Hilltop, U.S.A.

I moved from NY to the Hilltop in 1999 to take a position as security director of a downtown high rise. From day one the workers downtown told me horror stories of a crime infested drug haven called the Hilltop when I informed them where I lived.  Granted, the Hilltop has its share of problems but overall it is a great place to live. I found it a working class nieghborhood where neighbors said hello and shared morning coffee with each other. I know there is a criminal element and drug use and sales in the area but it is not a defining characteristic of the nieghborhood. There are some things suburbanites will never understand. Community pride seems to be one of them. Many people are very proud to claim the Hilltop as thier community. Violence begets violence is the old adage. Maybe some folks don't understand that when someone has very little and works hard for what they do have, they are protective of it. Its true that alot of people on the Hilltop are a bit rough around the edges but it is because they are realists and don't have thier heads in the clouds. In the bronx the old timers have a saying.... 99% of trouble comes from relationships, crime, and money. This seeems to prove true on the Hilltop as well. If you stay away from other peoples mates, crime, and money you will avoid trouble. I had very little trouble on the Hilltop myself. People who look down on the Hilltop and its residents should remember that the type of folks on the Hilltop are the same type of folks that carved out the wilderness to settle this country.