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We’re not even talking about the politics of the south though lol. Bruh in Georgia alone y’all stole a whole election from on a black woman Stacey Abrams and a white man who pointed a shot gun at a kid, on TV (Brian Kemp)! was elected instead...same in Florida with Andrew Gillum. stand you ground laws in Florida too. We don’t even talk about that stuff, high incarceration rates etc. if anything I take it easy on the south.
Of the three black candidate running for president this year not one is form the south. Kamala Harris-California, Cory Booker-New Jersey and Deval Patrick-Massachusetts .
I went to the (formerly) Gullah Islands, Charleston and Myrtle beach this summer and really like it-wouldn’t move there but I see the appeal. It was a nice slow down in pace of life.
Why start this thread in the first place if your just going to belittle/patronize people for their opinions, information, and experiences?
Sometimes people just want to be right. You can’t tell because they just wholly ignore or discount anything that “counters” what they believe. Counterpart opinions are some sort of delusional. Like when I asked Aries where he lived in metro Boston-he didn’t answer. Provided footage of black folks in downtown Boston-unacknowledges. All the economic data touting its to strength-ignored. The political success as of recent-he won’t mention it. The lack of police brutality and outward racism you see in the south-he wont talk about it.. and then he’s gonna day Philly to NYC has the worst black poverty around like the Mississippi Delta doesn’t exist.
Why start this thread in the first place if your just going to belittle/patronize people for their opinions, information, and experiences?
Quote:
Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade
As for the black areas of MA Dorchester is more of a borough of 125k within there there are census tracts and part of Dorchester that are more like 75_90/% black: mostly in Wales teen and central Dorchester so some part of Dorchester are black a few to the Far East and southeast are Irish but most of it is very diverse. Same with most Boston “neighborhoods” that’s are really former towns and are 40k people each.
We’re not even talking about the politics of the south though lol. Bruh in Georgia alone y’all stole a whole election from on a black woman Stacey Abrams and a white man who pointed a shot gun at a kid, on TV (Brian Kemp)! was elected instead...same in Florida with Andrew Gillum. stand you ground laws in Florida too. We don’t even talk about that stuff, high incarceration rates etc. if anything I take it easy on the south.
Of the three black candidate running for president this year not one is form the south. Kamala Harris-California, Cory Booker-New Jersey and Deval Patrick-Massachusetts .
I went to the (formerly) Gullah Islands, Charleston and Myrtle beach this summer and really like it-wouldn’t move there but I see the appeal. It was a nice slow down in pace of life.
I never thought about all of that till now. I guess everywhere has their problems. I hear people all the time say they would never live in xyz because they are racist and then refer to a high profile case.
Not all of the Black n Successful types are from the south.
We’re not even talking about the politics of the south though lol. Bruh in Georgia alone y’all stole a whole election from on a black woman Stacey Abrams and a white man who pointed a shot gun at a kid, on TV (Brian Kemp)! was elected instead...same in Florida with Andrew Gillum. stand you ground laws in Florida too. We don’t even talk about that stuff, high incarceration rates etc. if anything I take it easy on the south.
Of the three black candidate running for president this year not one is form the south. Kamala Harris-California, Cory Booker-New Jersey and Deval Patrick-Massachusetts .
I went to the (formerly) Gullah Islands, Charleston and Myrtle beach this summer and really like it-wouldn’t move there but I see the appeal. It was a nice slow down in pace of life.
But what about BostonBorn’s quote needed to be “countered”? He wasn’t ragging on the south, he was just saying that there are plenty of sizable black communities throughout the northeast and that the south is less densely populated.
There’s no need to be so aggressive and rude.
Bostonborn has been generalizing and marginalizing the entire south and Black people in the south this entire thread. Do you not see that? I guess it's cool to pick on the south but when I counter that with facts than all of a sudden "why even make this post". Hypocritical.
I gotta take up for Baltimore since the question to this thread applies to both "city" AND "metro." I think that Baltimore presents a unique case, in that the actual city itself is an F'd up basket case right now, and I wouldn't honestly recommend it to anyone at this time. But the larger Baltimore "metropolitan area" is actually a really decent place to live for many people.
My social circle is predominantly Black. Most of us are traditional Black Americans while a few are of West Indian/Caribbean heritage (some both). Most of us are originally from other cities, some are natives of this area. The common factor is that all of us have managed to build pretty good lives for ourselves in this area and all of us are living pretty good. There IS a substantial Black middle class in the Baltimore area even if it's not necessarily as robust as that in DC or Atlanta.
