Ybogans (Its an Australian thing
Urban Dictionary: bogan)
the word may be Australian, but the phenomenon certainly isn't!
I completely get what Draygoes is saying about not having a choice.
when I used to live in a different city, I was "forced" to live in a neighbourhood I could afford, affordable (to a young only just starting in the workplace) houses are not in the best areas.
and whilst the communities tend to be quite vibrant places full of characters there is only so many times that you want to:
Be accosted by crack whores, -no, I don't want to have sex with you, certainly not down that alley, pleading fro me to buy your services doesn't make it any more attractive, and nobody ever slept with a hooker because they were made to feel guilty, telling me how you need the money to feed your kids will not make me think that this is money well invested, track marks up your arm make me think I may get more than a fun time...(this was at 6:30am as I was walking to the train station to get to work).
See people fighting in the streets: it's neither big hard nor clever, and the way that violence seemed to escalate in the area, it was not really something that you'd want to get involved in.
Hear sirens: to some people the sound of sirens are a welcome sound of the hand of the law protecting you, but when you hear them several times a day it just enforces that you live in a really crappy place.
Walk past evidence markers on your way to work. (actually the day that happened I was surprised at just how far someone bleeding profusely could get!)
Come home to find that you can't actually get home because the road is closed and full of forensic teams trying to recover evidence as people are routinely being stabbed in the streets -quite literally outside your house.
In the year and a half I lived in that place there were at least 4 people who died less than 50 yards from my house. actual crack whores and dens less than a quarter of a mile from my house.
But you have to stay there because you literally cannot just up an move to a nicer place because nicer places tend to cost more money.
As it happens though, a lot of the people there WERE and ARE really nice people, there were people who would look out for each other, as well as various idiots who thought that being in a gang would be really fun.
Essentially, I get where you;re coming from Draygoes, but don't let one guy being a dick make you think that everyone around you is.
