Grew up in West Haven. Can confirm when I was a teenager I started hearing that "West Haven has gone downhill" which was code for "more Black people live here now." Absolutely nothing to back it up.

The worst part about West Haven is that leadership does absolute nothing to develop it. And, ironically, the longest standing businesses I've seen are POC-owned. Just drive down Campbell Ave and you'll see dozens of salons, grocery markets, restaurants, etc owned by Black, Latino, and Asian people that have been there for years. Then you have Joe Shmo White Guy I went to high school with who opens up a new bar or Herbalife "nutrition club" that lasts for 5 minutes before going out of business.

I know NEBCO isn't POC-owned but just look at how Jimmies is trying to strong arm them from opening up. The town is full of good ol boys who are so averse to business development by "outsiders" for fear of losing their piece of the pie...all at the expense of the residents. For my whole damn life we've had 3 miles of beach with 3 restaurants: Captain's Galley, Chick's, and Jimmies. Two of them are gone and the last one sucks. The people deserve better.

West Haven is a great little town. It sucks because city leadership is a corrupt pile of incompetent idiots and has been for decades, not because Black people live there. More POC doesn't mean the town is "going downhill." If anything, they're the only ones keeping it alive.

There isn't a ton to do but if you're a college student living near UNH you'll have plenty of options 10 minutes away in New Haven. Unsafe it certainly is not.

Rant over lol