To Bronx transplants (New York, Cortland, Bedford: middle-class, apartments, houses)

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I live in Orlando, but grew up in Miami Florida.....Just wanted to know ....is all of the Bronx dangerous?.....I always get people that say they are from the Bronx and will say that they are from the ghetto....Is it true that all people from the Bronx are from the ghetto or are some just moving away and trying to make a new image of themselves in a new place....I have never been there but i assume there are middle class areas and lower income areas in the Bronx.....i myself am Lower middle class...$17-20k a year to be exact


So why do most people claim they came from the ghetto being from The Bronx?....and why don't i hear people like me that make the same money i make coming from the Bronx?

I am thinking the hip-hop culture influences the people in my age bracket to say they had a rough upbringing that was worse than anyone they encounter in the path of thier lives and that is what i assume the reason is for these people to say they came from the ghetto (Bronx)......on the other hand i have met some people i could sense actually went through some hard times growing up in NYC but alot that i sense are putting on a show just like people do in any other part of the country even alot of people where i am from...what do you all think?

[NooYowkur81]

A few things,

In Florida since salaries are generally lower in the south, $17K-20K, might be a lower middle class salary but here in NYC that is a working class salary. In order to be considered lower middle class here in NYC you have to make at least mid 30's.

The Bronx is mostly a working class borough, but there are middle class people that live in working class areas, so you end up having quite a few mixed income areas. NYC is not really middle class friendly, so people often live in so-so areas, even though they make a decent salary. There are also upper middle class neighborhoods in the Bronx.

Growing up, I often found that a lot of the kids that talked the most crap were the most well-off. A lot of hip-hop culture is based on bragging and being flashy, basically talking crap. People talk a lot of crap anyway, you can't really get caught up in that.

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Originally Posted by NooYowkur81

A few things,

In Florida since salaries are generally lower in the south, $17K-20K, might be a lower middle class salary but here in NYC that is a working class salary. In order to be considered lower middle class here in NYC you have to make at least in the low to mid 30's.

The Bronx is mostly a working class borough, but there are middle class people that live in working class areas, so you end up having quite a few mixed income areas like Parkchester for instance. There are also upper middle class neighborhoods in the Bronx.

NYC is not really middle class friendly, so people often have to live in so-so areas, even though they make a decent salary.

Growing up, I often found that a lot of the kids that talked the most crap were the most well-off. A lot of hip-hop culture is based on bragging and being flashy, basically talking crap. People talk a lot of crap anyway, you can't really get caught up in that.

That's straight.....thanks for your insight.... i do believe that most people that move to other places talk alot because they are homesick.....i was just asking locals up there if the area as a whole is all run down.....i appreciate your insight on this.....i may be biased at times but it is only out of defense in some conversations.....i think i would love NY if i went there but some people make me not want to go because they make it seem like everything is either tougher or better up there depending on the conversation....i guess it is just the attitude or pride about what they love.....sorry to generalize on this because that hasnt been my experience with "ALL" New Yorkers. My girlfriend is from there and i guess im saying that she is alot different from her step-father...her step-father is always saying everyone in Florida is an inbred because of this or that situation ....but she isnt like that too much....she has the attitude which i like but doesnt go overboard to disrespect my state where they now live.

[bronxchick]

It's true, a lot of people talk **** about where they came from, especially if they want to convince you of their street cred. However, I'd tend to believe anyone from the Bronx who said they had a rough upbringing. The average salary here is something like $20,000/year. Which is not a living wage in NYC. And most people here have a few kids.

I regularly see children under 8 alone on the streets at night, there have been gunshots fired outside of my apartment in broad daylight, there are crackhouses all over the place, and nobody seems to have a job, as there are hundreds of folks out on the street in chairs, just hangin' out all day, everyday. People are crammed into tiny apartments. Every half hour, a car drives by blaring music so loud that it sets off all the car alarms on the block.

The first week I was here, our garbage can was stolen- full of trash.

A week later, my boyfriend's car was broken into.

So if people are telling you they grew up here, and it was rough, its best to believe them. They may be exaggerating, but this place is nothing like middle-class Florida, that's for damn sure.

