Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

San Diego snags coveted nod from prestigious periodical

No. 4 on the charts, but No. 1 in their hearts

Aw, yeah, baby. Solid.
Aw, yeah, baby. Solid.

Citing the city’s “temperate climate, numerous underpasses, beautiful public parks, and historically generous populace,” Hobo Magazine has awarded San Diego its annual “golden shopping cart,” ranking it the number-one city in the country in which to be homeless in 2016. “It’s true that Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle have larger homeless populations,” said Hobo Magazine editor Sam Indigent, “but it’s significant that this is the first year that San Diego has managed to make the top four.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Of course, notes Indigent, it’s not just a numbers game. “Seattle and New York have climates that make outdoor living difficult at best and dangerous at worst, and Los Angeles is just a nasty place in general. And besides the weather — perhaps even more important than the weather — is the attitude. It seems like 2016 is the year that San Diego decided to really start paying attention to its homeless population. All of a sudden, you’ve got all kinds of public concern and private charity, combined with a warm blanket of media coverage for the hobo lifestyle. Yeah, you could say that it’s long overdue, but why grouse? The fact is, a change has come, and it’s a change for the better. And speaking of change — have you got any?”

A hobo sets up camp in San Diego’s bucolic Balboa Park.

However, not everyone is thrilled with Hobo Magazine’s decision to honor San Diego. “This is just gonna attract more homeless,” says East Village resident Bill Nimby. “It’s not quite as bad as when the Zonies descend upon us every summer, but it’s pretty close. And because they don’t leave, you wind up with sprawl. Our homeless infrastructure is already stressed; just look at our temporary housing situation in the wintertime. We don’t need this kind of unchecked growth.”

Hobo Richard Duodente agrees. “I was homeless way before everybody started paying attention, you know? Back before it was a scene. In those days, we had a key to the city dumpsters; every year, someone new got to be the Keeper of the Key. It was a community, you know? Now look: you’ve got homeless dudes killing other homeless dudes, turf wars over the best corners, and stupid teenagers living on the streets when they don’t even have to! I don’t know, man. I’m thinking of heading somewhere else. Maybe Nashville.”

Speaking of Nashville, that city’s director of homeless outreach, Earl Handy, is also none too pleased with San Diego’s newfound status. “Under my direction, the City of Nashville has instituted a program of building tiny houses for its homeless population. Yes, our place on the ‘Most Homeless’ list has dropped, but that’s only because we’ve actually given them homes. We’re the best friends the homeless have, but Hobo Magazine is so devoted to keeping a roof off of its head that they’ve decided to ignore us for a city that allows private security firms to drive the homeless from its hipster enclaves.”

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Change is constant in our fisheries

Yellowfin still biting well
Aw, yeah, baby. Solid.
Aw, yeah, baby. Solid.

Citing the city’s “temperate climate, numerous underpasses, beautiful public parks, and historically generous populace,” Hobo Magazine has awarded San Diego its annual “golden shopping cart,” ranking it the number-one city in the country in which to be homeless in 2016. “It’s true that Los Angeles, New York, and Seattle have larger homeless populations,” said Hobo Magazine editor Sam Indigent, “but it’s significant that this is the first year that San Diego has managed to make the top four.”

Sponsored
Sponsored

Of course, notes Indigent, it’s not just a numbers game. “Seattle and New York have climates that make outdoor living difficult at best and dangerous at worst, and Los Angeles is just a nasty place in general. And besides the weather — perhaps even more important than the weather — is the attitude. It seems like 2016 is the year that San Diego decided to really start paying attention to its homeless population. All of a sudden, you’ve got all kinds of public concern and private charity, combined with a warm blanket of media coverage for the hobo lifestyle. Yeah, you could say that it’s long overdue, but why grouse? The fact is, a change has come, and it’s a change for the better. And speaking of change — have you got any?”

A hobo sets up camp in San Diego’s bucolic Balboa Park.

However, not everyone is thrilled with Hobo Magazine’s decision to honor San Diego. “This is just gonna attract more homeless,” says East Village resident Bill Nimby. “It’s not quite as bad as when the Zonies descend upon us every summer, but it’s pretty close. And because they don’t leave, you wind up with sprawl. Our homeless infrastructure is already stressed; just look at our temporary housing situation in the wintertime. We don’t need this kind of unchecked growth.”

Hobo Richard Duodente agrees. “I was homeless way before everybody started paying attention, you know? Back before it was a scene. In those days, we had a key to the city dumpsters; every year, someone new got to be the Keeper of the Key. It was a community, you know? Now look: you’ve got homeless dudes killing other homeless dudes, turf wars over the best corners, and stupid teenagers living on the streets when they don’t even have to! I don’t know, man. I’m thinking of heading somewhere else. Maybe Nashville.”

Speaking of Nashville, that city’s director of homeless outreach, Earl Handy, is also none too pleased with San Diego’s newfound status. “Under my direction, the City of Nashville has instituted a program of building tiny houses for its homeless population. Yes, our place on the ‘Most Homeless’ list has dropped, but that’s only because we’ve actually given them homes. We’re the best friends the homeless have, but Hobo Magazine is so devoted to keeping a roof off of its head that they’ve decided to ignore us for a city that allows private security firms to drive the homeless from its hipster enclaves.”

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Please enjoy this clickable Reader flipbook. Linked text and ads are flash-highlighted in blue for your convenience. To enhance your viewing, please open full screen mode by clicking the icon on the far right of the black flipbook toolbar.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Filmora 14’s AI Tools Streamline Content Creation for Marketers

Next Article

San Diego's Year-Round Sunshine: Creating a Patio for Every Season

Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader