20 replies to this topic

[Oldschooler81]

In the 90s I remember the area around Folsom Blvd & Zinfandel Way where the Joann Fabrics apparently still is (my mom had an acquaintancy friend who lived right around there) was kinda dangerous and run down. It was nowhere near as bad as the city or North Highlands...but there were always references to it being ghetto and all. Just wondered if it's the same way today?

[MrsTuffPaws]

When I drive through at area I *gasp* see minorities and they are *gasp* walking instead of driving.

Does that make it rough? I doubt it. Could it be rough anyway? Maybe.

Rancho has improved greatly in the last 10 years that I've lived here, but it seems to have more than its fair share of abandoned buildings and run down complexes. But parts (much?) of it is very nice.

[aubie84alum]

When I drive through at area I *gasp* see minorities and they are *gasp* walking instead of driving.

Does that make it rough? I doubt it. Could it be rough anyway? Maybe.

Rancho has improved greatly in the last 10 years that I've lived here, but it seems to have more than its fair share of abandoned buildings and run down complexes. But parts (much?) of it is very nice.

Yes, it's ghetto. There are varying degrees of ghetto from just plain poor to extremely dangerous. There are some very lovely pocket neighborhoods. The students are amazed when I tell them how wonderful it was, in the days of a strong military economy.

I pay for a lot of food for kids, not so much anymore. I can't afford it.

[Oldschooler81]

Yeah, it probably depends on the area. Alot of California seems to be like that in fact, where the feeling can totally change in just a small distance. One of my friends even said SJ is like Super Mario Brothers (with the pipes) lol, and he's halfway right! There's beautiful neighborhoods AND dumps here.

I have the feeling Rancho might be a little run down because there's alot of industrial areas and lower income housing.

[DavidH]

Yes, it's ghetto. There are varying degrees of ghetto from just plain poor to extremely dangerous. There are some very lovely pocket neighborhoods. The students are amazed when I tell them how wonderful it was, in the days of a strong military economy.

I pay for a lot of food for kids, not so much anymore. I can't afford it.

You've got to be kidding me -- "...extremely dangerous...?" By what metric? Compared to Folsom, Land Park, Gold River, what? While there are most definitely some less desirable parts of RC, I'm not sure I'd classify any of them as ghetto as one might the inner-city "projects" of Philly, Detroit, etc.

I'm just waiting (and it has probably happened and I missed it) that somebody from Empire Ranch says the Prairie Oaks, Briggs Ranch, or Lexington Hills developments are "ghetto." I know some have stated the parts of central Folsom are ghetto and they couldn't be more wrong.

[MrsTuffPaws]

Reminds me of this article, where homeowners are crying about the cheap $200-300K houses being built near them.

http://www.wfaa.com/...h-95652354.html

[Bill Z]

In the 90s I remember the area around Folsom Blvd & Zinfandel Way where the Joann Fabrics apparently still is (my mom had an acquaintancy friend who lived right around there) was kinda dangerous and run down. It was nowhere near as bad as the city or North Highlands...but there were always references to it being ghetto and all. Just wondered if it's the same way today?

Rancho, like many towns, has it's "rough" neighborhoods, but I wouldn't label all of Rancho that way, not by a long shot.

[Darth Lefty]

So it was the closing of Mather AFB that did it? Or the downsizing of Aerojet?

[Bill Z]

So it was the closing of Mather AFB that did it? Or the downsizing of Aerojet?

Rancho had it's bad parts prior to the closing of Mather AFB, but the closure definitely didn't improve anything. I miss the B-52's, KC-135's and the F-5 Talons.

[supermom]

In the 90s I remember the area around Folsom Blvd & Zinfandel Way where the Joann Fabrics apparently still is (my mom had an acquaintancy friend who lived right around there) was kinda dangerous and run down. It was nowhere near as bad as the city or North Highlands...but there were always references to it being ghetto and all. Just wondered if it's the same way today?

My initial thought when seeing this, was.....again?

But...I'll ask instead...

Are you looking for a place to move?

Sometimes if you go to a realty office they have maps on the walls, shows the activity of crimes in certain areas..

[Oldschooler81]

My initial thought when seeing this, was.....again?

But...I'll ask instead...

Are you looking for a place to move?

Sometimes if you go to a realty office they have maps on the walls, shows the activity of crimes in certain areas..

I guess it's partly nostalgia and just curiosity to see how things progressed from when I was a kid (checking out the similarities AND the differences is pretty cool).

Actually I have vaguely considered moving back to the Sac suburbs (rent is still cheaper than SJ), but in the long run it would naturally remind me of when I was 9-14 and it would make me sad to see how certain things changed from the first time. I actually haven't been back to the area at all since '97...so it honestly would be like (sort of) going back in time.

[supermom]

I'm sitting in a park in rancho right now (lunch hour) and watching 3 teens. Jump down from the roof of a tall conex which is cleverly hidden beneath thick tree foliage. Look like nice boys. Dressed well. Nice bikes and skateboards. Can't imagine they are "ghetto". The rest of the park is filled with baseball teams-a chunky woman walking a toy poodle and smoking. Some guy running the track (nice body conformation and running style) a young couple walking.....

Nothing..in this park looks ghetto or rough.

But....that's not to say it can't be.

[Oldschooler81]

^That's true. I think there's a tendency for people (myself included) to stereotype an area just based on what might stand out the most, but obviously that doesn't mean everyone there is that way. To some degree, the variety of people are the same anywhere you go.

Every single person is unique and irreplacable in their own way, and when you break it down, there's SO MANY people in the world. Even in an average town like this, there's at least tens of thousands, so naturally there's gonna be a divergence.

I mean, let's say in a city of 30,000 only 1% of the population enjoys ice skating (don't know why I picked that, just a totally random example lol). That might not sound like very much at all, but it's still around 300...and that's just one town, compare that to the state, the country or even the world! So there will always be people who have things in common with you, it's simply a matter of finding them.

[aubie84alum]

You've got to be kidding me -- "...extremely dangerous...?" By what metric? Compared to Folsom, Land Park, Gold River, what? While there are most definitely some less desirable parts of RC, I'm not sure I'd classify any of them as ghetto as one might the inner-city "projects" of Philly, Detroit, etc.

I'm just waiting (and it has probably happened and I missed it) that somebody from Empire Ranch says the Prairie Oaks, Briggs Ranch, or Lexington Hills developments are "ghetto." I know some have stated the parts of central Folsom are ghetto and they couldn't be more wrong.

As in guns at teen parties, gun fire at student's apt., a pregnant student almost being raped outside a convenience store...

[DavidH]

As in guns at teen parties, gun fire at student's apt., a pregnant student almost being raped outside a convenience store...

And nothing bad ever happens in Folsom? Since when does crime equate to ghetto?

Ghetto defined: A section of a city, esp. a thickly populated slum area, inhabited predominantly by members of an ethnic or other minority group, often as a result of social or economic restrictions, pressures, or hardships. Source: Dictionary.com