Does your state have a wealthy city that is next to or close to a poor city? Or a wealthy suburb close to a poor suburb?
Posted by Jezzaq94@reddit | AskAnAmerican | View on Reddit | 355 comments
Does your state have a wealthy city that is next to or close to a poor city? Or a wealthy suburb close to a poor suburb?
DifferentWindow1436@reddit
Newark is just outside of NYC. A number of places in NJ used to be pretty crappy but a lot of them have seen wealthier people move in. When I was a young professional, we used to tease this guy who decided to move to Jersey City. Now it's a popular area but in the late 80s early 90s, it was a bit of pit.
LoyalKopite@reddit
It is still a pit. If you moving to Jersey that means you failed in New York.
Bandito21Dema@reddit
Oof, touche
LoyalKopite@reddit
I just never liked New Jersey it is named after a tax haven of UK.
Designer-Button-7865@reddit
What a weird reason to hate a state. No one in Jersey today chose that name. That's like saying you hate all modern day white people for colonization and slavery. It was hundreds of years ago and your coworker Brad never owned slaves, so let's get over it
LoyalKopite@reddit
But York is not tax haven. You move to Jersey after failing in New York.
Mercury_Armadillo@reddit
Tell me you know nothing about the area without telling me…
LoyalKopite@reddit
I have been to Jersey few times.
Designer-Button-7865@reddit
Or maybe it means you just didn't want to live in New York anymore? It's not for everyone. Housing in Jersey City costs more than the Bronx, so you don't necessarily have to go to Jersey if you can't find anything affordable in Manhattan
finiteloop72@reddit
Lmao. Nonsense.
GrunchWeefer@reddit
It means I have kids who I want to grow up with a back yard. What a dumb take. I could easily afford to live in New York, I just don't want to.
d_nicky@reddit
I mean not really, so many people live in Jersey but work in New York (and make tons of money).
rudkap@reddit
Yeah I brought up the phenomenon of Glen Ridge. Very close to Newark and bordered by East Orange, Orange, and Montclair(before Montclair went through gentrification).
Insanely wealthy town.
Designer-Button-7865@reddit
There are a couple other cities in between tbf
shelwood46@reddit
I always joke that nowdays the Poconos are where everyone who got gentrified out of NYC, NJ & Philly end up. It's really improving our restaurant scene.
CleverGirlRawr@reddit
Los Angeles has millions of dollar mansions next to run down areas with homeless encampments.
LoyalKopite@reddit
That is specialty of LA you either make it big or homeless.
alphasierrraaa@reddit
coming from the midwest, USC to us was always a fancy rich kid school
i was shocked when i toured west coast schools and realized skid row was literally outside USC lol
annaoze94@reddit
University of Chicago is kind of like that It's not quite as good but once you get outside of campus or where campus security patrols just like USC it's not the nicest neighborhood They are both very prestigious schools
LoyalKopite@reddit
Their professor ruined America with trickle down policy of GOP.
Longjumping-Claim783@reddit
I went to UCLA. Public school next to rich LA instead of Private school next to that.
LoyalKopite@reddit
I went to fake ucla. I went to Baruch college who original campus was on Lexington Ave so joke was university on corner of Lexington Ave so UCLA.
Complex_Yam_5390@reddit
Same. I was shocked that my public school registration fees got me in a beautiful place surrounded by Bel Air and a reasonable walk to Santa Monica while hefty private school tuition had people right next to run-down strip malls and cardboard-looking apartments.
Highway49@reddit
It is a fancy rich kids school, but some of those rich kids get to experience real shit there. For example, the US Navy runs a trauma training center at USC to prepare Navy medical teams for providing medical care to Navy and Marine Corps forces.
cheap_dates@reddit
The US Army often sends its medics to Martin Luther King hospital. Lots of practice in ballistic wounds. Enough for everybody.
Highway49@reddit
Looks like they opened a new one in 2015, I thought it had closed. I was born at Daniel Freeman hospital in Inglewood in 1985, but it’s gone now. I had to stay in the hospital due to jaundice, and my mom always reminds me that she had to be escorted by police through the parking lot at night to feed me. I’ve been a burden on her since birth lol!
cheap_dates@reddit
I went to Inglewood High back in the late 60's. I lived within walking distance of the old Forum. Those were different times.
Tomato_Motorola@reddit
Well USC has some rough areas around it (it's in the famous South Central after all), but Skid Row itself is about 4 miles away near downtown.
cheap_dates@reddit
The area just outside of USC is no place for an evening stroll.
alphasierrraaa@reddit
Oh oops my bad
nomadschomad@reddit
Skid row is 3-4 miles from USC's campus. But yes, the area around UCLA is MUCH nicer.
Joseph_Suaalii@reddit
Top state Californian universities often have the most socioeconomic diversity too
pudgywalsh1@reddit
My niece had her bicycle stolen the first day of class at USC.
jaskmackey@reddit
USC is literally in South Central LA.
phicks_law@reddit
Those rich kids built a wall on purpose.
MrJenkins5@reddit
That also sounds like Miami.
cheap_dates@reddit
I work in a hospital. The million dollar condos are about 4 blocks north and there is a big homeless camp about 4 blocks south.I
anonsharksfan@reddit
San Francisco has homeless encampments in front of million dollar mansions
BankManager69420@reddit
Portland too. I think this is just a west coast thing
Designer-Button-7865@reddit
Dollar mansions? And millions of them? Shit I need to move to LA
sabotabo@reddit
not anymore
FlyingSquirlez@reddit
Believe me, Pacific Palisades was not the only rich neighborhood full of mansions in LA.
estifxy220@reddit
Hollywood Hills and Beverly Hills still exist
flaretrainer@reddit
LA has both in the same city
Beaumont64@reddit
Shaker Heights > the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Cleveland
bannanaman180@reddit
In Washington (state) we have Seattle and it’s kinda like 2 parts extremely wealthy and extremely poor
TheBimpo@reddit
Every state has this.
