Comments on: Blog neglect

By: chanie

chanie — Wed, 20 Jul 2005 06:18:22 +0000

we bought and moved about a year ago, after years of renting and moving around.

what helped clarify the issues that were most important to us was actually looking at apartments, and spending time in the communities and talking to people who lived there. what we thought would appeal to us, didn’t as much after closer examination. what we thought what important, changed somewhat as we continued our search.

not sure if that is clear without knowing the specific examples (which you can email me about if you want) but i suggest just jumping in and starting to look more, and that, in and of itself, might help you clarify which issues are most important.

By: Marla

Marla — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 21:03:56 +0000

I, my husband, and my kids are all Caucasian –

—>> Sandra, before I had my daughter (a miniority) I could have written your post. Now that we are a racially diverse family, our priorities have changed.

By: Marla

Marla — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 21:01:02 +0000

I just wanted to say that we have several Asians that are neighbors and we do not know them (in fact, we do not a lot of the white neighborseither, it’s that kind of street where no one is ever home). Lately, when I see when of the Asian neighbors out I go introduce myself with my daughter) to them. I feel like I have to make the effort to expand our circle, even tho I feel like a bit of an ass sometimes.But… you never know what can come out of it, at least that’s what I hope.

By: sandra

sandra — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 17:41:00 +0000

I’m so glad Patty wrote, because whenever this issue comes up I feel like I’m missing something. I recognize that I’m not entrenched in a racially diverse everyday life — I, my husband, and my kids are all Caucasian — so anyone can take my opinion with the proverbial grain of salt. (Then again, where we live is one-third Mexican; my three-year-old is already learning Spanish.) But I *am* a parent. When we move (in about 3-5 years), I will consider everything Dawn mentioned when sizing up a neighborhood. I will also probably make a note of the racial makeup, but it won’t be my deciding factor. A place where the kids can roam? Proximity to work and the places we like to spend time? A house I want to be in and that I can afford? Quality of schools? These will all be extremely important to me. The racial makeup of an area doesn’t even make my list. Neither does the possibility of living next to — gasp — Republicans, because I find I always learn the most from people I don’t agree with, and I know some Republicans who are — gasp again — actually quite wonderful, caring, tolerant people that I could learn a thing or two from myself. (Which leads me to ask myself: If I’m in favor of racial diversity, shouldn’t I also be in favor of political diversity?)

Do I think racial diversity is important? Of course I do. So does my husband. As Patty said, I “*can* give them exposure and experience with friends and people with a diverse background in other ways than by proximity to [my] house.” I know my husband and I are good parents; I just as fervently believe Dawn and her husband are good parents. (And dare I say, I could learn a thing or two from Dawn.) But it’s what goes on inside our house — where most of the pivotal time is spent — that’s most important. If that’s sub-par, all the racial diversity in the world will not make up for it. I believe that there are some less-than-perfect aspects of living that the right attitude can transcend, and to me, racial diversity or the lack thereof is one of them. But there’s essentially nothing I can do to, in effect, change safety, roam-ability, location, real estate pricing, and school quality, so those would be my dealbreakers.

By: Patty

Patty — Tue, 19 Jul 2005 16:41:17 +0000

Dawn:
Your post got me thinking–there are a lot of things that a new neighborhood can give you that you can’t give to your kids in other ways (ie a specific nearby school or friends down the street), but you *can* give them exposure and experience with friends and people with a diverse background in other ways than by proximity to your house. I say this b/c I grew up in an all-white neighborhood but through my parents values and actions and friends, I learned to appreciate and value diversity. As it stands now, we live in a very racially diverse neighborhood and we value that. However, it’s only by what we say and do in that environment that will teach our children to appreciate that diversity anyway. I hope this all makes sense–what I’m trying to say. I don’t think you’ll ever find the perfect neighborhood that meets all criteria, but I hope you’ll be happy with what you do find. Good luck!