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Strangely enough, Seattle has among the lowest Black poverty rates among large cities in the USA. I posted something about it on another thread some months back.
And for the state of Washington at large, the Black unemployment rate is around the national average for Black unemployment. I checked it vs where I live, in Georgia. Georgia has a higher unemployment rate among Blacks than the state of Washington does.
And Wisconsin is actually the the top 5 worst in regards to Black unemployment. In Milwaukee, nearly 1/2 of working age Black men don't have jobs.
One reason I had to consider a few things was this. Is Wisconsin really that impossible to make it in if you're Black? How bad is it for Blacks who were high school dropouts vs the Blacks who have a college education? If the states are really bad, does that mean I can't make it? I find myself asking those questions because I feel I should go wherever I want to be.
Well I have a few peers that I know personally who are young, educated Blacks who are natives of Milwaukee, used to live there, or are current residents; I'll just say it doesn't get glowing reviews at all. One guy I know who currently lives there has a masters degree and is having trouble finding work; he's interviewed for a job in Texas and I hope something works out for him. At this point, I think he knows he'll probably have to get out of Milwaukee in order to find something.
To be honest, go wherever YOU want to go and if you look at any area, you can find unfortunate and unfavorable info for Black people. It is just the legacy of a socio-historical reality in this country. However, you can find positive and favorable info for Black people anywhere as well. So, it may come down to what is best for you.
I will throw this out there though. An area that many Black people may not think about when you look at many metrics that are favorable for Black people in a comparative sense is the Poughkeepsie-Newburgh-Middletown area of NY. While parts of Newburgh and Poughkeepsie have a bad rep, it is an area out of the top 100 metros that has a substantial Black population with the lowest White-Black per capita income gap in the country(PCI for Asians is above that of Whites and it has one of the smallest White-Hispanic PCI gaps as well). I actually posted a couple of sources showing this in the thread(which also shows areas where Blacks have a higher PCI than Whites). It is also one of the most integrated metros in the country(overall). Its proximity to NYC allows people to live in that area and take commuter rail into the city for work. Its Black median household income is above the national figure and a little below the state figure. It is an area where while many/most Black people are concentrated in Poughkeepsie, Newburgh, Beacon and Middletown, you will see at least visible amounts of Black people throughout the area(areas/school districts like Pine Bush, Spackenkill, Hyde Park, Walden, New Windsor, Highland Falls, Arlington, Chester, etc). I believe that its Black educational attainment is one of the highest among the top 100 metros as well. West Point/the US Military Academy may have something to do with this as well. Anyway, that may be a sleeper area to look into.
I know that one can find good anywhere. Currently, I'm in the metro Atlanta area(exurban areas thought). I'm here to stay, for the time being. I have a job here(I did try to get a job in NY state). I have thought to myself that Blacks are doing worse than everyone else nationwide. I figured that if I keep that in mind, I won't be so worried.
On the other hand, I will say this. Until I discovered the city-data forums, I didn't have a bad thing to say about Milwaukee or Minneapolis. Mainly, this was an influence from my father. I started reading about certain things, and then I started to wonder.
I do remember you mentioning Poughkeepsie/Newburgh. One man I know used to live in that area. He never had a bad thing to say about the place. It could be a potential sleeper city. I think one reason it's a sleeper city is because NYC gets so much attention. Many people who go to NY want to go to NYC or the immediate areas around NYC.
And what you mention about per capita income, it brings this argument to the fold. There are many who want to use an argument of "liberal areas are the worst places for Blacks". NY state is not that conservative compared to other states.
Over all, I am the type who feels that as an individual, I should go wherever I want to go. Race should not be an issue.
I know that one can find good anywhere. Currently, I'm in the metro Atlanta area(exurban areas thought). I'm here to stay, for the time being. I have a job here(I did try to get a job in NY state). I have thought to myself that Blacks are doing worse than everyone else nationwide. I figured that if I keep that in mind, I won't be so worried.
On the other hand, I will say this. Until I discovered the city-data forums, I didn't have a bad thing to say about Milwaukee or Minneapolis. Mainly, this was an influence from my father. I started reading about certain things, and then I started to wonder.
I do remember you mentioning Poughkeepsie/Newburgh. One man I know used to live in that area. He never had a bad thing to say about the place. It could be a potential sleeper city. I think one reason it's a sleeper city is because NYC gets so much attention. Many people who go to NY want to go to NYC or the immediate areas around NYC.
And what you mention about per capita income, it brings this argument to the fold. There are many who want to use an argument of "liberal areas are the worst places for Blacks". NY state is not that conservative compared to other states.
Over all, I am the type who feels that as an individual, I should go wherever I want to go. Race should not be an issue.
With this being said, how do you feel being a black person in Atlanta?
