If you have moved away from your hometown, is it in better or worse shape now than it was when you left?
Houston is another El Paso or San Antonio. It started in the early 70s, a mass invasion and they completely changed the face of Houston. Most Black folks lived on South side Houston but so many illegals poured in they gobbled up all the rent houses. That was really how Blacks pushed out into all directions. There was never any racial problems in Houston in the 70s and to say not today would be accurate. Most of us the same age all had the same likes and were veterans. We would all hang out downtown and street race. It's a sad world today for sure, but at least I lived at a time I enjoyed life and I had some really good friends.
Worse I’d say but I don’t live there so it’s hard to tell , when I was young it was what I’d say a typical rough / large drinking / gambling population mining town. Actually after the copper mining closed ….. here where I live ( 100 years ago ) ( and where my gran’s family lived after immigrating from Cornwall UK) many including my grans family moved to BH to work in mines. ( 600 Km from here ) BH mining was all underground where mainly Silver / Lead and Zinc was mined . ( some gold ) When I left BH in 1970 the population was around 42.000 I believe the population is now around 15.000 due to the mines closing in the late 1990’s so without tourism it gets ….the town would be a ghost town now days.
I have no idea how my early Indiana true hometown is. Satellite maps show that the legacy 4H fairgrounds behind my house has greatly expanded. The area seems to be in good order...at least, from 1,000 miles up. The town I spent nearly 50 years in (from the age of 9) is financially booming, due to its proximity to the Federal government economy (Washington DC) and its repeated "Best Town To Live In" nationwide status year after year. But I wouldn't necessarily think that an influx of externally-oriented nouveau riche is evidence of "better shape."
A little better I think. The key phrase is "when you left it." In the heart of the Rust Belt. I left in 1970. Things had already started to go downhill rapidly. There were 4 major manufacturing plants. They all began moving production to the South (before manufacturing began to move to China). Aging factories and outdated equipment needed updating anyway. Might as well move to where there were strong right to work laws. But worse than it was in the 1950s. The population has declined since 1960.
No idea, can’t remember the last time I was there and when I did, I didn’t spend any time looking around. It think it visited my sister and The Mariner’s Museum (amazing if you’ve never been and have an interest in such things). It’s in Newport News, Va.
Originally, I left my hometown area in late May of 1968 (after high school graduation). I moved into Ft. Wayne and two weeks later, my Navy Recruiter called me up for Basic Training. I returned a few times for Leave from the Navy, but nothing had changed. I returned in 1988, for a 20th Class Reunion, but still not much had changed, that I could see. My wife and I was there in 2008, and still very little had changed, but by that time, both of my legal guardian parents had passed and the farm had been sold. Some of my classmates, who still live in the area, and are on Facebook, have mentioned in the last year or so how many housing tracks have gone up. Some farming properties had been sold and corn and wheat fields gone. Traffic on County Roads was getting more and more crowded as more and more people moved into the area. Just like where we currently live, many of my classmates that still live there, now in their mid 70's, aren't very happy at what they see happening. Churubusco, which was the closest city to the farming area, is growing as well. No matter how much the older generation (Baby Boomers and War Babys) try, they just can't stop growth/progress.
It's in worse shape because the roads aren't being maintained regularly, but mostly because there are no kids there anymore. In a community that once fielded two Little League teams and a Babe Ruth team, as well as two Boy Scout troops, there are almost no kids there anymore. Odd.