Rocky Mount is a nice city!!!!!! (Raleigh, Nags Head: appointed, foreclosure, rent)

[Wire120]

Originally Posted by billjr

While this is a great forum, some posts go beyond being negative. I haven't yet, and hope I never do meet some of the down right nasty people who have posted a response to this thread. Yes I realize we are all entitled to our own opinions, but that can be done in a pleasant and positive manner. I see no reason some of you have gone out of your way here to be insulting and demeaning with your responses. I'm glad these people are the exception here rather than the rule.

Bill

I think some people are just telling it like it is.

[Wire120]

Pretty gruesome random murder against white people today in Rocky.Mount. Anyone who says violent crime in this area is only in the ghetto areas is lying to themselves.

Rocky Mount = most dangerous city in North Carolina by far.

[dentist]

Do you LIVE in Rocky Mount? Maybe you need to talk to some people who live in Nash County and stop posting such negative opinions about this city. Crime is everywhere but Rocky Mount is not dying. It never ceases to amaze me how people can write things and have nothing to back it up with. Not only that, but the fact that downtown Rocky Mount may have issues doesn't make up for all of Rocky Mount. Prayer is proof that change does come.

[Wire120]

Originally Posted by dentist

Do you LIVE in Rocky Mount? Maybe you need to talk to some people who live in Nash County and stop posting such negative opinions about this city. Crime is everywhere but Rocky Mount is not dying. It never ceases to amaze me how people can write things and have nothing to back it up with. Not only that, but the fact that downtown Rocky Mount may have issues doesn't make up for all of Rocky Mount. Prayer is proof that change does come.

Rocky Mount is dying when more people are moving out then moving in. Rocky Mount has the highest crime of any city in North Carolina. Most of the big buisnesses such as Hardees and Centura Bank have moved away. You are COMPLETELY delusional to think that Rocky Mount isnt dying, lol. Check out wikipedia's section about Rocky Mount's Inner city\crime. Rocky Mount, North Carolina - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

It specifically says that there is a "white flight" thats going on. And you must be living in a cave If you didnt know about that. Whites are moving to Nashville or even Wake county\Raleigh area in DROVES. They dont want to see their property values go down. There are a ton of for sale signs in the nicest neighborhoods in Rocky Mount. Rocky Mount has certaintly seen its best days behind them.

[N A-O]

I have read your comments about Rocky Mount & I must respond. As a person born & raised in Rocky Mount's "ghetto", who attended its public schools, and went on to graduate from one of the top universities in this country, I am quite insulted by your harsh rhetoric. Words have power & they are great indicators of the heart. Your words are bitter and offer no hope. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you'd want the town to die just to prove your negativity was justified. You write from your perspective, seemingly, as someone disheartened over the loss of the "good old days" when the property value of white homes in nice white neighborhoods were still condsidered secure & exclusive. Well my perspective is different.

I know first hand about those rail road tracks that cut thru downtown Rocky Mount, because that happens to be the dividing line between the 2 counties that make up our fair city (Nash & Edgecombe). Even as a child it was quite clear that those twin counties bore no resemblance to each other. One had nice stores and shopping complexes and other ports for commerce and the arts, as well as more desireable neighborhoods and private academies. The other, what you call "the ghetto", had quaint 5&dime corner stores, liquor stores, and pawn shops, but it also had its own modest versions of the suburbs (made up of middle working class families) and thank God it also had churches! One county had the benefit of the community theatre, the city library, the town newspaper, the city lake, the city's only hospital, etc. The other did not. Why the disparity? Why did one county seem to be better cared for, whereas the other seemed abandoned and under developed. Why was Edgecombe county predominately (if not entirely) Black? Why was Nash predominately White? I don't know anything about the city's funding & zoning regulations & allocations at that time, but even as a kid, it was apparent that seperate did not mean equal & it didn't take a "ghetto genius" to realize that.