Detroit/Grosse Pointe is our biggest example.
suydam@reddit
St. Joseph/Benton Harbor
TankDestroyerSarg@reddit
Ah, Benton Harlem. Yeah, away from the Lake and golf course it is poor and rundown as all get out. The downtown is a freaking ghost town of abandoned buildings, ruins and bulldozed lots.
bass679@reddit
Rochester hills and Pontiac. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a rapid shift from wealthy estates to literal shacks and ruins.
Warhammer517@reddit
Along with Ann Arbor & Ypsilanti.
MagnumForce24@reddit
Ann Arbor is pretty trash outside.of the University Area
aDrunkenError@reddit
Everything worthwhile seems to be outside the university area.
The_ApolloAffair@reddit
I would also argue that tbh. The university dominated streets and neighborhoods are predictably more dilapidated than the rest of the city.
aDrunkenError@reddit
Particularly in regard to the wealth conversation, outside of the university is where you find Busch’s, Zingermans, and all the more expensive accommodations, even just focusing on downtown, Main(non-university) is way nicer than South U.
Occasionally_Sober1@reddit
Sounds like something an Ohioan would say.
I’ve lived in Ann Arbor for five years and still haven’t found this trashy area you speak of.
MagnumForce24@reddit
I am a Michigander trapped in Ohio. My Dad was born in Saline and grew up in Milan and I was born in Hillsdale.
The_ApolloAffair@reddit
That’s just nonsense. Idk what your definition of the “university area” is but Burns Park, Ann Arbor Hills, Barton Hills are all expensive areas (at least for a midsize Midwest city). Plus lots of other less notable places in Ann Arbor.
Deep_Joke3141@reddit
I would agree. I don’t recall any trashy neighborhoods in Ann Arbor.
Dazzling-Trick-1627@reddit
And Pontiac/Bloomfield.
bulgakov82@reddit
It's disgusting. I've seen destitute children roaming the streets with torn clothes, playing with rebar from an abandoned house only a quarter mile south of Grosse Pointe, where trust fund babies are complaining about doing their Kumon worksheets. Alter road is two lanes wide, but it feels like 100 miles apart.
bell37@reddit
I mean what’s the solution then? The whole reason why Grosse Pointe branched off from Detroit was because they didn’t want to be involved in Detroit politics. He’ll they don’t even want to be involved in Grosse pointe politics (that’s why you have GP Farms / GP shores / Village of GP / GP Woods / GP Park)
redmeansdistortion@reddit
It's amazing how one can be headed south on Jefferson and know immediately once they've crossed Alter Rd into Detroit. Jekyll/Hyde difference.
Undertakeress@reddit
Inkster/ Dearborn
paradisetossed7@reddit
Hartford and Birdgeport in Connecticut. Or New Haven, the city of Yale, which looks like a castle, surrounded by poverty. At one point I think CT was both the wealthiest and poorest state in the nation per capita.
wvc6969@reddit
My mom’s side is from Grosse Pointe and they describe entering the Pointes as Dorothy walking into Oz lmao
_Light_The_Way@reddit
San Francisco is seven square miles, but a few blocks can separate you from extreme poverty and multi-million dollar mansions.
The wage disparity in the city is mind blowing, yet poor and wealthy alike still use all the same public transportation.
Andy235@reddit
San Francisco has a land area of 46.9 sq miles per wikipedia.
morganproctor_19@reddit
See San Francisco: Pacific Heights v. Tenderloin
adeadlydeception@reddit
Most American cities have economic disparities by neighborhood, not just by city or county.
ThatTurkOfShiraz@reddit
Washington DC and Baltimore are only 30 miles apart but could not have gone in more different directions economically
Wander80@reddit
North Fulton County vs. South Fulton County
Suspicious-Froyo2181@reddit
Lynwood Park in Dekalb county. The two are mixed together.
kelkiemcgelkie@reddit
East Cobb vs South Cobb
JasJoeGo@reddit
Every city in Connecticut is an under-served, poor, disinvested shell surrounded by wealthy suburbs
natigin@reddit
Having only driven through it, Connecticut seems like it sucks
InterPunct@reddit
The Merritt Parkway is beautiful without traffic. Which is almost never now.
kermitdafrog21@reddit
I was down in Richmond for work and drove back in the middle of the night. Since there’s no truck traffic on it, there was basically no one on the Merritt Parkway and it was wonderful
hucareshokiesrul@reddit
I really liked living there. I love New Haven, but it does have lots of poverty and crime.
crafty_j4@reddit
“Gun Wavin’ New Haven” is what some people called it when I went to Southern.
natigin@reddit
Right on
JasJoeGo@reddit
Connecticut is wonderful. It's cities are screwed by Connecticut's making sure all important services are provided out of town taxes without allowing those cities to build their tax bases.
BlueSaltaire@reddit
Driving through Connecticut on 95 or 84 is completely different than the Merritt…
Sufficient_Mirror_12@reddit
Stamford and Norwalk are doing just fine along with New Haven.
CHITOWNBROWN1400@reddit
Hartford, New Haven and Bridgeport ain't too good
SurvivorFanatic236@reddit
Disagree about New Haven
CHITOWNBROWN1400@reddit
pizza, Yale and nothing else...
cephalophile32@reddit
This is spot on. Grew up next to Waterbury.
newtohsval@reddit
I live in California. Rich and poor areas are pretty much always close to each other here.
icberg7@reddit
I see your wealthy city with poor suburb and raise you Winter Park, FL.
There are streets which are wealthy, adjacent to streets which are not. And whatever you do, make sure you stay on your side of the railroad tracks.
IHSV1855@reddit
Yes. Most of the larger suburbs have very poor and very wealthy areas within just their own boundaries.
Longjumping-Oil-7419@reddit
Chicago is next to Gary, IN
CHITOWNBROWN1400@reddit
Same exact concept with St. Louis and East St Louis
jdw1977@reddit
St Louis isn’t exactly wealthy…. Poor next to destitute.
Mellow_Mushroom_3678@reddit
St. Louis has wealthy areas and poor areas, like any city. Sometimes, in fact, they are right next to each other. Look up the Delmar Divide.
L
jdw1977@reddit
St. Louis (city proper, in entirety) is not considered wealthy by any measure because it's below the national average (pick a metric - median income, for example). Every metro area has its wealthy and poor parts, but that's not OP's question. Perhaps that exists within St. Louis elsewhere but STL & ESTL ain't it.
https://www.bestplaces.net/compare-cities/st._louis_mo/east_st._louis_il/overview
CrowSucker@reddit
I was told to visit the Delmar Loop when I visited.
