Deterioration of Neighborhoods

Yep. it's called the boonies. My parents live about as far on the outskirts of their city as is humanly possible. We lived about 30 minutes away from EVERYTHING when I was a kid. To my knowledge, nothing has ever happened at that house. I know nothing happened while I was there, and I know my dad still leaves his truck out front in the driveway unlocked overnight. My parents' house is on a dead-end road that you simply won't find unless you already know it's there.

We've been in The Woodlands for just shy of 20 years - we moved here from West Little York (between Eldridge and Hwy 6) when there were 2 drive by shootings around us in 1993. It's VERY much the same - other than when we moved in there were 34,000 people and today it's over 100,000 and with Exxon moving in over the next few years it'll jump even more.

I think the schools and covenants have ALLOT to do with how well the area keeps it's value and police presence keeps the crime rate lower. You can't keep ALL crime away, but everyone knowing their neighbors and keeping an eye out for suspicious activity certainly helps!!!

I have lived in my home for 20 years, the property value has done nothing but go up. My father has been in his home for 50 years, same thing, my grandma's home is almost 100 years old though she has passed, same thing.

Neighborhoods don't deteriorate on their own, people do it. When people who have no pride in ownership move into an area, eventually it goes.
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Some of these answers are just sad. It does not take money and you do not need money to live in a stable neighborhood. My grandma was an immigrant, lived in an Italian/Sicilian area of St Louis. It does not degrade because they are rich, hell they are all working class, it stays stable because the people who live there take pride in their neighborhood.

Sorry but if you live in an area that is going downhill look in the mirror, that would be the first person to blame. We had three foreclosures in our subdivision. WE took care of those homes until the bank could sell them! That is our neighborhood! We look out for each other! We are stable because we care!

I drive around in some of the crappiest areas of St Louis and there are these oasis areas. Those people are not rich, they are unwilling to give up what they earned. They fight to keep their neighborhoods!

I am sorry but I am getting sick and tired of the everyone did this to me attitude. No, we do it to ourselves, own your part of the problem.

T.:

We have lived in the same house since 1997. We don't have deterioration in our area. WHY? Because we act as a community. We don't turn a blind eye to crime.

In our 15 years here? The worst thing that has happened was BEFORE we got here. A purse was stolen from a car at the top of the street.

My advice? Start a community action group in your new neighborhood, work with the police and do a neighborhood watch program. be active in the community. don't turn a blind eye and think there is nothing you can do to stop it...you can...

It's about property values and money to afford what many call "good" areas.
If you've got the means, you can live in a good area. As people lose their homes, foreclosures, buying for pennies on the dollar, the property values go down, people with less disposable income move in.
It's a sad day when people flee their communities, don't you think? It's very complicated.
We've been in our house for 15 years and the area is pretty much the same as it was then. But this area has been kind of untouched by the housing bust--we're lucky.
But I don't think any neighborhood is "perfect" at least not to everyone.

If you are referring to a suburban area, then it all comes down to money. If you have a substantial amount of income, then you can move into an upscale community, preferably one that is gated. It takes money to keep an area from deteriorating. You need to be an area that appeals to people and businesses are willing to invest in. It takes a good amount of tax dollars to keep an area safe and to keep the scum out. The other option is to move to a small town where everyone knows one another and looks out after one another. In any area, just to be safe, it's always a good idea to keep a gun!:)

My father still lives in the same home that he purchased in 1963. So for 49 years, it's been okay. The neighborhood isn't quite as nice now because it has grown so much, but it's still safe and the schools are still good, so yes, it's possible. And this isn't a small town. Racially diverse suburbia near Chicago with a population of over 100,000.

Amen to Jo!!! The problem is the people, and the I don't care attitude. We moved out of a neighborhood that we loved and had lived there for many many years. We felt like it was deteriorating . We moved up, and are happy that we did. We also moved only 5 minutes away, but its a different city. We do not have a homes association either, but I do not see anyone leaving trash outside or old cars sitting around either. When the leaves fall, most people rake right away. I'm saying that not that I don't like leaves around, I do, but I'm just saying they have pride of ownership and take care of their property on a daily basis. Also our city does not put up with it either. They follow up on codes, and we live in on of the safest cities around. I think that is key for a city. And what Cheryl said too, you have to watch out for one another.

