I have fantasies of mass-gentrifying my Pennsylvania hometown

[Anonymous]

I grew up in one of the previously mentioned towns. The thing is, it doesn't even require MASS gentrification. It doesn't require mass displacement. If even 500 decent-paying jobs were introduced back into my hometown, it would make a significant impact on housing, the schools, the retail and service economy. Even 300. A moderate salary can get you pretty far in many of these places.

[Anonymous]

Oh wow. I feel the same about DH's Pennsylvania city too. I'm not even sure what the solution is and I feel so gross even thinking of ways to improve it. The people need so much. I was in Walmart over Christmas and I saw drugs in the parking lot, parents beating their kids in the store, screaming. I just see generations of trauma, lack of education, too much drugs and no jobs. I agree there's no diversity, it's nearly all white people.

Their housing and architecture are gorgeous!! Nothing like the DC area's sad sad post war shacks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in one of the previously mentioned towns. The thing is, it doesn't even require MASS gentrification. It doesn't require mass displacement. If even 500 decent-paying jobs were introduced back into my hometown, it would make a significant impact on housing, the schools, the retail and service economy. Even 300. A moderate salary can get you pretty far in many of these places.

But what jobs? These people don't have the educations required of a lot of jobs. The cities need nurses and teachers (which are decent paying, good jobs) but can't even fill those.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm from Johnstown PA and feel that way from afar. Tons of natural beauty in the area. Then I go there and realize I don't want to make my kids grow up without the diversity they have now, especially since we are POC. I read what some of my former friends write on social media and feel like the crappy economy matches their crappy belief systems.

I'm from a small town near the Finger Lakes and as my parents are getting older I think about this every time I visit. It's gorgeous and homes are so much more affordable. But I grew up almost entirely around only white people and that's not what I want for my kids (although I am white myself). I also couldn't wait to escape. In the DMV you don't have to choose, you can have education, opportunity, independence, AND family. (But you can't have a stunning Victorian mansion for $300k.)

How did growing up around mostly white people adversely affect you?

NP. It made me very unaware/oblivious to the ways racism still exists in the world today. I was lucky that I made a wide variety of friends in high school and college and learned a lot about a much wider range of racial and socio-economic and cultural experiences than were available to me growing up. I said and did some very insensitive things that I still blush to remember. I also have a non-traditional family and I enjoy living somewhere the other parents aren't ALL straight/white/coupled/monolingual/etc. Diversity in multiple directions makes the ways we're each odd stand out less aggressively.

Similar story here. Have you watched "the s3x lives of college girls" on HBO? I really identified with Pauline, the naive white girl. I made a lot of missteps and POCs weren't particularly nice about it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm from Johnstown PA and feel that way from afar. Tons of natural beauty in the area. Then I go there and realize I don't want to make my kids grow up without the diversity they have now, especially since we are POC. I read what some of my former friends write on social media and feel like the crappy economy matches their crappy belief systems.

I'm from a small town near the Finger Lakes and as my parents are getting older I think about this every time I visit. It's gorgeous and homes are so much more affordable. But I grew up almost entirely around only white people and that's not what I want for my kids (although I am white myself). I also couldn't wait to escape. In the DMV you don't have to choose, you can have education, opportunity, independence, AND family. (But you can't have a stunning Victorian mansion for $300k.)

We were just up in the finger lakes for winter break. It was very interesting to listen to an old friend about school options for the kids.

BUT - we also have other friends who are purchasing a bunch of properties on "Main Street" and renovating them as short-term rentals apartments. This could be for a family visiting for the week or a reunion or parents coming to visit colleges.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I grew up in one of the previously mentioned towns. The thing is, it doesn't even require MASS gentrification. It doesn't require mass displacement. If even 500 decent-paying jobs were introduced back into my hometown, it would make a significant impact on housing, the schools, the retail and service economy. Even 300. A moderate salary can get you pretty far in many of these places.

TBH 500 jobs is a lot

[Anonymous]

Many towns went downhill after the giant steel mills shut down. The towns couldn’t survive after that. The area became depressed. The counties need business development on a wide scope.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many towns went downhill after the giant steel mills shut down. The towns couldn’t survive after that. The area became depressed. The counties need business development on a wide scope.