Mellow_Mushroom_3678@reddit
That’s not bad advice. It’s a cool area with interesting shops and restaurants.
patsboston@reddit
St. Louis has a lot of wealthy areas. In fact some of the suburbs are some of the wealthiest old money counties in the Country.
Karnakite@reddit
It’s also crazy how things can change just between blocks in the City. Kingshighway has some really desirable real estate, around Barnes Hospital - until you cross Delmar Blvd. heading north, when you’re suddenly in a very downtrodden area in about two seconds.
Karnakite@reddit
Not true. I’ve lived in the region my whole life. And it definitely has municipalities that are wildly varying in income. Ladue/Olivette is directly south of Overland, and they have very different atmospheres.
Longjumping-Oil-7419@reddit
Yeah same state opposite outcome
Resident-Cattle9427@reddit
Same with St. Joseph, Michigan, and Benton Harbor just on the other side of the lake
yesletslift@reddit
I’ve been to both of these places and yep. Whirlpool is the only thing keeping BH relevant.
Resident-Cattle9427@reddit
Not necessarily working very well, or at all.
yesletslift@reddit
I haven’t been there since maybe 2018–has it gotten worse?
Occasionally_Sober1@reddit
Yes. Alex Kotlowitz wrote a book about it called The Other Side of the River.
Resident-Cattle9427@reddit
I’ll have to look it up
CupBeEmpty@reddit
Chicago is right next to other neighborhoods in Chicago.
ResultDowntown3065@reddit
Hegewisch vs. Roseland.
I was working on a literacy research study that brought me to various schools in these two neighbors. The contrast was WILD!
CupBeEmpty@reddit
Oh I bet
Deweydc18@reddit
Hyde Park be like:
stcrIight@reddit
Literally before my mom moved to a different part of Chicago she lived in the one nice neighborhood in Hyde Park and was surrounded by the rest.
CupBeEmpty@reddit
Oh yeah. Crossing Midway was like night and day. University students and beautiful buildings on one side, murder and corner boys on the other. It was pretty impressive.
ElysianRepublic@reddit
Chicago and Chicago.
Square-Dragonfruit76@reddit
Gary Indiana is poor? But what about all those Music Man residuals?
dhdhhejehnndhuejdj@reddit
They aren’t next to each other and the question seems to be asking for examples within the same state.
Longjumping-Oil-7419@reddit
They are next to each other and Gary is basically like a suburb to Chicago
dhdhhejehnndhuejdj@reddit
Sorry to tell you but there are two towns between Chicago and Gary. They are also still in different states.
Sl1z@reddit
The majority of Chicago suburbs have at least 2 towns in between them and Chicago..
dhdhhejehnndhuejdj@reddit
Ok but the post I’m responding to says Gary and Chicago are next to each other. They are not. La Grange also isn’t next to Chicago. Neither is wilmette.
dhdhhejehnndhuejdj@reddit
Like if I tell you I’m sitting next to bob at dinner you probably aren’t thinking there are two people between us.
Longjumping-Oil-7419@reddit
Reddit police, good job
dhdhhejehnndhuejdj@reddit
Way to take being wrong with grace
Tommy_Wisseau_burner@reddit
WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
jxdlv@reddit
Chicago is a huge city with tons of rich areas and poor areas, and the parts of Chicago that border Gary are poor and dangerous too. The rich parts of the city are over in the north.
notthegoatseguy@reddit
There's 3-4 NWI cities between Chicago and Gary
augustwestgdtfb@reddit
brooklyn ny is like this in many areas
manhattan and Queens nyc
beautiful multimillion dollar homes
very close to public housing and urban blight (drugs violence etc etc )
Aguywhoknowsstuff@reddit
All rich areas are surrounded by the decaying corpses of the poor communities they had to exploit to get where they are.
How else do you think they staff their retail jobs?
Irish_andGermanguy@reddit
Maybe west Virginia
nomadschomad@reddit
So many rich enclaves with poor (or just large/diverse) neighbors. Beverly Hills/Los Angeles, Manhattan Beach/Hawthorne, Manhattan Beach/Lawndale, Highland Park/Dallas, University Park/Dallas, Evanston/Chicago.
mykepagan@reddit
NJ has the exact example: West Orange (multi-million dollar homes, extremely wealthy residents) directly next to Orange, South Orange, and East Orange (majority minority neglected low-income towns)
cthulhu_on_my_lawn@reddit
There's a lot of this around Pittsburgh and it's not really what you expect. There are a lot of really nice, wealthy areas in the city and also some shockingly poor suburbs.
Happy_Charity_7595@reddit
East Liberty borders Highland Park. Very different demographics.
brUn3tt3grl@reddit
Every city everywhere has something to this effect
markpemble@reddit
Yes, But I would say cities like SLC, Portland and Seattle, not so much.
supertwicken@reddit
Seattle is surrounded by sh!tholes. Burien, SeaTac, Des Moines, the entire south half of Seattle itself...
markpemble@reddit
After looking at the streetview of Burien, I would say Seattle is definitely the answer to this question. Burien seems really nice.
https://www.google.com/maps/@47.4623326,-122.3556116,3a,75y,111.75h,94.79t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1s1GavUAS176WXp7kijRyB0w!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D-4.793805812727143%26panoid%3D1GavUAS176WXp7kijRyB0w%26yaw%3D111.75050088660211!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDEwOC4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D
supertwicken@reddit
Ok, so you've never actually been there then. Got it.
Designer-Button-7865@reddit
Tacoma is just south of Seattle. That place sucks. And Everett to the north. I'd say those qualify. I love Everett, though, but the crime rate is well above the national average
shelwood46@reddit
Exactly, the help has to live somewhere kinda nearby (within a bus ride-ish), and richest will have their enclaves.
