Roots in Clifton since the 80s, Clifton in ALL NEIGHBORHOODS is on the come up. There is construction and new business in every square inch of the city.

Clifton I believe has the most languages spoken in the state, anyone saying it’s not what it used to be is probably a certain “type” of person that sees that as a bad thing.

Edit: And for as long as I’ve been alive Clifton has been more or less a working class city so I’m not even sure what era “not what it used to be” people are referring to to be honest.

Edit: also neighbors to 2 bad cities? Passaic is not bad at all, people have to stop thinking brown people and people who rent in apartments are dangerous, Passaic overall is very safe. Paterson is a different thing entirely but overall there’s nice areas there too.

What’s funny is places that people think as typically nice like Nutley have absolute classless pieces of trash living there

No, that's not something I would say.

Let’s be real. When people say “it’s not what it used to be,” its almost always about the town being less white.

I agree passaic is safe

As someone who grew up in Passaic, I totally agree. I work with people who think poor and POC are dangerous. “Oh, I’d never drive through Passaic at night”

I had a nurse tell me she brought her daughter to the projects on a call to make the kid appreciate their lifestyle. I damn near quit.

Clifton is fine. Lots of shops and restaurants there, two really nice libraries, and a thriving, diverse community. A lot of South Asian families have moved there, so there's some really great food options.

Passaic is fine. Very Latino, and also very Orthodox Jewish, so again, some really solid food options. Some beautiful houses, lots of great restaurants, and Third Ward Park, with its little lake, is gorgeous.

Paterson, on the whole, is also fine. Some of the best restaurants in North Jersey are in Paterson, especially if you want Middle Eastern or Caribbean food. I eat in Paterson all the time.

I'm instantly wary of anyone who says Clifton, Passaic, and even Paterson are bad. What they really mean is "not white." I've had no problem shopping and dining in these places, and I've never felt unsafe driving through them at night. Get a fucking grip.

Most of this subreddit in a nutshell.

80s baby here as well. Just for the record I'm white. Clifton isn't that bad at all. Like you said, people have this hard-on "Passaic bad" because the people are brown.

As someone that would travel through Passaic a lot as a teen, buddy lived near Costco, the people in Passaic never gave me as issue. I remember going to school 3 (early 90s) and I only had two Hispanic friends. Once the mid/late 90s happened, a lot more cultures started to come here. This was a welcoming addition in my eyes.

Clifton isn't all that bad, people make it out to be this terrible place to live.

I want to visit this New Jersey. Worked in Paterson for six years, car was broken into four times and witnessed a shooting. The locals even speak to how graft and corruption are bringing their city down.

I agree. Just finished working 25 years in Paterson, enjoyed the area and surrounding cities.