Rich White People Self-Segregate More in Philly ’Burbs Than Most Anywhere Else (Yeadon: house, incomes)

[asiandudeyo]

Originally Posted by cpomp

Very believable that Boston and Philly are at the top of the cities measured. In Phillys case, most of the area is very old well established suburbs that have always been white wealthy and disassociated with the city. The attitude toward Philly is quickly changing, but the fear of minorities is not. I grew up in a well off area of Delaware County, where everyone was white, and most people feared black people like the plague.

Love my hometown, but part of the reason I live in the city now is because of the very harsh and often judgemental attitudes you find in the suburbs (at least in Delaware County).

When I moved to PA, I actually found it very strange.
Since I work in the suburb, I learned that some of people who live in Lansdale area NEVER BEEN to the city. And I am not talking about teenagers here - I am talking about full grown male / female.
I often associate it with closed-mindedness and fear of the unknown.
Not to mention another topic, but some times I told them I often go to the Gallery.
They would be like "GASP! oh my god....did you get mugged?"
Nope. Never.
And yes I walked on Market East at 3 am in the morning multiple times - never got bothered. I am not saying it does not happen to other people. But it is not as bad as what everybody thinks.
If anything what bothers me are drunk loud suburbanites who are trying to catch train home.
And another tid bits I notice is that some of suburbanites who take train to Lansdale/Doylestown are trashy. Those who take train to Warminster are for most parts decent. I wonder why.

[kyb01]

Originally Posted by asiandudeyo

When I moved to PA, I actually found it very strange.
Since I work in the suburb, I learned that some of people who live in Lansdale area NEVER BEEN to the city. And I am not talking about teenagers here - I am talking about full grown male / female.
I often associate it with closed-mindedness and fear of the unknown.
Not to mention another topic, but some times I told them I often go to the Gallery.
They would be like "GASP! oh my god....did you get mugged?"
Nope. Never.
And yes I walked on Market East at 3 am in the morning multiple times - never got bothered. I am not saying it does not happen to other people. But it is not as bad as what everybody thinks.
If anything what bothers me are drunk loud suburbanites who are trying to catch train home.
And another tid bits I notice is that some of suburbanites who take train to Lansdale/Doylestown are trashy. Those who take train to Warminster are for most parts decent. I wonder why.

I mentioned upthread that a big part of this attitude stems from what these people see on local tv "news" shows which tend to emphasize crime stories as lead stories. Another poster verified exactly what said: that these shows tend to portray the city as under seige and crime ridden. And people take that "information" and believe it's typical for the entire city. So they avoid the city out of fear.

Even back, in the 90s, when there was indeed more crime, I comfortably went anywhere I needed to go and I never was mugged, assaulted, attacked or bothered in any way.

I also mentioned that when Ed Rendell was mayor he tried to get local tv stations to re-think how these stories affected the city's image. It didn't work obviously. Sigh....

[TimmyTightWad]

Originally Posted by BR Valentine

And even in Mt. Airy white people mostly congregate in majority white portions of the neighborhood, which is ultimately two distinct neighborhoods, majority white West Mt. Airy and majority black East Mt. Airy. Both neighborhoods have the same pattern of intra-neighborhood racial distribution as well. Whites are concentrated in majority white census tracts in the northern and western areas and blacks are concentrated in majority black census tracts to the south and east.

I enjoyed living in Mt. Airy. It's a desirable neighborhood in many ways. But the perceived amount of integration, especially by Mt. Airy residents, doesn't match the actual level of integration. This isn't a criticism, I'm just pointing out that people still sort themselves by race (and income) more than they may care to acknowledge.

It's still the most socially integrated section of Philly , and it's probably not even close.

[TimmyTightWad]

Originally Posted by MB1562

I said most, not all. Or can you not read? Chester, Collingdale, Darby, Eddystone, Marcus Hook, Trainer, Upland, etc. Of course there are very wealthy parts parts of DelCo that are nothing like those listed. I'm not an ignoramus, I lived there for 4 years.

I also stand by my comment that Chester is right up there with some of the worst ghettos in Philadelphia.

Thank you!

