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Since we've talked to death about our divisions, how about a little truth talk about our unity? Anyone have true tales of "gentrifer-long time resident" love?
- I moved to my majority-black neighborhood two years ago. After I bought the house, I came over to see it before I moved in. The elderly black man who lives beside me came out and asked if I bought the house. I said yes and he hugged me and said, "welcome home." I still find it moving. He then called out all the neighbors who introduced themselves and hugged me. I thought I was on candid camera.
- When my things were being moved into my house, the black woman across the street insisted that I come to her house for dinner since I didn't have any food of my own yet. I went and met her whole family. I've since had her and her sister to my place for dinner.
- I landscaped my neighbor's yard for free. In return (and to my surprise cause I didn't expect anything in return), he gave me a beautiful embroidered picture his aunt had sewn in the 1960s. It's hanging in my hallway.
- My neighbors routinely tell me how happy they are the neighborhood has improved,
- I routinely tell them how different (and better!) living on this block has been from my experiences in Dupont and VA.
- My neighbors and I routinely take leftover food to each other. I had leftover cake and gave it to one neighbor and her kids. Another neighbor brought me leftover seafood salad yesterday.
- We had a crime incident on our block at 3:00 am. Everyone came out and looked into the welfare of everyone else.
- We sit on our stoops in the summer and talk for hours.
So for those of you praying for a race war, it ain't gonna happen on my block.
Since we've talked to death about our divisions, how about a little truth talk about our unity? Anyone have true tales of "gentrifer-long time resident" love?
- I moved to my majority-black neighborhood two years ago. After I bought the house, I came over to see it before I moved in. The elderly black man who lives beside me came out and asked if I bought the house. I said yes and he hugged me and said, "welcome home." I still find it moving. He then called out all the neighbors who introduced themselves and hugged me. I thought I was on candid camera.
- When my things were being moved into my house, the black woman across the street insisted that I come to her house for dinner since I didn't have any food of my own yet. I went and met her whole family. I've since had her and her sister to my place for dinner.
- I landscaped my neighbor's yard for free. In return (and to my surprise cause I didn't expect anything in return), he gave me a beautiful embroidered picture his aunt had sewn in the 1960s. It's hanging in my hallway.
- My neighbors routinely tell me how happy they are the neighborhood has improved,
- I routinely tell them how different (and better!) living on this block has been from my experiences in Dupont and VA.
- My neighbors and I routinely take leftover food to each other. I had leftover cake and gave it to one neighbor and her kids. Another neighbor brought me leftover seafood salad yesterday.
- We had a crime incident on our block at 3:00 am. Everyone came out and looked into the welfare of everyone else.
- We sit on our stoops in the summer and talk for hours.
So for those of you praying for a race war, it ain't gonna happen on my block.
This is awesome! If you don't mind me asking whereabout do you live? I would love to live on a block like this.
I can echo this! I live in Trinidad and personally check every box of the 'gentrifier' stereotype (in appearance) but my experiences with my neighbors have been great. We swap Christmas cookies, look out for each others' properties, and chat on our porches. The fellow 'gentrifiers' are just as friendly as the people who have been there 50 years. When I lived in Georgetown and NoVa I couldn't have even chosen my neighbors out of a lineup. Living in NE is like living in the South again, people are so friendly.
When I lived in Georgetown and NoVa I couldn't have even chosen my neighbors out of a lineup. Living in NE is like living in the South again, people are so friendly.
Amen. I really liked my neighbors in NoVa, but now everything seemed so distant and formal. I'd stand in my yard, and you'd stand in your yard and we'd chit chat about our yards. That was it.
I think a lot of people who live in Dupont, Gtown, NoVa, etc. think I'm making up these stories yet many people in the "up and coming" neighborhoods seem to have them. It's like the same cast of characters on each block but with different names.
The majority of my experience has been similarly positive.
- My house was abandoned for a while before I bought it, and it was in pretty bad shape. When neighbors saw me going in or out of the house for the first time, they were excited that someone was finally living there. I had a few gifts on my stoop, and a nice note taped to my door. One neighbor who had lived there for 40 years, and had planted the now mature trees on my property, brought over a bottle of champagne.
- The first day my girlfriend (now wife) slept over at the house was the snowpocalypse. We were sleeping in, but in the late morning we heard a bunch of gunshots go off in front of our house (yes, with 2 feet of fresh snow). I thought she would never agree to move in after that, but we went outside after the cops showed up, and so did all of our neighbors. Everyone was pretty upset about the shooting, but it quickly turned into a meet and greet for my wife. Our next door neighbors had a pot of chilli on, and gave us a big tupperware container of it. We were passing around shovels, talking about the crazy weather and people were sharing their wifi passwords to the side of the block whose internet went out. It turned into a great experience.
