Confused about NE Columbia (Irmo, Lexington: HOA, crime, house)

[Scots]

Originally Posted by jkwing

Well I will chime in about the NE, I moved in The Summit in 2006, after 3.5 years of living there, I wished I had a real estate agent direct me towards Lexington. Check the demographics, NE zip code 29229 is almost 50% black, and if you look at what happens to the areas that are that heavily populated with black, there are more gangs, more graffiti, and more trouble.
I could not wait to get out of the NE. I sold my house in January this year, and I took a $9200.00 loss, just to get my wife to an area she felt safe in. We now live in Lexington where the black ratio is around 20%. And it does make a difference. Don't get me wrong, not all blacks are gang members and trouble makes, it just seems the high concentration of blacks the more trouble you have and the faster a neighborhood will go down hill.

This has to be just about the most racist post I've seen on this board.

[Chi2Midlands]

Originally Posted by jkwing

Well I will chime in about the NE, I moved in The Summit in 2006, after 3.5 years of living there, I wished I had a real estate agent direct me towards Lexington. Check the demographics, NE zip code 29229 is almost 50% black, and if you look at what happens to the areas that are that heavily populated with black, there are more gangs, more graffiti, and more trouble.
I could not wait to get out of the NE. I sold my house in January this year, and I took a $9200.00 loss, just to get my wife to an area she felt safe in. We now live in Lexington where the black ratio is around 20%. And it does make a difference. Don't get me wrong, not all blacks are gang members and trouble makes, it just seems the high concentration of blacks the more trouble you have and the faster a neighborhood will go down hill.

I'll let someone else comment on the racial issues in this post, but I will say that this goes to show that if you are looking for a home in the Northeast (or elsewhere in Columbia) you MUST pay attention to the particular neighborhood and not write off entire zip codes or regions of the Columbia area.

I'll admit The Summit has had more than its share of quality-of-life issues, but there are other neighborhoods in 29229 where people want to live and can have a safe, pleasant environment. I can say the same thing for 29201, 29223, or a few other Richland County zip codes for that matter. And as areas of Lexington grow (even in 29072), become more dense, and urbanize over time, they very well may have to deal with similar challenges as other maturing suburban areas, as residents in Irmo/29212 are already figuring out.

The other thing, as I alluded to in my previous post, as much as we dance around the issue of race, is that we often don't want to be honest about class either. There's a reason why, for better or for worse, certain fairly racially diverse neighborhoods the Northeast are still very popular.

[davey123]

Originally Posted by jkwing

Well I will chime in about the NE, I moved in The Summit in 2006, after 3.5 years of living there, I wished I had a real estate agent direct me towards Lexington. Check the demographics, NE zip code 29229 is almost 50% black, and if you look at what happens to the areas that are that heavily populated with black, there are more gangs, more graffiti, and more trouble.
I could not wait to get out of the NE. I sold my house in January this year, and I took a $9200.00 loss, just to get my wife to an area she felt safe in. We now live in Lexington where the black ratio is around 20%. And it does make a difference. Don't get me wrong, not all blacks are gang members and trouble makes, it just seems the high concentration of blacks the more trouble you have and the faster a neighborhood will go down hill.

Originally Posted by jkwing

Well I will chime in about the NE, I moved in The Summit in 2006, after 3.5 years of living there, I wished I had a real estate agent direct me towards Lexington. Check the demographics, NE zip code 29229 is almost 50% black, and if you look at what happens to the areas that are that heavily populated with black, there are more gangs, more graffiti, and more trouble.
I could not wait to get out of the NE. I sold my house in January this year, and I took a $9200.00 loss, just to get my wife to an area she felt safe in. We now live in Lexington where the black ratio is around 20%. And it does make a difference. Don't get me wrong, not all blacks are gang members and trouble makes, it just seems the high concentration of blacks the more trouble you have and the faster a neighborhood will go down hill.

The beauty of this forum is that we can all freely express our thoughts and beliefs about any issue. When our thoughts and beliefs get challenged, it can provide a teachable moment. jkwing, I will not even attempt to negate or minimize your experience. I will, however, challenge you to broaden your horizons, to think outside the box , and to think about possibilities.

There are numerous neighborhoods throughout America that are affluent, predominately African American, and thriving. Yet you surmise that a high concentration of African Americans in a neighborhood inevitably lead to "trouble" and an erosion of the fabrics of the neighborhood. If "race" is such a powerful predictor of neighborhood outcomes, then what would account for the many predominately African American neighborhoods that are thriving? Here, I am asking you to critically challenge yourself in order to broaden your horizons. You describe these neighborhood dynamics in terms of race. Yet, isn't that description far too simplistic?

