The homeless in Anaheim and Harbor Boulevard

[JC1984]

You mean the super gentrified, median home price of nearly $600,000, safer than Hollywood and Chinatown, South LA/South Central LA?

Shows the staying power of 1990s gangster rap describing a place that existed 30 years ago. Grandpa Warren G and Grandpa Tupac would be proud, lol.

I don’t even know how that got in there it is from another thread I was involved in

 

[PirateBrigade]

I don’t even know how that got in there it is from another thread I was involved in

Omg hahah was this from the “DL is awful” thread? I’m all over the place this morning, hahah.

 

[JC1984]

Omg hahah was this from the “DL is awful” thread? I’m all over the place this morning, hahah.

Yeah somehow my quote got pasted when all I meant to post was about Jameson

 

[DCLMP]

You hit the nail on the head. Transients know who they can pick on. I know how to handle myself also but I'm not an intimidating looking person. Put a spirit jersey on me and add two kids in a stroller walking down Harbor Blvd and I look like babe in the woods. Not a situation I like to put myself in with my kids on any given day, but especially not on a vacation and after a long day in the park. The last thing I want to do is getting into an altercation with my kids there. I also agree that the homelessness around the park has increased dramatically since 2019.


Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on your perspective), that sort of behavior is increasingly tolerated in California.

This goes back to the OP's point about being used to homeless people in European cities and being surprised that the sight of transients in Anaheim would elicit such concern from so many people. I'm willing to bet money that the transients the OP is used to are a far cry from your average transient walking down Market St in San Francisco, which is exactly what your post just described.

I would say, unfortunately. I feel bad for them, but they need to live by the same laws we all do. I'm sure I couldn't destroy property on Harbor and get away with it. The owners of the businesses just tried shooing her away like she was a stray dog. The police were never involved. I guess if business owners won't do anything then there is no hope for that area.

 

[V & S]

I taught at University for decades, including community mental health. Here are some facts about homeless in the US that most of us (including me, before that!) don’t know.

Most homeless people are seriously mentally ill (psychotic, incapable of understanding basic reality, believing they are living in a hostile planet, or are an alien, etc.). They are most often very frightened and vulnerable, and soothe themselves by unconsciously creating a person they can talk to in their mind whom them believe is real, and/or abusing a substance. Most homeless people were badly abused or neglected (think left alone in the home for days at age 4, beaten to hospitalization, etc). Many of those turned to alcohol or other drugs very early (prior to age 12) because they had no other way to survive emotionally. The vast majority of homeless live within a few miles of where they grew up. They are disoriented and have trouble functioning. They are not plotting how to abuse services, etc.; that takes high level cognitive functioning, which they just don’t have.

Quite a small % are on the streets by choice. Who would choose to live under a bridge? Very paranoid people, yes. Vets w severe PTSD who are also psychotic, yes. They fear 4 walls.

This is heartbreaking and very sad in America. Services for the severely mentally ill are not what they were 40 years ago. The coasts have more homeless because their winters are survivable.

And… the incidence rate of violence from the homeless is LOWER than non-homeless. A lot lower. You’re actually more likely to be accosted or assaulted on your own street. The very rare instances make the news because they are so rare. I’ve been coming to Disneyland for years. I’ve never had a problem with anyone in Anaheim.

When I see a homeless person raving or not, I imagine offering a white flower to them (relaxes body language) and then go home and contribute to my local homeless shelter and child abuse prevention charities.

We had a homeless man, Stan, on our street for years. He was a Vietnam vet with bad PTSD who was terrified by helicopters. He loved Disneyland as a child, and loved to listen to our stories about it. He knew a lot of the songs, and would sing them. It was a memory that sustained him. The neighborhood helped him as we could. (He was scared to be inside.) He died of natural causes in 2020. These are fragile people.

I know everyone here is a good-hearted person; we just don’t hear much about who the people are who don’t have a home.
For reading.

