I think shady was a polite term.
I use shady to describe parts of the neighborhood today.

__________________
"I been a prisoner to a white Mr. Coffee
Down here on Christian Street" - Marah

For some reason this thread keeps bringing these two quotes to mind...

“Why can’t we all just get along?” -Rodney King

"I'm a uniter, not a divider" -George W. Bush

(OK, so maybe that second one's not so good, considering the source.)

Meh -- Lolly, I'm going to formally for the remainder of the time I know you have ot remind you that you quoted Bush!

hehe,
Jenn L

My almost 90 year old husband wonders why people have, and continue to move into a "shady" (as in seedy) neighborhood - an ambiguous description to begin with? Low property values? Money to be made from escalating property values? Will they live here as long as he (and I) have, or flip their homes when something better comes along or they can do it all over again somewhere else?

This is my last post on this subject. I prefer a society where everybody respects one another for who they are, where they are, and where they want to go. I've come a long way, baby, and in this imperfect world, a lot of us have a long way to go.

Oh, so I guess we weren't all thinking about our neighborhood's lovely shade trees eh?

From http://www.m-w.com/ :

shady
1: producing or affording shade
2: sheltered from the sun's rays
3 a: of questionable merit : uncertain, unreliable
b: disreputable

seedy
1: containing or full of seeds <a seedy fruit>
2: inferior in condition or quality: as
a: shabby, run-down <seedy clothes>
b: somewhat disreputable <a seedy district> <a seedy lawyer>
c: slightly unwell : debilitated <felt seedy and went home early>

I can understand how some might be offended by both of these terms. I don't think I'd describe our neighborhood as either of them. And I'm sure many of our long-time neighbors will have somewhat varying & different viewpoints when it comes to their historical perspectives.

Coco, To answer your husband's question, we are here for the long haul. Having said that, I doubt we'll make it 37 years. I'm afraid I'll be in need of a nursing home by then, if I'm still around. (Then again, we might just move down the road into the actual Graduate Hospital...)

Jennifer L is on the money. Today parts of the neighborhood are still shady and 10 years ago it was ultra shady. A neighbor of mine has lived on the block for over 50 years and told me that the current state of the area is "paradise" compared to the early/mid 90's. There is documented literature regarding how bad things were in G-Ho, so I think the opinions are valid.

On another note, the jzz music coming from the tents of the Cava party was fantastic! I hope they have another party soon.

I typically describe the neighborhood as "gritty" to those outside the area, gritty becuase it still has a trash issue and becuase there are still obviously abandoned houses -- not to mention construction debris.

Why we moved here -- We previously lived at 11th and Spruce, gritty in a totally different way (lots of prostitutes) and when my husband and I decided to look at places to live, we priced what we could afford in Wash West, Queen Village, and Bella Vista. We liked that we could still walk to work (he's at 15th and Market, my official office is 20th and Market), that there was a neighborhood feel to the area, and that the prices here were lower than the other areas and we could afford a nicer house (Ours is a total gut/rehab). One of the major selling points for us is that we were able to make my house wheelchair accessible for under 6k. A huge selling point for my husband and I was that our house is a corner property and there was a vacant lot on the other side of us. In this neighborhood, we could walk to work, would know our neighbors, and could afford a house and extra space to use as a yard or if the market values in the area rose and we could justify it, expand.

Will we stay? Maybe. If the market values continue to increase and there is a demand for larger homes in the area, we will stay and almost double the size of our house into the lot we own. If the market values do not go up, I see us living in our house for 5-7 years and then moving into a slighly larger house that could accomidate an elevator instead of a stair lift which is what I use right now. As I get older I will probably have a harder time making the transfer from wheelchair to stair lift to wheelchair, and at 1200 sq. feet, our house does not have the space or the floor plan to meet my future needs without building in our lot.

Even if we do decide to stay for 10 years, I'm hoping that some day I will live somewhere where it doesn't snow and have a beach view -- unless climate change occurs a little faster, I'm thinking that our future does not involve Philadelphia. None the less, I'm a Philadelphian, a resident of SWCC, and a homeowner here....it doesn't matter how long I stay, what matters is that I continue to invest in the financial future of our area and participate in the community. You can't give a hierarchy to folks based on how long their going to live here or how much they paid for their house, regarless of the length of time they've been here or how much they paid, they're still a taxpaying resident of the area and deserve equal respect.

I too prefer a society of respect, which is why I have such a hard time reading the NIMBY posts whenever someone posts about a positive change in the neighborhood.

Best Regards,
Jenn L.

Soooooooooooo, how is this project going?

I have no idea really, but it must be going OK, at least based on having just heard that the developer is now getting set to break ground on another similar project, this time just south of Washington.

Someone told me that only 1 home sold and there were no plans for more homes on that block for a while. Is there any truth to this?