It's why larger companies like Amazon should move to PA

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many towns went downhill after the giant steel mills shut down. The towns couldn’t survive after that. The area became depressed. The counties need business development on a wide scope.

+1. The 1980s were disastrous for the Pittsburgh region particularly. Between 1980 and 1983, approximately 95,000 manufacturing jobs were cut from a labor force of one million. Unemployment was as high as 27 percent in some areas, dropping only when thousands of workers left the region to find work elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm from Johnstown PA and feel that way from afar. Tons of natural beauty in the area. Then I go there and realize I don't want to make my kids grow up without the diversity they have now, especially since we are POC. I read what some of my former friends write on social media and feel like the crappy economy matches their crappy belief systems.

I'm from a small town near the Finger Lakes and as my parents are getting older I think about this every time I visit. It's gorgeous and homes are so much more affordable. But I grew up almost entirely around only white people and that's not what I want for my kids (although I am white myself). I also couldn't wait to escape. In the DMV you don't have to choose, you can have education, opportunity, independence, AND family. (But you can't have a stunning Victorian mansion for $300k.)

How did growing up around mostly white people adversely affect you?

NP. It made me very unaware/oblivious to the ways racism still exists in the world today. I was lucky that I made a wide variety of friends in high school and college and learned a lot about a much wider range of racial and socio-economic and cultural experiences than were available to me growing up. I said and did some very insensitive things that I still blush to remember. I also have a non-traditional family and I enjoy living somewhere the other parents aren't ALL straight/white/coupled/monolingual/etc. Diversity in multiple directions makes the ways we're each odd stand out less aggressively.

Similar story here. Have you watched "the s3x lives of college girls" on HBO? I really identified with Pauline, the naive white girl. I made a lot of missteps and POCs weren't particularly nice about it.

Why do POC’s need to be nice while being insulted? I’m sure “missteps” is an euphemism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many towns went downhill after the giant steel mills shut down. The towns couldn’t survive after that. The area became depressed. The counties need business development on a wide scope.

+1. The 1980s were disastrous for the Pittsburgh region particularly. Between 1980 and 1983, approximately 95,000 manufacturing jobs were cut from a labor force of one million. Unemployment was as high as 27 percent in some areas, dropping only when thousands of workers left the region to find work elsewhere.

Exactly this. And our corrupt elected officials, who were and still are bought and paid for by big business interests, let it happen to.

In a country that actually cared about its citizens, companies like Apple would be forced to open factories here or else pay exorbitant tariffs on every product they import from countries where they employ slave labor and/or take advantage of countries will regressive labor and environmental laws.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Many towns went downhill after the giant steel mills shut down. The towns couldn’t survive after that. The area became depressed. The counties need business development on a wide scope.

+1. The 1980s were disastrous for the Pittsburgh region particularly. Between 1980 and 1983, approximately 95,000 manufacturing jobs were cut from a labor force of one million. Unemployment was as high as 27 percent in some areas, dropping only when thousands of workers left the region to find work elsewhere.

Exactly this. And our corrupt elected officials, who were and still are bought and paid for by big business interests, let it happen to.

In a country that actually cared about its citizens, companies like Apple would be forced to open factories here or else pay exorbitant tariffs on every product they import from countries where they employ slave labor and/or take advantage of countries will regressive labor and environmental laws.

+2

But it will never happen

Amazon doesn’t even pay taxes FFS

What a mess

[Anonymous]

Telework could make this more feasible for PA since it’s close to dc, ny.

Maybe pitch it to hgtv since all their shows are based on this:
Detroit show
Indianapolis show
Home town southern town show
Even Waco, imagine how many people magnolia is employing there now.

Do it op! And anyone else. My hometown is

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Many towns went downhill after the giant steel mills shut down. The towns couldn’t survive after that. The area became depressed. The counties need business development on a wide scope.

Yes, but not all of the steel mills were shut down. Many were relocated to states that are not union-friendly.