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Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
4,409 posts, read 6,536,583 times
Reputation: 6253
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MB1562
Also, I find it funny that someone from a place as poor, uneducated, obese, and culturally backward as rural Louisiana would talk down on a major city like Philadelphia. It is factually accurate that the South has some of the lowest quality of life metrics of anywhere in the developed world.
Rural Louisiana isn't quite THAT bad, is what I really want to say, but the decade I spent living there was utterly miserable. For a long and nuanced list of reasons I won't labor here. I still harbor nothing against the south as a whole, but Louisiana can kiss my arse.
That said, Louisiana is one of the two most violent states in the country. With a crime rate comparable to a third world country by ratio (and yes, violent racism in all directions is still RAMPANT there, I witnessed it). Tom here has the nerve to talk on Philly's crime. Alright buster, so explain to us how Louisiana is so much better when Shreveport, Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans have each been in the top ten murder capitals multiple times in the last 25 years.
The crime of Louisiana is a huuuuuge part of why I got back out of that mire. My friend from Virginia only lasted a year before the state sent him screaming home back in 2009.
It's not any better to romanticize anyplace or time (nowhere is perfect), but Tom definitely romanticizes the south, while simultaneously generalizing everything outside of Dixie land.
It's funny when people who are moving from different areas of the country come into our local (NJ) forum and put "new construction" as a housing requirement. We love our old houses here in the NE. Other areas of the country look like creepy stepford neighborhoods where everything is the same. I even live in a "newer" development my town, with capes built in the 1950s. Up the street are homes from the 1700s. If this is outdated housing stock, then outdated housing stock is fine by me!
Exactly! You can always just retrofit the older houses to have modern amenities anyway. But they sure don't make houses as nice as the prewars anymore.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MassVt
He's actually a younger guy, if you can read between the lines. Too much pro-southern propaganda, though...
I wouldn't consider born in 1970 to be "young", unless he is actually younger than that
First, I live in New York (Manhattan), and the homeless problem is quite extreme and just as much in my face as it was in Philadelphia, if not more. Lets not act like homeless people are Philadelphia problem. Take a trip to San Francisco and Los Angeles and you will see a homeless problem.
Preach it. I live in Queens and commute into Manhattan daily. There are FAAAAR more homeless and mentally ill people all over New York than there are in Philadelphia. It isn't even close. When I lived in Philly, homeless people panhandling on the subway or bothering you was a once-in-a-while occurrence. In New York it is a daily occurrence, and there are a lot of them who are aggressive and mentally unstable. Philadelphia does have a homeless problem to an extent, but nowhere like New York, LA, or San Francisco. Those places get a total pass only because there are tons of billionaire-dense high rises surrounding the problem. Philadelphia doesn't have that, so it gets pounded for the same issue that certain "golden cities" get a pass for.
The only part of Center City Philadelphia that has a truly visible homeless problem is near the Convention Center. Other than that, it really isn't all that bad in CC.
Rural Louisiana isn't quite THAT bad, is what I really want to say, but the decade I spent living there was utterly miserable. For a long and nuanced list of reasons I won't labor here. I still harbor nothing against the south as a whole, but Louisiana can kiss my arse.
Maybe not, but their quality of life is pretty appallingly low in comparison to their northern neighbors.
Rural Louisiana isn't quite THAT bad, is what I really want to say, but the decade I spent living there was utterly miserable. For a long and nuanced list of reasons I won't labor here. I still harbor nothing against the south as a whole, but Louisiana can kiss my arse.
That said, Louisiana is one of the two most violent states in the country. With a crime rate comparable to a third world country by ratio (and yes, violent racism in all directions is still RAMPANT there, I witnessed it). Tom here has the nerve to talk on Philly's crime. Alright buster, so explain to us how Louisiana is so much better when Shreveport, Lake Charles, Baton Rouge, and New Orleans have each been in the top ten murder capitals multiple times in the last 25 years.
The crime of Louisiana is a huuuuuge part of why I got back out of that mire. My friend from Virginia only lasted a year before the state sent him screaming home back in 2009.
It's not any better to romanticize anyplace or time (nowhere is perfect), but Tom definitely romanticizes the south, while simultaneously generalizing everything outside of Dixie land.
I don't even think he romanticizes New Orlean or those other Louisiana cities, only their middle class suburbs
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
4,409 posts, read 6,536,583 times
Reputation: 6253
Quote:
Originally Posted by MB1562
Maybe not, but their quality of life is pretty appallingly low in comparison to their northern neighbors.
As a whole? I can see it. But, don't let the state fool you, Louisiana is as wealthy as any northern state. The government there is just extremely crooked.
