Quote:
Originally Posted by coped
Just trying to get people's thoughts on the area of Tryon Street from Harris to Mallard Creek Church. Do people really consider this area rough? I've noticed when people talk about UCity, they recommend people only consider North of Harris and West of I-85, but that cuts off the heart of the neighborhood, The 'Shoppes,' the Hospital, the research campus and a few great bars.
I just get a little defensive when someone recommends people staying away from that area. I lived in Walden Court Apartments at JW Clay and Tryon from 2001-Oct. 07 and NEVER was a victim of crime or felt threatened. A few car-breakins in the complex is the only crime I remember.
I loved that I was able to walk to the boardwalk, grocery store, etc. I would like the area to stay nice because it has such potential as a real "center" for UCity, plus it's not really been plagued with the traffic problems the rest of UCity has. But I worry about it getting a bad reputation and declining.
I have noticed a lot of stores packing up and leaving the area. What's going on?
|
I miss that area so much.
Reading what you wrote brought sweet memories of Charlotte. I used to jog around boardwalk, many mornings. The evening strolling was a more pleasant experience. I still remember standing on the other side, gazing at the big "H" in the Hilton hotel there.
During my most difficult moments, I would whisk away to boardwalk and restlessly do the rosary as I strolled.
The boardwalk was my stress hide-out.
I used to do a lot of math on why this area ran out of favour with the locals. Before crucifying me, take note of the fact that I'm not a racist white American. I'm a legal alien.
1. The Asian population of the area was on the rise. Reason: Too much offshoring/outsourcing by Bank of America and Wachovia. There are apartment communities filled completely with Indians and Chinese, that the white folks literally ran away to suburbs where they can see more familiar faces, also aided by the fact that this area had communities which was predominantly black.
2. The immigrant population is not very friendly. I am one of them too, except that I am a self-proclaimed exception. They are not used to bonding, social integration and not very outgoing. Culturally, Americans tend to brand this rude behaviour, when, in fact, it's not. Clear cross-cultural gaps.
3. The rise of immigrants gave rise to crime. I have nothing against blacks but I'm gonna call a spade a spade. The black people are considerable in numbers in the adjacent neighbourhoods, say, all through Graham, Sugar Creek road etc. While honourable black people do exist, thugs do as well.
The immigrants come in with a lot of goodies. They don't fight back. Every apartment has 3 or 4 roommates. Each one has at least two laptops, considering the work they do. The presence of at least 8 laptops per apartment is a great place to start for crime, naturally. Then the rest of the electronics like iPod or iPhones.
I can bet on my bum that every week, a laptop was getting stolen from the Asians. Most of these people commute by CATS buses. They are an easy target to hit and run. This sole aspect makes mugging/shooting so easy.
Some of the guys I knew were mugged 3 times in a row.
Once, a guy I knew was cornered by two black men. One of them punched his face, while the other took stock of all his goodies. Then he went on to say that the punch didn't produce any blood, so he punched him again, hard enough that he bled. He knocked his teeth or something.
When I met this guy, I saw how disfigured his face was, with broken teeth. And many of the mugging incidents never got reported too. Some of the girls I used to know are extremely timid and doing police is culturally taboo.
And the guys literally pi$$ in their pants, when an army of four black men walk towards them. Most of the time, it would be a non-incident. But the fear is widespread.
4. The university was a hotbed of young people. Naturally, this was an area of constant theft, smashing of cars and hate crimes, all across the university boulevard, say.
Having said this, I have never been a victim of mugging or crime. Frankly I found the black people very friendly, as friendly as the white people. I realised how friendly Charlotte was when I left Charlotte for NYC for a new job. People up in NYC tend to be very stuck-up. I can only say things are friendlier in the South. I have moved to Denver now and this is an okay city too. But Charlotte was the best.
I think one of the reasons may have been that I didn't use the bus, like the rest of my kind. I absolutely don't have much exposure walking around to bus stops or waiting for a bus for that matter.
I used the bus for just a month or something. I whined about the pain in the bum about using the bus and my father quickly sent his spoiled kid money to get a car.
I miss Charlotte so bad
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
