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dEn_of_asyD t1_j54cl6z wrote

Everyone's gonna say Camden, I'm actually going to say Atlantic City.

  1. First, Camden actually contributes worthwhile things. Its economy is pretty much "eds and meds". Atlantic City's economy is gambling and tourism, and not only are both very unproductive but it was only five years ago they were on the decline to the point of the city being bankrupt. While we're also talking about declines/progress, even now Campbell's (which is based in Camden) is bringing jobs from its acquisition from Snyder-Lance to Camden.

  2. Second, on crime Camden is by far most dangerous for violent crime. But AC has a higher rate of property crime per capita than Camden does. A big reason why AC is "safer" is just because Camden has twice the people (AC: 38k Camden:71k) in a smaller area (AC: 10.76 sq miles of land Camden: 8.92 sq miles of land). More interactions + more people --> more chances something goes shitty.

  3. Third, and most importantly, Camden is much safer than the people who have never been and don't live there will make it out to be. The problem with Camden is that you make one wrong turn and you're not safe anymore. The difference is night and day. Having needed to go to Camden to meet my freeholders, make trips to to Cooper University Hospital, attend jury duty, having gone to the aquarium and battleship NJ for school field trips, if you stay where you're supposed to Camden is fine. That's diametrically opposed to AC, where both you and the trouble are going to be in the same places.

I think most people are going to say Camden because of three reasons.

  1. Violent Crime. Which, honestly fair, though again AC isn't exactly a shining beacon of civil society.

  2. History of police corruption, which is a bit unfair considering they disbanded and replaced the former corrupt police department with a new one and that has seen dramatically improved results.

  3. Prejudice. People still associate AC with being a ritzy/glamorous hotspot. People associate Camden with drug use, violence, gangs, and negative stereotypes of people of color.

Only one of those is a decent reason, and it's a pretty simplistic reason that doesn't look towards the future and looks the other way on a lot of AC's bullshit.

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ManchuDemon t1_j54cyqg wrote

Morristown.

Lol jk it's definitely Camden.

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RivChk t1_j54eas3 wrote

Another vote for Camden

−1

HeyItsPanda69 t1_j54vl2l wrote

Replying to stickman07738 (#1,415,203)

Yeah, pretty often, and I've also been to Camden. Camden is far worse. I actually think AC is worse than Trenton. Even driving through the bad parts of Trenton I didn't really feel threatened. It just kinda looks bad but I've never been hassled

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Few-Restaurant7922 t1_j5547c3 wrote

Agree with Camden. Not sure how Irvington ranks but I had a bad experience driving there.

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WhatIsTickyTacky t1_j55j6i2 wrote

Replying to sirzoop (#1,416,961)

Take a look at the other comments. Almost to the one, the suggestions for “worst” are cities which are populated by predominantly Black and brown people. Nearly every time those cities come up on this sub, it’s in the context of how dAnGeRoUs and ScArY they are. That feels shitty to me. So, truly, Millburn/Short Hills takes my vote for worst. It’s small, trafficky, and adds very little to our state and its culture.

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WystanH t1_j55jcqd wrote

Replying to Few-Restaurant7922 (#1,416,140)

As a white guy, I've had some amusing experiences in Irvington, to be honest. I recall buying a bean pie off very confused Farrakhan devotee once. Was randomly hit me up for cash, because all white guys are rich. Once someone offered to help me get home; I must have been lost.

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sirzoop t1_j55w0qc wrote

Replying to AnNJgal (#1,417,504)

The sad reality is that they need to gentrify the city. They had their chance over the last few decades but instead chose to launder money and bankrupt most of the revenue generating casinos.

With casinos opening literally in NYC times square and throughout other states, I don't ever see a real reason to go to AC anymore. Sad because I actually really like it there and the whole concept but it just doesn't work

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BmoreSE t1_j55wcsu wrote

One of the south jersey MAGA towns

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AsBadAsAWetShit t1_j55zklv wrote

Just to be different, I’ll say Vineland. It’s located in a nothing part of the state, there’s loads of crime, and it contributes far less than AC or Camden does

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EternalNY1 t1_j567o2l wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,413,980)

>Get rid of the garbage, knock down the abandoned properties and at least just let it be grass. Do a minimal clean up.

This is what other cities did, like Detroit, and it worked out well for them.

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WhatIsTickyTacky t1_j56g960 wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,418,900)

Harm reduction? Yes. I am in fact a huge fan of people struggling with addiction having access to medical care and safe places to use. I’d rather they not die. I didn’t realize compassion was considered bias and hatred but the internet teaches me new things every day!

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pdills12 t1_j56hqdu wrote

Worst city in what way? Crime, jobs, business, etc?

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SHerrera718 t1_j56kxx6 wrote

Camden. I have dropped off couple of vehicles there (tow driver here) and I felt nothing but insecurity and fear. Luckily I got people that were watching me over but definitely the worst place in NJ

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Ok_Raisin_8796 t1_j56ndsh wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,418,681)

sorry, you’re still wrong. I have undeniable proof Camden is better 😎

Camden = big aquarium

Atlantic City = tiny sad aquarium

in all seriousness Camden has been improving in the past few years. Homicides have dropped to a 30 year low, and other violent and property crimes have been decreasing for years now, going against national trends.

