Two men shot near Central Square Cambridge (Boston, Somerville: condo, unemployed)

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by msRB311

Boston has really become a city of people who are wealthy and then people who are poor and barely getting by. There's no more in between.

Which are you?

[msRB311]

None of your business. I also don't live in Boston. Anyone looking to live in a nice part of Boston is typically going to be wealthy. There might be some middle of road people left in Hyde park, roslindale and west Roxbury. I'm not sure how some of the folks in Mattapan are affording it at this point.

[GeePee]

Originally Posted by msRB311

Boston has really become a city of people who are wealthy and then people who are poor and barely getting by. There's no more in between.

The housing market everywhere seems out of control, not just in Greater Boston.

This is exactly true. And that fact that this never comes up on the media is just disingenuous. They are too busy pitting people together by race. The fact is I have way more in common with George Floyd than I do with John Kerry.

[porterhouse]

Originally Posted by msRB311

I also don't live in Boston.

Then you don't really have a clue about who lives in the city. Save your comments for neighbors in your Stepford suburb. While it has gotten more expensive, I have many neighbors who are neither neither wealthy or poor (teachers, firemen, etc). They are quite happy and "getting by".

[id77]

Originally Posted by GeePee

This is exactly true. And that fact that this never comes up on the media is just disingenuous. They are too busy pitting people together by race. The fact is I have way more in common with George Floyd than I do with John Kerry.

Income inequality is a major topic in political and media discourse. The problem is nobody can politically agree on whether it's even a problem, let alone how to address it.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by porterhouse

Then you don't really have a clue about who lives in the city. Save your comments for neighbors in your Stepford suburb. While it has gotten more expensive, I have many neighbors who are neither neither wealthy or poor (teachers, firemen, etc). They are quite happy and "getting by".

Dude I know plenty about the city of Boston and it's demographics. The firemen make about 200k a year and often have side jobs in addition. While that might not be much compared to the 600k+ the biotech exec is getting, it's much more than a teacher or social worker, or admin asst is making. The teachers that are living in nice parts of boston are likely married to someone making significantly more than them. Firefighters are often married to other fighter fighters, cops, nurses, or good ol white collar professionals.

[Lampert]

Originally Posted by porterhouse

Then you don't really have a clue about who lives in the city. Save your comments for neighbors in your Stepford suburb. While it has gotten more expensive, I have many neighbors who are neither neither wealthy or poor (teachers, firemen, etc). They are quite happy and "getting by".

The average teacher is Cambridge makes over 90k, in Boston over 100k. They are wealthy, it's just so expensive that they aren't.

[msRB311]

Originally Posted by Lampert

The average teacher is Cambridge makes over 90k, in Boston over 100k. They are wealthy, it's just so expensive that they aren't.

That's also a good point. BPS teachers ARE paid well but on their own it still isn't enough for the out of control real estate around here. We are flooded with highly paid engineers, C-level people, hedge fund managers, Physicians, family money and this is why the prices keep going up. The normal people making 90k-200k likely already owned a home in the city from years ago.

I am shocked by some of the prices I'm seeing on the cape lately. You used to be able to buy a cottage or something to supplement your full time house in the boston area...now it's just the same as buying a 'normal' home.

I think we still see people in their 20's/30's who dont have highly paid jobs living in the city paying but they have multiple roomates.

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by massnative71

I'm all about gritty, but on Central Square I can't disagree with Bostonguy's synopsis. Unless it changed dramatically in recent years, it's always been a weird creepy place. Can't find any appealing qualities there whatsoever.

Central Square's far from perfect, but it's a nice foil to Harvard Square which is rapidly losing much of its character with the influx of chain dining/retail (and it still had a very visible cluster of homelessness around the T head house). It's also a good counter to the sterility of Kendall. It's gritty, there are a lot of homeless people, but it also has some solid shopping, good restaurants/bars, and a pretty good creative and artsy vibe that's not overly watered-down or hipstery. It was better when it had more live music venues, but when I was living in Somerville, I spent more time there than I did in Harvard, Porter, Kendall, etc.

The homeless problem there is a big issue. But I view the general "weirdness" as one of Central Square's greatest assets. I'd like to see the homelessness issue addressed (this applies to the whole region, not just Central), but I wouldn't want Central to "improve" by turning into another Harvard or Davis.

[GeePee]

Originally Posted by porterhouse

Then you don't really have a clue about who lives in the city. Save your comments for neighbors in your Stepford suburb. While it has gotten more expensive, I have many neighbors who are neither neither wealthy or poor (teachers, firemen, etc). They are quite happy and "getting by".

Another perpetual crime headline protagonist on this site. Makes you wonder.