An above-average-crime-filled and illegal drug-infested city of about 93,000+ people situated in the Coachella Valley (or locally known as the Desert Empire, or simply, DE) in the Colorado Desert of
Southern California. Also locally known as "I-Town," it is home to some dangerous and territorial street gangs, such as Penn West, the Varrio Jackson Terrace (VJT) gang, and the North Side Indio (NSI) gang. In addition, it is mostly considered to be one of the "non-resort" cities in the valley, along with the neighboring city of Coachella, which is ALSO crime-filled AND drug-infested (
obviously), but only
significantly worse than Indio. The city itself also smells pretty bad in several areas, such as the front entrace of the city's library (smells of human/cat urine/feces), near the railroad tracks (smells of some... oil? Or?...
I'm not sure), and at/near farms and ranches. Pretty much EVERY area south of the I-10 freeway is ghetto, especially the "Old Town" area of Indio. Below-average income, broken economy, bad/putrid smells, horrible and dusty air pollution (even worse on windy days), it's all here! Oh, wait... but it's also home to several annual festivals, so, that's a plus!... I guess. Avoid this very city at almost every cost!