# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8c91f0/32.png) [@Bam\_Boo\_Gut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bam_Boo_Gut)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/81 "2013-11-17T01:02:39Z")
> [@Peanuthead](#): > > Cigarettes are sold individually. Rolling papers sold in threes! ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/82 "2013-11-17T01:13:26Z")
> [@bump](#): > > Aldi grocery store is another accurate sign Not here in Iowa. There’s one in the most upscale suburb in my city. Save-a-Lot? That’s another story. Chop suey places that look abandoned are another tip-off. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/83 "2013-11-17T01:17:33Z")
> [@Spiderman](#): > > _women_ in wife beaters, usually with the belly hanging out of bottom…Yeech The ones I’ve seen are usually pregnant, and wearing pajama bottoms no matter what the time of day. If they have other children, they are always black regardless of what her race is. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/84 "2013-11-17T01:19:48Z")
> [@Caffeine.addict](#): > > I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Checkers in an affluent neighborhood. Where I live, they’re scattered throughout the city, and are mostly in middle-class neighborhoods. I won’t get anything there but beverages, however, because their food is so terrible. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 1:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/85 "2013-11-17T01:24:17Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > The ones I’ve seen are usually pregnant, and wearing pajama bottoms no matter what the time of day. If they have other children, they are always black regardless of what her race is. Missed the edit deadline: There are never any men with them, although sometimes they are accompanied by other women and children of a similar demographic. ---
**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 17, 2013, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/86 "2013-11-17T02:15:16Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > That looks suspiciously like the Pizza Hut near my DC rental house… Yeah, a lot of these descriptions fit parts of Petworth. I thought you moved to Philly? ---
**Author:** ![TruCelt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/trucelt/32/523_2.png) [@TruCelt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TruCelt)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/87 "2013-11-17T02:57:41Z")
Instead of a Starbucks on every corner there is a Peruvian Chicken place. Lots of cars driving crazily with no license plates. Only the women are wearing business clothes.\* \*Actually, realizing that just now brought a tear to eye. The women in these areas carry _such_ a heavy burden. ---
**Author:** ![Spiderman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spiderman/32/230_2.png) [@Spiderman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spiderman)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/88 "2013-11-17T03:06:28Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > The ones I’ve seen are usually pregnant, and wearing pajama bottoms no matter what the time of day. If they have other children, they are always black regardless of what her race is. Some are pregnant but frequently it’s just Dunlop’s disease\* - for those who don’t know what that is, it’s when your gut is so big it dun lop over your belt (or PJ ties) ---
**Author:** ![zoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zoid/32/336_2.png) [@zoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zoid)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/89 "2013-11-17T03:30:11Z")
> [@TruCelt](#): > > Instead of a Starbucks on every corner there is a Peruvian Chicken place. Never seen this but if it’s true I need to get to the ghetto more often. ---
**Author:** ![Ruken](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/f475e1/32.png) [@Ruken](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruken)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 4:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/90 "2013-11-17T04:19:04Z")
> [@Yllaria](#): > > Found a [picture](http://imgur.com/RgWI7Lt). It’s pizza, not Chinese, but I think it counts. IIRC the Comcast office in DC is like that. And people go there to pay their cable bill in cash, which is atypical in more affluent areas. ---
**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 17, 2013, 5:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/91 "2013-11-17T17:06:49Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > Yeah, a lot of these descriptions fit parts of Petworth. I thought you moved to Philly? Good memory! No, that didn’t end up happening. Moved to Hyattsville instead. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 5:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/92 "2013-11-17T17:11:31Z")
> [@Ambivalid](#): > > Liquor stores that sell “looseys”; single cigarettes and single beers. Okay, I’ve seen plenty of places that sell single beers. But single cigarettes? Is that for real? Do they come that way from the manufacturer or does the store just open a pack and dump them into a box for individual sales? ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 5:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/93 "2013-11-17T17:35:27Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Okay, I’ve seen plenty of places that sell single beers. But single cigarettes? Is that for real? Do they come that way from the manufacturer or does the store just open a pack and dump them into a box for individual sales? It is for real. I’m not sure if it’s _legal_, since there isn’t a tax stamp on each cigarette, but it’s real. They open a pack and sell them, either just by handing the bare cigarette to the customer, or selling two or three in a ziploc bag. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/94 "2013-11-17T17:41:26Z")