Can we just assume that Rocky Mount, with its imbalanced twin counties, is simply the result of an historically racially imbalanced South? Perhaps. Because whenever a people are culturally, economically, and sytematically disenfranchised, something begins to erode in the very society that perpetuates that psychological divide. It's a sociological fact of life, proven in far more places than Rocky Mount. I moved away from Rocky Mount to attend college & never moved back, not because of the fear of depreciating property values, but because I didn't want to live among the blatant divide. But there is hope!

My family still lives in Rocky Mount & so I still consider it my home. I come home twice a year, and yes, I have noticed that there are still some economically depressed sections of the city. However, I have also noticed some tremendous growth and development (more so in Nash, than in Edgecombe). I drive around & see the new homes that are being built thru-out both counties. I see the efforts being made to provide community enrichment thru the expansion of the library & the installaion of the YMCA. The population has grown by 2.1% since 2000. Companies like QVC have chosen to plant their feet in Rocky Mount & in so doing, have created stable jobs for many of the city's working class. The University of North Carolina board of trustees think enough about Rocky Mount to consider instituting a public university branch there. All these facts, plus many more than I can list, work together to refute your callous charge that Rocky Mount is "dying".

Instead, Rocky Mount is very much alive and vital and rich. It is rich because of the people. The people are not perfect, there are some who give up & act out against their brother & sister in unspeakable ways, but overall the people are good people, solid people, genuine people, hardworking people who want the best for their families. If I could draw one criticism it is this: the people are creatures of habit - too used to living on their own side of the tracks, allowing antiqated prejudices and racial biases to linger, further fostering fear of their neighbors (which you are trying hard to incite). But that too is changing as evidenced in the churches. God is definitely at work, healing the old wounds of discord and seperation. Just to be able to worship along side people of different races when I come home, is something so precious & significant. The impact of this cultural shift is for the better good of all of Rocky Mount's citizens and hopefully soon, we can all stop seeing Rocky Mount as a town divided along racial lines & rail road tracks. So, instead of spewing a venomous, rancorous attitude, why not harness that passion into helping to build up the city you gleefully vilify. Allow your heart to be opened to the biblical principle of "loving your neighbor as yourself". Because nothing good ever comes out of bitterness & fear.

[metro.m]

People only bash places like Rocky Mount and Durham based on biased stats, when they've never stepped foot in those cities. Shame on the American educational system.

[Wire120]

Originally Posted by metro.m

People only bash places like Rocky Mount and Durham based on biased stats, when they've never stepped foot in those cities. Shame on the American educational system.

Biased stats? I think you would apologize for anything. And BTW, the nicest parts of Durham are better than anything Rocky Mount has.

[Wire120]

Originally Posted by N A-O

I have read your comments about Rocky Mount & I must respond. As a person born & raised in Rocky Mount's "ghetto", who attended its public schools, and went on to graduate from one of the top universities in this country, I am quite insulted by your harsh rhetoric. Words have power & they are great indicators of the heart. Your words are bitter and offer no hope. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you'd want the town to die just to prove your negativity was justified. You write from your perspective, seemingly, as someone disheartened over the loss of the "good old days" when the property value of white homes in nice white neighborhoods were still condsidered secure & exclusive. Well my perspective is different.

I know first hand about those rail road tracks that cut thru downtown Rocky Mount, because that happens to be the dividing line between the 2 counties that make up our fair city (Nash & Edgecombe). Even as a child it was quite clear that those twin counties bore no resemblance to each other. One had nice stores and shopping complexes and other ports for commerce and the arts, as well as more desireable neighborhoods and private academies. The other, what you call "the ghetto", had quaint 5&dime corner stores, liquor stores, and pawn shops, but it also had its own modest versions of the suburbs (made up of middle working class families) and thank God it also had churches! One county had the benefit of the community theatre, the city library, the town newspaper, the city lake, the city's only hospital, etc. The other did not. Why the disparity? Why did one county seem to be better cared for, whereas the other seemed abandoned and under developed. Why was Edgecombe county predominately (if not entirely) Black? Why was Nash predominately White? I don't know anything about the city's funding & zoning regulations & allocations at that time, but even as a kid, it was apparent that seperate did not mean equal & it didn't take a "ghetto genius" to realize that.

