Which Northeast city would be best for a black middle class family? (safe, live)
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.
None. But If I had to pick it would be NYC, maybe Boston... but seriously-none.
Philadelphia? That would be my last choice.
Baltimore and DC don't count as the northeast. They're in former slave territory and they have a demography and suburban development that is characteristic of the South.
I bring this up because someone in our class once “do you think providence is better to live in than here? (Here being newark)” and all the black kids said “uhh yeah?”
And we then got into a social justice conversation to not assume an area is better for a certain ethnic group because it has a higher % of them. White people make this mistake all the time and it can come off as pretty dang racist.
I learned from this too. But its something a lot of people need to realize as well. Not singling this poster out, he hasn't even been to the Northeast so his answers are usually omitted from most discussions, but itis something that does happen in the real world a lot.
Last edited by masssachoicetts; 05-28-2021 at 10:07 AM..
None. They're all too expensive for middle class families, and most are too crowded. For example, I'd rather have a YARD for my kids to play in and not have to have 2 or 3 of them share a bedroom, just to be able to say we live in New York City (or where ever). That's why you see so many black middle class families leaving the Northeast in a reverse migration (and no, I'm not going to get into any stat-pissing back and forths about that. It's been happening for a minute now, and we all know it).
A lot of people just move to the suburbs as well. There is plenty of information just in this thread to illustrate that. Same in regards to select areas of the city that have a large black middle class. For instance, this is a SFH area of Cambria Heights in Queens, a predominantly black area that is middle class: https://goo.gl/maps/M9gLsLpJHEVcSTYKA
So, for Boston, it looks like areas that have at least a substantial black population and are middle class are in portions of Hyde Park, Southern Mattapan and Southern Dorchester, according to the maps.
Would also hate to see Philadelphia's version.. one thing that I can't stand about big cities like NYC, Boston and Philly are how inequitable they are.
Would also hate to see Philadelphia's version.. one thing that I can't stand about big cities like NYC, Boston and Philly are how inequitable they are.
One of the links was difficult to imbed for some reason, so I forgot to add context in the midst of aggravation
My question was which neighborhood is considered the most desirable for black middle class families?The Jamaican Plains area looks ideal on paper, but I'm not entirely sure since statistics can be misleading.
For all the (undeserved) hate Boston gets in the black community, it's black population is increasing while New York's and Philadelphia's is slightly decreasing. Perhaps the stigma is wearing off.
One of the links was difficult to imbed for some reason, so I forgot to add context in the midst of aggravation
My question was which neighborhood is considered the most desirable for black middle class families?The Jamaican Plains area looks ideal on paper, but I'm not entirely sure since statistics can be misleading.
For all the (undeserved) hate Boston gets in the black community, it's black population is increasing while New York's and Philadelphia's is slightly decreasing. Perhaps the stigma is wearing off.
Just outside Boston, Milton and Randolph are middle class black strongholds.
Inside the city of Boston? JP is kinda gentrified. Boston gentrified third fastest in America since 2010.
I would say like now. Hyde Park is one. Maybe parts of Dorchester? Roxbury has an upcoming African cultural district.
None. But If I had to pick it would be NYC, maybe Boston... but seriously-none.
Philadelphia? That would be my last choice.
Baltimore and DC don't count as the northeast. They're in former slave territory and they have a demography and suburban development that is characteristic of the South.
I could see where someone could say that, but I will note that Philadelphia has had three Black mayors over the 38 years I've lived here — I moved here from Boston in 1983, during the first term of Philly's first Black mayor, W. Wilson Goode — while New York has had only one and Boston just got its first.
But I could also argue that Philadelphia is trading on its legacy while Boston has gained ground. A little more on this below.
Quote:
Originally Posted by AshbyQuin
One of the links was difficult to imbed for some reason, so I forgot to add context in the midst of aggravation
My question was which neighborhood is considered the most desirable for black middle class families?The Jamaican Plains area looks ideal on paper, but I'm not entirely sure since statistics can be misleading.
For all the (undeserved) hate Boston gets in the black community, it's black population is increasing while New York's and Philadelphia's is slightly decreasing. Perhaps the stigma is wearing off.
Some of that stigma comes from the school-busing fights of the 1970s, which were brought on by a city school board (Boston has one that's elected by the voters) that passed on every opportunity presented to it to open schools that would have been integrated naturally thanks to their location.
The battles were still very much fresh in everyone's memory when I arrived there as a college freshman in 1976, and they were one of the big reasons I never set foot in South Boston in the seven years I spent in the area (I visited every other part of the city).
But: I also worked on the campaign of the South End community activist who came thisclose to becoming Boston's first Black mayor in 1981.
At the time I moved to Philly in 1983, I said to someone who asked me my opinion that things were better for Blacks here. I wouldn't say that now.
But Philadelphia does remain more affordable than Boston.
...
For all the (undeserved) hate Boston gets in the black community, it's black population is increasing while New York's and Philadelphia's is slightly decreasing. Perhaps the stigma is wearing off.
the racist reputation isnt that undeserved in boston. african-americans tend to hate boston; whereas, west-indians tend to like it.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
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.
