Splaine: Two Portsmouths: The rather well-to-do, and the not-quite so – Seacoastonline.com

Jim Splaine| Columnist

Portsmouth is a beautiful, incredible, fabulous, unique, fantastic, amazing city.OK, enough words.Some newcomers of the past 20 or 30 years like to say they made it what it is today, but what our community is today comes from the contributions of the "collective 'we'" of the past 400 years.

I suspect thereisacelebration of that next year.

Sometimes unnoticed, one of our special assets is our ever-growing diversity of people and their backgrounds.As this past week's naturalization ceremony at Strawbery Bankereminded us, if we were all the same, Portsmouth would be so boring.

One of my favorite city councilors, John Hynes, who knew a lot about economicsand the value of population and opportunity diversity with his professional business development background, would often call Portsmouth a "world-class city."

He named Portsmouth that for a number of reasons.Through the years, that diversity has also included income, and therein lies the message of this commentary.There are indeed two Portsmouths:the rather well-to-do, and the not-quite so.

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That doesn't mean we're divided as a population.It just means that for some, Portsmouth has a lot of opportunities to "buy" things whether they be good housing, going to restaurants often, attending lots of ticketed music and theater events, or enjoying many of the other benefits of a world-class city.

And it means for others who cannot afford quite so good housing, or eating out at restaurants or attending the non-free activities of our community, they have to look for other ways to enjoy their days and nights.

A lot of people fall into that second category.They may be some of our retired citizens who live on fixed income.They may be working at lower-pay jobs.Regardless of age, someone making $15 or $20 an hour certainly experiences life in Portsmouth much differently than a professional who may be making six figures.

And with current-day inflation, well, it's tougher.

For many of us of the lower-income scale, going to a restaurant for dinner is a luxury. Forget it if two or three kids are involved. And with utility and electric bills about to explode, we can expect it to be more difficult for a lot of people to put aside enough for a weekly night out on the town.

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Fortunately, the "it takes a village" spirit of our city also provides a lot of free activities, so there is always something for our residents and their families that costs, literally, nothing. More on that in another column, but a walk through our vibrant downtown is free. A self-tour through the historic South End, free. We have nature trails, free. Library, free.Nearby beaches, free.Parks, free.Sitting in Market Square and enjoying the ambiance, free.Many music and theater events, free.Hundreds of ways to enjoy a summer, or winter, without spending hardly anything.

Just put down the cell phone and do it.

The "it takes a village" spirit of our community goes to how we decide to use our tax money.Beyond the concerns our government has for maintaining our sidewalks and city buildings, providing police and fire protection, and serving the needs of our business community through the planning, legal, and economic development offices, there is attention paid to the many needs of those who need help.

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Money spent on recreation and schools, as well as for our welfare and health departments, fills the needs of the large segment of our population that cannot afford private schools, and whose children benefit from the efforts of our school and recreation departments to provide free and equality of participation for children of families of all economic levels and for our older folks too.

Our city cares.

There is more we can do.More we need to do.Let's hope Portsmouth continues to be a magnet world-class city that attracts people of wide income diversity.We need that balance.All are welcome here.

Portsmouth is a cool place to call "home."

Today's quote:"Inclusion is not a matter of political correctness.It is the key to growth." - Jesse Jackson, 1984 and 1988 presidential candidate who ran in the New Hampshire first-in-the-nation primaries.

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Jim Splaine has served variously since 1969 as Portsmouth assistant mayor, Police Commission member and School Board member, as well as New Hampshire state senator and representative.He can be reached atjimsplaineportsmouth@gmail.com.

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Splaine: Two Portsmouths: The rather well-to-do, and the not-quite so - Seacoastonline.com