The crazy part about living in NYC after growing up in Appalachia is that there is so little difference between what I saw growing up in the rust belt and the neglect on so much of the infrastructure here. Instead of maintaining and updating elevated train lines, it’s cheaper to just put a net under them to catch falling debris and chunks of rusted metal.
The reason you don’t see many boarded up storefronts here as you do in the old rural towns is that there are enough people to constantly try to start businesses here, but it’s a revolving door of failure at the same exact rate as they would fail out in the country. They don’t fail because they aren’t good ideas, they fail because the working class has been hollowed out so much they can’t support these local businesses. It’s decay on a much deeper level than just physical. It’s an absolutely heartbreaking lack of opportunity and lack of prosperity, and it’s the same in both the cities and the country. Everybody who is working class suffers under capitalism
The reason you don’t see many boarded up storefronts here as you do in the old rural towns is that there are enough people to constantly try to start businesses here, but it’s a revolving door of failure at the same exact rate as they would fail out in the country. They don’t fail because they aren’t good ideas, they fail because the working class has been hollowed out so much they can’t support these local businesses. It’s decay on a much deeper level than just physical.
It's exactly like this in the deep south and those small towns that used to be hotbeds for industrial work. All the steel mills and industrial type work was shut down in the 90s and shipped overseas. The buildings are still there and have been rotting and falling apart for years. I used to drive past all these factories on my way to work; years ago my mom worked in one and when you go down that road and look at it, everything is just decaying and rotting. My hometown is pretty much falling apart and in serious decay. I remember being a kid and there were so many small businesses and for a while they would do well, but eventually go bankrupt due to some corporate store moving in. They built a walmart close by in my old hometown after I moved out, and that completely wrecked all the small businesses that used to sell groceries and the farmer's market.
These days, no one can run a business cause the dollar stores come in and take up everywhere. I live in a vicinity of 6 different dollar stores (3 dollar generals, 2 family dollars and 1 dollar tree). Years ago, this place had hardware stores and even a clothes shop. Can't compete with a small Walmart type business in the dollar store chains that come in and eat everything up. It's so hollowed out, local businesses don't last here either, so I definitely feel your pain.
The crazy part about living in NYC after growing up in Appalachia is that there is so little difference between what I saw growing up in the rust belt and the neglect on so much of the infrastructure here. Instead of maintaining and updating elevated train lines, it’s cheaper to just put a net under them to catch falling debris and chunks of rusted metal.
The reason you don’t see many boarded up storefronts here as you do in the old rural towns is that there are enough people to constantly try to start businesses here, but it’s a revolving door of failure at the same exact rate as they would fail out in the country. They don’t fail because they aren’t good ideas, they fail because the working class has been hollowed out so much they can’t support these local businesses. It’s decay on a much deeper level than just physical. It’s an absolutely heartbreaking lack of opportunity and lack of prosperity, and it’s the same in both the cities and the country. Everybody who is working class suffers under capitalism
It's exactly like this in the deep south and those small towns that used to be hotbeds for industrial work. All the steel mills and industrial type work was shut down in the 90s and shipped overseas. The buildings are still there and have been rotting and falling apart for years. I used to drive past all these factories on my way to work; years ago my mom worked in one and when you go down that road and look at it, everything is just decaying and rotting. My hometown is pretty much falling apart and in serious decay. I remember being a kid and there were so many small businesses and for a while they would do well, but eventually go bankrupt due to some corporate store moving in. They built a walmart close by in my old hometown after I moved out, and that completely wrecked all the small businesses that used to sell groceries and the farmer's market.
These days, no one can run a business cause the dollar stores come in and take up everywhere. I live in a vicinity of 6 different dollar stores (3 dollar generals, 2 family dollars and 1 dollar tree). Years ago, this place had hardware stores and even a clothes shop. Can't compete with a small Walmart type business in the dollar store chains that come in and eat everything up. It's so hollowed out, local businesses don't last here either, so I definitely feel your pain.