Grew up here... wouldn't go back
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1/8/2015
I lived in Millville, NJ for 25 years. My whole family is from Millville. It's where my great-grandparents were married and it's where they died. My grandmother and aunt were raised there. When I was a kid it had that small town feel. Everyone knew everyone and it had a lot of small businesses. When I was in high school things were getting a little tougher. Center city was getting kinda sketchy but outside of that handful of "numbered" streets it was good. A family kind of place. Unfortunately it didn't get better. Only worse. They tried revitalizing with the "arts district" on High Street but it failed pretty miserably after a few short years. I moved out of Millville when I was 25 years old and now when I go back to visit my grandmother (who is 70 and refuses to move from her home because it's where she was raised) I am appalled by what it has become. Very few businesses have survived and even the outskirts aren't immune to the crime and decay that has become this city. The schools are over-crowded and laced with teachers that have long given up. It's a sad thing to say but I wouldn't move back there with my children for a million dollars... and wish my grandmother would get out of there.
Lemonyellow | Elmer, NJ