 

[RedVines2001]

OP here, you owe me 5 Disney dollars Ive seen transients on public transport in my neighbourhood with a spoon and a lighter, I've been on public transport in my neighbourhood and had stones and rocks thrown at the bus, Ive been on a bus in my neighbourhood when someone got beaten up and the police had to be called. What @DCLMP described, and you comparing it to San Francisco is what Dublin city centre is like too. Its just that the Irish Tourist Department make sure THAT side of Dublin is hidden and the wealthy Americans that come here looking for their Irish ancestors just known about shamrocks, Guinness, Lepraucans , U2, Enya, Riverdance, Michael Flatly and pots of gold under rainbows!!

I concede. At least to a tie lol. That all sounds very familiar although I have indeed seen much worse. I will say that what I’ve seen in Anaheim is not the worst that I’ve seen

My one run in with a violent homeless person, he attacked my 11 year old autistic son. It was in SF inside the Macy's in Union Square in 2017. I will never forget that, and my son was traumatized for a long time because of it. We will not stay outside the DL gates either. We stay on property or we stay home (which is elsewhere in OC...the "949" if you will).

I’m very sorry that this happened to you but that is a very typical San Francisco incident. And Macy’s at Union Square is not somewhere that even seasoned travelers would expect something like that to happen. Unlike Dublin transients have permeated every part of SF. Last week there was a transient who tried to forcibly take two kids from a nanny in a very upscale residential neighborhood.

I taught at University for decades, including community mental health. Here are some facts about homeless in the US that most of us (including me, before that!) don’t know.

Most homeless people are seriously mentally ill (psychotic, incapable of understanding basic reality, believing they are living in a hostile planet, or are an alien, etc.). They are most often very frightened and vulnerable, and soothe themselves by unconsciously creating a person they can talk to in their mind whom them believe is real, and/or abusing a substance. Most homeless people were badly abused or neglected (think left alone in the home for days at age 4, beaten to hospitalization, etc). Many of those turned to alcohol or other drugs very early (prior to age 12) because they had no other way to survive emotionally. The vast majority of homeless live within a few miles of where they grew up. They are disoriented and have trouble functioning. They are not plotting how to abuse services, etc.; that takes high level cognitive functioning, which they just don’t have.

Quite a small % are on the streets by choice. Who would choose to live under a bridge? Very paranoid people, yes. Vets w severe PTSD who are also psychotic, yes. They fear 4 walls.

This is heartbreaking and very sad in America. Services for the severely mentally ill are not what they were 40 years ago. The coasts have more homeless because their winters are survivable.

And… the incidence rate of violence from the homeless is LOWER than non-homeless. A lot lower. You’re actually more likely to be accosted or assaulted on your own street. The very rare instances make the news because they are so rare. I’ve been coming to Disneyland for years. I’ve never had a problem with anyone in Anaheim.

When I see a homeless person raving or not, I imagine offering a white flower to them (relaxes body language) and then go home and contribute to my local homeless shelter and child abuse prevention charities.

We had a homeless man, Stan, on our street for years. He was a Vietnam vet with bad PTSD who was terrified by helicopters. He loved Disneyland as a child, and loved to listen to our stories about it. He knew a lot of the songs, and would sing them. It was a memory that sustained him. The neighborhood helped him as we could. (He was scared to be inside.) He died of natural causes in 2020. These are fragile people.

I know everyone here is a good-hearted person; we just don’t hear much about who the people are who don’t have a home.
For reading.

I don’t disagree with anything said here which is why I don’t like using the word homeless. Homelessness is a just a status and doesn’t define people. Ive met some homeless people who are way more generous, considerate and reasonable than most. On the flip side I know transients that have committed heinous crimes that aren’t actually homeless. The ranting and raving could indeed be mental illness, or it could be someone spun up on meth. It’s easy to generalize but context is everything. Which is why seeking out local knowledge and perspective is so important.

 

[RedVines2001]

Yeah somehow my quote got pasted when all I meant to post was about Jameson

Yet it was somehow so relevant lol

 

[JC1984]

Yet it was somehow so relevant lol

Too many forums about Seedy places around here

 

[MillauFr]

You mean the super gentrified, median home price of nearly $600,000, safer than Hollywood and Chinatown, South LA/South Central LA?

