When I was very young, I used to work with my dad. We would come home through the bad area of Phoenix, known as the deuce. I was probably 7 or 8 at the time and asked my dad why they lived like that. His words have stuck with me since, they choose to. I didn't really understand at the time, but I do now. I feel sorry for them making bad choices, but in the end, they made the choice not me.
Denver was nice in the 80's but as time wore on, the city as a whole made it's choices, not me, them. So sad.