Can we just assume that Rocky Mount, with its imbalanced twin counties, is simply the result of an historically racially imbalanced South? Perhaps. Because whenever a people are culturally, economically, and sytematically disenfranchised, something begins to erode in the very society that perpetuates that psychological divide. It's a sociological fact of life, proven in far more places than Rocky Mount. I moved away from Rocky Mount to attend college & never moved back, not because of the fear of depreciating property values, but because I didn't want to live among the blatant divide. But there is hope!

My family still lives in Rocky Mount & so I still consider it my home. I come home twice a year, and yes, I have noticed that there are still some economically depressed sections of the city. However, I have also noticed some tremendous growth and development (more so in Nash, than in Edgecombe). I drive around & see the new homes that are being built thru-out both counties. I see the efforts being made to provide community enrichment thru the expansion of the library & the installaion of the YMCA. The population has grown by 2.1% since 2000. Companies like QVC have chosen to plant their feet in Rocky Mount & in so doing, have created stable jobs for many of the city's working class. The University of North Carolina board of trustees think enough about Rocky Mount to consider instituting a public university branch there. All these facts, plus many more than I can list, work together to refute your callous charge that Rocky Mount is "dying".

Instead, Rocky Mount is very much alive and vital and rich. It is rich because of the people. The people are not perfect, there are some who give up & act out against their brother & sister in unspeakable ways, but overall the people are good people, solid people, genuine people, hardworking people who want the best for their families. If I could draw one criticism it is this: the people are creatures of habit - too used to living on their own side of the tracks, allowing antiqated prejudices and racial biases to linger, further fostering fear of their neighbors (which you are trying hard to incite). But that too is changing as evidenced in the churches. God is definitely at work, healing the old wounds of discord and seperation. Just to be able to worship along side people of different races when I come home, is something so precious & significant. The impact of this cultural shift is for the better good of all of Rocky Mount's citizens and hopefully soon, we can all stop seeing Rocky Mount as a town divided along racial lines & rail road tracks. So, instead of spewing a venomous, rancorous attitude, why not harness that passion into helping to build up the city you gleefully vilify. Allow your heart to be opened to the biblical principle of "loving your neighbor as yourself". Because nothing good ever comes out of bitterness & fear.

Your post is pretty damn condescending actually. To you I might be sounding negative because Rocky Mount has certaintly seen its best days behind them. And yes, the "racial strife" is part of its downfall. Nobody wants it to be that way, but it is what it is. I mean, the city has made national news with its Martin Luther king statue fiasco. That just one example of it all.

[dentist]

What an awesome post!!!!! Thank you. You made my day. I am a dentist from Maryland and I love Rocky Mount. I started this post and one lesson I have learned and know from the Bible is that you can't argue with a fool. (You know what I mean).
Your post brought tears to my eyes. Rocky Mount is a nice city!!! Thank you, thank you, thank you for your input. I hope your post encourages others as it did me.

[ninaspirit]

To Wire120
I absolutely agree with you. You are right and you DO have facts to back up what you say. We moved to RM Jan 1999 and gave it a 100% try. We finally got our house to sell but we even moved out of RM before it was sold. That is how badly we wanted out. We found it a very bad place to live for several reasons. Bad job market, a lot of narrow minded people not open to newcomers especially northerners, insects that I have never seen before in my life, snakes, violent thunderstorms, very hot for at least 8 months of the year, lots of mold and pollen floating around, tornado threats very often and very limited restaurants except for national chains. People seem friendly but are really just full of phony, syrupy sweetness. My daughter lives there with her teenagers for 15 years now and verifies that all the young people leave. The public schools leave a lot to be desired. I have seen notes sent home by teachers with spelling mistakes. She makes a living in a real estate office by evaluating foreclosures which are numerous. I think that it's dangerous for some people to go there and judge to soon by what is just on the surface. If anyone wants to move there, please RENT before entrenching yourself by buying a home.