# Is the south side always the baddest part of town? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cecil's Columns/Staff Reports\ **Created:** [May 28, 2013, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-south-side-always-the-baddest-part-of-town/659508 "2013-05-28T01:20:53Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 12\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Focus503](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/df788c/32.png) [@Focus503](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Focus503)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2013, 10:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-south-side-always-the-baddest-part-of-town/659508/41 "2013-05-29T22:21:54Z")
As others have pointed out, the “shite flows downhill” argument is the correct one. In cities in the United Kingdom, the west end is usually the posh side of town, and the east end is where the slums are. That’s because the prevailing winds flow from west to east across the Islands and modern waste disposal techniques are…modern. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2013, 10:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-south-side-always-the-baddest-part-of-town/659508/42 "2013-05-29T22:39:09Z")
That’s too simple. Large parts of north Philly used to be nice in the 19th century, but are in very bad shape now. And our rivers flow south. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2013, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-south-side-always-the-baddest-part-of-town/659508/43 "2013-05-29T23:16:33Z")
In Chicago, the river flows the way we \*want \*it to flow, dammit. > **[Chicago River](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_River)** > > .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct,.mw-parser-output .geo-inline-hidden{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}41°53′11″N 87°38′15″W / 41.88639°N 87.63750°W / 41.88639; -87.63750 > The Chicago River is a system of rivers and canals with a combined length of 156 miles (251 km) that runs through the city of Chicago... ---
**Author:** ![Powers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Powers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Powers)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-south-side-always-the-baddest-part-of-town/659508/44 "2013-05-30T01:33:03Z")
> [@sc2084](#): > > In Buffalo the east side is considered the “baddest” part of town, not the south-west as Cecil suggests. I’m not sure what part of Buffalo Cecil is referring to since the southwest part of the city consists of a nature preserve and the harbor, it’s never been a residential or commercial area. He might be thinking of western Lackawanna, which is a rough area directly south of the city I assumed he meant Downtown, but come to think of it, that’s not a particularly rough section. Powers &8^] ---
**Author:** ![Seanette](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/seanette/32/9139_2.png) [@Seanette](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Seanette)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-south-side-always-the-baddest-part-of-town/659508/45 "2013-05-30T02:35:47Z")
> [@pplepic](#): > > Yeah, South Sacramento where I’m stuck is the bad part of town. Somebody, or something even stole my pet frog. I’m talking _bad!_ I live in that general area myself, and reading police reports and such, looks like North Highlands to Carmichael is worse (including more violence). For those not familiar with the Sacramento area, North Highlands and Carmichael are north and east-ish of the downtown/central part of the city. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2013, 4:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-south-side-always-the-baddest-part-of-town/659508/46 "2013-05-30T04:30:14Z")
> [@Focus503](#): > > As others have pointed out, the “shite flows downhill” argument is the correct one. Not where I grew up. Flat as a tabletop for hundreds of miles. And no rivers. ---
**Author:** ![lance\_strongarm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/87869e/32.png) [@lance\_strongarm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lance_strongarm)\ **Post date:** [May 31, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-south-side-always-the-baddest-part-of-town/659508/47 "2013-05-31T18:55:37Z")
> [@Buckeye77](#): > > In the case of cities there may be one rather significant factor in that in North America most rivers run from north to south. > > Cities need clean water so their water intake is upstream (i.e. - usually north of the city) and they treat and dump their dirty water downstream of town (i.e. - south of the city). > > As cities developed, people with the means to build expensive homes weren’t likely to build on the smelly, polluted south side, leaving that area to people of lesser means. Yes, that’s the theory I’ve heard too. In the Northeast and Midatlantic U.S., the fall line (where water flowing downhill through hilly areas hits the flat, tidal area) runs from southwest to northeast. Cities tended to end up there because that was as far as ships could navigate before having to unload. The tidal areas were swampy and the tides keep water from flowing out to sea, so the water was often fetid. The water above the fall line is cleaner, so the rich would claim that area and leave the land below the fall line to the poor. ---
