Maine (Portland, Lewiston, Bangor: gangs, homeless, activity)

[lrfox]

^I think you'll like Maine, disregard the talk of places being "tough". It's a wonderful place to settle. This "Ghetto" talk is making me giggle. Someone who can call parts of Presque Isle, "Ghetto" is so wildly out of touch with the rest of world it's not even funny.

First, define ghetto: "a portion of a city in which members of a minority group live especially because of social, legal, or economic pressure. (per wikipedia)" Now, apply it to the real world- Maine is the whitest state in the nation, and the few minority groups that do exist in Maine are relatively evenly dispersed around the state and even the slightly larger concentrations in the tiny cities in the state are pretty evenly spread around that particular city's neighborhoods. This is because there is very little price discrepancy between neighborhoods and towns (a 1br apt on Munjoy hill isn't ALL that much more expensive than a 1br in Parkside or Bayside). Sure, there is a little difference in some areas, but not the drastic difference that creates ghettos in cities like Boston, Providence, New York, Philly, Washington, etc.

The smaller cities in New England that DO have ghettos tend to be in areas where they are the ONLY lower income towns over a greater area. For example, Bridgeport, CT has some VERY tough neighborhoods as it's one of only a few relatively affordable places to live in Southern CT. To put it in perspective, Bridgeport's avg. household income is $34,000 while nearby Westport's is $120,000... Bridgeport has that type of discrepancy with many of it's neighboring communities. As a result, lower income minorities can only afford to live in certain parts of Bridgport forming "ghettos." The same holds true for cities all over New England (and the rest of the country) like Fall River MA, New Haven CT, parts of Providence RI, Lawrence MA, Sprinfield MA, Hartford CT, and the list goes on.

Maine doesn't have the minorities OR the vastly differening level of incomes and costs of living that the other places I mentioned do and as a result has nothing, "Ghetto." Not even in Lewiston.

If you want to talk about blight, that's a different story. Many of the cities and towns in Maine (particularly the old mill communities) have a large array of blighted, run-down buildings and an exodus of jobs that have made the communities less desireable (I'm thinking of Rumford, Biddeford, Lewiston, Skowhegan, Jay/Livermore Falls, Augusta and a few others) but it hardly makes them ghetto. It sort of irks me when people will call a run-down, depressed area "ghetto" because they're very different. While places like Lewiston may have some economic trouble and blight, it hardly constitutes a "ghetto." The crime that comes in those depressed areas (drugs, alcohol abuse, some prostitution, vandalism and petty theft etc) are not as frequent or severe as what you would find in a true ghetto (FREQUENT--as in a couple of times per week-- drug related murders, gang violence, turf wars, etc).

It's really difficult to label any neighborhood in Maine as "ghetto." sure, some are blighted, some have economic trouble and vacant houses and storefronts, petty crime, but that doesn't make them ghetto. Before people label someplace as "ghetto" and scare prospective new residents away, they need to think about what they're really implying.

[Elcarim]

Anyone who would label any part of Maine "ghetto" clearly has never actually SEEN a ghetto area! You're welcome to visit me!!

No, I don't live in the ghetto, but in the proper amount of daylight and with proper male protection, I can take you there!

[chaosX5]

Originally Posted by Elcarim

Anyone who would label any part of Maine "ghetto" clearly has never actually SEEN a ghetto area! You're welcome to visit me!!

No, I don't live in the ghetto, but in the proper amount of daylight and with proper male protection, I can take you there!

Sounds like a field trip!

I hope that if there are no "real" gettos in Maine, that there are no gangs in Maine either? We're having a problem with that down here.

[lrfox]

There are gangs that have been identified in Maine, but they have a much smaller presence and take part in very little violence in the State. In fact, while groups have been identified as gangs, (notably: "Born to Kill" and "Tiny Rascals"), they have little evidence to show that these groups have "control" of any neighborhoods or towns in the state and the perceived control and resulting turf wars between rival gangs is what usually sparks violence. I can tell you with a good degree of certainty, that there is no noticeable gang presence anywhere in Maine and that you shouldn't worry about it.

As with anywhere in the world, there are some drug dealers and rebellious groups of teenagers and early 20 somethings that frequently get lumped into being called "gangs," (in fact, some label themselves as gangs to get some attention) but many of these so-called gangs are small time and couldn't be compared to what you'll find in larger cities and other areas of the country. Aside from one arrest of a man labeled a Crips member about 4 years ago in Waterville, there is nothing to show that factions of or anything on the scale of the Latin Kings, Crips, Bloods, etc exist in force in Maine. Again, I wouldn't even worry about it and a bet that it's far more pronounced in NC.

[Ezlivn]

Why does someone like "Miss NY" start a thread with one simple line like that and then after 4 pages of discussion....she never even responds once?

[CoastalMaine]

I would guess she hasn't ventured very far or wide from NY.

[Maine Writer]

One page for me - it depends on what you've set up. She asked this of Hawaii, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, too. She's asked some unusual questions on CD.

[tbdowork]

Maine isn't really ghetto. But there are certian cities (lewiston, biddo, portland, sanford) that have some problems. I moved here from mass. I know there are a lot of people up here from mass causing trouble and selling drugs. Drugs are maines biggest ghetto haha.

[cebdark]

Originally Posted by lrfox

^ It's a wonderful place to settle. This "Ghetto" talk is making me giggle. Someone who can call parts of Presque Isle, "Ghetto" is so wildly out of touch with the rest of world it's not even funny. .

Yes, I agree. There are some "ghetto" attitudes in some sections of Maine, but overall, there aren't any "true" ghetto areas here.

[tbdowork]

ahh...this question.

It aint Boston or New York out here..

but dont let the trees fool you.

The only cities in maine that have fairly "ghetto" parts, actual gangs(big or not),and huge out of state drug activity are Portland, Lewiston, Bangor, Sanford, and Biddeford.

anyone tells you another town its not really anything....because other then those cities....its nothing.