White in Kensington?? (Philadelphia, York: rental, student loans, buy)

[RightonWalnut]

Originally Posted by michaelk518

Im 26 and was born and raised in port richmond, which in some cases actually shows up as kensington on the news considering its only a five - ten minute walk. I remember as a kid riding the el with my mom and having to get on the el at somerset street and looking at the somerset bridge from the el platform and her telling me that when i get older to never go down there and i never understood why untill freshman year and had to walk to the el by myself. thats when i realized that there are alot of white people still in kensington but there all drug addicts and prostitutes. my mom grew up at ann and somerset sts and she said when she was a kid it wasnt like that. i remember the soft pretzle guy and the huckster yellin fresh tomatoes there not around any more. alot of things have changed and i see it moving closer and closer to port richmond. i feel in another 20 years port richmond and fishtown will be the new kensington, i hope not but in just seems inevitable.

Quite the opposite. Fishtown is being gentrified heavily and it Port Richmond is bound to be gentrified soon as well. In 20 years Fishtown and Port Richmond will have $800,000 homes.

[frankgn87]

Originally Posted by Summersm343

Quite the opposite. Fishtown is being gentrified heavily and it Port Richmond is bound to be gentrified soon as well. In 20 years Fishtown and Port Richmond will have $800,000 homes.

LOLOLO>> Yea ok.. They will be waiting in lines to spend $800k for a row home in the slums! Have you been drinking?? lol I like you.. You're funny

[rohirette]

Originally Posted by frankgn87

LOLOLO>> Yea ok.. They will be waiting in lines to spend $800k for a row home in the slums! Have you been drinking?? lol I like you.. You're funny

Frank, you are mistaken. The gentrification spreads out from Center City. It is possible in 20 years that Kensington will be looking better and better, while Mayfair/Tacony will be slums.

[SFC THOM]

Originally Posted by Elena Pietropaula

I grew up in Kensingston in the late 50's untill 1971. Kensington was a great place to grow up. We had many people from different ethnic groups. Germans, Jewish, Polish, Italain. We grew up learning many cultures. I remember the corner stores where you could by penny candy, deli foods and pickles from a barrel. We had a local "Huckster" who had a horse drawn buggy that came and sold fresh vegatalbes. We had a man that pushed a small wooden cart and grounded fresh horseradish and a pretzel man that came around every saturday morning. We had fresh doughnuts and cakes from corner bakeries. The VFW had parades on Frankford Ave. There were dime stores and Olbaums groceries on frankford ave. When a family had a crisis the neighborhood stuck with them and helped out. When they had a wedding or a baby shower everyone was invited.As the generations passed away....so did the morals and values of the people. So it wasn't Kensington that changed it was the people. I didn't grow up as "white trash", my father was a well paid carpenter that installed many stained glass windows in the local churches in kensington besides working for a carpentry mill.We played outside till dark...and we play stick ball on the corners and waited for Mr Softie. I am proud I grew up in Kensington. I'm sorry for what it has become if what is in these posts are true.

I may have been one of the Hucksters in Your Neighborhood. I worked with the Gallagar Bros when I was Young. I used hang on the corner of Trenton and Dauphin. Went to the 26th PAL Dances. Went to Hackett School and Penn Treaty. Hope to hear from You. SFC THOM, US ARMY, AIRBORNE, RETIRED

[SFC THOM]

Originally Posted by solibs

The honest answer to your question is, it depends. The white neighborhoods of "Kensington" have disappeared to become part of "Fishtown" or "Port Richmond" and the mainly hispanic neighborhoods to the west have become "West Kensington"

I lived on Susquehanna ave and Hung on the corner of Dauphin and Trenton aves. Sometime Frankford and Dauphin. SFC THOM, US ARMY, AIRBORNE, RETIRED

[SFC THOM]

Really enjoyed reading all the things about kensington . But the 40's and 50's were the best years. Susquehanna and trenton, dauphin and trenton ave, frankford ave between dauphin and susque.

[SFC THOM]

I was one of those hucksters on the horse and wagon 13 years old and a dollar a day and glad to get it. Sfc thom, us army, airborne, retired
born and raised susquehanna and trenton in the 40's and 50's

[Marius Pontmercy]

Originally Posted by frankgn87

LOLOLO>> Yea ok.. They will be waiting in lines to spend $800k for a row home in the slums! Have you been drinking?? lol I like you.. You're funny

Go look at listings for Fishtown. Houses are already going for $300,000+ there easily. It's a good neighborhood, and so is Port Richmond. I have a lot of respect for the guys who held on there long enough for the neighborhood to be saved.

I also disagree that areas like Tacony and Mayfair will become slums. I know people there with the same "we're going to make a stand and fight, we won't run anymore" attitude that existed in Fishtown. There's active civic associations in these areas as well that are helping to keep the community together. I remember reading an article in the NE Times about a community group in Tacony that got a grant to revitalize storefronts along Frankford Ave, and that they were organizing the business owners to start using new marketing tools to spread their customer base beyond the neighborhood and get the word out that Tacony could be a cool place to be. It won't be easy, but I think there's definitely hope. The will is certainly there. The only thing lacking is new blood which is what Fishtown and Kensington got that saved them from going over the edge.

[frankgn87]

Originally Posted by rohirette

Frank, you are mistaken. The gentrification spreads out from Center City. It is possible in 20 years that Kensington will be looking better and better, while Mayfair/Tacony will be slums.

No, I understand, It will get better but never will we not see $800k rowhomes there. Not in our lifetime

[RightonWalnut]

Originally Posted by frankgn87

No, I understand, It will get better but never will we not see $800k rowhomes there. Not in our lifetime

Frank... no offense. But you have no idea what you are talking about. Most people who are looking to move to Northern Liberties are being priced out... why? Because houses are now going for $800,000 there. Did people think this would happen as short as 10 years ago?

Northern Liberties/ Fishtown Real Estate & Northern Liberties/ Fishtown Homes For Sale — Trulia.com

I've seen houses in Northern Liberties for $950k to over a million. This pushing prices up in Fishtown, Kensington and Port Richmond because there is no where else to go. Gentrification and redevelopment is spreading like wildfire in Fishtown and Kensington. Already in Fishtown there are $400k+ homes.

And are you really saying that Fishtown is a slum? Are you really saying Port Richmond is a slum?