[daboywonder2002]

i was thinking about moving back to the area from minnesota. but lately ive been considering dc. the thing i hate about philly is the segregation. its either live in philly and send your kid to charter or private school or live in the suburbs and deal with your child being the only black in the classrooms. At least in dc, there are blacks in the city and the suburbs so you won't feel like an outcast

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by BR Valentine

And even in Mt. Airy white people mostly congregate in majority white portions of the neighborhood, which is ultimately two distinct neighborhoods, majority white West Mt. Airy and majority black East Mt. Airy. Both neighborhoods have the same pattern of intra-neighborhood racial distribution as well. Whites are concentrated in majority white census tracts in the northern and western areas and blacks are concentrated in majority black census tracts to the south and east.

I enjoyed living in Mt. Airy. It's a desirable neighborhood in many ways. But the perceived amount of integration, especially by Mt. Airy residents, doesn't match the actual level of integration. This isn't a criticism, I'm just pointing out that people still sort themselves by race (and income) more than they may care to acknowledge.

I'll offer anecdotal backup to your comment by way of what I observed when I met a white friend of mine who then lived in East Mt. Airy at McMenamin's Tavern, a neighborhood institution.

The scene inside was what I'd call very Mt. Airy: the patrons were almost evenly divided between black and white, and there was plenty of convivial banter going on, much of it related to the Phillies game being broadcast on the TVs there.

However: the only conversation taking place across the black-white boundary was the one between me and my friend, not counting interactions with the (white) bartender. The black patrons were chatting with their black friends, the whites ditto, and very little interracial interaction.

Still, I'd call this a darn sight better than what I'd see at similar pubs in other city neighborhoods.

[Aimewitue]

Originally Posted by TimmyTightWad

It's still the most socially integrated section of Philly , and it's probably not even close.

Not really I think the numbers show that olney and lower northeast areas is actually the most diverse section of the city.

I actually found MT.airy to still be divided between east(black) and west(white).

The suburbs in philly are majority white no surprise there

There are few majority black suburbs in the philly area....even fewer that are affluent.

[ElijahAstin]

Originally Posted by Aimewitue

Not really I think the numbers show that olney and lower northeast areas is actually the most diverse section of the city.

I actually found MT.airy to still be divided between east(black) and west(white).

The suburbs in philly are majority white no surprise there

There are few majority black suburbs in the philly area....even fewer that are affluent.

While West Mt. Airy is the whiter of the two, it's still ~50% black. East Mt. Airy is ~80% black.

[MarketStEl]

Originally Posted by southbound_295

Think about how long Lawnside has been inhabited by black people.

I know one of the descendants of William Still, a prominent conductor on the Underground Railroad who wrote the first definitive history of the effort to help slaves escape to Canada and freedom.

I had the great honor of being a guest at a Still family reunion on the grounds of a family member's ranch home in Lawnside. The host gave me a copy of the National Geographic feature on the Stills.

Lawnside, which was incorporated as a separate borough in 1923, takes great pride in its history.

Originally Posted by TimmyTightWad

It's still the most socially integrated section of Philly , and it's probably not even close.

If by "integrated" you mean there's interaction between (among) the various groups, quite probably, but I can think of some parts of Germantown that would give Mt. Airy a run for its money. And as far as socioeconomic diversity is concerned, I think Germantown takes the prize here. It has census tracts ranging from 80+ percent below the poverty line (mostly in its southerly reaches and in East Germantown) to those with incomes up there with the better-off parts of Mt. Airy and Chestnut Hill (in particular the Tulpehocken Historic District at Germantown's northwest corner).

But I think I have to agree with the poster who said the Lower Northeast is now more diverse than Mt. Airy, or any other part of the city, for that matter. It certainly has more ethnic variety, with just about every major racial/ethnic category present and accounted for in the neighborhood (Africans, African-Americans, blacks from the Caribbean, Brazilians, Dominicans, Koreans, even Mongolians). Income-wise, it skews downscale (the median household income of the Oxford Circle Census tract I left and the East Germantown one I moved to are virtually the same, and in the upper $20k range in both cases), but it looks better than most downscale neighborhoods I'm familiar with.

[Trimatty471]

Originally Posted by the_curious_urbanist

White suburbanites are the worst Negadelphians with their head up in their asses still believing that Philly is a dangerous ghetto like the early 1990's. They don't mean anything for the city so screw them.

I agree. I told one of them to go work in Jersey.