The obvious warning signs are there: empty rentals, overgrown yards, foreclosed homes. When your neighborhood is in decline, there are signs you may not know about.
Subtle whispers that it may be time to move.
Before home prices fall any further, you may need to turn a warning sign into a For Sale sign. Here are ten warning signs your neighborhood is in decline:
10. ”n”
“N” should never be a word. If a gas station within a two-mile radius of your home has “n” as the middle word, it’s time to bail. Be wary of Kum-n-Go, Git-n-Split or Pump-n-Dump. This can also apply to grocery stores and day care centers.
9. H&R McCar’s
Three out of four fast food restaurants in your neighborhood are now either used car lots or H&R Blocks. You can take your anticipated refund loan next door to Carlos and buy that ’89 LeBaron Coupe.
8. Scenic Casino View
You bought your suburban home to escape the lights and sounds of the city, which have moved in across the street. Your view of sunrises, trees and blue skies has been replaced with a 50-foot neon Casino sign. The sun never sets on your block.
7. Window Foil
Nothing screams white trash louder than foil in windows. Don’t buy the “I work at nights excuse.” It’s probably a meth house.
6. Historic Neighborhood
If there’s a proposal to add the word “Historic” to your neighborhood, run. “Historic” translates into: Old, run-down, section of town that should be demolished and by adding the word ‘Historic’ gives the residents a tiny shred of pride in their neighborhood.
5. Suretel
You receive a mailer that suggests you’re qualified for $1 a month phone service.
4. Mixed-Use Facility
Your favorite shopping center is redeveloped into a live-work-play “Mixed-Use Facility,” minus the living, working and playing.
3. Neighbor Watch Program
Neighbors created the neighborhood watch program to watch each other, rather than suspicious strangers.
2. Profitable Kmart
During the latest round of Kmart closings, the store in your neighborhood stayed open.
1. Dollar General
The number one sure sign your neighborhood is in decline … Dollar General moves in.
October 21, 2008 at 3:12 pm |
Or most of the dog breeds in the neighborhood have changed from pugs, beagles or collies to pit bulls and rotwiellers. (Usually on a chain in the front yard )
October 21, 2008 at 4:34 pm |
I always thought that having two Church’s Chickens less than 1 mile apart was always a bad sign.
October 21, 2008 at 4:50 pm |
This is a warning list for a neighborhood in decline. Church’s falls into a neighborhood that has fallen.
October 21, 2008 at 7:53 pm |
My alarm goes off at any storefront which bears, alone or in combination, the word “Cash.”
October 21, 2008 at 10:14 pm |
“n”
This can also apply to grocery stores and DAY CARE CENTERS
LOL
November 14, 2008 at 5:08 pm |
More than 2 neighbors drive their offices home.
January 6, 2009 at 12:01 am |
The neighborhood Baptist church posts its hours in Spanish.
January 6, 2009 at 7:36 am |
Que?!?!?!?