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I think all three of these posts make great points, as there may be a certain view about South Jersey, but Willingboro seems like a more low key place that may be on the radar primarily of black folks.
Plus, it is close to some predominantly black, middle class areas of Boston(parts of Hyde Park and western Mattapan).
South Jersey is lowkey outside of the Beaches. I was born in Vorhees and moved to PA when I was 10. Half of my family is scattered around SJ- Paulsboro, Woodbury, and Millville.
The small suburbs of Jersey get a bad rep because they sometimes look run down or rustic and got neglected yards. They can still be suitable places for working-class families to raise their children if you're moving from the rough parts of Philly or Wilmington but I wouldn't suggest Penns Grove or Sweedsboro to a middle-class family; they can do better.
I personally find the Cedarbrook or Stenton section of the city to be an underrated gem. It's affordable, safe, and clean, and the schools are fairly decent. FWIW, Rizzo used to live there until he was 'chased' out. Temple used to practice on the now Enon Field.
I personally find the Cedarbrook or Stenton section of the city to be an underrated gem. It's affordable, safe, and clean, and the schools are fairly decent. FWIW, Rizzo used to live there until he was 'chased' out. Temple used to practice on the now Enon Field.
Depend on what you call middle class and how many kids. Right now there’s not much of anything you can afford in Boston only 19% of home loans go to blacks or Latinos in Boston and only 7% to non Hispanic blacks.
If you’re middle class you have to get a home from your family, the income housing “metro housing” list, ONEBoston home loan program, or a condo. Thing is no one is selling.
The irony is the STATE experienced record high level of black homebuyers in 2021. In MA gateway cities (a la Worcester or Lowell) 43% of home loans went to blacks or Latinos (we’re only 21% of the state)
Depend on what you call middle class and how many kids. Right now there’s not much of anything you can afford in Boston only 19% of home loans go to blacks or Latinos in Boston and only 7% to non Hispanic blacks.
If you’re middle class you have to get a home from your family, the income housing “metro housing” list, ONEBoston home loan program, or a condo. Thing is no one is selling.
The irony is the STATE experienced record high level of black homebuyers in 2021. In MA gateway cities (a la Worcester or Lowell) 43% of home loans went to blacks or Latinos (we’re only 21% of the state)
I don't really like having this discussion because everyone has their own interpretation. For me, middle class signifies ownership and stability rather than just solely income but if you want to put a number to it I'd say earning over $100k in a VHCOL city. In Philadelphia, $40k would technically be considered middle class.
I don't really like having this discussion because everyone has their own interpretation. For me, middle class signifies ownership and stability rather than just solely income but if you want to put a number to it I'd say earning over $100k in a VHCOL city. In Philadelphia, $40k would technically be considered middle class.
The link to the Boston Globe is behind a paywall. Would it be possible for you to copy and paste the article on here or give a little summary?
The article is actually surprisingly sparse. You can actually clear your browser history and rearrange. It’s a soft pay walk. There was an identical type more thorough article from last year with interactive graphs. This year It’s nothing we haven’t already discussed. Basically Brockton and like 7x as many black homebuyers as Boston and all the town along Route 24 South have buyers that represent the black share of the population 15-25%.
There was a whole Globe article on black homebuyers buying in towns south of Boston last year. About finding their dream homes down there.
Let’s say a middle class black family makes 145k in Boston for a 2 kid family. Maybe dad makes 85k mom makes 60k. Two mid to lower level professionals.
Lets say in this current market they can afford 3.5x their income. So 510k. And they want a 3 bedroom.
I personally find the Cedarbrook or Stenton section of the city to be an underrated gem. It's affordable, safe, and clean, and the schools are fairly decent. FWIW, Rizzo used to live there until he was 'chased' out. Temple used to practice on the now Enon Field.
Frank Rizzo lived in don't-you-dare-call-it-Cedarbrook? (Read what this Cedarbrook resident has to say about that moniker to learn why I call it that. The sign on Wadsworth Avenue just inside the city line says "Welcome to Mt. Airy," and the residents of the neighborhood will tell you that's where they live. I learned why in the course of researching that story. BTW, our next Mayor, Cherelle Parker, had that sign put up; "Far East Mt. Airy" is part of her district.) That's a surprise. Or maybe he just moved out like all the other whites who bought the rowhouses and Airlite twins in the neighborhood when it was built right after the Second World War. They were "chased" out only in their heads, which is why I guess you put that word in quotes.
Temple didn't just practice on Enon Field — its football stadium sat on it. I guess the university found it too old and too small (or maybe too distant; after all, most of the Ivies, including Penn, play in stadiums older than Temple's was when the school tore it down) to hang onto.
I've maintained for some time now that East Oak Lane (the third of the links you posted) is the city's best-kept secret: an affluent (one of its Census tracts has a six-figure MHI), mostly Black neighborhood.
That lower Northeast neighborhood you posted, however, underscores my description of Far East Mt. Airy/Cedarbrook as "a little chunk of the Northeast that got lost on its way to the [Roosevelt] Boulevard and decided to settle down there."
But: a middle-class Black family can afford to buy in Rittenhouse Square (the first link you posted)? You've got to be kidding. Not only by city standards, but by state ones as well.
The article is actually surprisingly sparse. You can actually clear your browser history and rearrange. It’s a soft pay walk. There was an identical type more thorough article from last year with interactive graphs. This year It’s nothing we haven’t already discussed. Basically Brockton and like 7x as many black homebuyers as Boston and all the town along Route 24 South have buyers that represent the black share of the population 15-25%.