Turdle_Vic@reddit
Diamond Bar/Walnut/Brea next to Pomona/West Covina/La Puente in CA
That’s the area I grew up in and it’s what I observed even as a kid. It’s why my family has closer ties with the OC than the areas surrounding our home in LA County
Aroused_Sloth@reddit
The Coachella Valley is essentially wealthy to poor, from Palm Springs down to Mecca. One side is a lot of wealthy business owners, the other is poor agriculture workers. Middle class in between but it’s still a big mix
Zealousideal-Lie7255@reddit
Hempstead NY and Garden City NY.
Unreasonably-Clutch@reddit
Reflecting upon it I don't think Arizona does. Perhaps because our cities and suburbs cover such large areas. The one municipality that is noticeably much more poor than its neighbors is the tiny town of Guadalupe but it wasn't founded as a suburb. It was established by Native American refugees from Mexico who long ago incorporated their own town and later on didn't want to be absorbed into Tempe or Phoenix.
I suppose there is Nogales, AZ which is comparatively much better off than Nogales, Mexico.
sadthrow104@reddit
Phoenix and Glendale have various sketchy areas within stones toss of nice areas
Unreasonably-Clutch@reddit
The OP asked about cities and suburbs not neighborhoods.
MaulBall@reddit
St. Louis is very much like this (as are most cities tbh, it’s just more noticeable there than in other cities I’ve lived in). Not only are there rich & poor suburbs, but there’s also areas where one street will be very very affluent & luxurious, but then you’ll turn the corner and the next street is in completely poverty.
Karnakite@reddit
I used to work for a business in the Delmar Loop, and the variations I experienced driving around the area were wild. You’d be dealing with mansions. exclusive condos, and overpriced boutiques and bistros, then cross a single street and suddenly you were in something akin to the ghetto. Drive though that for one or two blocks, you’re back in the wealthy area.
Eatatfiveguys@reddit
New Rochelle is half rundown, half Mansion
Fluid-Safety-1536@reddit
Reading and Wyomissing Pennsylvania.
No_Explorer721@reddit
Dallas/Fort-Worth
SinfullySinless@reddit
Edina + Hopkins
chtrace@reddit
Houston does, but we really don't have zoning so it is a weird mix here.
Quenzayne@reddit
Back in California it was Irvine and Santa Ana. Irvine is one of the most affluent and desirable cities in the entire western world while most (not all) of Santa Ana is decrepit, run-down, and plagued with all sorts of problems that make you wonder how it's possible to be merely miles—or even yards in some cases—away from the 1%.
It's really a miracle that there isn't a lot more property crime in Irvine (it's consistently ranked as the safest city in the country). I imagine it's mostly owing to the police force that has one of the fastest response times in the country.
Here in Florida there's a similar dynamic between Port Orange and Daytona Beach. Daytona is pretty bad, especially in the northern part, while Port Orange is a modern, more upscale suburb that's just a little way's down the road from some pretty bad urban decay in Daytona.
Port Orange is full of retired transplants from the north and younger well-to-do families, while Daytona has a much more "southern" vibe and has a lot of bikers and such.
beebsaleebs@reddit
Mountain Brook Alabama and Gate City.
tu-vens-tu-vens@reddit
Yeah, but they’re not directly next to each other. Birmingham’s poor and rich areas have plenty of geographical boundaries separating them. Closest thing you have to a poor and rich neighborhood directly next to each other is Crestwood/Woodlawn, but Crestwood is more middle class. Forest Park is wealthy and next to some poorer areas, but not directly next to them.
ariana61104@reddit
Oh plenty of states, if not all of them have at least one example of this.
Where I used to live in Broward County there was a ton of this. We have cities like Lauderhill where the average individual income (according to Google) is less than $30,000 a year, within the county lines we have cities like Parkland where the average individual income is over $70,000 a year.
JustAnotherDay1977@reddit
Pretty much every big city in America has rich and poor neighborhoods, and wealthy suburbs.
shrektheogrelord200@reddit
Newark, NJ is right across the Hudson River from Manhattan.
ParoxysmAttack@reddit
Baltimore and Annapolis, MD.
William_Redmond@reddit
My favorite part of living in Uptown Nola was getting off the streetcar at the mansions on St. Charles and walking 4 blocks to my apartment where gunplay and vehicle arson was a common nightly occurrence in the park across from my front door.
ComesInAnOldBox@reddit
Every state, county, city, and town has something like this. It's extraordinarily common to have a wealth disparity even in the same neighborhood. There's usually a dividing line like a major road or railroad tracks that separates everything. One area I lived in a major throughway separated the African-American community from the Hasidic community. One side of the throughway would be Kosher Delis, the other side would be Soul Food.
Adventurous-Window30@reddit
Almost all areas have a “poor side of town” or “the other side of the tracks”.
botulizard@reddit
Maybe not a whole city, but the rapid gentrification of Boston's Charlestown neighborhood has resulted in a large, multi-block housing project being surrounded by million-dollar homes.
kayakchick66@reddit
Annapolis/Baltimore.
captainstormy@reddit
I'm kinda wondering what made you ask the question OP? It seems like an odd question to me (and probably others) because it's so common that's just the way it is.
Anytime you have two cities near each other one will be wealthier than the other. There will always be richer and poorer neighborhoods in a city. Etc etc.
What you asked is so common place and wife spread you may as well have asked do we have both rich and poor people in the US.
classisttrash@reddit
Maybe DC and Baltimore? They’re not right next to each other but plenty of people do commute into DC
dmbgreen@reddit
Yes and then sometimes realize that the poor neighborhoods are on awesome real estate and the poor are pushed out for redevelopment.
aenflex@reddit
Our state has mansions within a stone’s throw of dilapidated mobile homes. Sometimes sharing a property line.
rrhunt28@reddit
Years ago I was driving around and I got lost. I don't remember where I was going but I ended up going through a neighborhood to try and get back around where I knew the streets. The neighbors has a huge arch at the end of the street and the houses are big and stately, basically small mansions. I turn down the next street and go about a block over and turn again to go back the way I came. This street the houses are small and a little run down. Not really a bad neighborhood, but definitely a poorer one. It was such a strange contrast to see a block apart.
SeparateMongoose192@reddit
Reading, PA is very poor and some of the surrounding communities are much better off.
