| North
End newcomers
Dan Cooper
and Renee Bell moved to the North End from Atlanta three years ago.
They are getting married in August. Their North End apartment, the
first home they've owned together, is where they will begin their
married life. Their opinions about the neighborhood, however, may
not lead to wedded bliss there. Cooper finds it charming; Bell would
rather live elsewhere.
| "I
think the older Italian people are rude. I feel like
they don't want me here, like I am invading their territory." |
|
Renee
Bell,
North End resident |
|
Cooper, 27,
adores the charming flavor of the North End and hopes that the neighborhood
retains its atmosphere for years to come.
"That is
the reason we moved here, I wouldn't live anywhere else in the city,"
he said.
Cooper, who
works in Wachovia's Information Technology Department, said he has
no plans to ever sell his property in the North End. "I see
this property as a great investment. When the Big Dig is finally
completed and the parks connect the North End to the rest of the
city, the property values will only climb."
Cooper said
he wouldn't mind if raising his future children in the neighborhood
and watching them play in one of the North End's new playgrounds.
Bell, 25, has
different feelings - and plans.
She is a full-time
student with a full-time job and does not like living in the North
End. "It is so loud here, especially at night while I am trying
to study," she said. " I know I live in a city, but there
are quieter areas even here in Boston. Someone is always yelling
out their window to someone else."
| "
I wouldn't live anywhere else in the city" |
|
Dan
Cooper,
North End resident |
|
Bell does not
feel a part of a close-knit community. "I think the older Italian
people are rude. I feel like they don't want me here, like I am
invading their territory." Bell said she does not know any
of her neighbors and that no one tries to get to know her.
"It's
also really messy here. There is always trash all over the streets,
especially on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays [trash days],"
she added.
Bell wants
to move to Charlotte, N.C., when she is finished with school. Cooper
said he might consider moving, but not to Charlotte, and even if
he does not get to spend the rest of his life in the North End he
says he will never sell his apartment on Prince Street.
At the very least, he said, "I will rent out this property.
It is a great location."
EMILY
BERG
|
