Here are the results of our first survey. Before I continue, I have to say that the number of entries was not so great. According to my statistics, during the one week that this survey was active, The Bronx Board was visited by over 320 different people, and yet we only received 64 unique responses. I suppose many of the visitors weren't from the Bronx. Two people submitted more than one response (I accepted only one from each), and one response didn't contain any usable information.
Well, I suppose anything, however meager, is better than nothing. If there are any statisticians out there, you'll know what I mean when I say that the sample is insufficient for valid interpolation. (Hey, we English majors are allowed to know other subjects too!) Regardless of the data's shortcomings, it's interesting to know some of this stuff. I'll leave it to you to draw your own conclusions from these results.
By the way, a number of people mentioned marriage as their reason for leaving the Bronx. Since I intended "Family Obligations" to include marriage, I took the liberty of changing these responses appropriately. For similar reasons, I also modified responses that mentioned "better schools for the kids" to "Educational opportunities".
The total number of unique, usable responses was 64.
The average of the span of years of people living in the Bronx was 1949 through 1971.
This means that the average number of years you guys lived in the Bronx was 22.
The neighborhood breakdown was as follows:
| Neighborhood | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| Baychester/Coop City | 2 | 3% |
| Bronx Park East | 6 | 9% |
| Bronxwood/Gun Hill | 4 | 6% |
| Castle Hill/Parkchester | 4 | 6% |
| City Island | 0 | 0% |
| Crotona | 1 | 2% |
| Fordham | 7 | 11% |
| Highbridge | 2 | 3% |
| Hub/Morrisania | 9 | 14% |
| Hunt's Point | 0 | 0% |
| Kingsbridge | 2 | 3% |
| Mosholu/Bedford Hill | 1 | 2% |
| Pelham Parkway | 3 | 5% |
| Reservoir Oval | 1 | 2% |
| Riverdale/Fieldston | 2 | 3% |
| St. Ann's | 1 | 2% |
| Soundview | 1 | 2% |
| Throgs Neck | 2 | 3% |
| Tremont | 2 | 3% |
| University Heights | 3 | 5% |
| Wakefield | 2 | 3% |
| Westchester Heights | 0 | 0% |
| Williamsbridge | 1 | 2% |
| Woodlawn | 3 | 5% |
| Not sure | 4 | 6% |
How old were we when we left the Bronx?
| Age | Count | | Younger than 12 |
3 |
5% |
12 - 20 |
21 |
33% |
21 - 30 |
26 |
41% |
31 - 40 |
9 |
14% |
41 - 50 |
1 |
2% |
Older than 50 |
0 |
0% |
|
|---|
What were the reasons we left the Bronx?
(Multiple responses were allowed, so the sum of the percentages exceeds 100.)
| Reason | Count | Percentage |
|---|---|---|
| A Better Life | 20 | 18% |
| Career Opportunities | 10 | 9% |
| College/Graduate School | 8 | 7% |
| Crime/Lack of Safety | 10 | 9% |
| Educational Opportunities (i.e. better schools) | 8 | 7% |
| Family Obligations (marriage/divorce/etc.) | 16 | 14% |
| General Deterioration of the Neighborhood | 12 | 11% |
| Hated City Life | 3 | 3% |
| Housing Opportunities | 11 | 10% |
| Just Needed A Change | 7 | 6% |
| Never Left | 1 | 1% |
| Other* | 9 | 8% |
*Here's a sampling of some of the "Other" reasons for leaving:
Thanks again to those who participated. It's interesting to note how many different neighborhoods were represented among such a relatively small sample. One person asked where "Westchester Heights" is. It's the area along Westchester Avenue, southwest of Castle Hill. Another noted that "Marble Hill" is technically Manhattan, although it's geographically and culturally the Bronx. (The one respondant from Marble Hill didn't seem to mind being included in the Bronx.)
So what will the next survey be? Two suggestions were most prevalent among those who responded: where we're living now, and what schools we attended while living in the Bronx. I may take one of these topics and expand it into something we can sink our statistical teeth into. Look for it soon.