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i'm in mebane, just a few months, but was in cary for a few renting.
i like durham too! especialy the city center. i have a thing for city centers--
i guess that is why i loved paterson so much. i used to go downtown with my grandmother every saturday for shopping (in the 80's). when i am back in NJ and go into paterson, i always marvel at the beautiful architecture and my heart aches for it--no one wants to fix it up.
findinghope - It's a shame the shape NJ's cities are in. They still have potential. Maybe when gas is $8.00 a gallon, some of the outlying suburbs will have residents that will reconsider NJ cities.
i miss living in the city where you can walk to everything you need. i mean i was pretty young at the time, but i still remember what it was like--i grew up off of/on 21st ave. i know how it was to know the shop keepers, to shop in individual specialty shops for everything needed. i know what it was like getting fresh bread and meat and fruit every day. i often wish i could go back there--but it was just a moment in time, and i would need all the same people there with me...
NC is a big improvement over NJ. Taxes that are a third of what I paid for that little Cape Cod in Paterson for a house three times the size in NC, make it a no-brainer for this early retiree. But I guess you already know that! I'm now living in the house that I would have liked to have grown up in. Three bathrooms beat one any day of the week! No more fighting with siblings to get into that one bathroom! LOL! There are things I miss about NJ, but they get less and less, the longer I'm here. You can go home again - but it will never be the same.
I can't see what a retired person would want with a house three times the size. Large houses are lots of work, and someone has to clean all that unnecessary space. Seriously, this obsession with large houses is what's killing cities in the first place.
Hey guys, I came to America and Paterson in 1996 at a young age and it really is not that bad. The school system definitely is bad. I used to walk around when I was young by myself in a rather okay neighborhood (IMO), around Beech street. It's the kind of place where if you do not cause trouble and attention to yourself, people will accept you and in turn, not cause you any trouble. I only started to develop some negative views about Paterson when I attended my high school, which was in a nice area of Bergen County. Many outsiders show their "fear" when they come to Paterson and it is apparent to most of the residents that they have heard bad things about Paterson. For example, I saw a Caucasian lady at a red light immediately lock her doors and close her windows when a group of teenagers walked by. I laughed a little and the teenagers also saw it and laughed. I don't think the people in Paterson are looking to get into fights, but there is always bound to be altercations and misunderstandings. I can understand that some suburban people feel uncomfortable because of the large Latino and African-American population. I wish they would literally clean the streets and make the city look nicer, because I believe that having a nicer looking city will atleast change some of the people's mindsets and reduce crime. Wishful thinking?
Last edited by patersonresident; 05-01-2008 at 12:56 PM..
Reason: typo
Hey guys, I came to America and Paterson in 1996 at a young age and it really is not that bad. The school system definitely is bad. I used to walk around when I was young by myself in a rather okay neighborhood (IMO), around Beech street. It's the kind of place where if you do not cause trouble and attention to yourself, people will accept you and in turn, not cause you any trouble. I only started to develop some negative views about Paterson when I attended my high school, which was in a nice area of Bergen County. Many outsiders show their "fear" when they come to Paterson and it is apparent to most of the residents that they have heard bad things about Paterson. For example, I saw a Caucasian lady at a red light immediately lock her doors and close her windows when a group of teenagers walked by. I laughed a little and the teenagers also saw it and laughed. I don't think the people in Paterson are looking to get into fights, but there is always bound to be altercations and misunderstandings. I can understand that some suburban people feel uncomfortable because of the large Latino and African-American population. I wish they would literally clean the streets and make the city look nicer, because I believe that having a nicer looking city will atleast change some of the people's mindsets and reduce crime. Wishful thinking?
aw, you bring back good memories--i went to school on beech street. i also wish they would clean it up--it really is a beautiful place. but crime and slum have really give it a bad rep...
I'm from Paterson and Beech St. is not nice at all! It's also right behind Summer St, another bad street. Things get better once you hit Martin St. in that area (exactly where People's Park begins).
Market St. and Straight St. is NOT part of People's Park. Those streets are in Sandy Hill and this area is bad.
I was not saying either of those streets were in Peoples Park. You misunderstood my comment. I was pointing out my familiarity with Paterson has come from living on its outskirts and where I have been working since 1982.
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Is Paterson dangerous?
