I wouldn’t go as far as calling it a slum, but if you are even being mentioned in the same sentence as Richmond (and some of the numbers are comparable - rapes, robberies) then that is not a good thing at all. Large RE declines can very easily bring about more crime, squatters, etc.

Hahahahaha, so the idea is that resident Liz Rimbault was trying to make Antioch sound good by saying, “Well, we don’t have as much crime as Richmond!” when (a) Richmond is HORRENDOUSLY crime-ridden, so this is not a big brag, (b) when you compare the numbers, it’s not like Antioch has that much less crime than Richmond anyway, so she just made things worse?

I agree with you completely that boarded-up, deserted houses can attract crack dealers/users, homeless squatters and other unsavory characters, and if there are a number of them on one block, so much the worse.

Anyway, if it makes Liz feel any better, I’ll be happy to refer to the entire city of San Pablo as a slum. The entire city of Richmond is not referred to as a slum because it does have nice areas - it’s geographically the biggest city in Contra Costa County and has some relatively attractive ‘hoods, particularly the hilly areas east of San Pablo Boulevard.

I do appreciate your comment, david g, because it does sound like Antioch could be a potential city for those wishing to invest in properties as rentals - but if it’s crime-ridden, not such a great idea.

By the way, david g, am I understanding correctly here that you are a completely different person than blogger David Gordon or frequent commenter David?

Richmond is a slum. Does that make the Antioch person happier? It’s rather interesting that Antioch is actually comparable to Richmond in terms of crime with the sole exception of homicide.

I am not David Gordon or even david g. Although I suspect due to detailed analysis of sentence structure and writing style along with the suspiciously close noms de plume that David Gordon and david g are in fact one in the same.

(Clapping hand to forehead) Ah, the plot thickens! Thank you, David, for your david g detective work. Perhaps david g is Mr. Gordon’s gangsta side? Or maybe his saxophone-playing persona, like kenny g? (Ducking)

Anyway, hell, let’s just call them all slums, Antioch included. Looks to me like Liz, who is a good citizen trying to stick up for her town, has only pointed up Antioch’s drawbacks. This is why being a politician is so tricky, eh? You try to say the right thing and end up making a gaffe.

So, I dunno about the advisability of buying investment property in Antioch. I’m thinking a road trip is in order in a few weeks, then I can report back.

haha! so much for my attempt to remain somewhat anonymous! at least I have extremely common (and reversible!) names I guess.

Why, that never even occurred to me - Gorden David or David Gorden! For sure people have gotten confused and called me “Mara Janis.”

I lived in Antioch for several years in a brand new house in the “beautiful, new” southeast Antioch. It was hell. Gangs would walk around in the middle of the night randomly ripping out sprinklers, lighting, etc., from people’s yards. Gangs would randomly throw food and garbage into people’s backyards during the daytime while families were in their backyards. Homeowners would be accosted by gangs while washing their cars in their driveways in broad daylight on a Saturday afternoon. It is was like living in that movie Blackhawk Down where the Americans are constantly under attack by para-military gangs. To make matters worse, the Antioch police, mayor, and city council members would tell the homeowners that they were the problem by raising the issue of gang violence. These do-nothings in the city administration blamed the victims. Anyway, after my car and house were vandalized yet again, we moved to Brentwood which is great,a caring city administration that likes a nice town with good schools. Moving from Antioch to Brentwood was like moving from Richmond to Blackhawk.