Which Northeast city would be best for a black middle class family? (live, state)
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I should also add if you’re from a place where when you say your city you get respect and admiration or tales of connections? then moving to Boston will be a ’clout’ disappointment for you. Even if you love the city you’ll learn to temper your excitement externally. You have to be mentally prepared to deal with a level of invisibility where if you’re coming from NYC DC PHILLY can’t be attractive.
In part- Boston's modern-day present isn't as interesting as its very recent past. Going from a novel ultra-white hardscrabble yet the intellectual yet backwards city is a lot more notable and interesting than becoming just another diverse, and tech-oriented city.
Bostons' status as a diverse, safe, responsible, and stable city really isn't interesting. It's balkanized enough where you can't get a "feel" for the metro without going to various regions of it extensively. High levels of ethnic segrgeation and extensive independent histories contribute to that. So people have a good deal of differing perceptions of the area.
To that point, there are still racial tensions in some Boston suburbs. Certain towns have that reputation and small subjects of the metro have an off/racist vibe. Places far on the North Shore and Far on the South Shore most notably.
There are a lot of people who look at Boston sideways but will give it a chance. Some folks turn around and like it a lot. Other dont its fine really. If you live in Boston by far your biggest concern will be housing. Then making friends After that life is pleasant. I always stand firm in the "would move back" category. Unfortunately what positive the city has and the offering it does have arent talked about. Int the past few weeks friends of mine have seen/done:
an Arnez J comedy show
Jadakiss at a local d(black owned) ispensary
Celtics games at the Garden
Apple picking in suburban MA
Live black couples therapy podcast at the underground Cafe (black owned) on Northeasterns campus
RnB Day parties at Savvor
whale watching downtown Boston
and the Black Economic Council of Massachusetts' "Mass Black Expo" is this upcoming week. https://www.massblackexpo.com/
In short- you're going to have ampe access to black culture and amenities in a pretty densearea, not to mention just a bunch of amenities in general.
Additionally, I find outside of housing Bosotn is decidedly cheaper than NYC on everyday things.
And yea just keeps in mind your going to do this in a cleaner, calmer city than NYC or Philly-by a wide margin.
8 of the 17 are Black, 3 of 17 are Hispanic, 3 of 17 are Asian, 3 of 17 are white.
Of her first 2 new cabinet appointments- one is black and 1 is Asian, she has retained 1 white cabinet staffer from Marty Walsh.
We’ll see how inclusive her administration is, quote from a recent article I read : “ Amid the shuttered Starbucks and empty office buildings, she sees an opportunity to reimagine downtown and help fulfill her agenda to create a more equitable city, one with more child-care centers, businesses owned by Black and brown entrepreneurs, housing, and arts and culture.”
This is also the first year Boston City Council will have not just more minorities than whites but more black councilors than white councilors.
I think the city and select other cities in the metro have appealed to black families/residents due to its stability, schools, culture and its size, as the almost 10% black population growth rate from 2010-2020 in the metro illustrates. So, I think that shows that people are taking the city/area for what it is.
Forgot about that one. But how much of that income is attributed to whites and Asians? Or black retirees(most of the residents, 21% of the population, is in their 60s)?
So, this is an example of being in an area with very good schools, safe, with a substantial middle class black population, a growing black population and that has access to public transportation, if you want to take it.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 11-16-2021 at 07:43 PM..
I should also add if you’re from a place where when you say your city you get respect and admiration or tales of connections? then moving to Boston will be a ’clout’ disappointment for you. Even if you love the city you’ll learn to temper your excitement externally. You have to be mentally prepared to deal with a level of invisibility where if you’re coming from NYC DC PHILLY can’t be attractive.
If I could afford it, I'd move to Boston... I could care less what someone on Twitter thinks of me. You need to stop letting these ignorant black people get under your skin. Boston's far more cleaner, safer, and educated than Philadelphia. At the time being, I wouldn't mind living there as a single guy in his 20's (I'm in position to rent in the city from my cousin after I graduate), but if and when I have a family, I'm getting the hell out of here. I'm sure it's the same as you with Baltimore?
If I could afford it, I'd move to Boston... I could care less what someone on Twitter thinks of me. You need to stop letting these ignorant black people get under your skin. Boston's far more cleaner, safer, and educated than Philadelphia. At the time being, I wouldn't mind living there as a single guy in his 20's (I'm in position to rent in the city from my cousin after I graduate), but if and when I have a family, I'm getting the hell out of here. I'm sure it's the same as you with Baltimore?
if it were only people from Twitter then it wouldn’t be an issue worth mention. But these things have soft implications at times that affect real world movements. It’s not nearly as simple as some people on Twitter. This is something that been the focus of National conversation multiple times just in the past 5 years from MSNBC CNN to ESPN to SNL. It’s much larger than that. It effects how people choose to travel, what business connections you can establish, and the flow of black investor capital-significantly. I’ve given you many examples in the past but I remember a woman in DC (from LA) telling me you don’t have to “like” where your from. This was a very public statement made early in a party. How you respond about Boston for some people, including folks I work with in other markets, actually matters.