Well there's no such thing as perfect. Our communities depend on a lot of things, most importantly good jobs and good schools.
I'm fortunate to live in an area with both, so our quality of life is very good compared to a lot of places.
Sounds like you live in a pretty depressed area, which sadly many Americans do. Hopefully the new area you're moving to has the jobs and schools which determine long term success for families.

Our neighborhood is quite safe; we have very little crime. Like Cheryl O said below, what really helps is having neighbors actively watching out for each other. On our street at any given moment, people are out walking their dogs, kids are riding their bikes, we have several parks that are quite busy, as well as a fire station. All of that action and interaction makes it difficult for people who are up to no good to go unnoticed. Also, our city has been really good about keeping an adequate number of police officers on the streets, so if someone calls in suspicious activity, the police are usually on the scene within a few minutes. I think the combination of neighbors doing what they can to keep an eye on things, and the commitment of the police department to patrol the streets and have a big presence really has helped our neighborhood stay nice. The neighborhood was built 20 years ago and is as nice as the day it was built.

We've been within the same 3 mile radious for 23 years and have not seen that effect.

We built this house in 2000 and the neighborhood is solid. As much as I am not crazy about HOA's because some of them go WAY overboard with the rules, I do believe the HOA helps our neighborhood. We have huge well organized family events each Spring and Fall, tight knit group although the homes have a large range in pricing. The families who live in the very good but smaller less expensive homes are just as welcome and involved as those in the higher end homes in the neighborhood. The people are very diverse. Children are everywhere at the 2 neighborhood parks and pool.

The HOA has a focus on keeping things safe for our children on the bike trails, parks, etc. Our police department routinely patrols the area as well as the citizens patrol which is a volunteer organization.

YES, our taxes are high for our community but it is a good community with top notch schools. The people in our community CARE about neighborhoods, schools, safety and that makes a HUGE difference.

YES, I feel like you can be in a neighborhood that caters to family, safety, etc. The success of a neighborhood has a lot to do with who is in it, how they feel about the issues you are concerned with and how the neighborhood as a whole takes responsibility for the neighborhood and keeping it a great place for families.

Best wishes to you and I hope you found a good fit for your family!

My father moved us to our town when i was 7. ( i am 35 now) It was a safe town with wonderful schools. Fortunately it still is. I do think it is possible. I have to admit, in certain apartments nearby it is not as wonderful. I have watched towns around us fall to trash. I am so glad that we have not. I hope it stays that way for a while. I hope it does for you also :)

My neighborhood has remained relatively safe for the last 15 years, but there are more rentals, more foreclosures, less pride in taking care of the yards, and fewer people willing to join our voluntary neighborhood association. We used to have neighborhood barbecues and stuff, but now only about 1/100 are willing to pay the $10 dues or come to the meetings. The neighborhood next to us has a mandatory HOA and their yards look much better. They've kept more of a community feel than our neighborhood, but still have trouble getting anyone to participate in community events.

My neighborhood is home to many Katrina survivors and illegal immigrants. I cannot move because its paid for and the same may occur wherever I move. I am on the board for the HOA and I am constantly in the yard doing yardwork. I say hello to the young brothas as they pass and that seems to disarm them. However, one nice day while working inside, I saw two young thugs passing and one said, "that house has burglar bars'. wow--that made me realize where I was...

Our home has also gone up in value since we bought it in 2004. In fact, our neighborhood is thriving. I live in a very urban downtown neighborhood in the 4th largest city in PA. It's a combination of sngle family homes, apartments, and small businesses. We are one of the few communities in the country that wasn't affected by the housing bubble, because we didn't get caught up in building huge mansions for no reason. Now, the other side of town that has experienced major layoffs by GE and many closings of other businesses is not doing so well. Thank you, NAFTA.

My house was built in the 70s. The neighborhood it sits in was farmland 100 years ago but is now all residential in a central area of the city which expanded all around it. It is a great neighborhood, within walking distance of two schools, a few parks, and also has a pharmacy, grocery store and other shops within a mile, without changing the 'residential' vibe.

There are only two homes that I know of that are/have been a problem. One rental was infested with druggies but they were evicted and the home was sold and is now owner-occupied. Another home isn't an obvious issue yet, but if you look closely you'll see that there is a hoarding problem. It seems to me that it is just reaching the point to backyard spillover. The city will likely start to step in soon.