Is it "cool" to live in the "hood"? (New York: fit in, apartments)

[overdose]

Originally Posted by Minus

Where should the newcomers live? What if one is a Manhattan native who's priced out of their native home? They have to go somewhere.

bk is a big ass area. choose elsewhere. queens is even bigger. go there.

Originally Posted by supanyc

Choosing a neigborhood because it's "cool" sounds rediculous to me. What is this, high school still? You're supposed to choose a neighborhood for more important reasons that satisfied your individual needs and desired lifestyle. I don't care what other people think of my neighborhood as long as I'm happy there (and I am). It's not the "coolest", it's not the "hippest", it's not the trendiest, it's not even the most gentrified but I don't care about all that, it's home and where I intend to live for the rest of my life.

shooooooottt. im still in high school.

[MrGreatness555]

Originally Posted by Guywithacause

In the news, and amongst the various newbies searching for their foothold in NYC, the idea that it is cool or hip, or otherwise something positive to live in the hood tends to come up.

As a longtime resident of arguably the most notorious hood in the country, Mott Haven (aka South Bronx), it was hard for me to understand how living here could be something sought after or otherwise cool. However, I am now seeing more new faces and it begs the question: "Is it cool to live in the hood"?

After careful consideration, I can see how it is possible...and part of the theory is the idea that the grass is always greener on the other side. Those that have experienced solely the suburban lifestyle, and life without many real challenges yearn for meaning, substance, the need to belong via the everyday struggles of people, the hunger to experience life in a raw form, and, in theory, to take those lessons and make you a better, more resilient, stronger, well-rounded, and wiser person. Someone that has experienced, even on some level, the other side of life, and has drawn some knowledge or wisdom from such an experience.

I can understand, then, that there are very few places that can provide such a slice of life that anyone can experience. As a result, I can see why many would seek to live in areas like Mott Haven....it is similar, in my opinion, to living in a live art exhibit, where you are surrounded by the people, struggles, environment, and all that is good and bad.

If my understanding is correct on the coolness of living in the hood, the more compelling question then is whether considering these people and their struggles as a life lesson/art exhibit is demeaning to the community and belittles the real problems/struggles that people face. I can see both sides of the issue more clearly now....can anyone provide some insight...I would especially like to hear from those who made a move to a "hood". Thanks.

It's cool for them until they get jumped . Then back wherever they came from and it's the end if their "hood experiment". These people fail to realize there's people struggling to get out and working their a$$es off, meanwhile they see one of these "yuppies" or whatever u wanna call them come in and it makes you shake your head, I see it in my neighborhood "little Italy" where i born and raised, don't understand what draws these ppl here their asking for trouble and they wonder why people "dislike" them and that's being nice.

[bluedog2]

Originally Posted by MrGreatness555

It's cool for them until they get jumped . Then back wherever they came from and it's the end if their "hood experiment". These people fail to realize there's people struggling to get out and working their a$$es off, meanwhile they see one of these "yuppies" or whatever u wanna call them come in and it makes you shake your head, I see it in my neighborhood "little Italy" where i born and raised, don't understand what draws these ppl here their asking for trouble and they wonder why people "dislike" them and that's being nice.

Just curious.Do you think there are yuppie or hipster types moving into your neighborhood(Belmont) that have no connection to Fordham?
I live just on the other side of The Zoo in Pelham Parkway and I go to Little Italy a lot to eat and shop and I always assumed (maybe wrongly) that the young hipster types are all there because they are Fordham students.

I can see where those types would be attracted to the area because in a lot of funny ways it looks like Greenwich Village did in the 60's and 70's.