Of course, you do state that "it just seems the high concentration of blacks...." Here, I am wondering if you are referring to perceptions and not reality. If you are referring to perceptions, then I would agree with you. More precisely stated, the higher the number of African Americans in any location, the higher the negative attributions people make about that location. This, of course, is driven by perceptions. And these perceptions, in part, are borne out of racism. It is difficult to convince people that their perceptions are not always reality. Indeed, a famous scholar once said that when we define a situation as real, then it is real in its consequences. So, I will not attempt to convince you otherwise. I will, however, encourage you to broaden your horizons -- to critically challenge yourself to think about possibilities. For example, is it a perception or a reality that the entire 29229 zip code is infested with gangs, graffiti, and "more trouble?"

Your last sentence states "don't get me wrong." Is that possible? Aren't the motives in your post quite transparent? Your post should be a reminder to us all that it's not just as simple as seeing "black as bad." It is a reminder that some of the nicest "packages" harbor some very deep-seated hatred. That is a frightening thought. In fact, I would feel very uncomfortable and unsafe if my neighbor fit that description.

Have you ever thought about the possibility that Columbia is actually safer now that you moved to Lexington?

Getting back to the original post, I think that Chi2Midlands provides a very informative post on this topic.

[T L Edwards]

Chi2Midlands,

Great post. I enjoyed reading that.

[Leah79]

I'd be interested in seeing maps showing the racial demographics in Richland and Lexington counties, and crime maps from Richland and Lexington counties, and then comparing to see if there's a correlation as jkwing insinuates. If he has a valid point about higher crime rates in an area being related to racial demographics, then it should be backed up by the stats.

I may do a bit of research.

[jkwing]

Don't take my word for any of the information I have provided, check it out for yourself, go the web site and do your research

Moderator cut: link removed

Race in Columbia (zip 29229), SC

50.41% of people are white, 41.83% are black, 3.37% are Asian, 0.24% are native American, and 3.27% claim 'Other'.


Lexington
Race in Lexington (zip 29073), SC

89.16% of people are white, 7.49% are black, 0.72% are Asian, 0.45% are native American, and 1.97% claim 'Other'.


Check out the web site for more information, and in my opinion it is a fact the higher concentration of blacks in an area will almost always have a higher crime rate and lower property values

Not sure why because a vast majority black people are not bad people, but for some reason there are enough bad ones to make a neighborhood go down hill with unattended properties and higher crime rates

[ncst8fan]

All,
Thanks for all of the information about the NE and Columbia in general. We have decided to rent in Lexington for a year before buying. We spent a couple of weekends in the area and really like Lexington because of the topography around the lake and a particular neighborhood we were able to find a rental in. Thanks again!

As for the last few posts, I would change the question a bit. There is a difference between correlation and causation. I am white, but for a variety of reasons I was a minority in my middle school, my high school, and part of my undergraduate experience. There is nothing about the color of one's skin that causes them to be one way or another. There are a lot of other factors (including personality, family background, religion, education, income, etc.) that do have a strong influence on the way people behave, interact with, and are treated by their community. I always say, "People is people".

All that said, there are disturbing realities in our country relative to minority populations..specifically African American and Latino. There is a massive breakdown in familial structure, educational attainment lags, and incomes are dramatically lower in those populations. Hence higher crime rates. I think the real question is why are entire populations of people being disenfranchised.

My hope and my dream is that all children have equality of opportunity regardless of race or ethnicity.

[Scalpy McScalperson]

Originally Posted by jkwing

Well I will chime in about the NE, I moved in The Summit in 2006, after 3.5 years of living there, I wished I had a real estate agent direct me towards Lexington. Check the demographics, NE zip code 29229 is almost 50% black, and if you look at what happens to the areas that are that heavily populated with black, there are more gangs, more graffiti, and more trouble.
I could not wait to get out of the NE. I sold my house in January this year, and I took a $9200.00 loss, just to get my wife to an area she felt safe in. We now live in Lexington where the black ratio is around 20%. And it does make a difference. Don't get me wrong, not all blacks are gang members and trouble makes, it just seems the high concentration of blacks the more trouble you have and the faster a neighborhood will go down hill.

Notice how he doesn't say anything bad about the Summit, he just says there are too many blacks. Him and his wife will never feel safe in any area with black people. He is your typical racist. I happen to live here and it is a nice neighborhood.

