What makes a neighborhood "sketchy"

[Anonymous]

Graffiti

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Follow up: what would make a suburban neighborhood sketchy?

Vacant, dilapidated houses. Cars with bling-bling "rims." Questionable demographics. Lots of security system signs in people's houses.

Oh, you mean black people?

LOL don't forget the others

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Suburbia...overgrown yards, dilapidated houses, ratty fences/chain link, nonfunctional cars, jacked up pickup trucks, miscellaneous junk, indoor furniture outside, confederate flags (yikes!, but more likely further south), livestock (excluding Bethesda, where they seem to love chickens), pit bulls, loud music, kegerators, people hanging out on porches in wife beaters during the day, check cashing stores. An abundance of junky cars can be a red flag for multiple unrelated people living in a house. You know sketchy when you see it.

Excellent description, unfortunatley it describes my childhood friend's neighborhood in suburban Baltimore.

[Anonymous]

oh, no - the horror of chain link fences!!!

[Anonymous]

Anytime there is rent controlled or public housing near by it is a good sign the rest of the area kind of sucks too.

[Anonymous]

It's like pornography... you know it when you see it

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Follow up: what would make a suburban neighborhood sketchy?

Vacant, dilapidated houses. Cars with bling-bling "rims." Questionable demographics. Lots of security system signs in people's houses.

Oh, you mean black people?

Or poor white trash

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Follow up: what would make a suburban neighborhood sketchy?

Vacant, dilapidated houses. Cars with bling-bling "rims." Questionable demographics. Lots of security system signs in people's houses.

Oh, you mean black people?

Or poor white trash

Or poor Spanish, any poor people really

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grown ass men standing around in the middle of the day- not at a job....

This.

[Anonymous]

Most of what is mentioned qualifies ........ but I will say what many are not willing to acknowledge but is a huge factor in their perception of a "sketchy" neighborhood. It is when there are an increasing number of minorities.

I know this because when we were looking at different areas to live, I'd be told in no uncertain terms by people who one would consider to be progressives that we should stay clear of certain areas because it was becoming an increasingly Hispanic area. It was always couched in terms that would also include references to schools being not up to par because of Hispanics, ESOL, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Follow up: what would make a suburban neighborhood sketchy?

Vacant, dilapidated houses. Cars with bling-bling "rims." Questionable demographics. Lots of security system signs in people's houses.

Oh, you mean black people?

Or poor white trash

Or poor Spanish, any poor people really

People from Spain?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Most of what is mentioned qualifies ........ but I will say what many are not willing to acknowledge but is a huge factor in their perception of a "sketchy" neighborhood. It is when there are an increasing number of minorities.

I know this because when we were looking at different areas to live, I'd be told in no uncertain terms by people who one would consider to be progressives that we should stay clear of certain areas because it was becoming an increasingly Hispanic area. It was always couched in terms that would also include references to schools being not up to par because of Hispanics, ESOL, etc.

The fact that they may be Hispanic is not the issue, except for true racists. The issue is the fact that many recent immigrants - legal or illegal - do not speak English, and neither do their kids. That inevitably impacts the school system, especially since inordinate resources are required to educate non English speakers. Since most people want to buy in good school districts, this is a legitimate issue - not a smokescreen for racism.

Of equal importance is the fact that immigrants tend to be poor and - for better or worse - people don't want to live near poor people. They also are concerned that poor kids and recent immigrants are more likely to be poorly educated and may be impacted by negative conditions at home - which obviously affects the school system. Poor people come in all colors and nationalities - including white Americans.

Bottom line - people prefer to live with people who have at least some competence in the native language and who are of comparable or better financial standing and social status. That's just human nature and it applies around the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Grown ass men standing around in the middle of the day- not at a job....[/quote]

Agree with this. Also, unkempt yards, broken windows, homes in general disrepair. Bars on windows.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's like pornography... you know it when you see it

+1 Absolutely.

I would take a lot of those things listed, before I would buy next door to Mr. Cray Cray and his brood. No thanks. Some things might be glaringly obvious, and some things might be glaringly awful, and some things are both.

[Anonymous]

When I bought my first home many years ago, the real estate agent told me to drive through the neighborhood several times and pay attention to the upkeep of homes. Important negatives were lack of repairs to homes, boats and commercial vehicles parked on the streets, and Christmas lights still up months after the holidays. We backed out on a house in such a neighborhood and moved to a neighborhood with an annoyingly strict hoa. Our house appreciated much faster than the similarly priced house in the other neighborhood. I see the same where I live now.