista 13 a Hispanic gang many of it's members were LV crips at one time.

And about one or two Asian gangs. Linda Vista is one of those gang areas that can look deceptively "nice" (for a gang area). It's not always obvious, especially to those not familiar with it.