People Who Grew Up In Tough Neighborhoods Reveal How It Affected Them

Keep Turning....

Having to turn around. A lot. hitormiss696969

Go Figure....

Don't get shot.

I moved after I could hear regular gunfire. So I moved to a nice neighborhood and ironically 3 days after moving in, somebody smashed the passenger window of my car and stole $2.50 in change. The cops said they were looking for drug money and yet I had just moved out of drug central in my city and never had anyone break into my car. Go figure. bibliophile_75

Hide your things.... 

I will add having to walk several blocks to an area where delivery drivers (like pizza) would meet you because they would not go further into your neighborhood. Same with cabs/ubers. Knowing who belongs there is a big one. You know who the regular dealers are etc, if you see a new person around that raises suspicion because they could be trouble. Keeping the possessions you really cared about locked up (not in car, in home) because break ins happen. I personally kept my POS car unlocked because I could not afford to replace broken window. Nothing in it was worth anything and it never has gotten stolen.

Before I had a car, getting groceries was hard. Like another person said, grocery stores were not close by, just overpriced ghetto marts (corner stores). Even catching a bus was hard because there was less service in my area than in other parts of the city. Violence was present, but not something that bothered me, maybe I was used to it. I have had an armed escort home several times when I found myself in the middle of a gang dispute. Each time a few fellows who knew I lived near called a truce of sorts and would walk me home. Not that I was particularly special, I think they did that to others who happened to be out late. Vicsinn

Do you hear the Sounds?

The ability to distinguish between gunshots, firecrackers, and a car turning over stays with me to this day, even as my neighborhood gets safer. harperavenue

Resting B Face For Life! 

After i got jumped i learned that looking stronger keeps people away a little bit. Always be ready for something to happen. Stabiel

I kept a constant look that I am pissed. Still have this habit. casual_explorer

Just say... Nothing! 

Never giving passersby on sidewalks a moment or a reason to continue a conversation. A frequent thing would be people heckling me as I walked to/from school.

"Hey man can I use your phone."

"I don't have a phone" without slowing down. And things like that. icewithatee

The World is Scary....

Couple years ago I was leaving my house for Uni when I heard a huge bashing sound coming from my neighbors house, who I didn't know well but had always seen around and chatted to occasionally. I lived with my bro and it was a rough neighborhood with lots of break-ins and fights so I always tried to keep my head down and be polite. Anyway, I had a look and saw a guy (who later turned out to be a plain clothed policeman) with a battering ram breaking into the house.

Police then swarmed the house and removed about 4 women (who looked like they had been abused), a whole bunch of dudes, and a shit-tonne of drugs and weapons. Turns out they were running a brothel and had been monitored by police for months. I knew something dodgy was going on because guys would come and go in the middle of the night and could always smell weed, but I had no idea it was that serious. Turns out they were keeping the women hooked on drugs and threatened them if they ever leaves the house. Scary stuff.

Was always polite to them and kept my head down whenever possible. This was in the UK but I guess the same thing would work anywhere else.

Edit: This took place in Leeds. Love the debates in the comments, also love seeing everyone assume it was the midlands. My mum is from the Black Country and I can't stand seeing it's good name dragged through the mud :) meat_on_a_hook

Off the Radar....

How normal it seemed until I was out from under that. You grow up knowing how to stay off the radar and not bother the wrong people. You see wild, crazy, scary things on the regular, and learn to keep your mouth shut and pretend you didn't. You are just a kid, like any other kid, but you have to be preternaturally aware of the relationships and hierarchies and happenings around you all the time to make sure you don't end up in the wrong place at the wrong time. For example, there was a guy who let his big mean dogs (I don't remember the breed) run loose in the neighborhood, but the dogs respected boundaries in terms of how close you could get to their house before you got your throat torn out. Stay far enough aware and they just sat watching you, with the occasional menacing growl. I spent the year we lived there thinking it was perfectly normal that I couldn't walk home from school on that one side of the street on penalty of death. It's just what happens. It's just your normal. Reneeisme

Broken Glass....

I got my car broken into several times so they could steal absolutely nothing out of it. I generally had like a burned CD and mayyyybe a dollar in coins each time.

But still had to clean up the glass and buy a new window each time. Eventually just started leaving the doors unlocked so I wouldn't have to replace the window.

Edit: This sometimes caused people to break in and sleep there or smoke in there since it was unlocked. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it but it's better than paying for new windows. effieokay

I'll walk...

The biggest thing for my ignorant teenaged self was that nobody would want to drive me home because they'd be too scared. Once a friend's car broke down in my neighborhood and got guns pulled on him. Guess who never got rides again after that? wtfudg3

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