At least in southern Louisiana, I saw acres upon acres upon acres of upper middle class McMansions from border to border. Looots of old money mansions still occupied. A stretch of Highland Drive off of Baton Rouge is lined with nothing but massive overly elaborate millionaire homes.
The gas, oil, salt, lumber, shrimp, rice, and chemical industries are thriving and powerful in Louisiana. By comparison, a lot of upstate NY and central PA look like post-apocalyptic horror films.
No no, do not let Louisiana fool you; that's what it wants. It has tons of money, it just doesn't use it well. Their social problems are of their own making.
Mississippi on the other hand... yeah, that state is a first world wasteland. Outside of Jackson and the Memphis suburbs, a huge portion MS is empty, abandoned, and woefully run down.
I also want to mention that I grew up in grinding poverty in NY state, but lived well in Louisiana. So it just kinda depends on where you come from and how lucky you got with family.
As a whole? I can see it. But, don't let the state fool you, Louisiana is as wealthy as any northern state. The government there is just extremely crooked.
At least in southern Louisiana, I saw acres upon acres upon acres of upper middle class McMansions from border to border. Looots of old money mansions still occupied. A stretch of Highland Drive off of Baton Rouge is lined with nothing but massive overly elaborate millionaire homes.
The gas, oil, salt, lumber, shrimp, rice, and chemical industries are thriving and powerful in Louisiana. By comparison, a lot of upstate NY and central PA look like post-apocalyptic horror films.
No no, do not let Louisiana fool you; that's what it wants. It has tons of money, it just doesn't use it well. Their social problems are of their own making.
Mississippi on the other hand... yeah, that state is a first world wasteland. Outside of Jackson and the Memphis suburbs, a huge portion MS is empty, abandoned, and woefully run down.
I also want to mention that I grew up in grinding poverty in NY state, but lived well in Louisiana. So it just kinda depends on where you come from and how lucky you got with family.
One thing I noticed when looking at the MS map on google is just how "empty" a lot of it is. Not that I think every last patch of land needs to be developed, I wouldn't want that at all. But it seems like there's just not a lot of continuous development.
One thing I noticed when looking at the MS map on google is just how "empty" a lot of it is. Not that I think every last patch of land needs to be developed, I wouldn't want that at all. But it seems like there's just not a lot of continuous development.
Drive I-55 north from Jackson to Grenada sometime. It's nothing but trees. Even the interchanges are few and far between, especially north of the Nissan plant in Canton.
Location: Appalachian New York, Formerly Louisiana
4,409 posts, read 6,536,583 times
Reputation: 6253
Quote:
Originally Posted by Craziaskowboi
Drive I-55 north from Jackson to Grenada sometime. It's nothing but trees. Even the interchanges are few and far between, especially north of the Nissan plant in Canton.
My buddy Jon and I used to joke about that stretch of 55. It seemed like there was a sign for Yazoo city for a hundred miles because it was the only thing there.
It was like driving an endless unchanging loop of straight road, surrounded forever by red dirt, southern pines, and the occasional sign for Yazoo City.
Okay, about Philadelphia, its undeniable that it still has a major crime and drug problem, more than many other cities in the nation. Some suburban areas like West Chester ARE also very run down. I do know people who have visited Philadelphia and its still a more run down and dangerous city compared to the average American city.
Philly remains on several most dangerous cities list, especially those where only cities with over 250,000 population or larger metros are ranked. The homicide rate in 2017 is 4 times the national average. The homicide rate in Philadelphia was 21.5, in comparison the homicide rate in Charlotte was 11.1, it was 10.1 in Houston and 9.1 in Tampa.
The majority of Philly's housing stock seems outdated and run down, even some of the suburbs, and this isn't even going into areas in neighboring states like Camden NJ or Wilmington DE. They're also part of the metro area and are very impoverished and crime ridden cities. Of course there's some nice areas of the city but overall Philly is more run down than many other American cities. Some of y'all really need to take a trip to Atlanta, Charlotte, Houston or Raleigh and see the difference.
Both Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are cities that feel old but not historic. There are many Southern cities filled with historic charm like Charleston and Savannah, both built around the same time as Philly.
There is a reason everyone is jumping on your posts: they are absurdly ignorant. You have admitted your own ignorance of Philadelphia's revival by revealing the last time you visited was in 1999. That is twenty years ago.
Have you ever read a thread on this site where posters discuss the how the majority of urban crimes, particularly violent crimes, are not random or by chance, but happen in the context of people who know one another? Now, that is another social issue to be addressed in many major cities the US, but it isn't like you are in danger walking around the majority of Philadelphia.
In regards to the housing stock, your perception again is totally outdated/ignorant. The housing stock here is indeed historical and beautiful.
By you saying something "seems" or "feels" a certain way does not mean they are based in any sort of reality. Philadelphia is a top, if not the topic, historical attraction in the USA.
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