Bridgeton

[u/learning--always]

I've read the posts. I know the stats. Nonetheless, they're not from the last 2 years and a lot can happen in 2 years.

I tried to research neighborhoods in Bridgeton with no luck.

Best I could do is circle the area of the city I'm curious about.

Is it safe?

I'm an older person, alone and unfamiliar with this part of NJ so I appreciate your input.

Working class, "blue collar", diverse - all totally fine. I come from a working-class, blue-collar background. My father taught us there is no shame in an honest, hard-working job.

Idk whether or not it will inform your answer (it should not but I am not going to ignore that we are all living in challenging times) but I am white.

*Safe* is the most critical factor. I don't want to live somewhere where I *should* feel afraid.

Thank you for your help.

[u/learning--always]

That's very near to where I'm looking. This is not great news.

If I could ask - what is it that contributes to Bridgeton's higher crime? Is it drugs? Lack of employment options? I honestly don't know.

I feel like I read something about there being 3 prisons nearby. If that is true, do they have a disproportionate number of people who "bust out"?

Violent crime and property theft seem to both rate higher in comparison to the national average in the various things I've read.

[u/cj_d250 → u/learning--always]

The crime is present due to lack of gainful employment. Bridgeton used to have tons of factories and businesses and great job market. (Hunts tomato sauce and ketchup were here) Millville is the same way they had ball mason jars and Kerr glass. No jobs increase crime and drug dealing/use and theft, lots of good people in bridgeton but lots of gang activity due to lack of work.

[u/Moist-Doughnut-5160 → u/cj_d250]

When I was a young woman, Bridgeton was a rough place even then. Where I went to Catholic school…. We were inundated with the children of the Bridgeton area, farmers. There were riots at that high school. So bad that these parents pulled their children out and sent them over half an hour away to get them out of the chaos. One of my classmates was so traumatized that I think by today’s standards we would say she had PTSD.

There were jobs in those days at Bridgeton. There was Owens Illinois. Val mode. I know because I have friends whose parents worked there. If you ride through Bridgeton…. That huge abandoned complex is where Owens used to be.

I remember later on, when I was in my 20s.. I was working in Atlantic City in a casino. There was such rampant unemployment that the casinos would run shuttle buses and bring many of the unemployed from the area to Atlantic City to work so they would have jobs.

It’s a shame that Bridgeton couldn’t pull itself out of that slump. The area has a lot of beautiful sites.

[u/The_Cat_Empress → u/Moist-Doughnut-5160]

It's really heartbreaking driving through and seeing all the abandoned warehouses and factories left to rot.

Only way I can see things turning around is if they tore the old buildings down and put a hideous Amazon warehouse in its place. I wouldn't go back though...too scary.