# Signs you may be in the ghetto... **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 14, 2013, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911 "2013-11-14T14:56:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/61 "2013-11-15T20:22:24Z")
Liquor stores that sell “looseys”; single cigarettes and single beers. Street names that are all named after states. Chicken restaurants specializing in _dark meat_ chicken. Residential, city neighborhoods that have no sidewalks or curbs, just front yards of grass that go all the way out to the street. Entire blocks that are deserted and abandoned, save one lone house. Strange women (hookers) making eye contact as you pass them by. Drive-thru beer stores. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/62 "2013-11-15T20:22:51Z")
> [@robert\_columbia](#): > > Bitch set him up! Your girlfriend will sell you out to the cops. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/63 "2013-11-15T20:23:52Z")
> [@Regallag\_The\_Axe](#): > > …and you immediately recognize where the video was taken. And you immediately recgnize the crack pipe! ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/64 "2013-11-15T20:37:05Z")
Just for the record, in Australia you can buy a single bottle of beer (either a longneck or a stubby) in any liquor outlet around the country. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/65 "2013-11-15T20:43:32Z")
Thriving barbershops. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/66 "2013-11-15T20:44:34Z")
The church signs are neon. They may or may not light up, but they’re neon. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/67 "2013-11-15T20:45:39Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Just for the record, in Australia you can buy a single bottle of beer (either a longneck or a stubby) in any liquor outlet around the country. As formerly the world’s largest prison cell, it’s arguable the whole continent is a ghetto! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/68 "2013-11-15T21:20:46Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > Your mayor gets caught on video smoking crack! I’ve never been to Toronto, is it ghetto? ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 9:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/69 "2013-11-15T21:22:17Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I’ve never been to Toronto, is it ghetto? All signs point to “yes”. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/70 "2013-11-15T21:32:26Z")
Blue tarps on the roof. We have several in my neighborhood. Rent houses with owners too cheap to get the roof fixed. You can easily imagine the tenants they find. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/71 "2013-11-15T21:52:38Z")
Shops with those roll down blast doors-that look like they could withstand a hand grenade. Triple locks on doors; barred windows. and no foot traffic when it starts getting dark-the streets are deserted by twilight. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/72 "2013-11-15T21:53:21Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Blue tarps on the roof. We have several in my neighborhood. Rent houses with owners too cheap to get the roof fixed. You can easily imagine the tenants they find. Ah, reminds me … newspapers instead of window shades. Permanent plywood rectangles as replacements for broken window panes. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/73 "2013-11-15T22:00:30Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Street names that are all named after states. Hey! That’s my town. Not a ghetto within 50 miles. > [@](#): > > Residential, city neighborhoods that have no sidewalks or curbs, just front yards of grass that go all the way out to the street. Maybe not grass, but the lack of curbs or sidewalks is a highlight of _very_ upscale neighborhoods. We don’t need no stinkin’ curbs! And this is true of some of the most upscale neighborhoods in Los Angeles. You know, the ones you didn’t know existed, but are right behind your house and sell for 10 times what you expect. > [@](#): > > Entire blocks that are deserted and abandoned, save one lone house. Doesn’t work in rural neighborhoods. ---
**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/74 "2013-11-15T22:04:51Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > I’ve never been to Toronto, is it ghetto? No. I think all big cities have some proportion of ghetto, but I would NOT describe Toronto as ghetto. Crack-smoking mayors are just a sign of ghetto, not a rule. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2013, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/75 "2013-11-15T22:25:12Z")
> [@kambuckta](#): > > Just for the record, in Australia you can buy a single bottle of beer (either a longneck or a stubby) in any liquor outlet around the country. In Chicago, the code is you can’t sell 16oz or less in single beer bottles. So, a lot of the non-American beers come in 500mL sizes, which are fine. I’m pretty sure in the suburbs I’ve seen smaller bottles for single sale. ---
**Author:** ![chizzuk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/e36b37/32.png) [@chizzuk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chizzuk)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/76 "2013-11-16T01:56:52Z")
Just thinking about the rougher areas of my county: \*A laundromat on every block, whereas in the other half of the county I wouldn’t have any idea where to find one. \*Stores with placards in the windows advertising that they accept WIC and EBT cards \*You see someone shoved up against a police car being cuffed and searched once a week driving through \*60% of the signs aren’t in English \*Abandoned shopping carts strewn over various sidewalks \*Every third driver seems to be in a Honda Civic or Accord with at least 2 dents, a spoiler, and none of the panels are the same color \*One section of road always slows down because that’s where the side entrance to Valu Village is ---
**Author:** ![Slithy\_Tove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slithy_tove/32/18248_2.png) [@Slithy\_Tove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slithy_Tove)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/77 "2013-11-16T02:05:10Z")
Where else can you hope to shake hands with a Guinness Book of World Records holder? “Longest time with broken car window replaced with dry-cleaning bag and duct tape” ---
**Author:** ![Yllaria](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yllaria/32/3452_2.png) [@Yllaria](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yllaria)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/78 "2013-11-16T05:43:18Z")
> [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](#): > > Bulletproof glass divider between the workers and customers of the Chinese take out place. The divider is worth more than the rest of the store combined but probably pays for itself quickly. . . . Found a [picture](http://imgur.com/RgWI7Lt). It’s pizza, not Chinese, but I think it counts. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/79 "2013-11-16T14:05:41Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Found a [picture](http://imgur.com/RgWI7Lt). It’s pizza, not Chinese, but I think it counts. That looks suspiciously like the Pizza Hut near my DC rental house… ---
**Author:** ![overlyverbose](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/9dc877/32.png) [@overlyverbose](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/overlyverbose)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2013, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/80 "2013-11-16T14:24:45Z")
> [@PunditLisa](#): > > Pawn shops > Payday loan shops > Boarded up windows > Bars on first floor windows > Convenience stores that are barricaded like Ft. Knox > **People who slow down as they cross the street as if they’re daring you to hit them** Bolding mine. Definitely agree with this. Also, lots of late teens and 20-somethings loitering outside said vacant buildings. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911.md?page=5)