What would make RI a better place for you?? (Cranston: high crime, neighborhood)
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Then you have no idea what a ghetto is or what one looks like. Ghetto /= urban environment with >50% minority populations.
I'm over there nearly every weekend visiting friends, going to brunch, visiting the brewery, taking in plays, etc. Real ghetto.
I'm also wondering how many "ghettos" you know with fantastic art walks.
My friend bought in an "up and coming" condo in Chelsea years ago, and would give anything to leave now. The neighborhood is not safe at all, you can't even park on the street these days. The city certainly hasn't gotten better, has probably gotten worse he says.
I don't know where you obtained that "ghetto" definition, but Chelsea would qualify by that definition anyhow. The schools even more so (what this conversation is about).
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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Huh, I have friends that bought condos there and love it. The two closest ones are both female, been there for 5+ years and never a problem. And why can't you park? I park there when I visit. It's definitely getting gentrified, albeit slowly... and no, places with art walks, micro brews, galleries, community theatre, brunch and coffee shops, etc generally aren't called "ghettos" by most definitions.
Huh, I have friends that bought condos there and love it. The two closest ones are both female, been there for 5+ years and never a problem. And why can't you park? I park there when I visit. It's definitely getting gentrified, albeit slowly... and no, places with art walks, micro brews, galleries, community theatre, brunch and coffee shops, etc generally aren't called "ghettos" by most definitions.
There have been multiple break ins (coming in waves) over recent years. Residents are regularly warned about it. There have even been some issues in the "secured" parking area, with suspicious people hanging around and stuff being taken. It is NOT a nice neighborhood by any stretch of imagination. Conditions elsewhere in that tiny city don't look any better.
A commonly accepted measure of the economics of a school district, is the percentage of students receiving reduced rate lunches.
Chelsea is at 88%! Looks like the highest in the state!
Sorry, regardless of what you want to cite, it is true. Hope has never been a prime high school. I grew up in RI and got a good education in RI in those days. You didn't grow up in the RI education system and lack personal experience, many of us on this forum did.
You make a lot of assumptions about who has personal experience. Once again, you are wrong to say that Hope High School was never considered a good school. Feel free to personalize it and say that you didn't consider it a good school- that is certainly not its reputation historically.
This thread has gone way off topic. It is about what would make Rhode Island better for you, and by that , I meant people who live here.
You make a lot of assumptions about who has personal experience. Once again, you are wrong to say that Hope High School was never considered a good school. Feel free to personalize it and say that you didn't consider it a good school- that is certainly not its reputation historically.
This thread has gone way off topic. It is about what would make Rhode Island better for you, and by that , I meant people who live here.
It is very sad that those who do live there feel the need to disagree with anyone's opinion that does not suit their personal agenda. I didn't attend Hope High School, and in the 60's it was a hell of a lot better than it is now. But never a "nice" school. Ask anyone who lives and was brought up outside the radius of Providence and its "east side".
What would make RI better for many of us who have to deal with RI issues on an annual basis, whether physically living there or not, is not something you have the right to discern. Schools in RI overall are not known to be among the best in the country, and not the best or near best in the northeast or New England. That is a fact that has been discussed in this topic and in private for a very long time. When asking for opinions on what would make Rhode Island better for anyone planning to live there, have lived there and have family and business connections there is not a subject which you have the right to criticize.
This is an opinion forum, and in particular, a relocation forum.
Last edited by CaseyB; 05-24-2014 at 11:28 AM..
Reason: bickering
I don't know where you obtained that "ghetto" definition, but Chelsea would qualify by that definition anyhow. The schools even more so (what this conversation is about).
Now back to RI!
Standard dictionary definition.
1. a section of a city, especially a thickly populated slum area, inhabited predominantly by members of an ethnic or other minority group, often as a result of social or economic restrictions, pressures, or hardships.
2. (formerly, in most European countries) a section of a city in which all Jews were required to live.
3. a section predominantly inhabited by Jews.
4. any mode of living, working, etc., that results from stereotyping or biased treatment: job ghettos for women; ghettos for the elderly.
Suburban schools and neighborhoods have always been more desirable than crowded city schools. Rural, semi-rural, and country locations are much better environments for many reasons.
Are Providence High Schools really crowded? That may have been true once but it seems unlikely now when they have at least 8 different high schools. Alvaraz has 545 students in 9-12, Mt Pleasant has 985, Central has Classical has 1105, Central 1107, PCTA has 498, E-Cubed has 358, etc.
My graduating class in my suburban school had 420 students, larger than any Providence class. These days Coventry High School has 1724 students, Cumberland has 1461, Barrington has 1126. North Kingstown has 1595. Many of the suburban schools are actually more crowded than the Providence schools nowadays.
I agree that suburban schools have many advantages over urban schools, I disagree with your assessment of rural schools though. They have a lot of disadvantages as compared to suburban schools. There are so many programs and classes that rural students miss out on because there simply aren't enough students to offer some programs. They often lack the extra curriculars and sports teams that larger schools can field. Transportation is an expensive issue when you have large rural districts - just remember how often Foster Gloster didn't have school!
Standard dictionary definition.
1. a section of a city, especially a thickly populated slum area, inhabited predominantly by members of an ethnic or other minority group, often as a result of social or economic restrictions, pressures, or hardships.
2. (formerly, in most European countries) a section of a city in which all Jews were required to live.
3. a section predominantly inhabited by Jews.
4. any mode of living, working, etc., that results from stereotyping or biased treatment: job ghettos for women; ghettos for the elderly.
So it looks like a broad, multi-meaning definition.
Here is the more up-to-date commonly used definition.
"1. (n.) an impoverished, neglected, or otherwise disadvantaged residential area of a city, usually troubled by a disproportionately large amount of crime
2. (adj.) urban; of or relating to (inner) city life
3. (adj.) poor; of or relating to the poor life
4. (adj.) jury-rigged, improvised, or home-made (usually with extremely cheap or sub-standard components), yet still deserving of an odd sense of respect from ghetto dwellers and non-ghetto dwellers alike
1. John's paranoia about triple-checking whether or not he's locked his car doors comes from his growing up in the ghetto
2. "Why you always be talkin' ghetto? Get yo'self a propa' e-ju-ma-kay-shun, kid!"
3. Jane hid her head in embarrasment as her mom shamelessly committed the ghetto act of stuffing the restaurant's bread rolls, sugar packets, and silverware in her purse
4. "A TV Guide duct-taped to a 4 foot stick?! That's one hella ghetto 'mote control!""
Urban dictionary is a dictionary for slang, not proper English. Although I still maintain that none of those definitions apply to Knightsville.
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