I don't really buy into the whole "Black Mecca" idea, and I certainly don't consider Baltimore to be a Black Mecca. If there is a Black Mecca in the 21st century, it would be Atlanta since that is the only place that has attracted significant numbers of Black folk from multiple different regions of the United States and internationally. But I don't consider anyplace to be a utopia for Black people.
I really like the Baltimore area because of its geographical location and the genuine options of both urban and suburban living that it offers. I lived in Baltimore city for over a decade, but I've been living in the 'burbs since 2013. I was born, raised, and lived most of my life in the inner-city, so the suburbs suit me just fine at this point. I'm a father with a family. I don't need to live IN a city, I just need quick and immediate access to the city. The good thing about this area is that it offers me quick access to three different cities to get my urban fix when I need it.
Baltimore city is cool and has much potential, but I agree that "potential" doesn't mean sh*t if it's not actually manifesting into reality. That's why I gave up on that city as far as living in it. But the good thing is that if I don't want to deal with Baltimore city, then I have other options in this area. I don't think that people in other parts of the country realize how close the different cities are up this way and how the different metros "bleed" into each other and overlap. I work in downtown DC, I live in Baltimore County, and spend significant time in my hometown Philly. On the weekends, if something positive is happening here in the immediate Baltimore area, I can participate in that; if I want to do something down DC I go down that way; if not, I can shoot up Philly. Then there are multiple smaller cities and towns throughout this broader area.
In short, I really like living in this area. I actually prefer the immediate Baltimore metro over the DC metro as far as living. And despite the serious problems occurring in Baltimore city, there are a lot of Black people living decent lives and prospering in the Baltimore area on a whole. And remember, the Baltimore metro includes not just Baltimore City, but Baltimore County, Howard County, Anne Arundel County, and Harford County. Carroll County and York County, PA to as an exurb, but I wouldn't recommend them for Black folk.
Really good points. Although the city is extremely challenged, the surrounding metro area makes up for that statistically in a couple of ways (crime probably excepted) which is why metro Baltimore still manages to rank relatively high on several lists related to economic performance and standard QOL factors. Even on many "best cities for Blacks" lists Baltimore ranks a bit high, at least top 10 if not top 5 in some cases.
Really good points. Although the city is extremely challenged, the surrounding metro area makes up for that statistically in a couple of ways (crime probably excepted) which is why metro Baltimore still manages to rank relatively high on several lists related to economic performance and standard QOL factors. Even on many "best cities for Blacks" lists Baltimore ranks a bit high, at least top 10 if not top 5 in some cases.
Yeah great points. I cant take some of the southern metros seriously when they marganilize black voters. Real great place to be black...
I see what you are saying, but this isn't necessarily true. An example of a Michigan city that comes to mind is Muskegon Heights. It is predominantly black, but it is right next to Muskegon, which is about 33% black.
Even around Detroit, you have places like Southfield, River Rouge, Oak Park, Redford, parts of Farmington Hills, Inkster, Harper Woods, Ecorse, etc. that are predominantly black or have higher black percentages outside of the city and vary greatly economically.
In the Cleveland area, there are some Eastern suburbs with high/predominant black percentages like Shaker Heights, Cleveland Heights, South Euclid, Richmond Heights, etc. that range economically.
There are other examples as well(Forest Park outside of Cincinnati, parts of Flint Township west of Flint, parts of the Waverly SD just west of Lansing, parts of Columbus suburbs like Reynoldsburg and Pickerington(among others), etc.).
Also, even in the stretch of Northeastern cities mentioned, it varies economically in terms of the black population. For instance, a lot of people don't know that on Syracuse's East Side(a small portion in the town of DeWitt), the 13224 zip code is the blackest middle class zip code in Upstate NY at about 36% and has a neighborhood in Salt Springs in its northern portion that is a predominantly black, largely working/middle class area. A block group in that neighborhood: Census Block Group 003602-2 in Onondaga County, New York
A street view: https://www.google.com/maps/@43.0493...6!9m2!1b1!2i37
The black median household income has historically at least been above the national and state black figure, which is generally lower middle class, but with a range. A block group in DeWitt: Census Block Group 014700-3 in Onondaga County, New York
So, they do vary and some of the poverty is partially due to immigrants/refugees coming with whatever they have to some of these cities. In turn, it takes some time for some to "get on their feet".
