Diversity?

http://www.11alive.com/news/news_sto...42979&catid=40

The article itself doesn't really matter, it's just another exceptional example of bad journalism by my local news station. Something in the comment section (you know I'd probably give up reading this station's website if it weren't for the hysterical comments) provided me with crazy thoughts, though.

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When people go out of their way to talk about how they live in a very "diverse" area, it's so that when they call their relatives in North Carolina they can brag about how trendy they are because they have black, asian, gay, and hispanic neighbors all living on the same street, attending wine tastings at the community clubhouse, walking down the street with baby strollers filled with adopted children from overseas, waving, yadda yadda. In other words - "big city trendy". It's bragging rights. Well, most likely if you live in a neighborhood filled with $300,000 to $500,000 homes, all of your diverse neighbors will be very lovely people. I would challenge these trendy folks however, to brag about their diverse neighborhood neighbors if the average home value in their neighborhood was $90,000 or less. Money = "trendy diversity".

Of course, if I lived in an area where 20% or more of the homes were for sale, I'm not going to say a single bad thing about the surrounding neighborhoods that butt-up against mine, either. Say what you will, and I do again wish them luck selling. But it's a hard sell to those who really know it.

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While diversity might very well be a selling point for a lot of people, there are plenty of people who would rather live in an enclave of people just like them. The days of keeping the "unwanted" out of town are long gone, of course, but is it really right to use "diversity" as a selling point for a home, considering?

Sure, there are areas in Georgia that are still segregated. Those tend to be more for economic reasons than racial (other than trickle-down racial reasons; the piss-poor teenage mother from the projects is likely to produce another, etc). Or the small mostly white rural town with no jobs isn't likely to have a huge number of diverse people rushing to move in - hell, it's more likely to see the young people from those areas leaving.

So why does it matter? My neighborhood is "diverse" for whatever that is worth.

Driving through Georgia, it was painfully obvious how undiverse the rural areas were. Everyone was white, except for the random community of mobile homes, but when we went into a populated area to eat, or shop, there where many times we were the only white family.

I've never seen something like that around my area, but I don't spend to much time around the newer HOA communites. I grew up with the understanding of the North's white flight being a case of "Not my neighbor!" and the South being a case of "Not my boss!", but its almost starting to look the opposite now.

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Originally Posted by littlelolligagged

The days of keeping the "unwanted" out of town are long gone, of course...

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I'm not sure its entirely long gone. Here on Long Island it isn't uncommon for a white family to move further East as an area becomes too Black/Hispanic/Indian/Etc for their taste. There are towns that are as much as 98% white further East and on the North Shore. They don't run them out of town, but pricing them out seems to be equally as effective for the people who do it.

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Originally Posted by littlelolligagged

While diversity might very well be a selling point for a lot of people, there are plenty of people who would rather live in an enclave of people just like them. The days of keeping the "unwanted" out of town are long gone, of course, but is it really right to use "diversity" as a selling point for a home, considering?

Sure, there are areas in Georgia that are still segregated. Those tend to be more for economic reasons than racial (other than trickle-down racial reasons; the piss-poor teenage mother from the projects is likely to produce another, etc). Or the small mostly white rural town with no jobs isn't likely to have a huge number of diverse people rushing to move in - hell, it's more likely to see the young people from those areas leaving.

So why does it matter? My neighborhood is "diverse" for whatever that is worth.

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I figured RE agents use it as a selling point mostly for school districting, for families with kids. Some areas can look "diverse" until you look at the demographics of the public schools, and where the private schools are, and who attends those.

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Originally Posted by littlelolligagged

While diversity might very well be a selling point for a lot of people, there are plenty of people who would rather live in an enclave of people just like them. The days of keeping the "unwanted" out of town are long gone, of course, but is it really right to use "diversity" as a selling point for a home, considering?

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I don't think there's anything wrong with it, EG some areas around major universities have especially diverse residents that sometimes attracts people who actively want that. But those neighborhoods are few and far between because it's not something people actively seek out.

I would honestly question how often real estate brokers actually use "diverse" as a selling point. It can be taken entirely the wrong way.

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Originally Posted by Illusions

I'm not sure its entirely long gone. Here on Long Island it isn't uncommon for a white family to move further East as an area becomes too Black/Hispanic/Indian/Etc for their taste. There are towns that are as much as 98% white further East and on the North Shore. They don't run them out of town, but pricing them out seems to be equally as effective for the people who do it.

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While I understand some of the issues you're referring to, are you actually saying that people try to sell their homes at expensive prices to keep out Blacks and Hispanics. Because I can tell you another reason people sell their homes at expensive prices. :confused:

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Originally Posted by Dreadnaught

Because I can tell you another reason people sell their homes at expensive prices. :confused:

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Is it because the Jews are part of a conspiracy to secretly drive up home prices, in a bid to control the real estate market?

But if prices are too high, who will we sell to?

The upwardly mobile, of course.

New money likes flash.

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Originally Posted by Dreadnaught

While I understand some of the issues you're referring to, are you actually saying that people try to sell their homes at expensive prices to keep out Blacks and Hispanics. Because I can tell you another reason people sell their homes at expensive prices. :confused:

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No, I'm saying the homes are seen as more valuable by people interested in a lack of diversity in their community. These people are willing to offer more money to purchase said houses, and thus they are more likely to have the house sold to them. This however might not appeal to minorities who will not see any added value in moving to a neighborhood that is almost completely white and thus look in neighborhoods with similar housing, school districts, etc. but also happen to have a larger minority population, and cheaper housing.

Realtors do use the words "diverse....revitalized....gated....communitie s" to describe the racial and/or economic make-up. Just look at Harlem and how their descriptive changed over the decades.