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There are nonwhite places that are still good places to live in, like the suburbs of Atlanta.
Also there are predominatley Mexican American suburbs in Southern California that are middle class.
The suburbs outside of Newark and Paterson like Kearny, Maplewood, South Orange, and Elmwood Park have plenty of nonwhites but are good places to live in.
Nah. Before I move to a new town I make sure to park my car there overnight and unless it’s only white people sitting on my car like it’s a couch, I refuse to move there.
Paterson will not become more diverse. at least not in my lifetime. I am an "old" white lady and I rarely saw any white people I lived there for 25+ years and recently moved to a neighboring town/city 15 min. away. The problem for me was paying rent for all those years which meant that my hard-earned money was "going down the toilet". I bought a house with my grandson --when I die which is probably not far off, he will have a house ( I said to him "put the house in your name")
Hey, a pat on the back for Granny !! I could go on and on about Paterson. For me it was a love/hate relationship. For me a big attraction/convenience was that I found keeping a car was not a necessity, transportation 100 feet from my apartment. I did not keep a car for over 25 years. Same with the move, no car necessary. There is absolutely no place to have a dinner early evening, every dining spot in Paterson serves the same Latin food--good food, but same, same, same, chicken, rice, beans from the buffet table.
I don't agree with City readers that bringing Italian restaurants will help to revive the City. The reputation is so "bad" that different groups WILL NOT FREQUENT PATERSON. perhaps more Latin people. All the old timers have died ! When I mentioned to a person in Ridgewood, NJ 15 minutes away, that I lived in Paterson, he said PAAAATERSON) totally shocked. Another said , "I cannot believe that a place such as Paterson is 5 miles from Ridgewood.
I could go on and on, I still feel and have commented that the PLACE of Paterson is the perfect small American city, walkable, transportation, etc. The many problems will not disappear any time soon. It will take involvement with every citizen, strong leadership. What to do about all the problems, homeless, poverty, laziness of many people who just "hang" on the streets as their daily routine.
Whoever talked about the "art scene", non-existent, was o.k. years ago. Florio is buying and rehabbing many older buildings, Paterson is a "hard sell", its not Brooklyn, Jersey City, etc. Reputation is not changing quickly. I would have stayed, but did not want my grandson to be there.
My paternal ancestors came from Paterson. Moved there in 1863 from Manchester in England when the Union blockade of southern cotton caused the cotton mills there to shut down. There was work to be had in the silk mills in Paterson.
My grandparents met working there in the early 20th century, but no one from my family has lived there in a couple of generations now. My oldest sister was born in Paterson General in 1950 because Valley in Ridgewood was not yet built, but even Paterson General isn't there anymore. It's now Chilton Memorial in Wayne.
When I was a teenager in the 70s, we still shopped at the stores in Paterson. Meyer Brothers, Jacobs. But people started getting mugged in the parking garages, and the Paramus malls were growing, so the businesses died out.
I don't see Paterson coming back any time soon in the way that JC or Hoboken did.
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