Maybe I am overstating the negative aspects of the neighborhood because I come from a different background with different expectations regarding life in general. In all fairness I can’t really say how bad it is compared to other places in the county.
What I can say is I live near an exit off 67 and am located between 2 7-Elevens and 2 liquor stores, a couple of mobile home parks, and a bar. The neighborhood seems full of interesting characters and groups of young people without much to do. But at any given time you could probably go through here and not notice anything out of the ordinary. I haven’t actually witnessed the vandalism or thefts, etc. in person, just the aftereffects. It could be a relatively few bad apples here.
I walk to one of the liquor stores or 7-Eleven most days and usually run into people that don’t seem highly employed or are prone to mumbling to themselves. That is probably because there are a couple of bus stops in the area. The most popular one is by the DMV and is a common transient hang out.
I don’t have to live here but I choose to live here. I was renting in San Carlos / Lake Murray last year and paying 2X as much to rent a house. I made some significant quality of live choices to get my finances under control and to allow for the future possibility of buying a house. I am actually very well paid, probably more so than is really justified. I make more than the median household S.D. income by myself and I have job security if I want to continue in my career. But I have not always been smart with money and I also had some significant life events that caused bills I couldn’t avoid. So now I’m trying to make up for lost time and am working on a solid financial foundation.
That extra 1K a month in rent was significant to me.
Is East Bradley avenue really that bad? I don’t know.
I can say it is an objective fact that all the realtor signs on the street are vandalised. It is also an fact that there have been several occurances of vehicle vandalism on the street in the 8 months or so I’ve been here. There were still 3 or 4 cars with their tires slashed today in front of the complex. I guess some people do not have the funds immediately to buy new tires. I kind of assume that from the condition of the cars themselves.
It is a fact my garage has been broken into here. But my house was broken into twice in San Carlos as well and my garage in Spring Valley before that. I was living at La Mirage off Friar’s Rd and I-8 and they had vandelism / theft issues there in their underground parking. So maybe it is just San Diego in general going down the toilet.
It is mostly the fact that I half expect to get jumped everytime I leave my apartment complex that is the primary difference. That wasn’t the case in any of the previous places I have lived. But I was mostly in the Mission Valley / Mission Gorge area before.
I also note that despite my dislike of some elements there are many families raising children here that will probably get away with it. The kids won’t be killed or molested and might even turn out OK. I do see some very young (3yrs old maybe) and unattented kids running around my apartment after dark and even teenage girls walking down the dark street. For the most part they must be getting away with it. This might actually be normal San Diego for all I know.
I don’t know what should qualify as “ghetto” and I’m sure I’m overly quick to define many things as “ghetto”, but I DO know what qualifies as objectionable. I have to park one of my cars on the street and it is only a matter of time before it is vandalised. I am pretty much resigned to that. Last week one morning there was a used condom on my car windshield.
But again, I am fine living here because I know it is temporary and not required. If I buy a place here it will be less so. For now I have the means to go elsewhere if I decide I can’t stand it.
I appreciated the feedback about my little data project. Up till now I haven’t really added anything to this site but have taken plenty.
I should add that I finally noticed there are 2 sale prices and dates for #139 (thus only 94 condos). I’m not sure how the unit sold for $294K and then four months later for only $205K. The $205K data point should obviously be disregarded as it is an anomally $35K lower than any other sale.