You know when you’re visiting a grocery store in a rough neighborhood when the store has railings around it which prevent you from wheeling the grocery cart to your car. ---
**Author:** ![gracer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8e7dd6/32.png) [@gracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gracer)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/95 "2013-11-17T18:04:00Z")
In Rio de Janeiro: \*Suddenly you have spectacular views of the sea. - There are no roads, just steps. - There is washing out everywhere. \*Everything is painted fun colours. \*Mail for everyone is left in one box. \*There is loud funk coming from somewhere with unspeakably disgusting lyrics, and little children are shaking their _ahems_ to it. ---
**Author:** ![Saintly\_Loser](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saintly_loser/32/4045_2.png) [@Saintly\_Loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saintly_Loser)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/96 "2013-11-17T18:49:12Z")
> [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > Okay, I’ve seen plenty of places that sell single beers. But single cigarettes? Is that for real? Do they come that way from the manufacturer or does the store just open a pack and dump them into a box for individual sales? It’s for real, at least here in New York City, and it is most definitely not legal. They’re not dumped into a box and displayed (because selling loosies is against the law). The storekeeper just keeps a pack open behind the counter, and will sell a single smoke upon request. In my experience, the only brand sold as loosies is Newport. Can’t get a Marlboro, can’t get a Camel. Just Newports. Not even Newport Lights. ---
**Author:** ![Blackberry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ecd19e/32.png) [@Blackberry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Blackberry)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/97 "2013-11-17T20:52:03Z")
> [@monstro](#): > > You know when you’re visiting a grocery store in a rough neighborhood when the store has railings around it which prevent you from wheeling the grocery cart to your car. At first I thought you meant they prevented you from taking the carts out of the parking lot (not that that would work with a rail because duh, how would you get your car out?) but you can’t take them to your CAR? How weird. I was at a Grocery Outlet the other day and I asked where the baskets were and the guy said to me all shamingly like I was the one who did it, “Our baskets got stolen and now we have no baskets.” Oookay… Their baskets are a mess too, I can’t imagine who would want them. They just buy other stores’ rejects, so they’re all different and have different store names on them. ---
**Author:** ![monstro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ba9def/32.png) [@monstro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/monstro)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/98 "2013-11-17T21:06:59Z")
> [@Blackberry](#): > > At first I thought you meant they prevented you from taking the carts out of the parking lot (not that that would work with a rail because duh, how would you get your car out?) but you can’t take them to your CAR? How weird. Yes. It reminded me how sucky it can be to be poor with no choices. The practice is was one of the reasons I’d drive the extra mile to the grocery store in the nicer part of town. It was cleaner and cheaper, and you could take the carts into the parking lot. But that broken-down Foodtown in my neighborhood did have the best Portuguese rolls. ---
**Author:** ![Ambivalid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a5b964/32.png) [@Ambivalid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ambivalid)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 9:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/99 "2013-11-17T21:27:21Z")
> [@Saintly\_Loser](#): > > It’s for real, at least here in New York City, and it is most definitely not legal. They’re not dumped into a box and displayed (because selling loosies is against the law). The storekeeper just keeps a pack open behind the counter, and will sell a single smoke upon request. > > In my experience, the only brand sold as loosies is Newport. Can’t get a Marlboro, can’t get a Camel. Just Newports. Not even Newport Lights. Yep, because no one buying ‘loosies’ smokes anything _but_ Newports. And selling 'em individually is quite profitable, too. At 75 cents a cigarette (they used to go for 50 cents), a store owner can get $15 off a pack normally selling for 6 or 7 bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2013, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911/100 "2013-11-17T21:56:34Z")
Around here, Rally’s (another name for Checkers) has about the same distribution as McDonald’s, just sparser: There are some in bad neighborhoods, and some in normal neighborhoods. I don’t think I’ve seen an Aldi in a bad neighborhood, though Sav-A-Lot tends to be (still not always). And Cleveland’s MLK Boulevard is actually pretty nice… on the street itself. Though it tends to be only a couple of blocks away from rough neighborhoods, in many places. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/signs-you-may-be-in-the-ghetto/673911.md?page=6)