Also the downtown and fairview are nice neighborhoods. The city’s got a long way to go, but it’s getting there.

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[deleted] t1_j56u8wj wrote

Replying to Jeff-Van-Gundy (#1,417,001)

Paterson's history is off-the-charts cool. First industrialized city in the U.S. after harnessing the power of the Great Falls (second largest waterfall in the U.S.) with the planning of founder Alexander Hamilton. Became famous as "Silk City" and has a castle built by one of the first textile magnates in the country (Lambert's Castle). Also was the largest builder of Locomotives, and home to Samuel Colt, who built the first revolvers and manufactured them in Paterson. John Philip Holland built his first prototype submarines in Paterson, and sunk them in the Passaic River.

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blumpkin_donuts t1_j57050r wrote

Camden, Elizabeth, Irvington, Salem, and Atlantic City take my top 5.

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wryaant t1_j577fgs wrote

This is such a stupid fucking question.

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AshingtonDC t1_j5783ko wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,418,681)

this statement is completely ignorant of the history of Camden and cities like it as well as the hard earned progress made to bring it out of the depths of poverty. how shameful to speak in such a way without referencing any context. read a book sometime. most of the big cities in NJ are post-industrial and were fucked by redlining leading to generational poverty. Crime in Camden is down 74 percent from 50 years ago. Progress is slow but happening. I've visited Newark and Camden recently for work and concerts and had perfectly pleasant experiences.

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AshingtonDC t1_j579g9v wrote

it's Atlantic City. People passed out drunk spending their savings in shitty casinos. Crack heads roaming the streets.

Camden is an example of socioeconomic factors that ruined it. It's now on the incline. Atlantic City's slow and consistent decline is marked by mismanagement and legit crime syndicates that were allowed to take over. One is not like the other.

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meraki_05 t1_j57aor2 wrote

Replying to WhatIsTickyTacky (#1,417,038)

No shit, because the crime in those cities along with urban sprawl helps them make the top of the list. Just because "iT fEeLs sHiTtY" to you doesn't make it any less true. You think too much with your feelings and are quick to make this about "race" No surprise there🤡

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decayingskullz t1_j57xfi6 wrote

Camden by far. Probably one of the most dangerous cities in the country. Stay the fuck away

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mediclawyer t1_j585c8k wrote

I really think that people who say Elizabeth have never been to Elizabeth.

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Glittering-Classic23 t1_j586xw8 wrote

Salem. Not sure how I ended up having to go to the MVC there, but it was literally the most depressing experience and if I had to spend more than my time at DMV there I would have killed myself

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fieseldumes t1_j58ei73 wrote

In a snow storm? North Bergen, you haven’t lived til you’ve driven those crazy side street hills in a few inches of snow lol

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bakerfaceman t1_j58ffth wrote

Probably Paramus. Just tons of traffic and malls. There's no actual downtown or anything resembling a cohesive identity besides shopping on rt17.

Yes, NJ's post industrial cities have their problems but they also have history and culture. Paramus is just a symbol of everything wrong with late stage capitalism.

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CryptographerInner31 t1_j58m0vh wrote

Replying to Juliekayxo (#1,415,359)

Paterson’s history is incredible, the people are very hard working & warm, for the most part. Anywhere you go in Paterson, someone is willing to help you out .

Granted it has some parts that are very sketchy , & there’s crime because it is a city ;but overall it’s a pretty interesting place.

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miked5122 t1_j58trvz wrote

Replying to dEn_of_asyD (#1,414,665)

I haven't been to Camden yet, but I don't remember AC being rough at all. Granted I visited about 8 years ago, so had it gone down hill recently? Or is this just a case of people not know what rough areas really are? I grew up in Detroit. Most of it was labeled rough from suburbanites and country dwellers. Truth is, it just wasn't as nice looking in a lot of places. Not maintaining a beautiful aesthetic, doesn't mean bad area.

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billyhicks t1_j5bxnoo wrote

Lakewood and it’s not even remotely close

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Ilovemytowm t1_j5c8j31 wrote

Replying to preppysurf (#1,421,547)

It is so damn sad that used to be such a beautiful beautiful town with so much greenery so many trees. It's disgusting with this state allows in regards to over-development and that goes for the warehouses and the way our constitution is written to allow developers to just destroy everything in their path. Lakewood just takes it up a notch.

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Ilovemytowm t1_j5c8ozg wrote

Edison. A treeless, overdeveloped warehouse heavy sad place.

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ZSS1983 t1_j5g4a8t wrote

Hoboken. I hate HATE going there.

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Nub_Shaft t1_j5mzao6 wrote

Phillipsburg. It's just as shitty as Easton PA, but slightly more depressing and way more podunk.

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wryaant t1_j5wfi1n wrote

Replying to No_Neighborhood_3191 (#1,495,811)

Because ‘worst’ is a subjective term without any context or criteria. Instead what you got were replies from people shitting on town/cities that I’m sure in some cases we’re based on nothing more more than reputation. It was a pile-on, on the poorer more working class cities with large minority populations. Does that alone make those cities inherently the ‘worst’, because that’s what got the most up votes.
Not a fan of the pile on, I love my state too much and know it’s problems are nuanced and often caused by complex issues that have occurred over long periods of time, for a multitude of reasons, that if easily fixed would have been so by now.

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