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I love how among Leftists, the automatic assumption is that those of us who are uncomfortable with droves of low income minorities moving into our neighborhoods are racist. It’s such a simplistic and puerile response.
It’s the same pattern with Leftists in “sanctuary cities” like New York, San Francisco, and Chicago who were all for open borders and unchecked immigration when it was a border state problem. When those illegals began showing up in their neighborhoods, demanding of their city services and resources, then immigration is all a sudden a huge issue for them and needs to be stopped, because they now personally have to deal with the consequences. Hypocrites much?
When has a surging low income black and/or Latino population ever been a net positive for a neighborhood or school district?
Is it just against low income blacks and Latino? It seems upright, educated, professionally employed, financially stable, law abiding Indo-Chinese immigrants aren't widely acceptable either.
However, i do agree that conservative right is better at managing manicured crime free suburban bubbles for upper middle class and wealthy. Extreme left only takes suburbs and gives them urban issues.
However, i do agree that conservative right is better at managing manicured crime free suburban bubbles for upper middle class and wealthy. Extreme left only takes suburbs and gives them urban issues.
My lawn was lush and well-manicured when I lived in west Plano. My pool was clean and sparkling too.
However, i do agree that conservative right is better at managing manicured crime free suburban bubbles for upper middle class and wealthy. Extreme left only takes suburbs and gives them urban issues.
I think it's more likely that manicured, crime-free suburban bubbles are just much more likely to be conservative.
I think it's more likely that manicured, crime-free suburban bubbles are just much more likely to be conservative.
There are a lot of leftists and moderate Democrats in 75093. We Democrats know who they are (we keep a database; Republicans do too).
We know whose doors to knock on.
If you're a Republican and don't have a yard sign but didn't get a door hanger or a canvasser last year, ask yourself how we knew to skip your house.
Trust me, we're there. We're on your street. On your PTA. At your country club. Standing in front of you at the supermarket checkout. Sitting in the next chair at the oil change shop on a Saturday morning. Sitting behind you at church.
There are a lot of leftists and moderate Democrats in 75093. We Democrats know who they are (we keep a database; Republicans do too).
We know whose doors to knock on.
If you're a Republican and don't have a yard sign but didn't get a door hanger or a canvasser last year, ask yourself how we knew to skip your house.
Trust me, we're there. We're on your street. On your PTA. At your country club. Standing in front of you at the supermarket checkout. Sitting in the next chair at the oil change shop on a Saturday morning. Sitting behind you at church.
We're everywhere.
OOOOOGA BOOOOOGA
I have no idea what you're getting at or what this has to do with my comment. I'm a liberal. It's unquestionably true that manicured, low-crime, wealthy suburban bubbles tend to be conservative.
I have no idea what you're getting at or what this has to do with my comment. I'm a liberal. It's unquestionably true that manicured, low-crime, wealthy suburban bubbles tend to be conservative.
I wasn't trying to argue with you at all, it was on my heart to say this and I hit "reply" on your post.
And while you're right about suburban bubbles, it is kind of fun to see conservatives deflate when they realize they aren't alone there.
I'm puzzled where to even find a middle class neighborhood or town. It seems everywhere in the metro area is either low-end or high-end with nothing in between, and the divide is getting exponentially worse; the gap is growing massively right now.
It’s refreshing to receive positive feedback on this sub-forum, as I’m quite unpopular here. For observing west Plano’s demographic and socioeconomic decline, attributing the decline directly to unchecked apartment development, and expressing my dissatisfaction with these changes, the righteous PC police have labeled me a racist and a classist.
The most ironic and humorous part is that most of these individuals are white liberals, lecturing me, a black conservative, on why I’m a prejudiced bigot for not being thrilled that lower class minorities have changed and are changing the demographic landscape of my old neighborhood. It’s ridiculous and it’s patronizing.
Many posters here reject the notion that affluent areas should remain uniformly affluent. To them it’s blasphemous for an upper middle class or rich family or individual to want to live in area with little to no economic diversity.
To me this is simply preposterous. Freedom of association dictates that just as Leftists have a fanatical preoccupation with “diversity”, others who do not share the sentiment that “diversity is our strength”, should have every right to choose not to live in an area that is economically and/or racially diverse. And these people deserve to make that decision without being labeled “racist” and/or “classist”.
Freedom of diversity and freedom from diversity. This shouldn’t be controversial.
Those apartments existed twenty years ago, and yet, you never, ever saw those lower class people anywhere in west Plano neighborhood establishments, in contrast to today.
I spend a lot of time in Highland Park Village and one thing that strikes me is that you almost never see lower class people there. I don’t know if it’s because they’re intimidated to drive through the Park Cities or perhaps they’ve been made to feel unwelcome by the hawkish Highland Park/University Park police, but it’s in very stark contrast to Northpark mall, which really has gone downhill in terms of the clientele (particularly Neiman Marcus).
I’ve noticed the exact same trend in Uptown, where you see a lot more lower class people in nice restaurants and bars as compared to years past. I think in general, lower class people are simply more comfortable frequenting retail or restaurants in wealthier areas, whereas they simply were not twenty years ago.
Apartments are always problematic for a residential neighborhood but they become catastrophic problems as they age. Older structures command reduced market rental rates, and attract lower caliber tenants. The same eventual fate awaits all of the recently built “luxury” apartments along Preston road near the Plano/Frisco border.
