Steven Proctor
Mrs. Lind/ Mr. Viles
English/ History
1/9/2008


Coming to Maine

My Aunt Laura and Uncle Leon moved from California to escape a few differences that California and other big cities exclusively have. Some reasons for this extreme change were the hostile environment, there is more family up here and it was going to be better for the kids. This report will go into detail on these subjects.
First, there are two major problems that just add to this hostile environment are gangs and drugs. Gangs are a big part of the culture in El Cajon, California. In El Cajon about 5 of 10 kids are in a gang. Another problem is drugs. Even more people are on drugs than there are people in gangs It seems as if everyone is on drugs out there. In 1995 there was a crime rate of 8 violent crimes per every thousand people. This city is only about 30 blocks by 30 blocks. One reason for so much violent crimes I think is the high population. It has a population of 94,869.

Another important reason for their move is there is the fact that more family up here. Their names are Aunt Linda, Susan, Nacy, Maxine, Uncle Murt, Jimbo, Ereenie and my grandpa. They thought they could get help from my uncle until they got a new place to live. He said they could but then went back on his word a couple of days later. From there they went to a shelter for little while. Then out of nowhere they got a break when a man who caught up with drugs’ landlord let them stay in the house.

The next reason for the move is they thought it was going to be better for the kids. One reason for this goes back to the fact California is infested with drugs and gangs but I also think that it was because people in Maine are just generally nicer. People in Cali are just too busy to do things for other people.

In this next paragraph I will tell you how the first of my aunt’s days in Maine were like. She and her husband rode here on a greyhound with my cousin Missey who was five at the time and my other cousin Brian who was one. They came here with only two suitcases for all four of them. After six days they arrived in Maine and went to my uncle’s studio apartment. This takes us back to my uncle kicking them out. After all that they went to a shelter. Then eventually my uncle Leon got a job and bought a house. So they came up in the world.

So in review I have told about the reasons for leaving Those are a hostile environment they also they also had more family up here, and a better life for my cousins Brian and Missy. They had a hard time getting housing and a income, when they did though they had it good. All in all I think Maine is a better place to live for the poor.

Work Cited
http://www.coronado.ca.us/PDFs/crimestats2005.pdf
Interview
Laura Chapman and Brian Sisk