As a widespread cultural phenomenon in the US, I dislike that Halloween is becoming aggregated to the rich neighborhoods. Perfectly good lower class neighborhoods that are exceptionally decorated for the holiday are soulless on the night.
Not bagging on trunk or treats or anything like thay. My mixed zone, mixed generation, vibrant neighbourhood is so cute on Halloween but then there is no real community engagement. It makes the holiday kinda sad and individualistic except for those lucky enough to have money. Another loosening the fabric of community in the US.
Just my two cents.
Edit: FWIW I dont blame parents for wanting to give their children the best Halloween experience by trucking them to such neighborhoods. The problem is not them, it is the wealth disparity.
I will absolutely knock the trunk or treat concept. It has removed kids from their surroundings. One key concept from trick or treating back in the day is meeting your neighbors (with the safety of your parents behind you) and briefly seeing in their houses and getting vibes. If shit went bad, I bet you’d have a safe space picked out from Halloween night to go to. And I bet you recall houses that don’t seem safe. This is important to the childhood psyche, I feel. And trunk or treat pulls that all away. And, you’re right, so do rich neighborhoods. I’m two blocks off of one those streets. They were absolutely packed on that street. We got zero trick or treaters at our place (our first Halloween here).
In the 15 years I’ve been in my current house I think I’ve seen trick or treaters come down maybe a handful of times. I’m only a block off the main road, but my street stops at the corner on one end (not a dead end, just have to turn), so if you aren’t starting from that end, coming down is a waste.
More importantly, I live in a very very old part of town sort of on the outskirts (my house was built in 1880, and I’m like 2 blocks from fields and woods, for perspective), and the parts on the other side of the river are much newer and more like suburbs… my side of town has a larger proportion of expensive houses, but they are between shitty cheap super old houses like mine, rather than consistently mid-range.
When I was a kid the only time I ever did the drive to a rich area was when I was like 14 and went with a friend for the first time (my parents changed my school every year from 5th grade through graduating so having a friend was ultra-rare, especially that early in the school year). It was surreal. Huge fancy houses that you -had- to drive to because they were so far apart, but full size candy…
I feel you. I think the concept of trunk or treats is a great idea for folks who live in apartments, etc. It has been coopted to those rich neighborhoods too however. The rich neighborhood here had a street closure trunk or treat the week prior to Halloween and so they get double the Halloween and we get nothing. We got one kid. 😩