Redbubble89@reddit
Around the world or at least the northern hemisphere, the jet stream moves west to east. These are westerly winds. During the industrial revolution, the factories in the cities released bad air and traveled east. London, Paris, Manchester, New York, and serveral have the east side usually more poor.
In Washington DC, even though there weren't many factories because it's the city of Congress and the President, Prince George's or simply PG to the east in Maryland is the poorer suburbs. South East across from the Anacostia in the city is still rough.
Chicago has the lake to the East but Gary, IN is to the East.
Philadelphia has south Jersey and Camden.
New York has Queens and the Bronx and the blue collar areas of Long Island.
San Francisco has Oakland.
Winter_Essay3971@reddit
Oakland-Piedmont is one of the more jarring contrasts in CA
Duke_Cheech@reddit
The areas of Oakland near Piedmont look the exact same as Piedmont
smugbox@reddit
You cannot compare Queens to Camden, NJ lol
Designer-Button-7865@reddit
What, Riverdale? There are significantly more bad neighborhoods than good there
smugbox@reddit
Right but categorizing the Bronx as completely poor is inaccurate. It is largely poor, but not entirely poor.
Designer-Button-7865@reddit
No one said it was entirely poor, but if something is 10% good and 90% bad, it's not unreasonable to generalize it as the latter. To disregard the majority that is bad because a very small minority of it is okay is extremely pedantic
BlueSaltaire@reddit
The person you replied to is someone who obviously knows little about NYC. Queens is, by and large, a middle class borough. The Camden also makes the Bronx look like Scarsdale.
smugbox@reddit
Apparently Camden was the poorest city with a population over 65,000 in the whole country in 2006, which truly is not that long ago
InterPunct@reddit
Riverdale vs. South Bronx
DJMoShekkels@reddit
It’s a nice theory but each of those cities have their own reasons for being where they are which better explain them than the winds
MetroBS@reddit
Queens is not bad what lol
Curmudgy@reddit
Queens has wealthy neighborhoods and poorer neighborhoods, but I think mostly middle class.
I believe the same is true of the Bronx, with perhaps more extreme cases (more so in the 70s).
Lopsided-Doughnut-83@reddit
Also North Shore/Gold Coast of LI vs. South Shore, up until you get out to the Hamptons and then it’s something else entirely depending on the time of year.
SonofBronet@reddit
Buddy WHAT
Fappy_as_a_Clam@reddit
Detroit shittier than pretty much all its suburbs, so that's a good example.
karenmcgrane@reddit
No one would call Philadelphia wealthy but Camden is worse off
Hotwheels303@reddit
I was thinking the same but was going to say Philly and Chester
PutEmOnTheTable@reddit
Cheater is a solid 30 minutes from philly
Designer-Button-7865@reddit
Are they not neighboring cities though? What's in between?
minnick27@reddit
Going down 95 you pass through Tinicum and Ridley, but its a very short drive I would definitely say they are neighboring cities
minnick27@reddit
You can get from the casino in south philly to the casino in chester in 15 minutes
MetroBS@reddit
What?
Are you thinking of Westchester?
minnick27@reddit
You could even say Swarthmore and Chester. Separated by 5 minutes of driving and Swarthmores median income is four times Chesters
mymindisgoo@reddit
Camden/cherry hill
chockfulloffeels@reddit
Gladwyne is Phillies nice town, no?
anclwar@reddit
I mean, we have good streets that back up to not-so-good streets. Walk down Frankford Ave long enough and you'll cycle through this five times over.
scrappybasket@reddit
Every state and every city has wealthy parts right next to poor parts
SonUnforseenByFrodo@reddit
Yes
fajadada@reddit
St Louis/ East St Louis
Jets237@reddit
I live in CT, so yes, that’s essentially all of ct
handsomechuck@reddit
Essex County, NJ. Some of the wealthiest areas in the country like Short Hills a few miles from places like Irvington that are in very rough shape. Extreme inequality is a salient feature of American society.
Oldbayistheshit@reddit
Look up Toby town in Potomac,MD one of the wealthiest zip codes in the nation
rudkap@reddit
Growing up in Jersey, a town called Glen Ridge which was insanely wealthy was smack dab in the middle of East Orange, Orange, and Montclair. Newark was only a 7 or so miles away too.
anonanon5320@reddit
Go to Orlando, Fl.
Windermere was home to Shaq, Tiger Woods, Ken Griffey Jr, and the owner of West Gate Resorts, among others. Next to it is Pine Hills. Once a nice neighbor hood for middle class people, it was take over by low class and now it’s just a crime center.
DoublePostedBroski@reddit
Windermere isn’t next to Pine Hills
anonanon5320@reddit
I’d say within minutes is next to.
DoublePostedBroski@reddit
It’s not even within minutes. Maybe like a half hour.
anonanon5320@reddit
Half an hour in peak traffic, ya.
Back when Shaq and Tiger lived there it was minutes. Still is if traffic isn’t bad.
virtual_human@reddit
Yes. Central Ohio has the city of Bexely that is outside downtown Columbus and is very affluent compared to the surrounding areas.
PickledPotatoSalad@reddit
I mean, just look at Northern Virginia. You can argue everyplace here is expensive to live, but it's well known Old Town Alexandria is wealthy while Alexandria down Rt 1 has issues.
Things change though. McLean is one of the wealthiest suburbs/areas. It's right next to Pimmit Hills which used to make the news for biker gangs and crime in the 70's and 80's. Now Pimmit Hills is full of mini mansions.
RubberPny@reddit
Palo Alto, CA ,very wealthy, and HQ to a lot of well known companies). Next to East Palo Alto, at one point was the murder capital of the state (not anymore, waaaay better now).
Other_Golf_4836@reddit
Of course. We actually have a town in New jersey, Maplewood, that is on two sides. The western side borders rich Millburn and is quite rich itself. The eastern borders poor Irvington and is poor itself.
Meilingcrusader@reddit
Lawrence MA and Andover MA could not be more different. And less stark, but Manchester NH is much poorer than its surrounding suburbs like Bedford
ZaphodG@reddit
Massachusetts is full of those abrupt transitions. I lived in Andover. Springfield/Longmeadow. Holyoke/Northampton. It’s more gentrified now but Medford/Winchester. New Bedford/Dartmouth.
