In recent weeks I've become convinced that I'm part of a secret reality show called "Last White Man Standing." Let me explain what I mean. Last summer I moved into Country Club Apartments, an ironically-named apartment complex in north-central Urbana, IL. The name is ironic because it's essentially a low-income, blue-collar, working class-neighborhood (which I suppose is still better than a non-working-class-neighborhood). When I moved in the ethnic composition of the complex was roughly as follows:
50% Black
25% White
10% East Asian
10% Hispanic
5% Other
Since I moved there, there have been a lot people moving in and out. Those leaving have primarily been white; the people coming in generally fall into the following groups: Mexicans, black people, Mexicans, Mexicans and Mexicans. I estimate the current racial composition to be something like:
50% Black
30% Hispanic
10% White
5% East-Asian
5% Other
So basically, I think I'm part of some secret competition where the white guy who stays the longest before freaking out and moving out gets the prize. If so, I'm doing pretty good. But what's with the white flight, seriously? I hope this is an anomaly and we're not experiencing a nation-wide throwback to the 50's/60's.
This brings me to my question: how ghetto is your 'hood? More specifically, on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being the ghettoest), based on the following three attributes: Ethnic Composition, Infrastructure and Crime. Here's how my 'hood scores:
Ethnic Composition: 8 (see above)
Infrastructure: 3 (Most of the neighborhood looks reasonably nice, if unspectacular; Very little graffiti or other evidence of vandalism; roads are in terrible condition though)
Crime: 5 (Haven't had any problems personally, but I've heard of others who have; There's a park with a lake just across from my apartment building. One night I saw a couple of police cars parked right in the middle of it, by the water, with their lights flashing. I couldn't figure out what was going on, but another onlooker made the following comment:
"I hope they didn't find another body in the lake."
Yes. Another body. As in: they had previously found a dead body in the lake that I live by. Awesome.)
Average score: 5.3/10 ---> moderate ghetto-ness
50% Black
25% White
10% East Asian
10% Hispanic
5% Other
Since I moved there, there have been a lot people moving in and out. Those leaving have primarily been white; the people coming in generally fall into the following groups: Mexicans, black people, Mexicans, Mexicans and Mexicans. I estimate the current racial composition to be something like:
50% Black
30% Hispanic
10% White
5% East-Asian
5% Other
So basically, I think I'm part of some secret competition where the white guy who stays the longest before freaking out and moving out gets the prize. If so, I'm doing pretty good. But what's with the white flight, seriously? I hope this is an anomaly and we're not experiencing a nation-wide throwback to the 50's/60's.
This brings me to my question: how ghetto is your 'hood? More specifically, on a scale from 1 to 10 (10 being the ghettoest), based on the following three attributes: Ethnic Composition, Infrastructure and Crime. Here's how my 'hood scores:
Ethnic Composition: 8 (see above)
Infrastructure: 3 (Most of the neighborhood looks reasonably nice, if unspectacular; Very little graffiti or other evidence of vandalism; roads are in terrible condition though)
Crime: 5 (Haven't had any problems personally, but I've heard of others who have; There's a park with a lake just across from my apartment building. One night I saw a couple of police cars parked right in the middle of it, by the water, with their lights flashing. I couldn't figure out what was going on, but another onlooker made the following comment:
"I hope they didn't find another body in the lake."
Yes. Another body. As in: they had previously found a dead body in the lake that I live by. Awesome.)
Average score: 5.3/10 ---> moderate ghetto-ness
(except about the monthly apartment lease)