Well I have a few peers that I know personally who are young, educated Blacks who are natives of Milwaukee, used to live there, or are current residents; I'll just say it doesn't get glowing reviews at all. One guy I know who currently lives there has a masters degree and is having trouble finding work; he's interviewed for a job in Texas and I hope something works out for him. At this point, I think he knows he'll probably have to get out of Milwaukee in order to find something.
I'm finding something similar in the Atlanta area. The Blacks that I've met, who express the most admiration for their original home towns often come from NYC, Chicago, LA, and Philadelphia. Even Detroit doesn't get bashed nearly as bad.
Among the Blacks that I've met who are from Milwaukee, nearly none of them expressed any kind of admiration for it, nor did they express a desire to return there. Same goes for Blacks who moved to Atlanta from Pittsburgh. I've mentioned on a few threads about the Black Brain Drain from Wisconsin. One reason was because there were people complaining about Blacks and the crimes going on in Milwaukee. One thing I bring up is this. Why aren't the educated, hardworking Blacks staying in higher numbers? Why are the hood rats staying, but the educated Blacks/professional Blacks are trying to leave? Very often, I rarely get an answer. I bring it up because this. The educated, the hardworking Blacks, those are the ones you want in your city, not hood rats. However, the hood rat types have a higher likelihood of staying than the Blacks who are educated, hardworking, want to work, and are goal oriented.
Why aren't the educated, hardworking Blacks staying in higher numbers? Why are the hood rats staying, but the educated Blacks/professional Blacks are trying to leave? Very often, I rarely get an answer. I bring it up because this. The educated, the hardworking Blacks, those are the ones you want in your city, not hood rats. However, the hood rat types have a higher likelihood of staying than the Blacks who are educated, hardworking, want to work, and are goal oriented.
With this being said, how do you feel being a black person in Atlanta?
To be honest, sometimes I feel like I could be judged based on being Black. On one hand, I can understand why Atlanta has been touted as "Black Mecca". Tyler Perry Studios is here. On the other hand, there are times when I feel like many things are just hype.
Alot of how I've felt is shaped by spending middle school and high school in the outer suburbs of metro Atlanta(my high school alma mater is about 50 minutes from the Alabama border). I've dealt with "redneck" behavior and racial tensions. I've dealt with "wannabe ghetto" types. Being a bookish kind of Black guy, there have been times when I've been pegged as "he talks White" or "he acts White".
Basically, I've gone through times where I've felt like the square peg. At this point in my life, I'm just trying to work hard, save up, and do my thing. I have had some good times here in metro Atlanta, as well as some bad times. One sore spot for me has been the way mass transit works in the metro area. If one knows about the history of MARTA, there has been some racial politics involved in it. I feel like some of that hasn't gone away.
At this point, I remind myself that there is prejudice everywhere. I just want to be myself.
To be honest, sometimes I feel like I could be judged based on being Black. On one hand, I can understand why Atlanta has been touted as "Black Mecca". Tyler Perry Studios is here. On the other hand, there are times when I feel like many things are just hype.
Alot of how I've felt is shaped by spending middle school and high school in the outer suburbs of metro Atlanta(my high school alma mater is about 50 minutes from the Alabama border). I've dealt with "redneck" behavior and racial tensions. I've dealt with "wannabe ghetto" types. Being a bookish kind of Black guy, there have been times when I've been pegged as "he talks White" or "he acts White".
Basically, I've gone through times where I've felt like the square peg. At this point in my life, I'm just trying to work hard, save up, and do my thing. I have had some good times here in metro Atlanta, as well as some bad times. One sore spot for me has been the way mass transit works in the metro area. If one knows about the history of MARTA, there has been some racial politics involved in it. I feel like some of that hasn't gone away.
At this point, I remind myself that there is prejudice everywhere. I just want to be myself.
So you've always lived on the outskirts of the metro? Do you think your experiences would have been different if you live within the city or in a close-in suburb? I ask because at a certain distance, although you may technically be in metro Atlanta, you're really more in "Georgia" than "Atlanta."
I've asked about whether or not a Black person can succeed in any(and I mean ANY) city. Now there is another thing to look at. What are YOU the individual looking for in a place? What makes YOU the individual happy?
So you've always lived on the outskirts of the metro? Do you think your experiences would have been different if you live within the city or in a close-in suburb?
Honestly, it might have been a game changer for me. Also, being a geography aficionado and reading books about cities and places all over the globe kind of made me look at where I lived as not a fun place. I'm looking at other places and thinking "what's with Georgia"? Having lived in other places can do that too. Meeting people from other places can do that too. In recent years, I've softened up on Atlanta. However, I believe that without Atlanta city, I would probably have no reason to live in Georgia.
I also considered leaving because I was unemployed for a time. I have work, so I am here to stay.
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