SAN DIEGO going there ....?

If you drive the main roads, there isn't anywhere in San Diego you need to worry about. Just try to avoid the rush hour traffic.

I don't know why you would want to use Campo Rd (state route 94) when you could use Interstate 8. SR 94 isn't dangerous as far as I know, but I think you would find that I-8 will give you quicker access to all parts of the city.

San Diegans tend to divide the city into north of I-8 and south of I-8. North of I-8 is generally considered the more desirable region to live, and there is a lot of truth to that. North of I-8 has the newer housing developments, the best shopping areas, the universities &etc.

The western part is very good, especially Coronado and above I-8.

You can check crime stats for each community on city-data.com if you're really concerned.

San Diego is the nation's favorite tourist destination for the 4th of July weekend, so how bad can it be? It's definitely one of the best cities.

You'll have a good time.

Drive where you would normally for restaurants, gas, movies, etc., with the same level of situational awareness and common sense that you would anywhere else.

I was in San Diego for a few months in 2009 providing engineering support to an aircraft carrier availability. I drove all over the place and had no problems.

If it looks like a bad or shady area...keep going just like you would anywere else.


On a side note, I highly recommend the following food stops:

- Phil's BBQ.

- Robert's, a taco stand. Although I can't seem to find it online...all I'm finding is "Roberto's Taco Shop", which SOUNDS like it, but none of the pictures I've found match the place I visited.

I haven't been awfully near the border, but I imagine there's a very large and very conspicuous Border Patrol presence and consequently very little of whatever wild-West shenanigans you might be worried about.

The rest of San Diego and environs are as safe as the equivalent area in any other city. I wouldn't be parking an Escalade on the street at night in a badly-lit industrial area, and the area between La Jolla and Mission Bay is the barrio (with all that entails), but other than that I can't think of any areas I'd explicitly recommend staying away from.

Do be on high alert when driving: coming from the Los Angeles area, I have to say that SD traffic is the worst I've ever dealt with. Here's the thing: LA drivers are a-holes. They drive aggressively, but fairly predictably. SD drivers, by contrast, just seem to be distracted all the time, and as a result they're very erratic on the road. Lots of no-signal merges, lane drift, etc. If you make it north of Mira Mesa, you'll get to contend with oblivious golfers driving luxury SUVs badly and their elderly mothers driving luxury SUVs even more badly.

Fun stuff to do?

It's neat to watch Ospreys fly around NAS Miramar - just make sure you're near an overpass so you can take shelter in case they start smoking...

The USS Midway is anchored in San Diego Bay and functions as a museum. Haven't been yet, but chances of it not being completely awesome approach 0%.

If you or the kids are into bright colors and goofy motifs (and as long as displays of Mexican culture don't make you froth at the mouth), I highly, highly recommend you make a visit to Lucha Libre Taco Shop (just call it Lucha Taco for short) in Mission Hills. There's cheap meter parking across the street which goes free after (IIRC) 6PM, and you can reserve the Champion's Booth online at their website (www.tacosmackdown.com ) Fair warning: tiny venue and high demand, so grab seating as it becomes available and expect to be in line for ten minutes or so to order. Worth it.

If you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me and I'll try to help you out.

"San Diego is a nice city for old people and their parents."~~Raymond Chandler

That's the very state of mind those news reports intend to create. It's a fail-safe way to build an audience

The border patrol has checkpoints 30-50 miles north of the Mexican border at various locations. I believe there is one east-bound on I8 and they have drug dogs etc... basically they just ask if you are a US citizen and they wave you through.

I was just in San Diego last week for the first time. I was a little nervous about going but was pleasantly surprised. Absolutely loved it. We stayed right off of I-5 in National City right by the Naval base there. Everyone we met was nice and traffic wasn't to horrible. National City is supposed to be a rougher place but seemed fine to us. Of course we weren't out in the wee hours when people shouldn't be out in the first place. I always had a good pocket knife with me just in case. Lots and lots of homeless people everywhere. If you visist the Gaslamp district just be aware that the surrounding area there are hundreds of homeless. Not saying its dangerous but definitely shocking and would not hurt to be extra vigilant.

On a side note, I highly recommend the following food stops:

- Phil's BBQ.

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As You Were

San Diego is absolutely gorgeous. I was there a couple of months ago and fell in love with the place. I acted as I would in any other metropolitan area, and felt very safe doing it.

Go the Gaslamp district for dinner. It's a beautiful part of town.

And GO TO THE ZOO!

It's well worth the trip!

if you want to get back to i-40 as quick as possible, take i-15 north to barstow. if you decide to go that way, best to do it between 10am and 2pm to avoid the traffic. if you don't want to experience the california traffic, head east on i-8 and cut north on az95 out of yuma arizona.

murf

Thanks for all the replies. I guess with all the large influxation of illegals lately i have been slightly on the paranoid side.

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From what Ive observed, its not the illegals that just came over the border that you need to worry about. Its the drug dealers etc types that you do. And those activities generally don't start until after the person has established a place to live.


I would consider San Diego as safe as any other city. My Uncle and gramma live there (gramma is in La Jolla actualy)

Came up into San Diego from Ensenada Mexico, where our cruise ship landed, once. Definitely one of the prettiest places in America.

San Diego is awesome. Take a trip into Little Italy, and hit up Buon Appetito on India St. I LOVE their 4-cheese gnocchi! (hint, even if it's not on the menu, just ask them to make it for you - they probably will).

http://www.buonappetitosandiego.com/