There was a whole Globe article on black homebuyers buying in towns south of Boston last year. About finding their dream homes down there.
Let’s say a middle class black family makes 145k in Boston for a 2 kid family. Maybe dad makes 85k mom makes 60k. Two mid to lower level professionals.
Lets say in this current market they can afford 3.5x their income. So 510k. And they want a 3 bedroom.
I'm really having trouble finding 2BD 1Bath for $3,500 or less near transportation in Boston, I seen some scattered around, but I'm not sure if those are area's you'd personally recommend for a middle-class black family.
Frank Rizzo lived in don't-you-dare-call-it-Cedarbrook? (Read what this Cedarbrook resident has to say about that moniker to learn why I call it that. The sign on Wadsworth Avenue just inside the city line says "Welcome to Mt. Airy," and the residents of the neighborhood will tell you that's where they live. I learned why in the course of researching that story. BTW, our next Mayor, Cherelle Parker, had that sign put up; "Far East Mt. Airy" is part of her district.) That's a surprise. Or maybe he just moved out like all the other whites who bought the rowhouses and Airlite twins in the neighborhood when it was built right after the Second World War. They were "chased" out only in their heads, which is why I guess you put that word in quotes.
Temple didn't just practice on Enon Field — its football stadium sat on it. I guess the university found it too old and too small (or maybe too distant; after all, most of the Ivies, including Penn, play in stadiums older than Temple's was when the school tore it down) to hang onto.
I've maintained for some time now that East Oak Lane (the third of the links you posted) is the city's best-kept secret: an affluent (one of its Census tracts has a six-figure MHI), mostly Black neighborhood.
That lower Northeast neighborhood you posted, however, underscores my description of Far East Mt. Airy/Cedarbrook as "a little chunk of the Northeast that got lost on its way to the [Roosevelt] Boulevard and decided to settle down there."
But: a middle-class Black family can afford to buy in Rittenhouse Square (the first link you posted)? You've got to be kidding. Not only by city standards, but by state ones as well.
East Oak Lane and Germantown near La Salle are overlooked because the surrounding neighborhoods are pretty much undesirable. They're needles in the haystacks neighborhoods. East Oak Lane also has the misfortune of having to 'compete' with Cheltenham, so a lot of families won't mind paying higher taxes in order for their children to attend the school district ( which isn't as great as they might think it is, speaking from experience, made no sense when they could've saved less money moving to EOL and sending their kids to Friends or Imhotep if school was the main concern)
I really admire how diverse the housing options are in East Oak Lane. As you mentioned, it combines the characteristics of both the Northeast and Mt. Airy. There are the usual rowhouses, single-family homes, and townhomes, but there's also a unique type of housing that I have no idea how to classify; seems like a hybrid between a townhome and a faux semi-detached?
I'm really having trouble finding 2BD 1Bath for $3,500 or less near transportation in Boston, I seen some scattered around, but I'm not sure if those are area's you'd personally recommend for a middle-class black family.
Interesting…Yeah, Plattsburgh has a visible black population(has a church, you’ll see some kids on HS teams, some college students at the 2 colleges, etc.) and Montreal would be the closest city with areas with a high black population(SW Montreal(Little Burgundy used to be where the city’s black English speaking population was concentrated and now only about 16% black), NDG, etc.). There are about 200,000 black people in the area.Montreal is about an hour north of Plattsburgh.
In terms of within the US/region, the Albany area is the closest in terms of having areas with higher black populations. As mentioned in another thread, Schenectady is about 25% black or so and its black population has quadrupled since 1980. Troy, which is about 20% black is similar in terms of population growth. I Schenectady’s Union Street corridor and some outer parts of Troy will have a black middle class presence. Albany is about 33% black and has a black middle class presence in the neighborhoods in the southwestern 2/3rds(Delaware Ave, Whitehall, Helderberg, etc.). Some are outer North Albany as well. There are smaller cities like Cohoes(seeing some development), Watervliet(has a black middle class presence near the HS) and Rensselaer(across the river from Albany) with decent sized and growing black populations too. Saratoga Springs has a smaller, but long time population west and south of Downtown.
As for suburbs in that area, Menands is a small village north of Albany with a decent black middle class presence and black students are the biggest group in plurality(it is a Pre K-8 school(district) with multiple options for HS: https://www.menands.org/ , https://www.menands.org/about-us/). Historically, the South Colonie SD is the suburban district that black families in the area would initially move to. To illustrate a presence, here is their HS graduation from a couple of week ago(you don’t even have to watch more than 5 or so minutes to notice): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fO16...N0cmljdA%3D%3D
North Colonie is another suburban district that is similar in that regard(for old school Basketball heads, former NBA player Sam Perkins is a grad), it’s HS graduation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MfkV...4gMjAyMw%3D%3D
Parts of Niskayuna, Guilderland, East Greenbush, Rotterdam(Mohonasen and even Schalmont); among maybe a couple of others, will have a visible/decent amount as well.
While it is technically outside of the metro area and if you don’t mind a small city, Hudson about 30 minutes south of Albany is about 20% black and currently has a mayor that is black native to the city.
I don’t know if it is on the table, but the Hudson Valley has places with good sized black populations and that are generally middle class.
So, some of this may could to where you look nearby.
So, those may be a couple of places to look into if you make the move to the Albany area or for others that maybe wondering/interested.
Last edited by ckhthankgod; 07-13-2023 at 02:46 PM..
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