why does everyone think north philly so terrible? (Philadelphia, Tioga: assault, bad areas)

[Boompa]

Originally Posted by Johnland

My mother grew up in a modest rowhouse near 11th and Somerset. This was back in the 40's. She said it was certainly not upper middle class, but not lower class either. It was just a regular, middle class urban neighborhood. As girls, my mother and her sister would ride the streetcars or subway all over the city. They never had a car. Broad St was a few blocks west and Germantown Ave (or the 'Avenue' as they referred to it) was few blocks east. Everything they needed was on the Avenue - grocer, produce stands, fish market, deli's, meat markets, 5&10 stores, clothing shops, small restaurants, etc.

Most people lived within walking distance of the factory they worked at. If you had asked my grandfather to drive to work or my grandmother to drive to the grocery store they would have thought you insane.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by Boompa

Ashbourne, when I got sick of it I lugged theiir bags to the far end of the 5th hole and walked away

Ashbourne was a predominantly Jewish club with more of a working man's vibe (the term "working man" being extremely relative, of course)--the kind of place you'd join if you had some extra money lying around, but not quite enough to afford the more upscale nearby clubs like Philmont and Green valley. It's a shame the Township didn't see fit to keep running it as a municipal course, but I guess they didn't think it would be much of a moneymaker.

[tintin19119]

Originally Posted by Drayb3

If you can't afford to live in North Philly, you can't afford to live pretty much anywhere in Philly.

Like I said Temple is buying big chucks of North Philly ,which is causing the property values to go through the roof.
1227 West Susquehanna Avenue #52, Philadelphia PA | MLS# 6009045 - Trulia
That house is worth more then a lot of roll homes in the NE. Like I said before on another thread. Some people on here have no ideal what they are talking about.

[Boompa]

Originally Posted by HeavenWood

Ashbourne was a predominantly Jewish club with more of a working man's vibe (the term "working man" being extremely relative, of course)--the kind of place you'd join if you had some extra money lying around, but not quite enough to afford the more upscale nearby clubs like Philmont and Green valley. It's a shame the Township didn't see fit to keep running it as a municipal course, but I guess they didn't think it would be much of a moneymaker.

It was cetainly snotty enough to keep me from working there. At any rate it never occured to me that people lived like that until I started there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E73RM9gS7bU

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by Boompa

It was cetainly snotty enough to keep me from working there. At any rate it never occured to me that people lived like that until I started there.


Falling Down (passing through golf course) - YouTube

Most of the people I knew from there were fine, but I was also trained to deal with/ignore the snotty subset from a young age. Not having been exposed to those types before, I can understand how the bad apples would ruin the bunch.

[Boompa]

Originally Posted by tintin19119

Like I said Temple is buying big chucks of North Philly ,which is causing the property values to go through the roof.
1227 West Susquehanna Avenue #52, Philadelphia PA | MLS# 6009045 - Trulia
That house is worth more then a lot of roll homes in the NE. Like I said before on another thread. Some people on here have no ideal what they are talking about.

I think Bill Cosby started that when he bought the entire city block adjacent to Wilke Subaru and donated it to Temple.

[Legendof302]

2113 North Dover Street, Philadelphia, PA - Google Maps

[MsChelle]

Originally Posted by wooo_philly

I mean I know it has its problems with drugs and shootings in the "badlands" but 4 real IMO most people in the community are nice and friendly to me.Also I think we are improving in crime if im not mistaken so we are getting better step by step.The media though still says how bad we are though really irritates me,we know north philly aint the best,but people in poverty basically best you can do in philly.Anyways wanted to ask people here do you think north philly or more specific the badlands neighborhood is as bad as people say it is? why or why not

I think people do exaggerate how bad North Philly is. Areas that used to be "ghetto" are gentrifying, e.g. areas around Girard College and the Community College. I think that the news media has something to do with it, in terms of starting broadcasts with stories about crime. It seems that every week, SOMETHING happens in Strawberry Mansion that makes the news, and it's usually a violent crime, unfortunately. The Badlands (Fairhill, Fotterall Square) is right up there with Strawberry Mansion.

I live in W. Philly. Generally, most people in the neighborhoods are good honest people. But it's the people who are involved in crime who give areas of the city a bad name. People often times don't think about the reasons why N. Philly is so "bad," e.g. the loss of manufacturing jobs, the poor-quality public schools, the high concentration of people in poverty, abandoned properties, etc. You are very right that many people can't afford to live anywhere else but in lower income neighborhoods.

When I think of N. Philly, I always keep in mind that there were many societal and economic factors, like the ones I previously mentioned (lack of jobs, poverty) leading it to have a reputation as a ghetto. I don't blame people for their circumstances, typically, although personal choices can make already difficult situations worse.

[new-era]

North Philly is a complete dump and ghetto! Maybe people say so because it is.

[RightonWalnut]

Originally Posted by new-era

North Philly is a complete dump and ghetto! Maybe people say so because it is.

That's a complete generalization. There are areas that are nice like Northern Liberties, Fairmount, Spring Garden, Poplar with $800,000 dollar rowhomes. Then there are areas that are getting nicer every day like Kensington, Spring Arts, Francisville, Brewerytwon, Templetown (area around Temple University). You must not know much.