Progressive Culture in Cincinnati? Cincinnati v. Portland? (Dayton, Salem: section 8, find a job)

[unusualfire]

Why does Cincinnati have to follow or be like Portland?

[t45209]

Originally Posted by NicoleRic

I have had my car broken into several times on side streets off Auburn Avenue in Mt Auburn and while I never leave valuables there it does get old after a while. There are just too many streets with poor lighting and abandoned buildings which feels unsafe and leaves a poor impression. IMO

The great irony of this, is that in Oakley and Hyde Park, your car is as likely to be broken into as Mt Auburn...and you don't even have to be on a side street. The problem is, because Oakley and Hyde Park "feel safe", people let their guard down and do stupid things like leave valuables in cars and thieves know it.

[Ohiogirl81]

My college roommate's car was broken into routinely -- in her garage, no less -- in Hyde Park.

Meanwhile, a few miles away in Madisonville, I'd leave my garage door open overnight and the back door unlocked, with no ill effects.

[13th Alphabet]

Originally Posted by Ohiogirl81

My college roommate's car was broken into routinely -- in her garage, no less -- in Hyde Park.

Meanwhile, a few miles away in Madisonville, I'd leave my garage door open overnight and the back door unlocked, with no ill effects.

Ha! Exactly....I also lived in Madisonville without experiencing a single problem. A few of my former coworkers questioned my choice of living in such a dangerous place like Madisonville. While I never left my doors unlocked, one coworker in Hyde Park routinely gloated about leaving their cars and doors unlocked only to eventually have her Volvo stolen from her driveway. Granted it was a side street off of Madison Rd., but still-it's Hyde Park right? What t45209 is very true.

[NicoleRic]

Originally Posted by t45209

The great irony of this, is that in Oakley and Hyde Park, your car is as likely to be broken into as Mt Auburn...and you don't even have to be on a side street. The problem is, because Oakley and Hyde Park "feel safe", people let their guard down and do stupid things like leave valuables in cars and thieves know it.

It amazes me that people leave their cars unlocked with valuables inside anywhere they go. My brother and his girlfriend bolted from CUF to Oakley as soon as they graduated but they did not have much tolerance for things like panhandling and parking difficulties. He's also one of those yuppy "sports bar crowd" types who would want to live in a neighborhood that is perceived as nice. I think a lot of people in this area are that way. If I told my family I was moving to Walnut Hills they would undoubtedly question me about it but I think the area seems to have a lot of things going for it. Maybe I will give it a try sometime.

[motorman]

Originally Posted by unusualfire

Why does Cincinnati have to follow or be like Portland?

Depending upon what we wish to see when we look to the Pacific Northwest and Portland, there are at least two possible answers. Both are valid and explain why Portland's so appealing to many Cincinnatians, but the answers also present a "little problem." While Answer One is visible, known, and accepted, Answer Two is hidden, unspoken, and denied--the reason being, that while the first answer provides a window into the nuts & bolts of another city, the second answer poses a Rorchard test that pokes into our own recesses, making a small few of us uncomfortable and defensive.

What can be written about ANSWER ONE that we don't already know and appreciate? The entire Pacific Northwest serves as a backdrop for Portland, Seattle, and Vancouver, the three crown-jewels of both that region and today's media. A Paradise for The Mind & Heart, a Playground for The Young & Athletic, a PayPal for The Thinker & Entrepreneur--just say Adidas, Nike, Reebok, Rockport, and "Portland" all in the same breath to understand. Next, just say Mt. Rainer, Mt. Hood, then follow them by mentioning "Mt. Rumpke." (No contest, eh?)

And wouldn't you agree that Portland fits into its own personal turf quite well? Not only the Willamette runs through it, but the Columbia runs adjacent to it--and then, not all that far away, the Cascades and the other way the Pacific. (and such tall trees)

We in Cincinnati know what we're really envious of when we turn to Portland, don't we? An Emerald City whose most discernible physical assets cannot be replicated here. But, for whatever our reasons, much of what can be replicated here hasn't been (the streetcars and LRT, the most publicized examples). We're not the Green City, the LBGT Safe Zone, nor the Microbrewery Epicenter that Portland's transformed itself into. Nor until recently, with the reinvention of our urban core and Uptown, were we ever thought of a place that attracts young professionals. For all too many people, while Portland is imagined as some ethereal mirage, where the streets are paved with honey and money, and where the air is filled with gentle voices and peaceful chants, Cincinnati is dismissed as some sort of broken Rustbelt relic; now nothing more than a moribund train wreck. Essentially, Portland is on the way in while Cincinnati is on the way out.

But there's also a line that needs to be crossed that will discomfort some of you reading this--but concluding any discussion about Portland's appeal w/o mentioning it is wrong. So, let's move to ANSWER TWO...

Yes--Portland's new, it's green, it's young and it's progressive...and it's white. In fact, NO other big city in America is as WHITE as Portland. (Just why do you think numerous people sing the praises of Seattle, Denver, and Salt Lake City?) Make no mistake--if Portland shared a demography similar to Cincinnati, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Portland is undeniably an ideal city for many because it comes unequipped with the racial baggage of virtually all our big Midwestern cities. We Cincinnatians have struggled with this Midwestern past of ours in ways that have twisted souls and made neighbors enemies of one another, while Portland has skipped the conflict almost entirely. Just look at our local TV, read our newspaper, or listen to our conversation here in the Queen City. Today we're expressing our elation for "T.T." when we talk about Tommy Tuberville, but only years ago, when we mentioned "T.T.," our expressions were ones of anguish, sorrow, and hate. (Why? Timothy Thomas.)

Yes, race came calling in the Midwest in a way it never did in the Far West, as the South migrated North in wave after wave, changing how Midwesterners think about everything. No wonder we love Portland--for we realize that Portland's more than a city with state-of the-art public transportation; it's also a city w/o many blacks--and we admire that. ("Portland," Just say the name and thy souls shall be healed.) Portland taunts us by being an alternate universe--a road not taken. It's the city we could have been, would have been, should have been--if only American History hadn't intervened. Thus, in hidden recesses of the mind, Portland becomes a purer place, a prettier place, a more delectable place not burdened with darkness. No matter what the shades of gray, Portland is good, Cincinnati is bad becomes an intimate mantra to which we agree.

[kjbrill]

motorman...

It is always difficult to state the obvious, but I believe you have done so. The racial discord continues to divide this area and will continue to do so. It is sad but true.

[Dayton Sux]

The "race thang" also plays a bit in the Pbgh story.

[unusualfire]

Atlanta seems to be doing fine and people flock there in droves. Charlotte too.

[Sarah Perry]

Originally Posted by unusualfire

Atlanta seems to be doing fine and people flock there in droves. Charlotte too.

Motorman's posting was pretty impressive, whether or not you agree with it. I'd submit the issue is less with race per se but more with the fact that Cincinnati's middle-class African American population is so greatly overshadowed numbers-wise by a lot of poor people. Not to mention that we have plenty of poor white and Hispanic folks, too.