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If you think yuppie hipsters are ruining American cities you ought to come to Canada. It's a WASPy hell up here. If I see another pea coat or boat shoe wearing @sshole I am going on a killing spree.
I see Seattle mentioned profusely on this thread as the number one placed 'yuppies' ruined. Now, this might be due to my age - being in my mid 20's, but for me Seattle has always been the apex of yuppy cities. The city can feel a bit soul-less, grim and waspy AF. It is also very intellectual due to its highly educated populace. So I'm wondering how long ago Seattle as actually 'ruined'?
Now, for me, the problem isn't necessarily the change going on in our inner cities, nor whom is doing it. My major concern is the lack of affordable housing for working class folks that work in these cities, and the ever growing homeless epidemic.
The questions we should be asking aren't how do we stop gentrification (a defensive stance), but how we create dynamic communities/neighborhoods/cities for people in all walks of life to live and work with dignity (this a pro-active/offensive stance)? First stance promotes class warfare, where the second one promotes building bridges and creating dialogue.
Lets be honest, there are entitled people on both camps, but it is in the gray areas in between that we can make some progress so that our cities don't ALL become soul-less coporatized urban Disneylands.
I see Seattle mentioned profusely on this thread as the number one placed 'yuppies' ruined. Now, this might be due to my age - being in my mid 20's, but for me Seattle has always been the apex of yuppy cities. The city can feel a bit soul-less, grim and waspy AF. It is also very intellectual due to its highly educated populace. So I'm wondering how long ago Seattle as actually 'ruined'?
Now, for me, the problem isn't necessarily the change going on in our inner cities, nor whom is doing it. My major concern is the lack of affordable housing for working class folks that work in these cities, and the ever growing homeless epidemic.
The questions we should be asking aren't how do we stop gentrification (a defensive stance), but how we create dynamic communities/neighborhoods/cities for people in all walks of life to live and work with dignity (this a pro-active/offensive stance)? First stance promotes class warfare, where the second one promotes building bridges and creating dialogue.
Lets be honest, there are entitled people on both camps, but it is in the gray areas in between that we can make some progress so that our cities don't ALL become soul-less coporatized urban Disneylands.
I can't tell you exactly when the changes came but I moved to Portland OR in the late 70's and had many friends in Seattle. Both were very different cities from what they are today. I think it was through the mid to late 90's the changes started becoming really noticeable to my friends and me.
Call the new influx of people yuppies or whatever you like but from my perspective Seattle and Portland have become cities of mostly one type of people, one type of age all seeking one type of lifestyle. It's all about economics. Seattle was once a place where working class people; blue collar, pink collar and white collar all could find decent homes. I knew people in all categories living there. But today it's getting more and more to the point that there is no longer diversity in economics. If you can't afford the high COL, there is simply no place for you. It seems to becoming almost all one class.
I wish you and other young people could have seen Seattle "back in the day." I think you would have liked it. It was unique and not at all waspy or grim. The thing I used to like best about Seattle is that it had a great sense of humor and like most cities in those days it had it's affordable areas that were still decent places to live. The majority of transplanted people moving there in later years I guess didn't like the city the way it was otherwise they wouldn't have changed it as drastically as they have. Ironically to me it seems they have turned it into the very type of city from which they claim wanted to move; overcrowded, overpriced, dull and elitist.
It's no wonder so many of my friends there have moved away.
Call the new influx of people yuppies or whatever you like but from my perspective Seattle and Portland have become cities of mostly one type of people, one type of age all seeking one type of lifestyle. It's all about economics. Seattle was once a place where working class people; blue collar, pink collar and white collar all could find decent homes. I knew people in all categories living there. But today it's getting more and more to the point that there is no longer diversity in economics. If you can't afford the high COL, there is simply no place for you. It seems to becoming almost all one class.
The thing I used to like best about Seattle is that it had a great sense of humor and like most cities in those days it had it's affordable areas that were still decent places to live. The majority of transplanted people moving there in later years I guess didn't like the city the way it was otherwise they wouldn't have changed it as drastically as they have. Ironically to me it seems they have turned it into the very type of city from which they claim wanted to move; overcrowded, overpriced, dull and elitist.
It's no wonder so many of my friends there have moved away.
^^^ I think there are a number of cities where this has happened. I also completely agree
with you about how dramatically the cost of living went up, where once it was affordable to different
income levels. And, when I read about where I will always call home, how many hate that it has
winters, no mountains or an ocean.
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I think there are a number of cities where this has happened. I also completely agree