I also think the difference is that people know due to the legacy of enslavement that those Southern states would have said demographics, while many may not know about some of these things mentioned in terms of Northeastern and Midwestern cities/areas. So, that may be something to keep in mind. Another example, how many know about this Brooklyn college?: https://nces.ed.gov/globallocator/co....asp?ID=190646 https://ares.mec.cuny.edu/
Some history in regards to the institution and only its starting date keeps it from being an HBCU: https://ares.mec.cuny.edu/history/
To be fair when I brought up that point about Michigan and Ohio I wasn't referring to the suburbs of major metro areas. I was talking about stand alone cities and towns in comparison to the south. Now you do see a lot of significant black populations scattered around states like Illinois/Ohio/Michigan. Their Black percentages are above the national average of black people which is 14%.
Of course In the Northeast NY State(mostly cause of NYC)/New Jersey/Connecticut have a black percentage over the national average or right at the national average. Penn is slightly below at 13%.
The closer south you get such as Maryland/Delaware/D.C. is where you start to see the black percentage punch way over 25% of the state. Historically though this area was considered the south(below the mason Dixon line) so it makes sense why you start to see the Black percentages jump up.
The south is where you just see bigger percentages of the black population. Kentucky/Oklahoma and West VA are the only states that have a percentage below the national average.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade
I just have no interest in chilling in southern burbs and small cities just because they’re black-I value the diversity I get in northern areas both ethnically and racially. Nothing “against the south “. I’m just northerner and prefer northern culture and lifestyle. I understand different regions of the south pretty well and can distinguish music and clave ya from ATL from NO from Houston. From FL...Yea there are some terrible black ghettos in between say Baltimore and NYC but that’s why my family moved to MA in the first place, New England is prettier and A little less congested. And significant black populations in the northeast are never that far from one another in general.
If I sound like the black Bostonians em your ex didn’t like that’s because I am lol. We’re way up here and again certain folks wanna see Boston or the north In General as one way you can’t honestly be surprised when some folks want to see the south one way. People create their own narratives and truths and stick to them unfortunately.
That's perfectly fine you have no interest in being in the South. It's already enough Northern transplants moving here congested our cities as is. I have no problem in your taste trust me I have no interest in living or visiting Boston for that matter. My only thing is don't lie on the south based on inaccurate perceptions. Hell I didn't generalize Boston, really have that much interest in the city despite the Black Boston digital brochure pamphlets ya'll have flood the thread with.
Your preference is yours but nobody is forcing anybody to like a certain region. Like I stated before i'm not into plantation boasting. I just didn't appreciate the false generalizations made about Black people in the south.
The regional differences & similarities varies and choosing a suitable location is highly individual. Rather it be amenities of the Northeast/Midwest/West/ or South, each can be tailored made for any Black person or family. The oocupation/entrepreneurship, health (allegories, etc) , fiscal management, marital status, family, age, education & lifestyle is the biggest impact on choices.
Y'all all have offer incredible insight to locales ( despite 20 pgs of Boston metro/Northeast metro diagolue). Just arranging it into the 3 general geographic types: Metro/ Micro/ Rural living.
The Black community ( including Afro Diaspora & Mixed) are highly located in Metropolitan areas (84%) & the rest outside of it ( 16%). This varies by breakdown of diaspora cultures of course.
For the young crowd that are college aged & robust lifestyle they will flock to destinations with plenty of amenities & nightlife ( except the introverted types). Getting into college/workforce/military/entrepreneurship will place them in Metros such as Atlanta, Dallas-Ft Worth, Houston, Orlando, Boston , etc.
The milder crowd starting families or children started first grade or so could be more surburban & micropolitan friendly. Still living close or reasonable distance of a metro area.
The older crowd with kids gone are most likely to stay in the interior of the city proper to relocating to rural areas.
Just examples of how , after breaking down by age & marital status, different geographic types is suitable for the Black community since you'll find it and every region & of course different amenities.
Southern small city fella like myself don't mind micro areas. Offer the basic infrastructure & amenities of a metro just without the traffic & low violent crimes per say. Diversity may be low or in specific areas yet developing quality networks is a bonus. Income wise varies based on occupation but low COL alongside an hour plus drive to nearby metros.
I will visit in the future up north locales but wouldn't live there due to those winters. I'm accustom to receiving little to no snow in the winter, so to live in some places where you'll get snowed in literally is not my cup of tea.
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