is palm desert safe? i m thinking going to college of the desert for a year then transferring ? but i m not sure. (San Bernardino: low income)

[7stringguitarguy]

I m 28 years old i have already graduated from college a few years ago. I tried out english teaching wasn't for me (basically i couldn't see my self doing that for more than 10 years).. Always wanted to do music so now i m persuing my dream become a music teacher instead.. Going back to school.. I like the desert , when i went to borrego springs a few years ago. The traveled up the coachella valley. It seemed that the nicer part was the underdeveloped part by coachella ,mecca and thermal with all the date palm fields , thats probably the poorest part too. The Northern part of the coachella valley is alright but its kind of over developed in way but it has more stuff. I visited palm springs palm oases on the way back from the trip it was nice. I was impressed with the natural beauty the place. I have a few questions... Is the coachella valley safe? , i heard that parts of it are not , obviously "desert hot springs". Also I heard that a lot people in the palm springs are gay. I don't have a problem with homosexual people but if the whole place is that way it probably is not for me.. I also heard from somewhere that the majority of people in the coachella valley are seniors over the age of 65+ is that true?.. Is college of the desert a decent college?

[MamaRed]

Sounds like you've been subjected to all the popular stereotypes. Coachella, Mecca, Thermal, etc.,have some middle class neighborhoods, but are primarily low income/working class, with a large population of field workers.

The Coachella Valley as a whole is very safe. You will find neighborhoods in every town out here that are less safe, but they're pretty self-contained. You're right about DHS. I'd say its the only area out here where the bad neighborhoods outnumber the good. Locals know which neighborhoods to avoid - North End (PS), Brownstown (DHS), Dream Homes (Cathedral City), etc.

COD is as good as any community college. You'll find a large number of kids who are attending so they can get financial aid, and still be supported by Mom. You'll also find a large number of people, like you, who are returning to school and take it seriously. COD also feeds directly into CSU San Bernardino, which has a campus in Palm Desert.

Palm Springs is very gay friendly, but it's really not seen as a very big deal here. Just regular people, living in regular houses, going to regular jobs. Some of the kids just happen to have two moms or two dads, instead of one of each.

There are a lot of retirees here, but the numbers have evened out. Lots of working families now.

Best thing you can do is come out and check things out, but you'll want to do it soon. The temperatures are rapidly rising, and soon you won't want to be spending a lot of time outside exploring.