City of Vallejo

Oh man where to start? You should never feel safe in this city. This city can be best described as An American Nightmare and i could write the longest well thought out review but its better to perhaps let that 3 part series on Netflix do the talking.

Theres good food and good people, but an awful law enforcement department from the detectives all the way up to the chief.

School system is good but that doesn't take away from the lack of skills this town has running things.

This review is about the City of Vallejo's Ferry Parking:
On May 4, 2023 I took the Vallejo Ferry to SF and parked my car at Vallejo's public parking lot A3 in the morning. When I returned in the afternoon the catalytic converter was stolen. The exhaust system is very loud and now my family has to get another costly catalytic converter or car. Made an online report to the VPD. I will NEVER park in the lot again. Crooks who steal do not care who they hurt. They do not realize they make a bad name for the city, and in the end they screw up their life and their family's lives!

You have to know The V before it was cool to live in The Bay. Before everyone wanted to be an influencer and wanted some sort of verification.

As a whole, it's small city with a strong military history and the legacy of birthing some of the best to ever do anything.

But by todays standards Vallejo is by far an Enigma. If you looked at a picture of Dutches from Fosters home for Imaginary Friends you would have a visual representation of the city.

You see, Vallejo was never given the tools to help build itself up and better as a whole. Instead, investors and committees put bandaids over small problems and let other issues hemorrhage in order to bring projects and people in that never really did any good or went anywhere or made any sense.

The city is in trouble. It needs help. The people who live here are first and second generation and no one is listening because no one takes them
serious and it's devastating to watch. Who the hell is in charge? And how come the roads are so mean?

Umm like one other reviewer wrote, Vallejo is not one of the better cities to visit. I can't tell you how many street corners I passed that had "side show" burnouts all Omer the street. My friend told me that goes on all day every day and night, he also said there is a huge drug problem and it's compounded by the police being inconspicuously absent. Honestly I would not feel safe walking around this city by myself at night.

I grew up in this town and left it 10 years ago. It looked nothing like what it looks like now. Got homeless everywhere. Crackheads garbage smells. People are rude as hell. Looking for a place to travel? Look somewhere else. This is not the town to be in if you're an out-of-stater. I'm happy to say I have no more family living in this town for me to have to come visit. Don't trust the pictures you see for traveling to Vallejo.

I'm originally from Southern CA and moved to SF for school. When my now husband (a Bay Area native) and I were looking for a home to purchase, we had very limited options since we both had just started our careers, funds were limited, and the Bay Area is VERY expensive.

Initially, I was very squirrely about settling in Vallejo because of its low scores on Niche and Yelp. When I asked individual opinions, I noticed that people are just very mean when describing Vallejo and hardly ever offer a constructive criticism of the city.

We ended up buying a house in East Vallejo and this is my opinion of the last year since we moved here:

Vallejo has so much potential.
The weather is perfect. It's close to the water and has lovely views from its hills. The Downtown area is very charming, the store and shop owners I've encountered have been kind and warm. The few times I've gone to the Art Walks and community events, I've enjoyed myself thoroughly. Food offerings are diverse and delicious, depending on where you go (but that's EVERY city/town). My neighbors are sweet and welcoming. When we first moved in we were greeted with home baked goods and close to Christmas they also gifted us a beautiful wreath to hang on our door. During the summer we shared veggies and fruit from our gardens and during COVID and SIP, they would leave hand sanitizer and cleaning supplies on our doorstep. Our neighborhood is quiet and everyone looks out for each other here.

The City of Vallejo itself doesn't have a lot of money. It's citizens are mostly middle, fixed, and low income, who don't want to raise their taxes. There are many empty and boarded up businesses and houses. Violent crime is unusually high per capita and homelessness is also very high. The schools are overcrowded and underfunded and students are scholastically left behind. Many roads are terrible and full of potholes.

Vallejo is a place where many intersections of the political and socio-economic spectrum meet and it's really divided the city into a "Us vs. Them" mentality. People complain about the city and other "troublemakers" when comparing it to neighboring cities, but ignore the fact that those cities have much higher taxes and those citizens invest back into their communities. Vallejo could really be an amazing city, but its people are not coming together and putting in the work.

I'm sure that I'm not the only one that sees the potential in Vallejo and with the new housing being built on Mare Island to attract commuters from SF, eventually investors with very deep pockets will come to the city and, like many cities in coastal California, gentrify everything and increase the cost of living. Many of Vallejo's lower income citizens will then have to leave and Vallejo will lose its chance to make itself better. We're in such a perfect spot in between SF and Sac that I have a hard time not seeing this as a likely scenario in our near future.

I've found that Vallejo continually to surprises me in positive ways. Vallejo has many issues that require immediate solutions and I have found myself wanting to invest in the community for the better. I'm eager to see what happens to Vallejo in the future, especially since we're expecting our first child. It will be interesting for them to get to grow up and bear witness to the further change (or stagnation) of this city.

This is still more "small town" rather than "big city". People know each other and you usually are somewhere in town when strangers passing by will say hello and wish you a good day.
This place has a big heart and lots of great things to eat, see, or do.
Yes, we have a seedy side and it should be avoided, but most folks who come here usually go home happy.

Wish Vallejo would catch up with this century. Why is it if you are transferring any services from one address to another you have to close the old account and open a new one. On top of that you have to complete forms to process. Shouldn't all the information be in the computer. Then they take paperwork to someone else to process, what should take on a few minutes ends up taking at least 20 minute and that is with now on else in line. City of Vallejo and it's employees. Customer Service
absent.

Dear Vallejo, do you know of what they say about you in the streets? What the other towns are saying? They make fun of you for your shabby clothing, your funny smells, your low employment. They say, that you have no protection...no police force and no firefighting. They say you have no restaurants. You have Starbucks, they have residency, but that come and go. They say that you have a 97 cent, a 98 cent store, a 99 cent store and a Dollar store. They say you have more thrift stores, than department stores. They say you could've been better, you could've brought in business...but you didn't. They say you are tardy, they say you are truant, I mean you're so Late on things. How could you ever keep up? I heard people live here, but don't shop here(trader joes, whole foods), dont work here (san francisco, oakland), don't even claim here or visit here.(Joey chestnut, Jeff Gordon, E_40). I heard people speak about you using the word "potential" Are they talking about the lack of it? Oh, What do they see in you? I heard you have a theme park. That nobody goes too except middle school students. I heard you use to have two Buds burgers. I heard you use to have a food 4 less...Wait, a minute, Did you use to have a Wal-Mart? Wait, was that before the Walmart in American Canyon? Dear Vallejo please tell me, How smart are you? What do they say of your education? Dear Vallejo are you farm land? Because, I have heard of so much "greenery" from your pastures. Dear Vallejo, why do outsiders act like they know you, and insiders pretend like they don't. Oh, Vallejo, what ghost haunt mare island? Dear Vallejo, who dares to walk your downtown streets? Dear Vallejo why does the weather man never say your name, nor highlight your weather?Who, will claim and represent you for the yester-years, the day tomorrow and the years to come?

I only ask, because I worry about you.
Please write back soon, let me know of your ways, and how I can help. I don't even know you are anymore. People asked me, are you as classy as Napa? Or cute as Benicia? Tell me please. I feel so out of touch with you.

P.s. - Whatever they say, just know that I love you, yes I do. But i write because, I dont think you love me back, and I have felt this way for a while. Maybe some time apart would be good for the both of us...I dunno.

Write me back.
Love, Michael

I love living here. Great downtown, beautiful historic buildings, waterfront with direct ferry service to SF, most diverse population in the bay area, oh, and you can still afford a home. We need better public schools, but people are change!