**Author:** ![flodnak](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/838e76/32.png) [@flodnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flodnak)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2013, 8:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-south-side-always-the-baddest-part-of-town/659508/48 "2013-06-02T08:34:37Z")
Oslo sits at the north end of a fjord. The areas closest to the water - that is, the southern edge of the city for the most part - are generally more fashionable, therefore more expensive, areas. Which area of town is considered the worst changes from time to time. At the moment, a few neighborhoods in the inner east side, and some neighborhoods along the highway heading out of town to the northeast, are considered the roughest. The very southernmost part of the city is also less than ideal, but just north of that is one of the most expensive parts of town. I actually live in one of the townships outside Oslo. The south end of this township borders the fjord and is home to large single-family homes and luxury apartments. The popular image is that we don’t have low-income areas, which is false. They are to the northwest. ---
**Author:** ![Beelzebubba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Beelzebubba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beelzebubba)\ **Post date:** [June 7, 2013, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-south-side-always-the-baddest-part-of-town/659508/49 "2013-06-07T23:10:48Z")
> [@leftfield6](#): > > Atlanta - affluent suburbs are to the north. Baddest side of town is the south side, with a few sprinklings of local hellholes in other parts of town. The same applies to the state of Georgia as a whole. North Georgia is generally considered to be the metro Atlanta area and everything north to the state border. Middle/Central and South Georgia cover everything south of metro Atlanta. The point where Middle/Central Georgia becomes South Georgia is anyone’s guess but the landscape, population and socioeconomic factors are much the same. Income, quality of living, education, healthcare and all other factors associated with financial prosperity are much greater in North Georgia compared to the rest of the state. The only significant exception is the ‘metro’ Savannah area, located on the Georgia coast. Due to its historic significance, it is a major tourist destination and locals have a much higher income and improved quality of life. North Georgia covers approximately 35% of the state’s land area, but approximately 75% of the state’s estimated 9.92 million residents (as of 2012, per Census Burea estimate). In addition to the city of Atlanta, the North Georgia mountains varied landscape and fertile farm land attracted immigrants from North Carolina and Tennessee in the late 1700s and early 1800s. The lower two-thirds of the state offered little to no incentive to migrate any further south. After all, other the most significant feature in the endless flatness and millions of pine trees is a freakin’ swamp- Okeefenokee Swamp. Enough said. ---
**Author:** ![Beelzebubba](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ed8c4c/32.png) [@Beelzebubba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beelzebubba)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-south-side-always-the-baddest-part-of-town/659508/50 "2013-06-08T00:00:33Z")
I visit my cousin and her family in Los Angeles at least once every year, but I spent a total of four months in 2010 (seven separate trips) and almost three months in 2011 (five separate trips) when she was battling Inflammatory Breast Cancer. I had to learn my way around enough to take her kids to school, various athletic practices and games, doctor appointments and anywhere else they needed to go. Most were within 10 miles of her house in the affluent community of Woodland Hills (I know my around Tarzana, Reseda and Calabasas like I live there). But I one day, I had to take her youngest son, who was 7 at the time to a doctor in Downtown L.A. I got lost and eventually found myself in “South Central”. A stupid white guy from Georgia driving around in a big ol’ Lexus SUV (with chrome wheels, no less) venturing into gang territory…it was almost as scary as when I got lost at the mall as a kid and wandered into Lane Bryant! =) Needless to say, as soon as I realized where I was (after stopping in Gangland to enter my destination in the Navigation system, rather than using the written directions my cousin provided…talk about a sitting duck), I got the hell out of there. If I didn’t see a car coming and at 4-way stops, I flew right them! I consider it a near-death experience! =) In L.A., the areas to the south are definitely horrible, but there are some very scary areas in every other direction also. I learned my lesson that day and never go anywhere without using the Nav system from the start. _Even though it tried to take me to The Church of Scientology instead of Children’s Hospital a few blocks away on my last visit! I stopped at red light and heard the words “You have arrived at your destination on the left. Route guidance ending, goodbye.” and it freaked me out!!! I almost ran the light fearing that John Travolta might appear at any moment and try to touch me inappropriately!_ I also learned that a 5000lb SUV will catch are with surprising ease if you’re going fast enough when you hit dips and bumps… ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-south-side-always-the-baddest-part-of-town/659508/51 "2013-06-08T02:26:22Z")
In St. Louis, the north is generally the bad side (well, the east is even worse, but that’s in a different state.) And for all the theories about water flow, St. Louis was settled from the middle (the Arch and Laclede’s Landing area) and then fanned out, with all directions being settled at roughly the same times, like rings on a tree. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 8, 2013, 3:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-south-side-always-the-baddest-part-of-town/659508/52 "2013-06-08T03:21:46Z")
In Austin, TX, the South side of town (south of the river/lake) was traditionally the more hippie/laid back part of town. The East side (east of I-35) is where the majority of black and mexican people lived and was the “bad” part of town. There’s even some evidence that the routing of I-35 through the city was deliberately to separate them from the white parts of town. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-the-south-side-always-the-baddest-part-of-town/659508.md?page=2)