Rate This City: Day 169 - Gary Indiana

[987654321]

One of my family reunions landed in Gary’s Eastside (we rotate to a new hosting city every two years so at least one branch of the tree doesn’t have to travel). So many people actively avoided it that it kind of moved into Chicago where some other family was.

 

[987654321]

shyt was like pre-Murphy death Detroit in Robocop.

 

[987654321]

You wear something nice in Gary and jrpg final boss music plays because you decided to navigate your day, unrobbed and unmurdered, on hardcore difficulty mode.

 

[Verbal Kint]

Real talk I know multiple people from Gary and they all talk about it like they've got PTSD. Just on some ‘you know Im thankful for being where I am now because growing up...(looks sadly into the distance then just shakes their head’. My people thats from the hood back home or even in Chicago dont even act like that and Ive got some friends thats a couple and one grew up in Cabrini and the other in Robert Taylor. They somehow grew up with more hope than the cats from Gary smh

 

[Child_Of_God]

@murksiderock my bad breh, I forgot to tag you.

 

[Child_Of_God]

The results of the poll so far.

 

[Regular_P]

Real talk I know multiple people from Gary and they all talk about it like they've got PTSD. Just on some ‘you know Im thankful for being where I am now because growing up...(looks sadly into the distance then just shakes their head’. My people thats from the hood back home or even in Chicago dont even act like that and Ive got some friends thats a couple and one grew up in Cabrini and the other in Robert Taylor. They somehow grew up with more hope than the cats from Gary smh

That lead-up to Chicago from Gary and East Chicago is the most depressing trek you can make. You can just FEEL the hopelessness and poverty when driving through there.

The craziest part is being in the middle of Gary and 25 miles later you can be on the Magnificent Mile in downtown Chicago, one of the nicest shopping districts in the country.

 

[Kyle C. Barker]

3

They got

 

[Verbal Kint]

That lead-up to Chicago from Gary and East Chicago is the most depressing trek you can make. You can just FEEL the hopelessness and poverty when driving through there.

The craziest part is being in the middle of Gary and 25 miles later you can be on the Magnificent Mile in downtown Chicago, one of the nicest shopping districts in the country.

Yep one of my boys I grew up with in MN's whole fam was from East Chicago. I didn't know anything about it other than that he said it was basically a mini Gary. They're just far enough from the city where they don't really be there on the regular and just close enough to see what they're missing. Sad place

 

[invalid]

I’ll tell y’all what, I would rather be in Gary than Ford Heights.

But nah, I’ll give Gary a 3 based off of the spooky ole mansion and a 1 based off of the beaches. So a 2 overall average.

When I was little, one of my mother’s best friends and her husband, bought this Victorian mansion in Gary that they were trying to rehab and then flip. They would come and pick us up and we’d go out there and stay in this gutted but big spooky old mansion and then we’d go to the dunes.

When we used to go, I kid you not, with every step in the sand, we were stepping over dead fish. Dead fish were everywhere. Indiana factories did not give af about dropping pollutants and waste into the water and the state hardly regulated them because of the amount of industry they brought to the area. I was so disgusted. The husband had the nerve to tell me to stop acting so “prissy”. I must’ve been like 12. I was so pissed I told that nikka to stop short changing himself and do better with his life where he’s not content with going to polluted beaches littered with dead fish and that his wife deserved better. Nikka was about to punch me-lol. Needless to say, that was the last time I went with them and the last time I’ve been to an Indiana beach.

My grandparents stay in the North Shore so the beaches up there are very pristine. So that’s what I was used to. Either there or we went up to Upper Michigan to Charlevoix, Petoskey, and Harbor Springs.

And yeah, the waters up there are like glass. I paddle board and going out on the water sometimes feels like you are floating on air, you can see 30 feet or more to the bottom.

 

[Luck]

There is legit no reason anyone outside of Gary Indiana should ever go to Gary Indiana...represents the entire state which is a shythole.

shyt is legit 2 to third world status. First place I’ve ever seen with mfs living in legit shack houses that don’t even look like they have any bedrooms

 

[Undefined187]

Interesting thread. Is Gary actually a ghost town or are people exaggerating here?

Are there McDonalds, Starbucks, cinemas etc.?

 

[Interloper]

I’ll tell y’all what, I would rather be in Gary than Ford Heights.

Tell em about Ford Heights. My Aunt & Uncle live over there and all I can say is at least Gary has people who pretend to care about making a difference. That city makes Gary look decent. Also, with Gary, they're at least trying to fix it up, but it's going to take decades to improve the situation and to regain public trust.

 

[Interloper]

Interesting thread. Is Gary actually a ghost town or are people exaggerating here?

Are there McDonalds, Starbucks, cinemas etc.?

It's not a ghost town, as there are plenty of common chain stores & restaurants and entertainment venues, it's just that so many people (about half the population) has left. Try to think of it as Detroit on a smaller scale.

 

[Verbal Kint]

Interesting thread. Is Gary actually a ghost town or are people exaggerating here?

Are there McDonalds, Starbucks, cinemas etc.?

No but everyone there is poor (no shade on my skinfolk of course) so there’s no money to support business on a large scale. Most anyone that can leaves soon as they get grown.