We didn't live in a 'bad' part of town before, it just wasn't the most desirable area to live. Things were a little trashy, people were a little sketchy, but overall it was okay. I wouldn't go walking around alone at night, but I wasn't (usually) afraid to go out and get the newspaper.
We've now moved into a nice little suburb. It's like living on a different planet. Some of the differences just amuse, some of them leave me wondering; why didn't we move sooner?
The Children
Old Neighborhood: Various kids from numerous families, running around unsupervised all hours of the day and night. I'm all for kids playing outside, but your kids either need to be supervised or tethered in the yard because I've seen them all almost get run over at least twice by an unsuspecting motorist.
New Neighborhood: A few kids out after dinner during the week. The creepy thing is that their parents are outside too. This is a foreign concept to me: parents...outside...watching their kids?
Language
Old Neighborhood: Not going to say the language was anything other than English, for those who thought I was going there...no, just a lot of cursing, fighting, talking about things that shouldn't be spoken about outside of the house. I don't need to know that your crack pipe isn't working, maybe you should be a little quieter on the phone or find a more private place to discuss these issues.
New Neighborhood: People talk about the weather, trees, shrubs. I've yet to hear an "f" bomb drop from any of my neighbors, which is good since most of them are over 50; which also might be why they don't talk about their drug habits either.
Pets
Old Neighborhood: Running around, no leash, no tags, no one seemed to care if they got ran over, taken to the pound or killed another dog. Oddly enough, I do think some of the pets were better supervised than the children.
New Neighborhood: Leashed, cared for...and no sign of rabies amongst any of them. What a difference that makes when I'm walking to the mailbox.
Yards
Old Neighborhood: I could tell you what brand of liquor most of my old neighbors drank...how? Because there would typically be at least 5-10 various alcohol containers strewn about the yard. Maybe it was just "progressive" yard art and I'm failing to see the artistic side of things.
New Neighborhood: There's actual yard art. People cut their grass on a weekly basis. No alcohol containers that I've seen yet.
Trash Day
Old Neighborhood: Typically my neighbors would take their trash out once a month. Which meant the other 3 weeks out of the month trash was just piled up on the side of the garage. Very classy, not to mention smelly. A 3 week old pile of diapers outside in August smells exactly what you would think it smells like.
New Neighborhood: People's garbage is neat and organized, placed in an orderly fashion on the curb 12 hours before pick up. If there's an overflow issue, the extra bag is nicely placed alongside the trash bin.
Cars
Old Neighborhood: You know that sound when you're not sure if it's gun fire or a car back firing? You know the sound of an angry bumble bee that's actually just some kid's muffler on his car? Those were typical noises when a car when coming the down the road.
New Neighborhood: I've yet to hear a single angry bumble bee muffler and no gunshots or back firing noises either. On the other side of things, I think we might be one of 10 families in the neighborhood not driving a foreign luxury car. So I guess we're the trashy ones now.
Come to think of it...maybe our old neighborhood was pretty damn crappy. I think we moved into suburbia right at the right time. Our son will most likely not be learning curse words from the neighbors or finding empty liquor bottles in our yard. Sure, he won't be as "cultured" but that's fine in my book.
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