[SuperMario]

IMO most of the Bronx is a ghetto. There are areas in the northern portion of the borough which aren't that bad. These include Riverdale and Woodlawn. There are other good areas too. Now once you get past those areas, everything else is the ghetto. The South Bronx which runs from west of the Bronx river and south of Fordham road are probably the "worst" parts. In these areas there are alot of buildings in close proximity to each other. These areas are made up of about 95% minorities (latino and black) and also are high in poverty. You have people hanging out in front of buildings and in street corners. These people are usually in gangs or drug dealers. The buildings have graffiti and there is trash in the neighborhood. You also have crackheads or bums on the street too. Cars are parked in front with loud music playing, or there's loud music being played somewhere in the area. This basically describes the Bronx ghetto and also describes all the neighborhoods in the South Bronx.

But it doesn't end there. Areas historically not considered part of the S. Bronx are also quickly declining. Kingsbridge, Bedford park etc are as bad as some of the S. Bronx areas. The worst area today in the Bronx is probably Soundview which some view as not the S. Bronx.

IMO about 65%-75% of The Bronx is a ghetto. The term South Bronx was used to seperate the ghetto areas of The Bronx from the good ones. Today that's not the case. As the majority of The Bronx is.

[Freak]

Throgs Neck, Country Club, Riverdale, City Isalnd, Morris Park, Van Cortlandt Village, Parkchester, Woodlawn, and the Pelham area are not ghettos. Far from them. Some areas are mixed, and then the South Bronx (South of Fordham) and parts of the Northeast are ghettos.

[BXGEAR]

There are ghettos all over the place. What's so cool about being poor? You know what's cool? Coming up from the bottom. Now that's cool.

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Originally Posted by SuperMario

IMO most of the Bronx is a ghetto. There are areas in the northern portion of the borough which aren't that bad. These include Riverdale and Woodlawn. There are other good areas too. Now once you get past those areas, everything else is the ghetto. The South Bronx which runs from west of the Bronx river and south of Fordham road are probably the "worst" parts. In these areas there are alot of buildings in close proximity to each other. These areas are made up of about 95% minorities (latino and black) and also are high in poverty. You have people hanging out in front of buildings and in street corners. These people are usually in gangs or drug dealers. The buildings have graffiti and there is trash in the neighborhood. You also have crackheads or bums on the street too. Cars are parked in front with loud music playing, or there's loud music being played somewhere in the area. This basically describes the Bronx ghetto and also describes all the neighborhoods in the South Bronx.

But it doesn't end there. Areas historically not considered part of the S. Bronx are also quickly declining. Kingsbridge, Bedford park etc are as bad as some of the S. Bronx areas. The worst area today in the Bronx is probably Soundview which some view as not the S. Bronx.

IMO about 65%-75% of The Bronx is a ghetto. The term South Bronx was used to seperate the ghetto areas of The Bronx from the good ones. Today that's not the case. As the majority of The Bronx is.

What are some of the main streets in Soundview.....I think ill look that up on googlemaps out of curiousity.....i enjoy looking at different areas of the country whether good or bad.....Google maps has a feature on there that you can look at every street they have colred in blue and you can move the camera around on every street in that area.....well thanks for the replies

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Originally Posted by clubBR

There are ghettos all over the place. What's so cool about being poor? You know what's cool? Coming up from the bottom. Now that's cool.

Thats right....i never lived in a housing project in NYC.....but i was really poor growing up and we moved around and lived out of our car or in shelters sometimes....but things got better and then worse and then back to better right now.....I live in a pretty nice area as of now but you never know what can happen in this life

[Guywithacause]

Agreed that too much of the Bronx is concentrated with lower income people, and with that comes a variety of social problems. However, the Bronx is really beginning to transition from a borough of complete abandonment and chaos, to a working/affordable area, with more mixed income. There has been significant investment, with 2 and three family homes everywhere, new apartments buildings, and a general improvement in the quality of life, including much more retail and shopping.

It has probably about 15 more years to go, at the current rate, where it will be liveable by the more mainstream, however progress is being made at a hurried rate. The Yankee stadium redevelopment zone, the transformation of Fordham rd and new commercial investments, as well as the development of waterfront parks along the Bronx River will help to feed other investment and improvements. Takes time...but the progress is there.....as the Manhattanites have had their eyes set on the borough more closely since about 2005.