Well-polished squalor.
-
6/4/2020
If you move to Vallejo, you will quickly realize that you're paying a lot of money to live in well-polished squalor.
I moved to Vallejo in mid-2008 just as the city declared bankruptcy. It was difficult at first, with rampant crime and a dramatically-reduced police force due to catastrophic budget cuts. I hoped things would eventually improve, but I had to move to the east coast in late 2011 before I saw any positive changes. Fast-forward to 2014 and I returned to Vallejo--and I've regretted that decision ever since. I can honestly say that it has been the longest six years of my life and I have literally dreamt of moving. (I don't even tell people I live here, it's that bad!)
Sirens at all hours; sideshows (cars doing donuts) at all hours; gunshots at all hours; violent crime and murder is COMMON here in a city of just over 100,00 people! The homeless population has increased exponentially and the city absolutely refuses to do anything about it, apart from moving the camps from one place to another within city limits--always kicking the can a little farther down the road but never picking it up. Enjoy the trash and burned-out cars beside the camps...
OH! The panhandling! You can look forward to panhandling at every major intersection, usually from a young guy with his pants down around his knees, with his pitbull panting in the sun beside him.
Drugs are rampant; violence in the schools is out of control; racism is VERY MUCH ALIVE. If you have skin on your body, expect to be judged on the color of it--even if you're white. And no, I'm not exaggerating.
In 2017, Vallejo was the hottest real estate market in the nation--what they don't tell you is that many of the houses were cheaply bought by drug dealers from Oakland... again, I'm not exaggerating.
The Waterfront (what little there is of it) and the historic downtown is very pretty--the TV series Thirteen Reasons Why was filmed in Vallejo--but it's dangerous after dark. There is ONE fine dining option (and that's a stretch), but there tons of chain restaurants and little holes-in-the-wall that aren't anything to write home about. I go to neighboring towns for good food--Napa, a genuine foodie mecca, is eleven miles away.
The people of Vallejo constantly complain about everything but they seem to keep electing the same kinds of politicians over and over again. The Nextdoor app is awash with incessant citizen bellyaching--and if they disagree with your post, you can expect name-calling and/or wave after wave of forwarded newspaper articles showcasing how wrong, ignorant and stupid you really are.
Nothing changes in this failed city, except for the ever-increasing tax rate. I can't wait to put this festering, miserable 'burb in my rearview mirror--and I won't even watch it recede into the distance!
Bob | Vallejo, CA