CaptainPunisher@reddit
I live in California. Yes.
SemanticPedantic007@reddit
I bet California has 100 of these. I could reel off a bunch in the Bay Area, but LA folks would roll their eyes and say that's nothing.
CuppaJeaux@reddit
My city has wealthy BLOCKS next to poor blocks.
spotthedifferenc@reddit
this exists worldwide
FoxConsistent4406@reddit
DC and Fairfax County.
ghostlukeskywalker04@reddit
DC has a median household income of over $100,000. It hardly qualifies as poor.
JuanG_13@reddit
Aspen and Glenwood Springs
seatownquilt-N-plant@reddit
as a young western state, I am not certain how to define this. Our development of big population cities is [historically] recent, and due to geography everyone is developing in the same areas.
Outside of areas that one would describe as "urban", we have wealthy suburbs that have farming/rural/forested areas next door and beyond.
here is a picture of WA state at nighttime: https://www.ravenmaps.com/washington-nightviews-map.html
lots of areas with low density man-made light.
Winter_Essay3971@reddit
For eastern WA, I'd say downtown Spokane vs. the Cliff-Cannon neighborhood immediately south of it is a pretty striking socioeconomic contrast
anonsharksfan@reddit
EPA has cleaned up and gentrified in recent years, but Palo Alto and East Palo Alto. Palo Alto, one of the most affluent cities in the country, is right across the freeway from what was at one point the murder capital of the US
Winter_Essay3971@reddit
Washington: Lake Forest Park (rich suburb) touches Lake City (working-class largely immigrant neighborhood of Seattle)
2010ishWhoop@reddit
Cleveland and East Cleveland, they are seperate cities, with the latter being a very poor, very corrupt, crime ridden shithole.
BeerDreams@reddit
I’d say East Cleveland/Bratenahl is a starker contrast
Lopsided-Doughnut-83@reddit
Are we including Cleveland Heights? Because my impoverished relatives live in Cleveland proper, and the bougie ones live in Cleveland Heights.
BloodOfJupiter@reddit
As someone mentioned, just about every state has this. Miami has Florida City as part of its metropolitan area , so that probably fits the bill. I wouldn't stay there if you're heading to the keys.
Pure_Preference_5773@reddit
I’m in one of the richest towns in my state, neighboring the poorest and near poorest towns in the state.
G00dSh0tJans0n@reddit
Cary North Carolina, 15 miles from Durham North Carolina
BloodOfJupiter@reddit
Thats not even a similar comparison, Durham has one of the hottest real-estate markets in the country right now and its growing, theres some roug hareas like the East , but the city as a whole isnt comparable to being the "poor city"
InterPunct@reddit
I lived there in the 70's. I've heard it's changed a little.
Dragon_Jew@reddit
Right in the city I live in are super rich people and super poor sleeping on the sidewalk people.
KaitB2020@reddit
Of course we do. I thought everyone did…
Dodges-Hodge@reddit
Oakland and Oakland. New-ish buildings selling condos for $250,000 with homeless encampments down the block.
mytextgoeshere@reddit
Palo Alto / East Palo Alto. A freeway divides them.
What___Do@reddit
It’s shocking how quickly you can go from a poor to a rich neighborhood in Atlanta. The divide is stark and sudden.
Designer-Button-7865@reddit
Same in Nola. It's not even a neighborhood thing there. There are mansions next to shanty houses all over the city
Sabertooth767@reddit
Not exactly what you asked, but Oldham County is one of the wealthiest in the country. It's in the metro area for Louisville, which is... not.
Designer-Button-7865@reddit
When I think of this question pertaining to Kentucky, I think of Covington and Newport in NKY
o93mink@reddit
DC exists
Dry_Trifle860@reddit
DC is wild that two quadrants are mostly poor (one very poor,) one middle class and one extremely wealthy.
PhoneJazz@reddit
I’m trying to figure out what this means. DC has both immense wealth and poverty, and is surrounded by suburbs that are by various measures wealthy (west) or poor (east).
TheRealDudeMitch@reddit
Exactly.
Suspicious-Peace9233@reddit
Not really cities but there is a city near me with an extremely wealthy town next to it. They are separated by a small river
Fecapult@reddit
Richmond - Petersburg
Rudytootiefreshnfty@reddit
Which is the better one?? /s
Designer-Button-7865@reddit
Yes we have hundreds
freedraw@reddit
I grew up in CT. Crappy cities surrounded by wealthy suburbs is the whole state.
Current_Poster@reddit
Every state has this, if they have cities.
Awkward_Bench123@reddit
Seattle and Bellingham. That’s why I hate the U.S. and Niagara Falls, NY. But I wanna live in Buffalo. Call me crazy, but there is something about the women there.
Wadyadoing1@reddit
Basically the 1.5 to 3 miles between beach and I95 stretch of south FL from West Palm Beach to homestead from the beach to tje west The wealth on display there is astounding. Cross over that line, and you are in the shiet.
Head_Staff_9416@reddit
West side of Chicago/Oak Park, IL suburb.
javerthugo@reddit
We have rich houses a stones throw away from trailer parks.
notyourchains@reddit
Bexley is a rich Jewish enclave in the middle of the ghetto
PoolSnark@reddit
All states
Illustrious-Lead-960@reddit
That’s nearly all of Little Rock.
Adventurous_Bit1325@reddit
They all do.
MeowMeow_77@reddit
San Francisco.
Individualchaotin@reddit
Yeah, Tenderloin vs FiDi.
MeowMeow_77@reddit
I almost said every town in California😊
Kman17@reddit
Virtually every large America metro area has this.
In my area San Francisco / Palo Alto / San Jose (rich) and Oakland (poor).
PossibleJazzlike2804@reddit
Yes, after the stop sign the road turns to shit.
RedSolez@reddit
Trenton is the impoverished capitol of NJ surrounded by wealth in nearly every other town in its county, Mercer. The governor's mansion isn't even in the capitol, it's 10 minutes away in Princeton 😂
yesletslift@reddit
I’ve been to West Trenton a bunch of times and I think they should change the name lol. It’s actually a nice suburb but doesn’t sound like it.
yesletslift@reddit
Not right next to each other, but Camden, NJ, and Moorestown, NJ.
cofeeholik75@reddit
California. It is exactly like that in all our major cities.
bloopidupe@reddit
Yes.