[Henna]

Originally Posted by anon1

Exactly... supanyc hit the nail on the horn. When Henna was fighting with me about what I was saying that was the whole point I was trying to bring out. Here in Bushwick you've had people living here for years because they continue struggling economically and many of them not of choice since the living conditions are poor, and yet you have a bunch of people flocking to this neighborhood for some unexplained reason when there are tons of (cheaper now) places that are much safer and not as dirty, to find. But unfortunately this movement has made investers look at this neighborhood as the new hot spot and so they buy up these buildings and houses and the only people they sell or rent to is... guess who? Thats the only reason why its starting to get the locals. And anyone who fights with me on this simple point cannot say its because they're not a hipster or yuppy because what I am saying shouldn't be considered offensive at all, but rather the truth.

The reason is not unexplained. Bushwick has a large supply of relatively cheap artist-ready work space, such as former warehouses and factories. Also it has good transportation to Manhattan and is close to Williamsburg which is already a center for the arts.

Do you think the artists should say, "Well, I could get affordable space in Bushwick and have good transportation to Manhattan, but hey, there are less fortunate people there who are hispanic and black and I'm white and had a few privileges in my life. So hmmm. I suppose I really should not move to a place that is convenient for me and fits my budget because if too many people like me move there, we will cause displacement. Yes, right, I think I should probably move to Philly or Bridgeport CT instead, where I can get affordable artist work space and can be sure not that many other New Yorkers will follow. That way the only person I inconvenience is myself!!"

[anon1]

lol... and you're not a hipster/artist.

[LuvLux2010]

Is it cool to live in the hood? Not if you don't have a choice. I think this is a debate reserved only for the people who have the money to make neighborhoods trendy if they choose to.

[progmac]

some people live in the hood because it is cheap and close to work.

if you have money it isn't like you are experiencing the hood in the same dangerous way that poor people do. it was something i thought about a lot as a peace corps volunteer. we shouldn't pretend to be what were not. if you're a whitey of means living in the hood, own it and be honest with the people around you.

what i see here is people who grew up in a poorer urban environment get to the suburbs as fast as they can while those of means move to troubled urban neighborhoods for the reason above or sometimes because of the architecture. it isn't like anyone moves to the massive public housing complexes.

then again our hoods that people cringe at probably aren't much compared to some of the places talked about in this thread.

[anon1]

read my statement again in full and then read my last comment in the NYC crime thread that explains my point a little further and you'll understand exactly why I say for some "unexplained reason." you just love to debate this point when there really is nothing to debate about. I have not once said that it was their fault for whats happening but unfortunately race still does play a major factor in situations like these. Sobroguy described it best in his post on the nYC crime thread: "If a few blacks move into the area, there goes the neighborhood, if whites begin moving into poor minority areas the neighborhood is labeled up and coming". Thousands who would have never bought real estate here before are suddenly buying, rents skyrocket and once again guess who the owners rent to. You do know Williamsburg wasn't always the way it was. So... whats the majority over there now? Look, im not fighting with you, im not complaining that they shouldn't live here or anything. Heck if they all want to live in this still high-crime semi-expensive dirty neighborhood now where there are many other locations cleaner, safer but the kicker, its a whole 5-10 minutes further to Manhattan (=0, the horror) I say sure why not. To me, it just doesn't make alot of sense but again to each his own...

[SobroGuy]

Anon1 don't quote me...because you are MISquoting me and taking my statement out of context. I did not make that statement.

[anon1]

@ Sobroguy You're right you did not say those exact words and I'll apologize for misquoting but the point you were making was the same even if we were going in different directions because you were talking about people's perception which is the exact same thing that I am talking about. Sobroguy's comment in regards of people's perception- "A smattering of new faces is not gentrification, anymore than a smattering of people of color in white neighborhoods means it is going down the tubes...it is how the market/residents react that determines the changes that may or may not occur."

Fact of the matter is, thats how the market labels it and thats why displacement of the original population occurs. I have no personal vendetta against the hipsters people are misinterpreting my comments. Im just simply explaining how the situation works here and i mean this is common knowledge and simple logic. I dont understand why people are arguing the point that if a bunch of these hipster/artist types move in, it immediately becomes "labeled" up and coming and when investors take interest in this neighborhood they buy and only rent to those who will help build their profit. Is what im saying wrong???