Straight Into Compton

[TheFourMarys]

My aged parents have moved from the bucolic charms of suburban Sunnyvale in Northern California to the perfectly pleasant looking city of Long Beach in SoCal as my father starts a new post at a local hospital.

They have a certain monthly housing allowance as part of his package. My Mum 'found' a place - literally the first apartment complex she looked at - and my brother took his kids down with Mum to get them moved in (over what is my parents 45th wedding anniversary).

My brother is currently FB Messaging me in panic while a huge screaming argument goes on in the apartment.

The 'gated community' Mum found is a pay-monthly, razor wire surrounded shit hole on Atlantic Avenue in NORTH Long Beach (North in this case being what East is to Palo Alto, San Jose and Oakland). I swear the local bus line my non-driving Dad will be riding to work each day has been name-checked in sodding NWA Lyrics.

Just looking at the wiki page for North Long Beach sets off wailing fucking sirens. "Uptown Business Improvement District", "borders Compton and Artesia", home to "Union Pacific Railyard". Fuck.

Complex is directly opposite David Starr Jordan High School. Googles it. First result: Daylight gang murder on the street from last year.

Call me a racist fuck if you want. I'd live there. There's no way my brother and I are letting our 65 year old parents stay a day longer than they've already paid. (This place costs less than half the housing allowance from the hospital - did that not set off any alarms, Mum?)

There will be huge arguments about this in my family with a lot of bad blood caused but my brother is adamant his kids are restricted to the apartment this weekend (when not at Disney) and that they will not be visiting Grandma and Grandpa again at this address.

My parents are good people but they are not fit for this kind of landscape - just as they wouldn't be for a 'dodgy' area in their native UK - I've just got to hope they've not paid too much up front and can get Downtown soon.

[Incandenza]

Straight Into Compton

TFM, I'm from Long Beach and Lakewood, and know the area very well. I haven't lived down there in 7 years, but am still down there often. North Long Beach is slightly better than it used to be, but it's still not great. Especially around Jordan. And I wouldn't want elderly people unfamiliar with the area going out after dark.

There have to be a lot more better options for them. Do you mind saying what hospital he is at? Memorial? St. Mary's?

Please let me know if you want any advice on better areas or suggestions for places to look at. It may not be that easy to get them to move, both on their own accord, but also if it means breaking a lease, even if it is month-to-month.

[Sash08]

Straight Into Compton

My bird went to Long Beach recent for BJJ Worlds. In the process of hotel search we quickly ruled out anything West of LA river & North of Pacific Coast Highway. She still came back with a one word description of the place - "hole".

[Incandenza]

Straight Into Compton

West of the river is the "Westside" you hear mentioned in gangsta rap from the area. There are plenty of nice places north of PCH, but not immediately north of there.

There are some great neighborhoods in Long Beach and some not great ones, just like any place. But they are dotted around the city, so you'll be driving in a nice neighborhood and then 30 seconds later you'll be looking around and checking to make sure that your doors are locked. And the Downtown is much more inviting now than it used to be, with a lot of great restaurants, protected bike lanes, and a thriving arts scene. But we no longer have Acres of Books, a giant used book store laid out like a labyrinth in a warehouse-sized building.

[Borracho]

Straight Into Compton

This thread has given me some serious mid-1990s earworms.

[Jon]

Straight Into Compton

Me too.

Similarly, whenever I hear about the SNP on the news I mentally have to sing 'The SN double O P, nickname: Silky smooth, last name: D O double G.'

However, much as one day I'd love to visit the LBC to take in all the places that are namechecked on the various songs, I can understand TheFourMarys' reluctance for his parents to move there.

[TheFourMarys]

Straight Into Compton

I think It's Memorial, Inca. My dad's getting the bus a few miles up Atlantic and back each day anyway.

Trying to convince them is a fool's errand, it would seem. Dad's dug his pigheaded Yorkshireman heels in - "I'm not bloody moving again" - and both parents seem convinced this is not a big deal and some kind of personal vendetta against them by their kids.

The living allowance from the hospital would clearly pay for a place in the very pleasant Downtown area (when I was there in 2002-ish it reminded me a lot of Santa Cruz minus the annoying hippies).

THE MCDONALDS ACROSS THE STREET HAS TWO ARMED SECURITY GUARDS ON DUTY 24 HOURS, MUM.

THE DRIVE-THRUS WILL GIVE YOU 'EXTRA BISCUIT' BUT IT MIGHT NOT BE WHAT YOU EXPECTED, DAD.

As I said, I'd live there no problem and I've already promised the folks I'll take them to one of my favourite places in the World - The Simon Rodia Towers Of Watts - the first time I visit, but living there is another matter.

(Also on my first trip I'll be heading to Torrance High School for both Buffy The Vampire Slayer and USMNT venue reasons).

With your permission, Inca, I'll pass your words on to my parents. In truth, I think the only way out of this seems to be the word of strangers. Maybe if the sheer number of Dad's workmates (of all races) who show concern when he tells them where they live becomes large enough it'll get through to Dad that we're not doing this for fun.

[Sash08]

Straight Into Compton

Incandenza wrote: West of the river is the "Westside" you hear mentioned in gangsta rap from the area. There are plenty of nice places north of PCH, but not immediately north of there.

THAT Westside?! Niiiice. The bird actually nearly booked a hotel there before I did some research and put a stop to it.

[Incandenza]

Straight Into Compton

Yep. That's where my dad grew up, and his mom still lived there before she passed away. There are some nice looking houses, there are palm trees, and a lot of the people are very friendly and warm. I can't remember who said it, but I remember seeing a rapper talking about having someone from the East Coast come to Compton or Long Beach and look around and said something like "this is the place from your music?"

[ursus arctos]

Straight Into Compton

I had the identical reaction the first time I ever visited Watts and South Central in 1980.

Easterners weren't used to ghettos with single family homes and yards. It just didn't compute for us, though it is now more common on the East Coast following the great recession.