SawgrassSteve@reddit
Parts of upscale Miami are just blocks away from poor sections.
ch4nt@reddit
Not really cities but there used to be very stark differences between Palo Alto and East Palo Alto in Northern California.
In terms of cities, maybe something like Oakland and Berkeley?
Occasionally_Sober1@reddit
Yes. There’s even a book about it called The Other Side of the River. It’s about St. Joseph and Benton Harbor, Michigan. One of the state’s richest towns that’s right next to the state’s poorest town.
GeorgeWBush2016@reddit
Bronxville and Mt. Vernon
Bronxville and Yonkers
The_Spyre@reddit
I grew up in Orange County, CA. It's all rich cities mixed with poor cities. Newport Beach vs. Santa Ana for example.
NecessarySquare83@reddit
Freeport and Merrick
halfstep44@reddit
Baltimore and DC don't border, but that may be a good example
jijijenni@reddit
Oh yes
ThingFuture9079@reddit
Gates Mills in Cleveland is a wealthy area and then a few miles west on the other side of I-271 is South Euclid which is a poor suburb.
Oceanbreeze871@reddit
Beverly Hills is about 14 miles from south central LA. One of the biggest income disparities in the US
Tiny_Ad5176@reddit
Ever been to Austin, TX?
CharlesFXD@reddit
My city is a run down mismanaged hell hole surrounded by nice suburbs which are then surrounded by even nicer suburbs! I’m working my way through the rings. lol.
Lopsided-Doughnut-83@reddit
Check out r/LongIsland and see if you wanna go all the way out there. Looooots of talk about how unaffordable it is, how insane the real estate market is, how there isn’t as much to do, etc.
I personally loved the peace and quiet and the wildlife, but I’m a hick. I know it’s definitely not for everyone. If you’re a city person, it might slowly drive you mad if you go too far out on the LIRR. That commute in is brutal. Better than the drive, but still long.
smugbox@reddit
There are NYCHA housing projects across the street from the Metropolitan Opera, right by Juilliard and a huge performing arts high school
Lopsided-Doughnut-83@reddit
I saw it in Baltimore when I visited Johns Hopkins and was shook.
jacksbm14@reddit
Jackson is the poor city and Ridgeland/Madison, its suburbs, are the rich ones.
Highway49@reddit
Damn, you're right!
ContributionNo6042@reddit
Austin, next to Westlake, Rolling Wood, Lakeway, and Bee Cave... all on the west side of the county.
Ok-Lavishness-349@reddit
Yes. Birmingham Alabama. I had an apartment that was ten minutes walking distance to some very sketchy neighborhoods and also ten minutes walking distance to one of the highest net worth zip codes in the US. It was on the southside, in the proximity of the Vulcan statue.
pudgywalsh1@reddit
Jackson, Wyoming and the rest of the state.
LilKomodoDragonfly@reddit
Even different parts of the same suburb or city can be like this. We were going over some of the statistics about our service area at work, and they were comparing two neighborhoods that were about a mile apart. There was a more than a $100,000 difference in annual household income between them.
jxdlv@reddit
There's good examples of this in Philadelphia. The transition when you cross City Ave from West Philadelphia to Montgomery County is almost instant, going from the ghetto neighborhoods to extremely expensive suburbs.
Similar thing in North Philadelphia with Elkins Park. A very rich suburb bordering one of the most dangerous parts of the whole city.
crazycatlady331@reddit
There's also Camden right across the river.
Philly's not exactly super wealthy (parts are) but next to Camden....
dystopiadattopia@reddit
Philadelphia is across the river from Camden, NJ
DraperPenPals@reddit
Yes of course, and wealth disparities exist within cities
urine-monkey@reddit
Wisconsin's richest census tract is River Hills, an upper class north shore suburb where you'll find people like Giannis Antetokounmpo.
It's also less than 10 miles from the 53206 section of North Milwaukee... the state's poorest census tract.
Positive-Avocado-881@reddit
Philly and Camden
blueeyesredlipstick@reddit
Long Island, New York has a decent amount of this. You'll have towns like Garden City, where average household income is close to $200K and the houses look like this, that are one town over from areas like Uniondale, that are a lot more working-class and have a lot more crime.
Intrepid_Figure116@reddit
Yes. A couple wealthy cities surrounded by poorer areas.
sneezyailurophile@reddit
Bentonville, Arkansas - corporate headquarters to a Fortune 1 company. Most of the state is poor.
redjessa@reddit
A lot of cities here in Southern California are both rich and poor cities. Drive through Los Angeles, it's huge. One block is pristine, expensive homes, then one block over there is a homeless encampment, run down apartments owned by slumlords. Even smaller cities like the one I live in. Beautiful homes in hills coupled with tagged up, rundown neighborhoods and a sort of in-between, quaint suburb.
BioDriver@reddit
Houston has no zoning so you can go street by street and see massive swings
devnullopinions@reddit
By Medina, WA standards of wealth, Seattle is one yacht/helicopter ride away from those folks.
AdFinancial8924@reddit
All cities have rich areas and poor areas as well as surrounded by rich suburbs and poor suburbs.
Estella-in-lace@reddit
Memphis, TN, next to Germantown, TN. Crazy juxtaposition.
OYSW@reddit
But the part of Memphis that borders Germantown is also affluent (including some spectacularly wealthy areas).
Longjumping-Claim783@reddit
Palo Alto is next to East Palo Alto. LA is next to East LA. San Diego is next to Tijuanua.
BensOnTheRadio@reddit
Philadelphia, PA and Camden, NJ are just separated by a river.
cc31660p@reddit
I used to live in an area that had 10,000 square foot homes a 1/4 mile away from Section 8 housing.
tooslow_moveover@reddit
In relative terms, San Diego is a wealthy city in my state that borders a poor one: Tijuana.
Nicolas_Naranja@reddit
Palm Beach to West Palm Beach. Cross a bridge to go from billionaires to trap houses. Not all of West Palm Beach is bad, but the bad parts aren’t too far. Overtown Miami is the ghetto, and it is separated from the nicer parts of Miami by an interstate.
