Disenchanted

So, I've been wanting to write something on my blog with a bit of depth. I just haven't had the time to sit down, and put the thoughts into words. There has been something looming on my mind quite a bit lately, and there's no one word to sum it up.

I'm really disappointed with the youth in my neighbourhood, and in our city. Anyone in Canada surely knows that Edmonton's crime rate is skyrocketing. With a big boom of industry and wealth, comes more people migrating to the west. With that comes housing shortages (and rent increases), an increase in house prices, labour shortages (in the service industry, specifically- which leads to horrible service across the board), and a higher crime rate.

Two times in as many months, I have been leaving or entering a shopping centre, only to be knocked off balance by a teenager running away from security for shoplifting. Almost every day something happens in this city that is horrifying, and I don't always hear about it on the news... b/c it's getting to be common-place.

For the past 3 nights, there have been teenagers setting off fireworks in the back field behind our house. Usually, around the 3am mark. What would most people do? Phone the police, right? Complain and request that an officer come and send the kids on their way. I am sad to admit, that there is no point to doing that here. I know that if I phone the police, they are going to ask for the closest intersection... It's in the middle of a sports field. No intersection is "close". Still... they want an intersection. For some reason, an address doesn't suffice. I know this from phoning the fire department last summer b/c teenagers had lit a fire on the soccer field behind our house. So, once you have made the call-- the wait begins. The Edmonton Police Service (EPS) is extremely busy! They have to prioritize phone calls. So, surely a violent altercation between drunken idiots on 118th Ave is going to win out over some stupid kids lighting fireworks behind my house.

On Canada Day-- late in the night, around 3am... some stupid MOFO decides to drive his pickup truck onto the sports field and gun it through the grass and slap on the emergency brake so his truck spins around a few times, tearing up the grass. I'm telling you, this fucktard was about 100m from my back fence. Not far at all! I said to Jason, "We should phone the police! That idiot could be drunk and drive right into our house!".... to which he replies... "why? The police won't come, and if they do, it'll be too late". It's horrible to think that way, but sadly, it's true. I felt helpless as I watched him drive all over the grass, leave and come back again. Sometimes, he turned off his headlights while he drove. The sound was loud and quite scary. Our windows don't keep out much noise.

I should mention, that the neighbourhood we live in, isn't a "rough" neighbourhood! However, I'd venture to say we are on the cusp of upper-middle and lower-middle class areas. Our area is quite mixed- no real division of rich or poor. We have massive amounts of new houses and subdivisions being built all around us. We've also got low-income and co-op housing nearby. Once upon a time, living in a townhouse was seen as being one of those low-income families. However, with the housing market as it is in Edmonton, many middle-class families have purchased townhouses... condos, actually, b/c buying a regular 3 bedroom house is unaffordable! Oone could expect to pay $350,000 for such a house ( a bungalow that was built in the mid 70's)! With the rise in the housing market, it makes the neighbourhood even more mixed in terms of socio-economic standing. You have people who bought 15 yrs ago... paying maybe $50,000 for their townhouse. Then you have people like us, who bought less than 2 yrs ago, paying $190,000 for the same layout. There's no way to tell the rich from the poor.

Last summer, I called the fire department twice b/c of kids lighting fires on the back field. Our fence has been spray painted several times with graffiti- linked to youth gangs. I constantly hear kids walking on the path behind our house, in the late hours of the morning, swearing and drunk out of their minds... Likely under 17 yrs of age. This is a common occurance during the summer months around here. I have to say, these behaviours are getting worse.

A few weeks ago, I heard a GRADE 6 girl repeatedly shouting the F-word in mid-afternoon, as my kids played in the back yard. I know she's in gr 6, b/c she goes to Fiona's school, and I've seen her in the hallways. She was yelling at some boys, with whom she angry! I was getting in my car, and said "Watch your language! There are kids playing around here!", to which she replies with open arms, a snarled up face as if to say "what?!" like a Ricki Lake guest, ready to do battle! I admit, I wanted to tear a strip off that girl. I cannot believe the behaviour of kids, and how young they are! She glared at me the whole time as she walked by me, staring with hate. I held my gaze, and didn't back down. Ooh, that made me furious!

Jason warned me later that I should be careful, b/c they know where I live and might come back to get revenge. Dammit. I am so tired of being afraid to stand up for myself and my kids!! He's right. It's quite possible, and it does happen. So many people just turn a blind eye to things they see happening for fear of that very thing. Why are these kids being given such POWER and control!?! It all comes down to the reality of the situation. I don't want to endanger my kids or my house. It's a reality that they might come back later and set a fire, damage my property or smash a water bottle full of urine at my siding!! That latter of the 3 has happened to us. Many people I talk to, including my neighbours, are afraid to confront kids-- even young kids about their behaviours. My next door neighbour was even threatened by some young kids, smoking pot behind the fence in MID-DAY... They warned him that if he didn't go away, this young boy would "kill him". That silenced my neighbour immediately. Of course, a phone call to the police would have accomplished nothing.

With every day that goes by, my desire to leave Edmonton increases. If we were renting, I'd be willing to pack up and move before Fiona starts a new school year. However, it's not as easy (or quick) to jump ship due to the fact that we own a house now.

Jason and I have been talking quite seriously about our next move. . . a 5... no! A 2 year plan! Whether it's to leave for a teaching opportunity overseas or to move to another part of Canada is uncertain. We do know, that we don't want to raise our kids here.

It's a shame, b/c I really do enjoy living in Edmonton.