Someone I worked with in Detroit asked how I liked it I said it was a good city he said he had a bad experience there 30/35 years ago and decided not to come back. All I said was “oh, I wasn’t even alive 30 years ago.” Unfortunately it’s not just ignorant people in Twitter. Peak earners and powerbrokers ages 40-65 came up during the a time when the identity of Boston was busing and Larry Bird (who unfairly became a pseudo white supremacy figurehead). These notion are reinforced when you have documentaries like magic vs bird where Ice Cube narrates for LA and Mark Wahlberg narrates Boston as opposed to say…Mike Bivins or Howard Bryant . Especially when people know he was committing hate crimes in Boston when the Celtics won their championships. When I taught at a ultra progressive private school in DC I told a white female coworker I was from Boston upon her asking her response was “oof that’s a tough town, especially for black people” so immediately you’re in a position to respond somewhat politically and that will inform people as to how “aware” you are. That’s fine-but it’s kind of loaded for someone your first meeting. It’s one of those things where you can’t gauge how that meaningfully impacts people lives. It comes down to background, first impressions, even racial politics. There’s countless situations I could name.
Absolutely would move. I have a son and an ex-wife who works at Johns Hopkins and isn’t in any rush to move. If she were a bit more flexible I’d be gone now. Boston is too expensive for me at the moment but if I could I would move there. It’s just a very a solid stable thoughtful environment. Regardless of what happens I really only want to give Baltimore two years max. The baseline level dysfunction and decline is too much of just a logistical headache at this point. And I don’t know how people don’t mention this but the level of interpersonal racism I’ve faced here is SOOO MUCH HIGHER than Boston. It’s truly sickening to the point of being embarrassing when out with people. The racism is truly common place as I move around in parking lots, bars, the Toyota dealership, in I would seriously feel its unfair to raise my son in this physical environment compared to the one I knew growing up. It’s not what you envision in terms of the be generational improvement.
If I could afford it, I'd move to Boston... I could care less what someone on Twitter thinks of me. You need to stop letting these ignorant black people get under your skin. Boston's far more cleaner, safer, and educated than Philadelphia. At the time being, I wouldn't mind living there as a single guy in his 20's (I'm in position to rent in the city from my cousin after I graduate), but if and when I have a family, I'm getting the hell out of here. I'm sure it's the same as you with Baltimore?
I don't think anyone would quibble with such broad generalizations, but it is always important to acknowledge that a "safe, clean and educated" experience is highly attainable in Philadelphia.
It's quite sad that there's strong sensationalism and tendency to characterize crime and blight/litter--although it was waning pre-pandemic, it's re-emerged in full force in pandemic/post-pandemic era--as the defining attributes for Philadelphia. We both know it's far more nuanced than that.
But just as Boston is perfectly capable of rising above the stereotypes to provide fantastic opportunities to POCs, so too does Philadelphia in its ability to provide a stable and satisfying urban experience for hundreds of thousands of residents of all races.
I don't think anyone would quibble with such broad generalizations, but it is always important to acknowledge that a "safe, clean and educated" experience is highly attainable in Philadelphia.
It's quite sad that there's strong sensationalism and tendency to characterize crime and blight/litter--although it was waning pre-pandemic, it's re-emerged in full force in pandemic/post-pandemic era--as the defining attributes for Philadelphia. We both know it's far more nuanced than that.
But just as Boston is perfectly capable of rising above the stereotypes to provide fantastic opportunities to POCs, so too does Philadelphia in its ability to provide a stable and satisfying urban experience for hundreds of thousands of residents of all races.
Reliance on stereotypes is harmful to all cities.
Yes to both your points. But mentally/psychologically I think both my point on Boston and AshbyQuins point on Philly are worthy of mention and things you can feel. You're going to feel that awkwardness in saying "Boston" as your city of residence at times. And it going to be a bit harder to shield yourself from the more abject (dare I say grotesque?) poverty and elevated crime in Philly than most major cities, certainly than in Boston. You've got to take the good with the bad-and yes, perspective is important
Given this list that Mutiny77 posted in the Mecca thread, it looks like in terms of black population growth in the region’s bigger metros, Boston and Buffalo are the top 2 in terms of growth percentage. New Haven is next in growth percentage for metros in the region with at least 100k black residents.
Cheektowaga(CDP): https://data.burlingtonfreepress.com...k/160-3615000/
It is in the town of the same name: https://data.burlingtonfreepress.com...60-3602915011/ (its NW corner is comprised of the Cleveland Hill neighborhood/SD, which has some middle class highly/predominantly black census block groups next to the city of Buffalo as well. It actually touches Eggertsville (CDP). There is a decent amount in the NE portion of the town covered by the Maryvale SD as well. Cheektowaga Central and Cleveland Hill SD’s are about 30% or so in terms of black student enrollment. Cheektowaga-Sloan is another SD in the town. Some kids in the town may go to West Seneca, Depew and Lancaster Schools as well.)
Again, I'll stop there, but some other communities saw an increase in black population as well(Lockport, a small city in Niagara County with solid schools and a long time black population is an example).
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