Shows the staying power of 1990s gangster rap describing a place that existed 30 years ago. Grandpa Warren G and Grandpa Tupac would be proud, lol.

Yes doesn't Watts have higher home prices than the gated communities around Orlando?

 

[DLgal]

Yes doesn't Watts have higher home prices than the gated communities around Orlando?

Literally every neighborhood in LA has higher home prices per sq ft than anything in Orlando.

 

[MillauFr]

Too many forums about Seedy places around here

Nothing seedier than the Reedy Creek Improvement District

 

[DCLMP]

Literally every neighborhood in LA has higher home prices per sq ft than anything in Orlando.

So true. I grew up in Southern California. The best decision I ever made was leaving.

 

[MillauFr]

So true. I grew up in Southern California. The best decision I ever made was leaving.

I do like northern San Diego county. One of the best places to live if you are making $500k to $1m per year

 

[DLgal]

I do like northern San Diego county. One of the best places to live if you are making $500k to $1m per year

You can live there on FAR less than that. You seem to think people need WAY higher incomes than they actually do to live in so many high COL places. You'd be surprised how many people are living very nice lives on well under $200k in the majority of these places. No one in my family makes over $200k and we live in:

1. A beach city in Los Angeles County (family of 3)
2. One of the most expensive zip codes in Orange County (family of 4)
3. In the city of San Francisco (family of 4)

 

[Nonsuch]

Literally every neighborhood in LA has higher home prices per sq ft than anything in Orlando.

Except Golden Oak

 

[PirateBrigade]

You can live there on FAR less than that. You seem to think people need WAY higher incomes than they actually do to live in so many high COL places. You'd be surprised how many people are living very nice lives on well under $200k in the majority of these places. No one in my family makes over $200k and we live in:

1. A beach city in Los Angeles County (family of 3)
2. One of the most expensive zip codes in Orange County (family of 4)
3. In the city of San Francisco (family of 4)

When were the properties/homes purchased? That’s a huge component of someone’s cost because of prop 13.

I think for a newcomer family, $250k/yr is the minimum for South OC (home, child care, etc…) and those DL APs don’t pay for themselves!

 

[DLgal]

When were the properties/homes purchased? That’s a huge component of someone’s cost because of prop 13.

I think for a newcomer family, $250k/yr is the minimum for South OC (home, child care, etc…) and those DL APs don’t pay for themselves!

My sister purchased her home in 2018. Her husband came into an inheritance and they used that as a down payment on a $1.2M home.

Myself and my other sister rent. No need to own a home to have a nice life. Buying will never be cheaper than renting in my zipcode. So, we are doing the smart thing by renting and investing the difference.

We purchased 4 Dream keys in August and have already visited the parks over 12 times with them. We do just fine with our sub $200k income.

 

[DLgal]

Except Golden Oak

Per square foot, Golden Oak isn't even higher than the average cost of a new home in my city. New homes here are going for an average of $625/sq foot. There are plenty of areas in LA with higher prices than that, and not nearly as nice as Golden Oak, which really is much more than just a house in Orlando. It's an exclusive club.

 

[PirateBrigade]

. Buying will never be cheaper than renting in my zipcode. So, we are doing the smart thing by renting and investing the difference.

I actually am in 100% agreement that this is a good financial move. Too many folks think homeownership is the end-all-be-all financially, and will fall off a cliff pursuing that ideal.

I’ll slightly revise my statement for details, but I stand by my $250k number. For a family of four in South OC, to afford a median priced home of $750k-$1M (20% down), full time childcare for 2 kids under 5 when both parents work, no other debt to service, and to meet maximum savings goals to the limits provided by the IRS, $250k would be my personal target. Possible on less? Yes, especially if one parent stays at home and you nix the child care costs.

It’s a complicated/personal number!

 

[MillauFr]

You can live there on FAR less than that.

Maybe I am just assuming that California is more expensive than Seattle. We live in an average neighborhood for Seattle and every single new person moving in works in tech. They are making $200 to $300k. I told my daughter who just graduated college should would be crazy to stay in Seattle so she moved to Orlando. The cost of living is more reasonable.