Do you ever drive over to the BAD SIDE OF TOWN just to check it out? (low income, rent)
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I live in Northern VA in Fairfax County and it is very bland. There is really no part of town where there is any action or edge. Basically there is no place where people hang outside and just visit. The neighborhoods are empty of people walking around or hanging out. Everyone is indoors or at the Mall.
I like to drive sometimes to the real bad side of DC and drive around. I like the edgy feeling to the air. I like to see how people who do not have it so good live. I like to see the people hang out outside and interact with each other. Nothing is sterile about the rough low income side of town.
I have talked to many people in VA and most never get into DC unless they have relatives in town and then only to the Mall which is mostly middle class tourists. Few of my friends have ever been to the bad side of DC.
Well the neighborhood Im from isn't that good,I wouldn't call it the ghetto or hood but its like lower middle class and there is crime there too.But to really answer your question,yes,I do go to bad parts of cities.Its sad to see the people struggling,but I actually enjoy seeing the urban decay,it tells the story of the neighborhood.
I honestly would live in the ghetto if crime rates were equal to or lower where I live.Serioulsy! Its usually cheaper and closer to where I work. Whenever I go to a new city I always tell the person Im with to go where lower income black residents live. Usually its in the heart of the city so naturally it has more culture and you always see some sort of strange and bizzare activity.
Ive never gotten the urge to get up and go to Chicago's west or south side, but Ive been through them once, and wouldnt like to do so again. It was quite interesting to say the least. Saw some burned out cars, many homes that were boarded up, many people on the corners just hanging out, it was definitely an experience! I took Lake Street from central Chicago (which was fine) all the way west through the west side and into ultra-freaky Maywood. Whats weird is that for several blocks it would be complete ghetto, then literally a block down the street was quite nice, then back to ghetto, then back to nice. Thats Chicago for you.
I honestly would live in the ghetto if crime rates were equal to or lower where I live.Serioulsy! Its usually cheaper and closer to where I work. Whenever I go to a new city I always tell the person Im with to go where lower income black residents live. Usually its in the heart of the city so naturally it has more culture and you always see some sort of strange and bizzare activity.
If you can live with crime and poverty,than yes its actually a good place to be.The rent is real cheap.But you can't just associate crime and poverty,and cheap rents with ghetto black neighborhoods.Its in the white trash and poor mexican neighborhoods too.
Heck no I dont go to the bad side of town. I already work in a 'not so great' part of town and it scares to even go there during the daylight. We live in Newport News, Va and it has gotten really bad. The south east side of the city is TERRIBLE and we're already surpassed our number of murders this year compared to the whole entire year last year. It is so bad and the community tries to get support and no one shows up. People are being shot and killed during broad daylight! I'd rather not see it myself and I'll never risk taking myself or my family down there. I have too much to live for and that would be my luck that I'd get hit by a stray bullet or they'd try to kill me because I'm white. No one goes down in the neighborhood unless they have to.
I have often driven through the "bad" parts of town and one of two things usually happens: a) I get really nervous and I look for the closest highway. (This happened when I was driving around Detroit, looking for the historic districts. I've had a similar feeling in one or two areas of Cleveland); or b) I end up changing my opinion of the place, realizing that there is amazing architecture there with lots of potential, and then I take my friends there (This happened in Harlem, which I found to be completely different than what I had pictured. I also recently drove around the Homewood neighborhood in Pittsburgh (one of the worst) and while it was incredibly run down, the architecture was very cool and fairly intact; It was very typically Pittsburghish--large brick houses in some spots and rowhouses in others.)
One place I would love to explore one day is the North Side of Philly.
No way would I anywhere deliberately. A friend and I got lost once in Memphis in the early evening, but it was dark. He stopped at a convenience store to ask questions, and I was petrified at the people I saw. They were too scary and mean looking for me and the place and parking lot was packed with people. I locked the car doors and wanted to scream at him, "Hurry up and let's just get out of here."
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I took Lake Street from central Chicago (which was fine) all the way west through the west side and into ultra-freaky Maywood. Whats weird is that for several blocks it would be complete ghetto, then literally a block down the street was quite nice, then back to ghetto, then back to nice. Thats Chicago for you. 
