Great beach, but terrible schools and still presen
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5/6/2007
My wife and I moved here from Chula Vista, CA before we knew she was pregnant, attracted by the opportunity to live right near the ocean; in a small, albeit somewhat run-down, little beach town. Coming here with our eyes wide open that this wasn't Coronado - the super tony and expensive beach town just to our North - we've enjoyed living here; the clean air, great weather, near-empty beach.
I.B still suffers, somewhat unfairly, from its "rough and tumble" reputation from the 1970's as a methanphetamine and outlaw biker town. However, while there a lot to like here for single folks who love the ocean, the city still has a ways to go. After several (more than 5)drug raids by local law enforcement in our neigborhood, including a drug arrest and shots fired in front of my house by the tactical unit of the SD County sheriff (probably with cause), and the gang related murder of a young man on my street three block away, I can feel pretty safe saying that crime and meth are still around in Imoperial Beach. However it's the ranking of our local elemetary school as one of the worst in California that is causing us to finally pick up and go. While we can afford to send our kids to private school (we make deep six figures and could live anywhere) the peer group that our kids would grow up with is pretty scary; not a reflection on the kids - but their parents. When I hear eight-year olds using language at the park that would make a sailor blush, you can be pretty sure the kids are getting that from home.
So IB, its been fun, but you are losing two well educated, high income residents (and our kids) that took a chance on living here. However, we'll keep our newly restored, and renovated house as a rental. Who knows, maybe we'll come back in 25 years when we retire?
Sean | Imperial Beach, CA