I had this exact conversation with my parents last year about the dramatically different demographics of Plano West and Shepton as compared to twenty years ago. They were completely unaware, and shocked to learn that Shepton and Plano West are 37% economically disadvantaged and 25% economically disadvantaged, respectively, as of last year. Relative to twenty years ago, each school has seen a roughly +700% and +500% increase in low income student enrollment, respectively, which correlates near perfectly with a surge in minority (black/Hispanic) student enrollment over the same period.
The percentage of white students at both schools has been falling for years. As white students are replaced by more economically disadvantaged students, I question if Plano West and Shepton can retain their academic excellence in the future.
Another interesting school to observe will be Colleyville Heritage, which like Plano West, has always been highly regarded. Despite the city of Colleyville’s comparatively fewer apartment developments within its immediate borders relative to Plano, Colleyville Heritage is today 19% economically disadvantaged — an increase of around +600% in twenty years. The surge in low income students in that district is directly attributable to school attendance zones Grapevine and Euless, both of which have aggressively pursued new apartment development over the past decade.
I stand corrected on Prosper. For some reason I envisioned it as a small community of mostly million dollar homes (I’ve never actually visited).
As I’ve stated many times on this forum, apartments are the death knell of suburban neighborhoods and always presage eventual decline. This is especially true if a municipality aggressively pursues apartment development as Plano, Frisco, Allen, McKinney, and Prosper have.
That said, some cities Collin County cities are further along the decline curve than others. Plano is further along in its decline than still-hot Frisco, and likewise McKinney is further in its decline relative to Plano.
In 2004, while Carrollton was visibility going downhill, adjacent west Plano was on the ascendency, regarded more highly than Southlake. It was simply unfathomable to imagine that the issues plaguing Carrollton at the time — increasing numbers of low income students enrolling in local public schools, aging apartments, shuttered businesses, visibly low income people shopping in local stores, etc. — would eventually find their way to west Plano.
It is an indictment of the Dallas twenty five year lifecycle of “disposable suburbs”, whereby residents are drawn to the newest and shiniest cities and developments, only to discard them once they begin to show any signs of age.
This pattern of cities transforming from fast-growing “it cities” to diminishing and aged also-rans, has been observed time and time again in other once desirable DFW suburbs such as Garland, Richardson, Carrollton, Mesquite, Irving, and many others.
However, in the case of Collin County cities the decline is self-inflicted, a product of their unquenchable appetite for multi family development. Collin County cities, in a desperate attempt to boost tax revenue, have continued to flood their borders with more and more apartments, without fully considering the long-term demographic and economic deterioration that awaits.
Well, have you considered Lucas and Parker? zero chance of any apartments going in, predominantly large lots. Precious little of the diversity you loathe. But still within easy driving distance of all the jobs, fun and games in Plano. Of course, you better have a million dollar plus budget to even consider either of these towns, and based on your complaints in other threads about the housing prices, I'm guessing that you cant afford those areas comfortably.
And that's getting to crux of your beef. It's not really the demographic changes so much as the fact that unlike your parents, you are not part of the elite. Instead, you are just one of the great unwashed masses who cant afford the insulation that the wealthy can. You rag on Plano, but most towns here in the metroplex go through the exact same changes you are talking about with regards to Plano. In the 70s and 80s, Richardson was Plano. There was a time when the likes of Garland, Mesquite, Desoto, Lancaster and Cedar Hill were majority white suburbs. Heck there was a time when Texas was a majority white state. That is no longer the case, so you cant be shocked that the cities and towns within the state are also undergoing the same changes. For better or worse, the United States is browning. So unless you want to start a mass marketing campaign to encourage white people to start having more kids, well this is how it's going to be.
The last thing I'll say, is that you need to consider this: Did it occur to you that back in the 80s when you lived in predominantly white, elite and conservative Plano, that there were probably many of those same conservatives who (quietly) perceived you and your black parents are being part of that unwelcome diversity that they despise? In spite of all your education/wealth and upbringing. I'm willing to bet that was the case. Look at the vitriol regularly aimed at people from India who live in Collin County. They for the most part are highly educated, working 6 figure jobs, virtually crime free, not free loading on welfare. They should be welcomed as being a positive part of this country, yet the often thinly disguised racism exhibited shows that all those positive attributes do not overcome race. You seem to think that you are an exception to that rule. I fear you are mistaken in that belief.
You rag on Plano, but most towns here in the metroplex go through the exact same changes you are talking about with regards to Plano. In the 70s and 80s, Richardson was Plano. There was a time when the likes of Garland, Mesquite, Desoto, Lancaster and Cedar Hill were majority white suburbs.
Yes, this is a phenomenon that repeats itself over and over in DFW. The places that don't go through this cycle -- Park Cities and Westover Hills come to mind -- are old money and downtown-adjacent. They aren't suburbs with new construction (at the time) mcmansions that attract the two-income $200k HHI set. They have a totally different type of housing stock that is always going to be desirable, and they represent uniquely nice pockets in a great location with a long-running history of affluence. For whatever reason, in DFW, the two-income $200k HHI set moves on to the new suburb every twenty years, leaving the old place to move a rung down the latter in suburban desirability, along with the demographic changes that entails.
People can probably point to all sorts of specific zoning mistakes, but the bottom line here is probably just that, unlike places like HP and Westover Hills, none of these suburbs have inherent desirability aside from their newness. The housing stock is new and trendy (which changes with time), the location isn't central in any sense and the schools being good are a secondary effect that follows from the people who choose to live there. All of those factors start to work against these suburbs as they age and the new thing down the road opens up.
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