re: Whats it like living in a real bad ghetto?

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Been re watching The Wire

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One of the best shows ever.

Omar’s coming

I grew up in section 8 housing outside NYC.

Early 80’s you wouldn’t have thought it was too bad. Lots of young families working hard to build a life in an expensive state. My best friend and I watched out for each other and stayed out of trouble. I named my first son after him.

Sports kept us away from trouble. We played everything just to get out of the neighborhood

It became VERY dangerous from ‘87-93 when we left. The crack epidemic hit with full force. Young families were displaced by broken homes and drug addicts. A Latino gang set up and then the shootings started happening.

I was there from age 3-16. The Wire’s depiction of the struggle regular people had living in poverty was very accurate.

Luckily my family left NY.

It depends, for the people born in it, its normal. If you are not born in it, more than likely you would rather avoid it. People who live there but are not involved in the gang and drugs avoid going out as much as possible.

I never once heard someone say "I want to move to the projects".

Don’t know I don’t live in a ghetto

The lower 9th is actually improved over pre-Katrina, but St. Roch is in a lower circle of hell.

Anything not nailed down will be stolen. Police response is typically 2 hours+, but never any faster than 45 minutes. Food delivery apps do not serve your area. You have to keep your head on a swivel at all times. Never leave any valuables in your car because they will break the windows to get to them. You can't have a central AC unit because people will steal the copper out of it. If you have a window unit, you have to put bars around it or else it will get stolen. Random bullets are a real problem.

I got the audiobook The Corner by David Simon which became the Wire. Just the story of a neighborhood over a year with the drug economy being the only constant.

I lived in south Jackson, MS until I was 8. Ask me anything.