Cleveland is weird

soc-cent
Originally uploaded by Cool Auntie.

I have been here for one month.

Cleveland is, according to the 2000 Census, the poorest big city in the United States. The unemployment in Cleveland is higher than anyplace else in the United States. Every day on the news, you hear about jobs lost. Even NASA laid off a lot of people just the other day. No safe job is safe anymore

Why is this?

From what I can gather, Cleveland suffers from a severe case of inertia. Maybe, however it is a chicken and egg question. Which came first, the inertia or the lack of reason to be motivated? It is a vicious circle.

I see that it is nearly impossible to break the cycle of poverty here.

I lived in New York City for 17 years. Very expensive place. I grew up in Santa Barbara, CA - that is an outrageously expensive place. I was just there for three months this winter. It is not affordable. No one balks at a million dollar asking price for an apartment! On the plus side, you can get the best fruits and vegetables in the world in Santa Barbara as it is nestled in the bosom of the southern part of wine country, which means farms. In Cleveland, the price of a bottle of spring water is about 50% more than it is in California or New York.

Water is a staple. I like to drink a gallon a day, but its not really in my budget anymore. Water is also holy stuff in California. Did you see the movie, "Chinatown" -- its all about the water.

This Society Center is on a manhole cover on a street in Cleveland in front of a place downtown called The Society Center. It just made me laugh. As if there was an exclusive club underneath this manhole.... hardly likely, but wouldn't it be cool if there was? I would be the parallel universe of Cleveland --- a Cleveland where people were employed and solvent. Where cars operated, where people had discretionary money....

dream on....