But anyway about Sandhills, I work there, eat there, go to the gym there, and hang out there, so I'm there about 6-7 days a week. Teenagers do like to congregate there (show me a mall where they don't lol.) It's very safe, I've never had any incidents or felt uncomfortable in any way. I will tell you though that on weeknights, Wild Wings does attract some people who I should say, are a little lower class, but they're just there to have a good time like everyone else. My mother, a white lady, goes there all the time and never has a problem. But I guess if she was scared of black people like jkwing, her subjective experience would be much different.

[Chi2Midlands]

Originally Posted by jkwing

Don't take my word for any of the information I have provided, check it out for yourself, go the web site and do your research

Stats from demographic web site called Moderator cut: link removed

Race in Columbia (zip 29229), SC

50.41% of people are white, 41.83% are black, 3.37% are Asian, 0.24% are native American, and 3.27% claim 'Other'.


Lexington
Race in Lexington (zip 29073), SC

89.16% of people are white, 7.49% are black, 0.72% are Asian, 0.45% are native American, and 1.97% claim 'Other'.


Check out the web site for more information, and in my opinion it is a fact the higher concentration of blacks in an area will almost always have a higher crime rate and lower property values

Not sure why because a vast majority black people are not bad people, but for some reason there are enough bad ones to make a neighborhood go down hill with unattended properties and higher crime rates

You have quoted a bunch of racial stats for two zip codes - nothing regarding crime or, yes, I'll pound on this again, class (whether you want to use income or education, I'll argue that class matters). You find me a neighborhood with college-educated, married parents, and regardless of race, chances are (but by no means is it guaranteed), the neighborhood will be stable and desirable.

Have you even considered that the neighborhood just to the north of The Summit is one that people of all races are CLAWING to get into (even with the recent housing downturn), especially after the brouhaha over re-zoning it's highly popular, highly performing elementary school? One that is nearly 50% African American? See for yourself: Student Teacher Ratio Lake Carolina Elementary School - Blythewood, South Carolina - SC. I realize the price point may be higher there, but the entry-level homes are still reasonably affordable. That neighborhood is in 29229, too. 29229 =/= The Summit.

[Woodlands]

Chi2Midlands- I can agree with your assessment that class is likely the dominate factor in most cases. I think the unfortunate part of what Jkwing is alluding to is... for some... perception becomes reality. I think that those whites that follow jkwing's thought process.. subscribe to the belief that if an area becomes mostly or even "progressively" african american (i.e. more african american families moving in than whites and whites moving out... for whatever reason)then the "value" of the neighborhood has or will decrease. "Value" may be both monetary and how they "feel" about their neighborhood based on whatever criteria that one personally believe creates "value" for them. From a financial standpoint, those individuals maythen sell quickly in order to move and the belief to 'get out while the getting is good' which often dictates a price reduction which may establish a new lower value. If enough of these type of sales happen then the market value may in fact decline. Couple that with other factors such as competition from newer or even neighboring developments, general housing market cycles, and potentially realtors steering their more flexible clients away from the neighborhood (not because of race which is illegal) but under the caution that the values may be falling based on those sales and voila.

In our "post segregation" era and the rise of the african american middle and upper class. Many african americans opt to move into newer, diverse, or even prodomentily white neighborhoods based on some of these same "perceptions of value"...I know several african american families that had the financial flexibility on where to live and chose predominately white neighborhoods over predominately african american neighborhoods in the same price range. It had nothing to do with perception of crime, property condition etc.. it was solely based on their belief that when they sell down the road.. their property would have appreciated because a home in a predominately white neighborhood could be sold to whites, blacks, asians, hispanic, or whomever.. While those in predominately african american neighborhoods may appeal mainly to african americans and other minority groups thus limiting the pool of potential buyers.

The disclaimer of the above statement depends on your city and the neighborhood. Waverly and MLK Park(aka Lower Shandon) are predominately and historically African American neighborhoods. In these areas you have more blacks moving out (usually life long residents.. dying or retiring) and young white families moving in (some may say its gentrification). Here you have a ( largely white but not exclusively) population that is making a conscious decision to move to a neighborhood (that is predominately african american) because of location near downtown, housing stock that may be historic nature and/or because of the desire to live "in the city" and the lifestyle and people that accompany it. Some long time African American residents remain and the property values are certainly rising faster than in many parts of the Cola metro..In some of the suburban areas with large tract subdivisions.. many of the development are very similiar therefore people focus on other factors to discern where they want to live and who they want to live next to..etc and may have a wide range of choice.. which may make them choose to live in or avoid certain area thus affecting their those neighborhoods' value.