- Especially in the first two years living at my house, I spent every good-weather day outside working on the envelope of my home. I really got to know a lot of folks in the neighborhood. Mostly people would shout out words of encouragement or make comments that the house was really coming along (even when it wasn't sometimes). I lost a few days of productivity leaning on the fence and having conversations with people passing by, but it was great.
- The new residents and the old residents are mostly aligned on issues in the neighborhood ANC meetings. Everyone shares concerns about crime and city services. The dialogue around the new developments is positive on all sides, but questions of affordability come up, and they are usually met with a satisfactory answer - 20 new affordable units, 54 new affordable units, 150 new affordable units. If one resident raises a concern, typically the other residents will back them up even if it isn't their issue. You don't hear the combative arguments that you see on these boards.
- When the new Giant at O Street Market opened, pretty much the entire neighborhood showed up. Everyone was extremely happy. People were striking up conversations with strangers commenting on how huge the selection was and remembering how crappy the old giant was. Everyone seems love the new library. The rec center, basketball courts and skate park are enjoyed by all.
- There is a much stronger sense of community than when I lived in Dupont/U Street. Everyone knows everyone. We all know our mailman. We all shovel our neighbor's sidewalk if we're the first out. You get texts messages from people if you have a package sitting outside. Most people look out for each other.
The consensus from old neighbors, new neighbors, black, white, is that the neighborhood is improving. The people that have lived there for 30, 40, 50 years have seen a lot of stuff. They certainly express some nostalgia about day's passed, but they also express that they've been waiting for things to get better for a long time.
Everyone was pretty upset about the shooting, but it quickly turned into a meet and greet for my wife.
Right on! It's funny how these types of tragedies turn into bonding experiences. If you're in NoVa or G-town, for example, you'd hear about the shooting, and it would solidify your view that the neighborood sucks. What doesn't get reported is the 2 hour meet and greet that follows it.
Its totally over-blown because its mostly a few angry people in this site and not DC natives / gentrifiers as a whole.
I personally never see this "tension" in real life when I leave my apartment. However the "natives" on this site lie and deceive about DC a lot which can lead people reading who have never been to DC to gain a false impression of what the city is really like. They do this to discourage people from moving here and to scare the people who are already here.
I've made it my job to call them out and prove them wrong every chance I get.
The majority of my experience has been similarly positive.
- My house was abandoned for a while before I bought it, and it was in pretty bad shape. When neighbors saw me going in or out of the house for the first time, they were excited that someone was finally living there. I had a few gifts on my stoop, and a nice note taped to my door. One neighbor who had lived there for 40 years, and had planted the now mature trees on my property, brought over a bottle of champagne.
- The first day my girlfriend (now wife) slept over at the house was the snowpocalypse. We were sleeping in, but in the late morning we heard a bunch of gunshots go off in front of our house (yes, with 2 feet of fresh snow). I thought she would never agree to move in after that, but we went outside after the cops showed up, and so did all of our neighbors. Everyone was pretty upset about the shooting, but it quickly turned into a meet and greet for my wife. Our next door neighbors had a pot of chilli on, and gave us a big tupperware container of it. We were passing around shovels, talking about the crazy weather and people were sharing their wifi passwords to the side of the block whose internet went out. It turned into a great experience.
- Especially in the first two years living at my house, I spent every good-weather day outside working on the envelope of my home. I really got to know a lot of folks in the neighborhood. Mostly people would shout out words of encouragement or make comments that the house was really coming along (even when it wasn't sometimes). I lost a few days of productivity leaning on the fence and having conversations with people passing by, but it was great.
- The new residents and the old residents are mostly aligned on issues in the neighborhood ANC meetings. Everyone shares concerns about crime and city services. The dialogue around the new developments is positive on all sides, but questions of affordability come up, and they are usually met with a satisfactory answer - 20 new affordable units, 54 new affordable units, 150 new affordable units. If one resident raises a concern, typically the other residents will back them up even if it isn't their issue. You don't hear the combative arguments that you see on these boards.
- When the new Giant at O Street Market opened, pretty much the entire neighborhood showed up. Everyone was extremely happy. People were striking up conversations with strangers commenting on how huge the selection was and remembering how crappy the old giant was. Everyone seems love the new library. The rec center, basketball courts and skate park are enjoyed by all.
- There is a much stronger sense of community than when I lived in Dupont/U Street. Everyone knows everyone. We all know our mailman. We all shovel our neighbor's sidewalk if we're the first out. You get texts messages from people if you have a package sitting outside. Most people look out for each other.
The consensus from old neighbors, new neighbors, black, white, is that the neighborhood is improving. The people that have lived there for 30, 40, 50 years have seen a lot of stuff. They certainly express some nostalgia about day's passed, but they also express that they've been waiting for things to get better for a long time.
Beautiful story K! People who claim that DC isn't much of a city of neighborhoods need to open their eyes to life experiences such as yours
if the locals are nice its primarily bc alot of local folk in DC act like theyre still in North Carolina.......probably the most southern hospitality youll see in the boshwash corridor
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