'White bread' is in the eye of the beholder

I don't know how to define White Bread. But I know it when I see it.

There is a bit of back story that Rona left out.

I once asked a real estate agent if they could show me communities that were a little less white bread. The agent asked what I meant and I said, the best neighborhood I ever lived was equal parts [protected class, protected class, not protected class]. There was a diversity of people which meant a diversity of viewpoints which meant a diversity of shops which meant a diversity of churches which meant a diversity of . . . . . It was a fun place to live because there was so much to do and see. However, [protected class] has nothing to do with The Protected Classes in this context.

I asked Rona whether I was putting the agent in a position to breach law or ethics because I asked the agent if there were communities like the one I used to live. According to Rona, since the agent took me to a neighborhoods that had predominantly only one [protected class, the agent steered me and broke the law.

Lastly, white bread nothing to do with white people. My definition of white bread is homogeneity. Homogeneous communities are boring to me.

WS, the backstory makes a lot of difference.
If the agent changed what he/she showed you based on who lived in the area, the law was broken. If the neighborhood was chosen because of the amenities, the law was not broken. It is a fine line. As Julio said, you know "white bread" when you see it.

I once had a client who said, "I don't want to live in a multi-cultural neighborhood." When I pressed him for what that meant, is was protected class and protected class and working class white people. It had nothing to do with shops, restaurants, or parks. I fired the client.

OK, everyone! Help WS find areas that are not homogeneous.

White Bread = Boxford, MA

WS, check out Haverhill, MA. You'll be surprised and pleased.

WSJ, all you need is a copy of the codebook. Maybe you'd like an area with a more "urban feel" (caution, that's sometimes realtorspeak for "crime-ridden"). Or one that features many affordable "ethnic restaurants." Perhaps a lot of "daytime foot traffic."

Euphemism is your friend.

I live in Winter Hill in Somerville. Very mixed.

check out North Cambridge, a great neighborhood and more of a pumpernickle or marble rye kinda place

The term "white bread", is often selectively used by people (not all) to allude to "primarily white" areas/people, just as the term "diverse" is used to designate areas and "people of color". You can argue the terminology all you like but it's how it's used that counts.

C'mon, you can not be *that* ignorant Rona. I have respected most of what you have written on this blog for a year but this has really changed my opinion of you.

I think you'll find diversity in Waltham.

#2, while I agree that "white bread" means mostly homogeneous, I think it's disingenuous to suggest that "white bread" does not mean "white people." If you went to a neighborhood that was primarily, say, African American, you would not call it "white bread."
I think it's a bad term and would suggest that someone who uses it to mean "a neighborhood that lacks in diversity" should just say THAT.

In Boston, I think of JP, Allston, Chinatown area, Bay Village, South End, North End, and parts of South Boston as being on the diverse end of things. My criteria obviously may be different than the questioner's, and you can find interesting or uninteresting microcosms in any neighborhood (try the "other side" of Beacon Hill, I loved living there!). Or be the one introducing diversity and choose the community most unlike you. It's got to start somewhere.

Out of the city, I love Lowell. Seriously. Quite the mix of many different protected classes, doing their respective things.

I would view white bread as homogeneous, regardless of what kind of 'bread' you were or were not looking for. Take the South End - it used to be full of fun and interesting people, and now it's just full of sameness. SO you can view white bread as white skin, or as 'rich'. or as 'sit at home and not be a part of your neighborhood'.

Dear Give Me,
I would hate to see you go.
However, if you read carefully, you will see that I am clear that "white bread" and "multicultural" can be code words for discriminatory behavior. I do not cooperate with people who use the words that way.
There are homogenous neighborhoods based on income and wealth with considerable diversity along protected class status.

I think "white bread" also has a design definition as well. It means lacking in architectural diversity - all suburban boxes with the same lawn, plantings, and look. "Plain vanilla" is another term. After visiting friends in an Orlando development, I referred to it as "white bread" not in reference to race (it was a fairly diverse community) but in reference to the sterile, Stepford-like quality it had.

I'm with Ritan 1. Probably not the best choce of words, but, "white bread" is just plain, cookie cutter, same, boring. For me, no reference to race.

For all people looking for a hidden meaning in white bread, please don't. I was clear what it meant. So was Rona and she was very Rona was very careful to place very strict boundaries on the discussion. Debate about class and race belong somewhere else.

Perhaps I am naive, but I have never heard white bread used as a pejorative in any manner - unless the person took offense to living in a bland and conventional neighborhood/town/city.* I have heard white people say they want a neighborhood with less diversity though or ask for a community that is more like them. I may have been born yesterday, but I have been up all night.

* Imbuing words with meaning that does not exist is overtly divisive. There is literally no pejorative connotation to white-bread and I would refer to an African-American neighborhood if it applies. I remember a story in the paper about a local level government meeting where one participant appropriately used the word 'niggardly'. A Caucasian woman called it inappropriate and tried to cause a dust up. An African American (woman?) basically told the Caucasian woman that she was not offended by the use of word by the participant, but was offended that she had to share power with someone as ignorant as the Caucasian woman. If anyone can find that exact quote, please let me know. It is one of the best one liners ever.

Since I'm watching my carbs, I will stay away from the ongoing pseudo-debate on "white bread". Getting to the red meat of the matter, the subject of interesting neighborhoods - one measure would be how 'engaged' the residents are with each other. If you assess a neighborhood's WalkScore, and check their Neighborhood Watch statistics, their Community Association involvement, and a dozen or so other factors you get a pretty good sense of how integrated, diverse, and interesting an area might be. Without having to bring up the irrelevant topic of race.

You can't just go by income diversity statistics - which would put a place like Charlestown in the lead. Personally I rank neigbhorhoods by how often I am forced to use my car to get a cup of coffee or a sandwich or go to dinner or a see a movie, and Charlestown ranks pretty badly by that measure, whereas the South End, Jamaica Plain, Symphony, and even Waltham (to a degree) rank pretty highly.