HoyAIAG@reddit
Bratenahl and East Cleveland
high_on_acrylic@reddit
Here in San Antonio there’s the West Side and then there the Far West Side. West Side is significantly poorer, more neglected, and overall historically redlined than the Far West Side.
NoDoOversInLife@reddit
Most any major metropolitan City in CA is surrounded by impoverished areas🥺😢
xRVAx@reddit
Pretty much every top 50 city by population has wealthy suburbs and poor suburbs.
The Eisenhower freeway system begun in the 1950s and 60s essentially replaced the train network and made it practical to live in the burbs and work downtown. This also made the downtowns "poor"
Many downtown areas of major cities are still struggling to dig out of poverty.
T-Rex_timeout@reddit
Memphis has insane old money neighborhoods a block from poverty stricken ones.
ratteb@reddit
Oklahoma Cities often has a few square kilometers as one economic zone and wildly different next zone over. Rural -- Often have the rattiest mobile home as a neighbor to a $1,000,000 home. (a few acres away)
hereforfun976@reddit
California so lots. La bay area San Francisco id say almost all cities
WritPositWrit@reddit
NYC is a wealthy city and an impoverished city all in one city
alphasierrraaa@reddit
upper east to east harlem lol
just a 5-10min drive
Icy_Ability_4240@reddit
Piedmont CA is inside Oakland.
DeFiClark@reddit
Every state. And it’s not city, it’s block by block or neighborhood by neighborhood within a city.
Once looked at a house on the margin. Realtor looked at me looking south and said “as long as you always turn right out of the driveway it’s fine.”
TheRealDudeMitch@reddit
Kankakee and Bourbonnais, Illinois are a good example of a small town version of this
BusinessWarthog6@reddit
Some call Charlotte the gateway to Gastonia
halforange1@reddit
Minnesota has that in one city: Minneapolis. South Minneapolis is rich and North is poor. The cities around South Minneapolis, like Edina, are rich, and the cities around North Minneapolis are poor.
DoublePostedBroski@reddit
Miami. One block will be multi-million dollar homes and the next is absolutely horrible.
CommercialExotic2038@reddit
Mediterranean is right around the corner from Boardwalk
HumbleXerxses@reddit
They all do.
Aztroa@reddit
Basically every city has something like this
natigin@reddit
For an extreme example of this, the Hyde Park neighborhood in Chicago is very, very wealthy and hosts the University of Chicago, one of the top universities in the world.
You can easily walk from there to Parkway Gardens, more famously known as O Block.
calicoskiies@reddit
We have that within the city. I forget what the name of the street is but there’s a stretch of street in like northwest Philly that has these shitty run down homes and then you cross an intersection and it’s these big beautiful houses.
kowalofjericho@reddit
Oak Park and Evanston Illinois. You don’t even need to leave the cities.
CHITOWNBROWN1400@reddit
Good example. Evanston is a mini-Chicago in itself. Even the south and west sides of Evanston are the worst parts lol.
scrpn687@reddit
Chicago suburbs Lake Forest and North Chicago. Lake Forest is full of executives and athletes. You go just a little north, and suddenly every window has bars on them.
CHITOWNBROWN1400@reddit
You could do this with Waukegan/North Chicago/Zion and any one of those other suburbs out there that is not those 3 lol
typhoidmarry@reddit
Arlington VA and Washington DC
yinzer_v@reddit
Oregon:
Eugene and Springfield
Ashland and Medford
Beaverton and Aloha
CosmoBiologist@reddit
St Louis and the Delmar divide
professornb@reddit
Not so much - a lot of our “poor” areas are agricultural, and, as such, are “land rich” (not much cash but the land is worth a lot). There is Milwaukee…
CupBeEmpty@reddit
Every state has this and within every decent sized city there are poor and wealthy neighborhoods.
Puzzleheaded-Gas1710@reddit
I can't imagine any state that doesn't have that.
Ok_Cantaloupe_7423@reddit
In NH we have a few
Poor: Laconia Rich: meredith
Poor: Claremont Rich: Hanover
Poor: Rochester Rich: Portsmouth
Big-Detective-19@reddit
Bankhead and Buckhead in Atlanta. Real stark differences
alexseiji@reddit
Birmingham and Royal Oak next to or near Detroit. Northville as well but on the otherside of wayne county. All places I never have a desire to be.
Icy_Peace6993@reddit
We're full of them here in the Bay Area. Palo Alto/East Palo Alto has always been pretty crazy, though EPA has slowly gentrified. San Francisco/Oakland is the same thing on a much bigger level, they're only technically adjacent though, there's a bay in between. I guess you could say San Rafael/Richmond, but that's even farther. Sausalito/Marin City.
7yearlurkernowposter@reddit
Clayton vs St. Louis can occasionally get crazy but everyone references Ladue.
Captain_Depth@reddit
especially for the suburbs I think this happens pretty much everywhere. It's definitely noticeable in western NY where I am, cities will overall be poorer than the suburbs but there can be a huge disparity between suburbs themselves.
Juddy-@reddit
Bexley in central, Ohio is surrounded by shitty parts of Columbus
porquegato@reddit
Yeah this is Metro Detroit all over. Poorer areas: River Rouge, Highland Park. Richer: Grosse Pointe, Birmingham.
dcgrey@reddit
Almost feel like this is the norm more than the exception. Partly because land is at such a premium in cities, the wealthy are always ready to encroach on the poor.
squidwardsdicksucker@reddit
Vermont doesn’t really have that phenomenon since pretty much every part of the state is rural besides chittenden county, that being said we do have rural poverty and you can tell with places like Woodstock, Stowe, Waterbury etc… that they aren’t really places that cater to locals.
In New Hampshire where I grew up, people would call Manchester “Manch-ganistan” or “Manch-Vegas” and there is a disparity between it and surrounding towns, but I wouldn’t call it extreme.
shellssavannah@reddit
More like “does your city have a wealthy block next to an impoverished block.” Answer is yes in my city.
sammysbud@reddit
I’d imagine every state does, and most cities have it on the suburb/neighborhood level.