patrick.net

This is another one of those issues I spend a lot of time thinking about. Perhaps its because I grew up in a fairly poor, rural area around lots of extremely poor people who lived in trailers and in some cases old school buses. We were squarely middle class so even though we weren't poor we were not well off either. But that being the case one of the first things I noticed when I moved away and to larger metro areas- first on the east and later west coast- was the stark differences between the poor areas and wealthy ones in these areas. The people who were poor were really poor. Those that had money had LOTS of money. You would be lucky to see a single used 10 year old BMW in a day back home. Out here people drive them like they're Ford Escorts- except they're all brand new.

But after living in the Bay Area for 12 years the one thing that seems clear is that the area seems to slowly but surely gentrify over time. The East Bay neighborhood I live in has changed in the 8-9 years I've lived here. It was still somewhat middle/working class when I arrived but now its most definitely gentrified- complete with cute little stores, coffee shops, and other tell-tale fixtures of gentrified living.

I can't really explain why I feel this way but a lot of this in some ways bothers me. Its like these areas are putting on little acts- taking little bits here and there from what used to be an area and re-inventing it into some sort of charming yet somewhat fake interpretation. All in an effort to create a squeaky-clean, if not dull and safe place.

And then there are "transitional" areas. Places that we all know 10 years ago were not safe to walk around in at night and sometimes even the middle of the day. But now everyone talks excitedly about how its now "Transitioning". The thing is what is it transitioning into? Is this always a good thing? With this transitioning comes the desired gentrification that basically means those that used to live there no longer can afford to do so and thus one person's interpretation of "transition" is different from the other because on one side of that argument means someone will have to move.

This isn't a Bay Area-centric thing. Even now when I go back home to NC there are cities and towns that have become gentrified- partially catering to the sea of Northeastern transplants and retirees- who want that gentrified experience. Its everywhere.

Anyway... I'm not sure where I'm going with this but perhaps some of you have your own thoughts about it. Sorry for rambling.